今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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DIGITALIZATION

MUFG Emut will be the first bank affiliated with a major Japanese financial group not to issue cash cards.
BUSINESS
Nov 4, 2026
MUFG Emut Bank to operate without cash cards
MUFG Emut will be the first bank affiliated with a major Japanese financial group not to issue cash cards.
The Digital Agency has launched a trial of an artificial intelligence-powered app to help government officials draft answers to lawmakers’ questions and understand their intent ahead of parliamentary sessions.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2026
Digital Agency offers AI app to help draft parliamentary answers
The artificial intelligence app also helps government officials better understand the intent behind lawmakers’ questions in advance.
The Gennai Library system enables government staff to share their knowledge and expertise.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2026
Digital Agency adds AI agent to Gennai government platform
The Digital Agency’s Gennai generative AI platform is available to about 180,000 government employees.
Digital minister Toshiharu Furukawa during a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2026
Digital Agency reports data breach via website vendor
Web design platform Studio Co., which oversees parts of the Digital Agency’s website, said there was a security breach between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
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.
Following the rollout of an electronic warrant system, police officers will be able to obtain arrest warrants from courts online instead of needing to visit them in person.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 20, 2026
Electronic warrant system to be rolled out in Tokyo and nearby areas by March
Currently, police officers need to visit courts in person to obtain printed arrest and search warrants.
High school textbooks for use from fiscal 2027 will have QR codes that allow students to access materials online.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2026
Japan considering paper-digital hybrid textbooks as standard
The education ministry’s plan calls for placing more emphasis on paper-based materials while giving a supplementary role to digital materials.
The Nagoya District Court in Nagoya
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2026
Nagoya court dismisses lawsuit filed on paper under digital civil litigation rules
The lawsuit was thrown out by the Nagoya District Court under rules requiring legal representatives to submit civil court documents online.
Elderly people attend a class on how to navigate AI-powered applications in Seoul on July 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 14, 2026
South Korea aims to save seniors lost in digital age
The gray digital divide has become a growing issue in the “superaged society,” which is also home to world-leading smartphone and memory chipmakers.
Osaka Metro already has QR code readers installed on its ticket gates to accommodate passengers who purchase digital tickets using its smartphone app.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2026
Osaka Metro to phase out magnetic tickets by around fiscal 2031: report
The rail operator plans to completely replace magnetic tickets with QR code ones, which it already uses.
The Justice Ministry plans to seek increased funding in fiscal 2027 to strengthen immigration and residency management amid a surge in foreign visitors.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2026
Justice Ministry eyes budget boost for policies on foreign nationals
The ministry is set to request a total of some ?985.6 billion for the year from next April, up 15.7% from the fiscal 2026 initial budget level.
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.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (third from left) speaks at a meeting of the digital administrative and fiscal reform council, held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2026
Japan to launch council to overhaul legal frameworks governing AI use
The government is seeking to advance what is described as AI transformation, or a fundamental review of work using AI, to cope with population decline.
Although paper customs forms are still available?in many cases, it is no longer standard practice to hand them out on all flights.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 22, 2026
Japan to fully digitalize airport customs system by 2030
The phasing-out of paper customs declaration forms is among measures eyed by the Finance Ministry to handle the inbound movement of people and goods more efficiently.
The House of Councilors plenary session enacted a bill Wednesday to revise the Civil Code to overhaul the country's adult guardianship system for certain people such as those with dementia.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 17, 2026
Japan enacts bill overhauling guardianship system
The revision will allow people to opt out of support under the adult guardianship system based on their needs.
The use of official digital textbooks is expected to start as early as April 2030, after they go through government inspections in fiscal 2028.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 10, 2026
Japan makes digital textbooks for schools official
Under the new legal framework, education boards will decide which type of textbooks schools under their jurisdiction should adopt — print, digital or a digital-print “hybrid.”
JR East said that the switch to the QR code tickets will eliminate ticket jams inside automated gates.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2026
JR East to shift from magnetic to QR code tickets in 2027
JR East said removing the nonrecyclable magnetic layer on the back of the conventional tickets will help reduce environmental impact.
Manatomo Yoneyama, president of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, speaks during an interview at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on May 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2026
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust mulls up to ?380 billion in digital investment
The bank also plans to spend ?30 billion to optimize its operations and reposition some 900 employees to client-facing roles.
The parliament enacted legislation Wednesday allowing local governments to issue digital debt securities.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2026
Japan enacts bill enabling digital issuance of local government bonds
At a plenary meeting, the Upper House passed legislation to revise multiple laws related to local autonomy, based on proposals from local governments.
A customer at a supermarket in Yokohama. Under a planned food-labeling revision, consumers will be able to scan QR codes on processed food packages to access detailed product information.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 17, 2026
Japan to introduce QR code food labels to improve readability
The adoption of digital technology for food labeling is part of a broader international trend.
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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