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August 12, 2026
 

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CASHLESS

Supporters of a digital euro argue that ?it would reduce the euro zone¡¯s dependence on U.S. payment firms such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 14, 2026
Europe¡¯s digital euro: What it is and how it would work
The negotiations on rules for a digital euro aim to produce a final law by the end of the year and have it launch in 2029.
The Logo of 7-Eleven is displayed at a convenience store in Tokyo in March last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 11, 2026
SoftBank said to consider buying stake in retailer Seven & i
The deal with PayPay would unite Â鶹´«Ã½ dominant payments operator with its biggest convenience store operator.
The European Union will move one step closer on Tuesday to creating a digital euro when EU lawmakers hold a long-awaited vote on the virtual currency.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2026
EU looks to digital euro to cut reliance on U.S. payment technology
European officials often point to Washington¡¯s 2025 sanctions against International Criminal Court judges to illustrate the grip of U.S. firms.
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.
An expressway toll gate in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, that only accepts cars equipped with ETC systems
JAPAN
May 6, 2026
ETC-only expressway gates increasing as Japan ditches cash toll payments
The number of interchanges that do not allow toll payments with credit cards and cash is increasing as Japanese operators aim to complete the transition by fiscal 2030.
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.
Tokyo-based PayPay priced the initial public offering of American depositary receipts at $16 apiece for its U.S. stock exchange debut.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2026
PayPay and SoftBank raise $879.8 million in payments firm¡¯s U.S. IPO
It is the biggest listing for a Japanese company on a U.S. stock exchange in a decade.
Beverage companies have been forced to rethink the vending machine business.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 12, 2026
Is Japan pulling the plug on vending machines?
Competition and cost-consciousness conspire against the ubiquitous, and legendary, beverage sales channel.
PayPay and a SoftBank Group unit aim to raise up to $1.1 billion in what would be the largest-ever U.S. IPO by a Japanese company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2026
PayPay and SoftBank seek $1.1 billion in payments firm¡¯s U.S. IPO
The digital payments firm¡¯s initial public offering is expected to price on March 11.
PayPay's Nasdaq listing could be the largest ever by a Japanese company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2026
PayPay files for U.S. IPO and Nasdaq listing
The biggest mobile payments service in Japan is also seeking to expand its business in the U.S.
Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, has said that stablecoin issuers can become major buyers of government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 5, 2026
Stablecoins likely to be a factor, not a game changer, in Â鶹´«Ã½ bond market
Issuers might not buy up enough long-term debt to make a big difference.
The year-end balance of bank notes in circulation in Japan fell for a third consecutive year amid the rise of cashless payments, according to data released Tuesday by the Bank of Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 31, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ year-end balance of bank notes in circulation falls for 3rd straight year
The declining trend emerges as consumers embrace cashless payments.
East Japan Railway displays a concept graphic for its Suica Renaissance strategy at the Mass-Trans Innovation Japan event last month at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 21, 2025
Teppay is key to JR East¡¯s growth strategy as Suica e-money loses ground
Data about shopping and travel habits are essential for the company¡¯s real estate and urban development businesses.
SBI Holdings subsidiary Shinsei Trust and Banking is set to issue a yen-based stablecoin next year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ first bank-backed yen-based stablecoin could be available by June 2026
The hope is that it will be used for the settlement of payments locally and globally
JR East is retiring the beloved Suica penguin as part of a rebrand to transform the contactless payment platform, used for both transit and retail, into a mobile fintech powerhouse.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 16, 2025
A beloved Tokyo penguin¡¯s end presages Suica¡¯s shift to payments giant
Since Suica¡¯s introduction in 2001, the penguin has featured on transit cards and apps that are used daily by the tens of millions who traverse the world¡¯s largest metropolis.
Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, acknowledges a number of potential risks related to stablecoins.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 14, 2025
Stablecoins: Boring goes big, and now in Japan
They are designed not to fluctuate in value, and that¡¯s precisely what makes them attractive.
Mobile Suica is being improved so that it is more useful in an increasingly cashless society.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2025
Penguin-less Suica to take on PayPay in payments with QR codes and higher limits
Balance limits will go from ?20,000 on the current e-money system to ?300,000.
Noritaka Okabe, head of Japanese startup JPYC, at a news conference for the first yen stablecoin in Tokyo on Monday
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 27, 2025
JPYC, world¡¯s first yen stablecoin, is issued
One-second transfers costing less than ?1 could become a reality.
The Slussen transport hub in Stockholm. Nordic and Baltic governments are increasingly concerned about Russian "hybrid war¡± attacks ¡ª low-level but highly disruptive tactics that disrupt infrastructure and services.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2025
Sweden¡¯s cashless society could be more vulnerable to hybrid war attacks
With 90% of transactions in the country being done digitally, cyberattacks that couple with psychological operations can spark widespread panic.
A sightseeing cart drawn by a water buffalo in Yubu Island in Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2025
Contactless payments to become option for Okinawa water buffalo cart rides
With the contactless payment option, the water buffalo cart operator¡¯s ticket counter work is expected to become less burdensome and more efficient.
¡®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.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
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'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't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

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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