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July 16, 2024
 

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DIGITALIZATION

Junior high school students taking entrance exams for public high schools enter a venue in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 12, 2024
Japan to test digital high school admissions
The Digital Agency estimates digital procedures will cut administrative work by 30-90 hours in junior high schools and 20-80 hours in high schools.
Electronic waste — also known as e-waste — from computers in a junk shop in Metro Manila, Philippines
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 11, 2024
U.N. warns digital economy drive is damaging the environment
The U.N. agency called for sustainable strategies to counter the growing environmental toll digitalization creates, particularly in developing countries.
A mystery-solving event with clues embedded in constellations projected on a dome is held at a planetarium in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on June 7.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2024
Japan's planetarium operators shoot for the stars with new events
The number of planetarium visitors in fiscal 2022 totaled 7.9 million, recovering to about 90% of the level before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elementary school students take a nationwide achievement test in April. The education ministry has said such tests will go fully online in fiscal 2027.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2024
Japan's nationwide school achievement tests to go fully online from fiscal '27
The education ministry will make an official decision as early as autumn after hearing opinions from schools and boards of education.
One analyst argues that the billions of dollars flowing from Japan to the likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft might be more a positive than a negative in that more companies and individuals are using digital services.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2024
Japan’s digital deficit might be a good thing
The digital deficit indicates that digitalization has accelerated in the country, says Mitsubishi Research Institute researcher Kengo Wataya.
Japan has finally scrapped every regulation requiring the use of floppy disks for administrative purposes.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2024
Japan finally phases out floppy disks
One of the world’s most technologically advanced nations has held on to some of the most outmoded devices.
While the government aims to supply all public elementary school pupils with an electronic device for learning in school, communication between parents and teachers is still largely paper-based.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2024
Parents need digital tools to cope with 'first-grade barrier'
More flexibility and efficiency would lighten the load put on the families of public elementary school children, where paper-based communication is still too prevalent.
Microsoft Japan President Miki Tsusaka
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2024
Microsoft’s Japan chief sees country accelerating its use of AI
Microsoft Japan President Miki Tsukasa sees AI as an inevitable and revolutionary new part of tech.
The iAEON app allows users to view their shopping history and save e-receipts on their smartphones to facilitate returns and act as proof of purchases.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2024
Aeon to roll out e-receipts nationwide
Customers can opt for e-receipts instead of paper ones when shopping by using the group’s iAEON app at participating stores.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and digital minister Taro Kono attend a digitalization panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 11, 2024
Japan's parliament faces a long road to digitalization
Concerns over decorum and the possibility of the use of electronic devices being obtrusive to proceedings are among reasons cited for maintaining restrictions.
In a bureaucratic blunder, a foreign resident was assigned the identity of a completely different person — who had the same name, same nationality and even the same birthday.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 4, 2024
It wasn't me: Similar strangers given same ID in Japan
The two individuals had the same name, same nationality and even the same birthday.
Digital transformation minister Taro Kono says the government plans to use My Number ID cards to track the evacuation status of disaster victims.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024
Japan to utilize My Number cards at evacuation centers
"We want to facilitate the response of local governments and residents in the event of a disaster," digital transformation minister Taro Kono said.
My Number cardholders will soon be able to save their identity verification information on smartphones.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 31, 2024
Japan enacts revised My Number law enabling info on smartphones
The move is expected to boost My Number cardholders' convenience.
Apple will enable individuals to add their My Number card to their Apple Wallets, the company has said.
JAPAN / Society
May 30, 2024
My Number card feature to be launched on iPhone next spring
Apple will enable individuals to add their My Number card to their Apple Wallets, allowing them to have their identity verified without using their physical card.
Japan's digital trade deficit in 2023 was up about 2.6 times over nine years since 2014, as smartphones have become ubiquitous tools and the digital services sector is dominated by U.S. information technology giants.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2024
Japan's digital trade deficit continues to expand
The deficit in Japan's balance of payments in digital services continues to expand steadily.
A polling station is set up at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai for the Lower House elections in October 2021. Japanese nationals living abroad have to travel to diplomatic missions that serve as polling stations to cast their votes during elections.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 30, 2024
Internet voting for Japanese abroad remains a distant prospect
Apart from the need to revise an existing law, concerns remain over the integrity of online identity verification and the confidentiality of votes.
Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 22, 2024
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
People applying for My Number cards are likely to be able to present digital IDs as valid identification documents when receiving the card starting next month.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2024
Government plans to allow digital IDs to receive My Number cards
The move is aimed at broadening the scope of acceptable ID methods to encourage students and workers to sign up for the cards.
A smartphone workshop is held in Tagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, in December in conjunction with the implementation of measures to stimulate consumption through cashless payments.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2024
Local governments engage elderly to ease adoption of cashless payments
Some older people and others who find digital devices difficult to operate continue to view cash as the be-all and end-all for making purchases.
Residents remove snow from rooftops together with workers from a snow removal company in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, in January 2021. In fiscal 2022, 49 people in Japan died during activities related to the clearing of snow. Of these, 39 people — or roughly 80% — were age 65 or older.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Land ministry goes digital to prevent snow-clearing accidents
The system is aimed at assessing the risks associated with snow removal at individual houses to avert mishaps, particularly ones involving the elderly.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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