Nipponica

Japan's opposition Sanseito party has informed news organizations that preregistration is required for attendance at regular press conferences by its leader, fueling concern that it is undermining freedom of the press and the public's right to know.

Looks like they got a copy of the fascist playbook from their meeting with AfD, but implemented with a very 21st century twist: "Admission is only possible after checking a box to indicate agreement with the party's stated terms and conditions."

The Mobile Software Competition Act is expected to come into force by December 2025. With Japan joining the EU and UK, there are now three jurisdictions where Apple will be required to permit browsers to run their own engines. As Japan prepares for enforcement, it is likely studying the regulatory approaches and challenges already unfolding in Europe and the UK.

As the EU and UK have already shown (UK MIR, CMA SMS case, EU DMA enforcement), enforcement will be a long and difficult process.

Now that Japan, the EU, and the UK all require Apple to support third-party browser engines, 2026 may become the decisive year in restoring browser competition on iOS. But much depends on regulators’ resolve, and on Apple’s willingness to comply in substance, not just form.

First person to port IE6 to iOS gets a free case of Mountain Dew Code Red on me.

A July survey in Japan found that 84.2% of respondents make use of code payments for purchases, using a barcode or QR code displayed on a smartphone. The survey was conducted by Kufū Company Holdings on 2,559 users of its household budgeting app and related services.

Code payments have become a standard for cashless transactions in Japan, even surpassing the 76.3% of respondents who use physical credit cards. The next most popular form of payment, at 69.8%, is electronic money, which includes systems used on public transportation such as Suica and Pasmo, or money issued by retailers like Aeon. Meanwhile, only a minority of respondents, at 14.7%, use debit cards.

QR and barcodes seem like a step back when we already have contactless payments like Suica. It is more expensive to support FeliCa but all terminals support it by now.

Japan's central government has yet to adopt a comprehensive national immigration policy despite a rise in foreign workers, leaving government agencies and local governments to handle issues individually, often in a haphazard manner.

The local governments want unified guidance at the national level but Tokyo is dropping the ball. There would be so much benefit and cost savings to centralize this kind of support but no political will to implement. Just another Thursday in Japan.

Seven & I Holdings said it will open 1,300 new international stores, mainly in the United States, in an update to its midterm plan after Circle-K operator Alimentation Couche-Tard dropped its ¥6.77 trillion ($44.9 billion) takeover proposal.

The company said it will also add 1,000 net new outlets in Japan as part of its growth strategy. The goal is to "satisfy changing customer needs with new formats and accelerate openings,” the operator of 7-Eleven stores said in a presentation Wednesday.

This article summarizes the Couche-Tard drama from the past year well. Ultimately, 7 along with its rivals Lawsons & FamilyMart are too vital to the functioning of Japanese society to be run by a foreign operator. I was very happy to see the Canadians surrender. Au revoir!

Megumi Fukushima, 44, has been sharing information on social media while clearly identifying herself as an assembly member in Tsurugashima. The assembly said the deluge of opinions and protests directed at the municipal government in response to her posts had disrupted city operations. Fukushima has criticized the resolution, saying it "infringes on her freedom of speech."

In her posts, Fukushima expressed opposition to discrimination against Kurdish residents, many of whom live in the city of Kawaguchi and other parts of Saitama Prefecture. The city reportedly received a high volume of inquiries and complaints about her posts between May and July, which put a burden on responding staff.

This is all kinds of fucked up. She is standing up for people that are being demonized by society and is being muzzled for doing so because it is too burdensome for city hall. Deal with it and understand that is the sole purpose of your job as civil servants.

“(Trump) is not a normal person. He’s someone who changes the rules,” Ishiba said in response to demands in parliament by opposition parties that the government draft a formal document to put in writing the recent trade deal Japan sealed with the U.S. that lowers onerous tariffs.

Credit where credit is due: this needs to be said out loud in more parliaments around the world.

The population of Japanese nationals in 2024 fell by around 908,000 from a year earlier to 120,653,227, declining for the 16th straight year and the largest drop since the current survey began in 1968, government data showed Wednesday.

The latest figures come as policymakers continue to struggle to reverse falling birthrates and regional depopulation, and while anxiety over record foreign resident numbers spurs some voters to turn to opposition parties touting slogans such as "Japanese First."

Nothing too groundbreaking in this article but interesting to hear that Hokkaido has the largest foreign resident growth in the whole country. These people have good taste.

Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya met with Tino Chrupalla, coleader of the hard-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party, at the Diet on Tuesday to exchange views on policies toward foreign nationals and other issues.

During the talks, Kamiya explained his policy of “imposing restrictions” on the entry of foreigners. Chrupalla reportedly responded, “I want you to see the German cities where the number of immigrants has increased too much.”

We already knew this is the kind of society these people in Sanseito wanted but might as well scream it from the rooftops with this AfD meeting.

Seiji Maehara, the opposition Japan Innovation Party's co-leader, said Tuesday he will step down to take responsibility for the party's poor national showing in July's House of Councillors election.

The party campaigned to reduce the social security burden in greying Japan, but failed to expand its support beyond its heartlands in the country's western Kansai region. A vote for Maehara's replacement will be held Friday, the party said.

A leader steps down over a poor result. Imagine that.