Virtual kanpai!: Drinking parties go online as coronavirus keeps people at home
More drinking parties are being held online in Japan as people increasingly stay home in self-isolation to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 and pubs operate for shorter hours at the request of local authorities. With major Japanese cities set to remain under a state ...
Insta wars: China tensions in Southeast Asia flare online in battle of memes
Social media anger from Chinese nationalists over a Thai internet model's comments on the coronavirus has set off a storm, uniting pro-democracy campaigners against pro-Beijing cyberwarriors, with insults and mocking memes flying. The quarrel, which has seen Southeast Asian internet users join forces with those ...
Japan's nightlife entertainers head to cyberspace to dodge virus, host clients online
Hosts and hostesses in Japan's famous nightlife industry are turning to remote entertainment sessions as the COVID-19 pandemic forces them to create a safer environment to survive the public safety crisis. YouTuber Reiko Naka, who has about 10,000 subscribers, announced the official opening of her ...
Setting ‘simple’ standards is critical diplomacy
China is trying to put its stamp on “standard setting,” a little understood and even less appreciated dimension of international engagement.
Coronavirus forces Japanese firms to weigh hybrid online-offline shareholders meetings
Corporate law requires firms to set a physical venue for the meeting, but the government has confirmed online options are legal — with a caveat.
Over half of students in Japan positive about taking lectures online
As many institutions delay the start of classes amid the coronavirus epidemic, a majority of university and postgraduate students in Japan are willing to participate in interactive online lectures, a recent survey showed. But while 59.2 percent were positive about online classes, 21.0 percent said ...
French court cancels fine on Google over right to be forgotten
Google won a battle over the right to be forgotten after France's top administrative court canceled a fine of €100,000 ($111,000) for failing to remove contentious search results globally. France's Council of State threw out the 2016 penalty, following guidance from the European Union's highest ...
SoftBank joins ultrafast 5G race as domestic competition heats up
SoftBank Corp. launched its ultrafast 5G wireless offerings Friday, joining rivals NTT Docomo Inc. and KDDI Corp. in a battle to attract customers looking for seamless video and game streaming. The 5G services will initially cover a very limited area but will be expanded to ...
KDDI rolls out 5G service in Japan with first unlimited data plan
KDDI Corp. on Thursday became Japan's second carrier to launch ultrafast 5G wireless services, also becoming the only one to offer a monthly 5G plan of unlimited data. KDDI, operator of the au brand, entered the market after NTT Docomo Inc., the industry leader in ...
NTT Docomo Inc. launched fifth-generation large-capacity ultrahigh-speed mobile phone services Wednesday, becoming the first in Japan to do so. Rivals KDDI Corp. and Softbank Corp. are set to follow suit on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Rakuten Inc. plans to enter the 5G market in June. With ...
Netflix to slash traffic across Europe to relieve virus strain on internet providers
Netflix will cut traffic by 25 percent on networks across Europe in a relief measure for internet service providers (ISPs) experiencing a surge in usage due to government "shelter in place" orders aimed at slowing the coronavirus outbreak. The streaming giant, which has already deployed ...
Google critics see its Firebase tools as another squeeze play
Some app developers say Google LLC is increasingly pressing them to embed code in their own products that will deepen Google's access to data on consumers, giving the company a leg up on rivals. The previously unreported concerns about Firebase, a set of software that ...
