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August 11, 2026
 

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PRIVACY

A Flock camera is mounted on a pole under a solar panel in Commerce City, Colorado, on Wednesday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Aug 9, 2026
Angers mounts in U.S. over vast network of car license plate cams
Flock is used by the police and homeowners¡¯ associations but opponents believe the cameras are a dangerous tool that can infringe on privacy and civil liberties.
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 surveillance camera is seen near a Chinese flag in Shanghai on Aug. 2, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 5, 2026
How China keeps tabs on foreigners
A futuristic dashboard ¡ª like something from the movie ¡°Minority Report¡± ¡ª that appeared to track foreigners in a city was uncovered by an Amsterdam-based cybersecurity researcher.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Friday
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 15, 2026
Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, lawsuit claims
The lawsuit ?says that the company relied on factors such as productivity and AI token usage when it slashed thousands of jobs earlier this year.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi&#039;s administration aims to enact anti-espionage legislation at an early date.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2026
LDP to propose allowing warrantless communications interception
The initiative will be a major pillar of anti-espionage legislation that the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to enact soon.
Japan logged over 19,000 personal data breaches in fiscal 2025, the second-highest annual total on record.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2026
Japan logs over 19,000 personal data breaches in fiscal 2025
It is the second-highest annual total on record, eclipsed only by the previous year¡¯s 21,007 cases.
The logo of social media company Meta. As the tech behemoth spends billions annually to build out its artificial intelligence capabilities, employees at Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are increasingly unhappy with their Mark Zuckerberg-led parent company.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 2, 2026
Fear and anger brew inside Meta amid AI frenzy
After weathering layoffs, some Meta employees were reassigned to an internal artificial intelligence training initiative that has drawn accusations of surveillance.
Aflac Japan reported a data breach on Tuesday that affected over 4 million customers.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2026
Aflac Japan reports data breach affecting over 4 million customers
For about 230,000 customers, information about premium payment accounts was also compromised.
Google and Apple are among a group of technology companies that have expressed opposition to a proposed law in Canada allowing police more access to citizens¡¯ data.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 27, 2026
Apple and Google blast Canada¡¯s plan to give police more access to citizen data
The Canadian government is defending the Lawful Access Act, saying it¡¯s designed to ensure police have the legal tools to ¡°prevent, investigate and respond¡± to modern crime.
The House of Representatives passes a bill to revise the personal information protection law with support from the ruling bloc and the Democratic Party for the People on Tuesday at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2026
Lower House approves bill to revise personal information protection law
The bill includes a provision requiring businesses that repeatedly commit violations to pay fines equivalent to the earned profit to state coffers.
Temporary street signs warn pedestrians of a Metropolitan Police live facial recognition operation in London on May 11.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 25, 2026
On London¡¯s streets, facial recognition tests the balance between security and liberty
Britain has long been one of the world¡¯s heaviest users of CCTV cameras in public spaces, and Londoners can be caught ?on film up to several ?hundred times a day.
Tokyo Detention House guidelines dictate that CCTV surveillance can be used when detainees are at risk of suicide or self-harm, or when there is concern they may try to escape.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 20, 2026
Female death row inmate sues Japan government over 24/7 surveillance
A death-row inmate says she¡¯s been surveilled 24/7 for 24 years. Now, she¡¯s suing the Japanese government for a breach of human rights.
A technician in the server room of the Sberbank PJSC data processing center at the Skolkovo Innovation Center, Moscow, in 2017. The European Union passed new legislation regulating the sale of surveillance technologies in 2021.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 12, 2026
Europe exported spyware to human rights abusers, watchdog says
Human Rights Watch¡¯s findings indicate that European Union regulations introduced in 2021 to rein in exports of the technology are not being properly enforced.
An attendee holds a sign during an Alberta separatist event in Calgary in January.
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2026
Alberta independence activists are embroiled in voter data scandal
The fact separatist activists had the list of electors has caused a political furor in Canada, and it has raised questions around privacy ahead of a potential vote on independence.
A top Google scientist warned EU antitrust regulators that its proposal ?requiring the company to share search engine data with rivals risked exposing ?users&#039; private information.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 6, 2026
Top Google scientist says EU data measures pose privacy risk for users
The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, has in recent years cracked down on Big Tech via a slew of legislation.
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.
The Justice Ministry setting up a study panel regarding the misuse of generative artificial intelligence comes amid a sharp rise in such cases and concerns legislation in Japan has not kept up with the rapid advancement of AI.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2026
Government to launch study panel for generative-AI misuse
With a meeting scheduled for late April, the group will examine civil liability for the unauthorized use of people¡¯s likenesses and voices.
Some U.S. lawyers are telling their clients not to ?treat AI chatbots like trusted confidants when their freedom or legal liability is on the line.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 16, 2026
AI ruling prompts warnings from U.S. lawyers: Your chats could be used against you
Warnings have grown after a federal judge in New York ruled this year that the former CEO of a bankrupt financial services company could not shield his AI chats from prosecutors.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the Prime Minister&#039;s Office ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The government has submitted a bill to the Lower House to introduce fines for serious violations of the personal information protection law.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 8, 2026
Japan to fine repeat violators of personal info law
The government hopes the move will have a deterrent effect by making clear to businesses that violations could incur economic penalties.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (center) has denied any involvement in the leaking of the private information of a whistleblower who died in July 2024.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2026
Hyogo governor not indicted over information leak case
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito has denied any involvement in the leaking of the private information of a whistleblower who died in July 2024.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
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.
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&#039;s largest summer o-Bon festivals.
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.
¡®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.
¡®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.
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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