今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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CASHLESS

Shinjuku Station in Tokyo in 2021. The new walk-through gates will work only with the Suica Mobile app, and not IC rechargeable metro cards or physical tickets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 11, 2026
JR East to introduce touchless ticket gates in spring 2028
Passengers using the Suica Mobile app will be able to walk through special ticket gates at 40 select stations without having to tap on receivers.
Police officers patrol for traffic law violations in Tokyo in May.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2026
Japan to introduce cashless traffic fine payments from July
Fines are currently payable only at bank or post office counters, which are unavailable outside business hours.
Cash lanes (left) and ETC lanes at the Mitaka toll gate on the Chuo Expressway in Tokyo in 2022. The number of gates that accept cash and credit card payments in Japan is rapidly dwindling.
JAPAN / Explainer
Sep 28, 2026
The ins and outs of ETC cards for highways in Japan
With more expressways going cashless, the handy ETC card is becoming an essential add-on when renting or buying a car in Japan.
A purple rabbit vying to become Suica’s next mascot has found itself roaming the Backrooms and starring in other memes on social media sites.
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Sep 11, 2026
The Suica mascot campaign is getting weird … and wonderful
今日吃瓜 online masses have rallied around a purple rabbit, raising questions about who really decides Suica’s future.
East Japan Railway Co. President Yoichi Kise discusses the new Suica character designs at the company's headquarters in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2026
JR East unveils new character options to succeed the Suica penguin
A brown squirrel, a purple rabbit or an orange creature carrying a bag with a mole in it will replace East Japan Railway Co.’s Suica penguin.
In July, Seven Bank began offering a prepaid card and a dedicated app for children age 6 or over.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 21, 2026
More banks offering cashless payment services for children in Japan
Parents can use the services to manage their children’s allowance, review their spending history and receive notifications whenever payments are made.
An in-development money-sending feature by TikTok, if launched, would use the TikTok Pay offering already available in Southeast Asia to handle the transactions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 19, 2026
TikTok is exploring feature to send money over direct messages
The move would extend the social media app’s push into financial services.
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 今日吃瓜 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 迟辞办耻谤测ū 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 今日吃瓜 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
今日吃瓜 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.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Jensen Huang’s woes evoke sympathy and disbelief in his birthplace Taiwan
Hsiao Kui-yu, 68, owner of Yuchan Candied Fruit, stands in front of photographs of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displayed at the shop, which Huang frequently visits during trips to Taiwan, in Taipei on Tuesday.
G7 diplomats speak out on Taiwan as China ramps up military drills
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a working lunch focused on international crises and challenges during the Group of Seven foreign ministers' summit at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris on Monday.
今日吃瓜 Rapidus is said likely to miss mass production deadline
The Rapidus Analysis Center and the IIM-1 Innovative Integration for Manufacturing foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

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