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Authorities in Japan are raising the alarm over a new, deceptively innocent social media scam that requires users to do one simple thing to earn some extra cash: take screenshots of videos. While it may seem like an easy side hustle, the scheme has caused an estimated ¥1 billion ($6.5 million) in total damages, with people losing ¥800,000 on average in each case. A total of 1,615 of such cases were reported in 2024, according to the Consumer Affairs Agency. Victims are asked to add a promotional account on the Line messaging app and go through a test run in which they send screenshots of certain videos and are paid around ¥100 electronically for each. Source link

Japan is considering introducing a system that enables publicly traded and other stock companies to identify de facto shareholders who do not appear in shareholder lists but who effectively exercise voting rights. The system will be included in a draft revision to the companies law being discussed by the Legislative Council, which advises the justice minister. Specifically, the council is likely to approve the idea of giving companies the right to demand that the shareholders through whom de facto holders exercise their influence disclose information on them. Source link

BANGKOK – Thailand is setting its sights on becoming a global gaming hub, with plans to build a casino industry that generates billions in revenue, draws some of the biggest names in the business and benefits a thriving tourism sector. But experts warn success will come only by playing its cards right on regulation, an area in which Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has a patchy record, such as its botched efforts to legalize cannabis in 2022. “They want a transparent process that will protect their investment with appropriate regulation,” said Fredric Gushin of Spectrum Gaming Group, which helped Singapore build its casino industry into the world’s No. 3, after Macau and Las Vegas. Source link

Labor unions at major Japanese automakers on Wednesday submitted their wage hike requests to the management side for this year’s shuntō spring labor-management talks. While the focus is on whether the strong pay hike momentum seen in last year’s shuntō can be maintained, the outlook is uncertain, with Nissan’s union significantly lowering its demand for bonuses. Negotiations are expected to intensify toward March 12, when many major companies will give their answers to their labor unions. Source link

Disney is removing diversity from the criteria for determining manager compensation, saying leaders will now be assessed, in part, on how well they uphold company values and incorporate different perspectives. Disney is also sunsetting the Reimagine Tomorrow inclusion program, which had drawn controversy. The conservative America First Legal Foundation filed a federal civil rights complaint against the company last year, claiming the program included directions for hiring that amounted to discrimination. The changes were announced in an internal memo from Chief Human Resources Officer Sonia Coleman sent to employees Tuesday. The Burbank, California-based entertainment giant is the latest company to soften its focus on diversity, equity and inclusion amid a growing backlash against such policies by predominantly conservative groups. In recent weeks, companies including McDonald’s, Amazon.com and Walmart have rolled back DEI programs, with President Donald Trump’s administration increasingly questioning their legality. “What won’t change is our commitment to fostering a company culture where everyone belongs and everyone can excel, enabling us to deliver the globally appealing entertainment that drives our business,” Coleman said in the memo. As part of the change, internal employee organizations devoted to particular groups are being renamed Belonging Employee Resource Groups to highlight that they are focused on strengthening the workplace experience rather than the business as a whole. They were previously called Business Employee Resource Group. Axios reported earlier on the changes, adding that they also include different language in the content warnings that run before some films on the Disney+ streaming service. Instead of saying a movie “includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of peoples or cultures,” the new wording says “this program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions,” Axios reported. Source link

China has removed a contentious buoy it placed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, Tokyo and Beijing said, in a move that could help clear the way for an anticipated leaders’ summit this year. Japan’s top government spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the buoy near the Senkakus, which are also claimed by China, had been removed a day earlier. “The Japan Coast Guard has confirmed that the buoy, which was installed in July 2023 within Japan’s EEZ in the East China Sea, is no longer in those waters,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said, adding that a buoy had been spotted at a new location outside Japan’s EEZ, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from Japanese territory. Source link

Canberra – Australia wants to deepen cooperation with Japan in the field of decarbonization, Nancy Gordon, the country’s commissioner-general for the upcoming Osaka Expo, said in a recent interview. Australia will focus on themes such as new energy and decarbonization, and seek to use the Osaka Expo running from April to October as a “platform to strengthen and deepen our relationship with Japan,” Gordon said. “We hope that (events at the expo) will forge some connections to encourage Japan to invest in these areas,” she added, listing areas for possible cooperation such as critical minerals, green metals produced using renewable energy, and carbon capture and storage. That is what the Australian Embassy in Tokyo and the Consulate-General in Osaka do already, Gordon continued. “What we want to do with the expo is we want to bring it up to the next level.” She also said that her country will focus on the topic of sustainability, pointing out that the Australian pavilion at the expo utilizes reusable steel trusses from the Tokyo Olympic Games. “We’re trying to make sure that it’s a circular economy,” she said. Canberra aims to promote collaboration in the field of space technology. Its expo pavilion is slated to hold an event with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, with which Australia has had “a very long, close collaboration.” The field of medicine is also a major area of focus, with Gordon expressing a wish to promote “Australia as a destination for clinical trials.” Regarding goods trade, Australia will seek to promote “not just Aussie beef, but also Australian seafood and wine,” as well as First Nations tea. Source link

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that the Trump administration will work to make the U.S. the “gold standard worldwide” for artificial intelligence as he issued strong warnings against regulating political speech. Speaking Tuesday to an audience in Paris that included several European Union leaders, he took particular aim at the bloc’s tough regulatory approach to social media platforms and AI, accusing it of trying to clamp down on Silicon Valley. “The Trump administration is troubled by reports that some foreign governments are considering tightening the screws on U.S. tech companies with international footprints,” Vance said during an AI summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. “Now America cannot and will not accept that, and we think it’s a terrible mistake, not just for the United States of America, but for your own countries.” Source link

U.S. President Donald Trump backed off his threat to withhold aid for Jordan after King Abdullah II agreed during a White House meeting to accept 2,000 ill children from Gaza. Trump on Tuesday reiterated his desire for the U.S. to take ownership of Gaza, but Abdullah sidestepped questions about the lightning-rod plan, saying he would discuss the future of the territory at an upcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia once Egypt presents its proposal. The U.S. president called the king’s offer to resettle sick children a “beautiful” gesture and heaped praise on the Jordanian leader. Source link

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all hostages held by the militant group in the Gaza Strip by midday Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out.” Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But in a wide-ranging session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with the condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement by the militant group that it would halt further releases. Source link