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August 13, 2026
 

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APPS

The National Police Agency is considering use of a new investigation method that involves remotely analyzing communications via highly confidential apps used by <i>³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨±</i> loosely organized anonymous criminal groups.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 6, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ police to monitor ¡®³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨±¡¯ use of confidential messaging apps
The method involves remote-controlling smartphones and other devices of high-ranking ³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨± members to access communication records and other information.
A shopping street in Tokyo during a heat wave last month. Following the launch, Weathernews plans to enhance the accuracy of its weather forecast by incorporating reports from users around the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ Weathernews launches global app in 57 languages
The app is expected to help people prepare for?disasters early by providing users with consolidated weather warnings from around the world.
As of June 30 this year, the Tokyo Enmusubi matchmaking app had 16,000 registered members ¡ª whittled down from around 36,000 applicants ¡ª and 760 couples in "serious relationships," according to government data released this month.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2026
¡¯Appy marriages: AI helps hundreds of Japanese wed
A total of 265 couples have married after meeting on an AI-powered dating app launched by the Tokyo government in 2024 to lift the low birth rate, according to official data.
The National Police Agency encourages people to use a crime prevention app that blocks international calls made to mobile phones by fraud groups.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 6, 2026
Fake police scams in Tokyo down nearly 40% in January through May
The number of such cases decreased to 548, while the total financial damage from such scams shrank 38.3% to ?6.17 billion.
Apps like Miraima allow users to wager on real-world events and win points that can be converted into monetary rewards such as gift cards.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2026
Prediction markets emerge in Japan, with shopping vouchers
New homegrown startups are finding ways to skirt regulations.
As fraud involving mobile payment apps grow increasingly sophisticated, PayPay has adopted an artificial intelligence system dedicated to detecting fraudulent transactions and assigned staff for the effort.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 17, 2026
Man with possible ³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨± ties arrested over mobile payment fraud
The man reportedly told police he got involved in the scheme when he applied for a job a few years ago after seeing a recruitment notice on X.
Taxi-hailing app provider Go traded 21% above its IPO price on Tuesday after shareholders of the company raised ?88.6 billion ($553 million) in the offering for a market value of ?186 billion last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2026
Goldman-backed Go soars 21% after biggest Japan IPO this year
The successful debut of the taxi-hailing app provider offers a much-needed tailwind for Â鶹´«Ã½ IPO market.
A booth of Ant Group at the Singapore FinTech Festival in 2022
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 14, 2026
Jack Ma-backed Ant group set for high-stakes overhaul of billion-user app
Hangzhou-based Ant will roll out a design that lets users ask the Alipay AI to book a car ride, order coffee or arrange takeout ¡ª by typing or speaking their requests.
Shareholders in Goldman Sachs Group-backed firm Go sold shares at ?2,400 apiece, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2026
Goldman-backed Go prices Â鶹´«Ã½ biggest 2026 IPO at upper end
Shareholders in the Goldman Sachs Group-backed firm sold shares at ?2,400 apiece, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
GO, a taxi-hailing app operator backed by Goldman Sachs Group, is targeting a valuation of about ?200 billion in an initial public offering that could raise up to ?90 billion, with an announcement possible as early as next week and a listing aimed for mid-June.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2026
Goldman-backed Go app seeks $1.3 billion valuation in Tokyo IPO
The taxi-hailing app operator may announce the IPO as soon as next week and aims to list in mid-June.
Through much of 2025, a U.S. special agent had been looking into claims that some Meta employees and contractors could see the content of encrypted WhatsApp messages. The investigation was just abruptly closed.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 29, 2026
U.S. ends investigation into claims WhatsApp chats aren¡¯t private
The abrupt closure ends a law enforcement inquiry into claims that challenge how the company markets the chat service¡¯s privacy.
A man in his 60s (left), one of the plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against Timee over last-minute cancellation of contracts, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo&#039;s Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2026
Users of ¡®spot work¡¯ app sue service over last-minute cancellations
Despite employers having accepted their applications, the nine users had their contracts canceled right before the day of work a total of 135 times.
Alipay has been mentioned by legislators in discussions about the use of foreign payment apps in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 10, 2026
Chinese payment apps raise questions in Japan
Legislators and regulators wonder if the apps are being used to bypass the domestic financial system.
Go runs the most widely used taxi hailing app in Japan in terms of user numbers, according to a survey in 2024 by ICT Research and Consulting.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2026
Goldman-backed Go taxi app said to plan Japan IPO this year
Discussions on the IPO are ongoing and details such as the target valuation and timing are subject to change.
TikTok plans to invest €1 billion ($1.16 billion) to build its second data center in Finland in less than ?a year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 8, 2026
TikTok to build a second billion-euro data center in Finland
Finland has become a magnet ?for data centers ?as companies including Microsoft and Google look to curb energy ?costs and meet climate goals.
Corporate support for employees raising children is gaining momentum, as companies face growing pressure to better accommodate the diverse needs of employees.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 8, 2026
More Japanese firms providing benefits for parents with sick children
An increasing number of employees returning from parental leave are struggling to find care if their children fall ill.
Russia is pushing its Max social media platform in a heavy-handed rollout that has raised concerns that Moscow will use the app to surveil its citizens and further cut digital links to the West.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Russia¡¯s Max: The unencrypted super-app being forced on citizens
Max is being rolled out with a massive promotion campaign and the simultaneous blocking of Whatsapp and Telegram, the country¡¯s two most popular messenger apps.
People in Japan get among the fewest hours of sleep in the world, with the OECD data showing that the average amount is 7 hours and 22 minutes ¡ª far shorter than the global average of 8 hours and 28 minutes.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 17, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ health ministry to allow clinics to add sleep disorders as their specialties
The move aims to make it easier for people to find doctors who can treat insomnia and other sleep-related health issues.
Brian Yun, co-founder and CEO of Woodstock, at the company's headquarters in Tokyo. According to the company, 62% of its users are under the age of 40, and 56% have no prior investing experience.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 16, 2026
Tokyo startup betting free trades and small lots will draw young investors
Woodstock allows customers to trade U.S. stocks 24 hours a day.
Smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2026
Iranians evade internet blackout to share images of airstrikes
Photos are being shared over social media and Telegram, while digital activists map the strikes in real time to help keep citizens informed and safe.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company&#039;s warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo&#039;s Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn&#039;t just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it&#039;s an ingredient.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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