Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. Global app spending reached […]
Japan
Trending topics and news from the Japan category
Back to news homeWhy Is This Colorful Little Wheel Suddenly Everywhere in Japan?
TOKYO — A few years ago, a colorful new accessory suddenly began to appear on the lapels of dark-suited salarymen across Japan: a small badge, shaped like a roulette wheel […]
Dioseve wants to help infertile people with tech that grows egg cells
Based in Japan, biotech startup Dioseve’s ambitious goal is to grow human oocytes, or eggs, from other tissue. Its aim is to help people struggling with infertility, and it recently […]
Snapchat officially introduces parental controls through a new ‘Family Center’ feature
Snapchat today is rolling out its first set of parental controls, after announcing last October it was developing tools that would allow parents to gain better visibility into how their […]
SoftBank Reports $23 Billion Loss as Tech Investments Plummet
The past two years have sent Mr. Son on a new roller coaster ride. The pandemic initially drove SoftBank’s investments in big-name tech companies into the ground, sent them soaring, […]
Mobile users are now spending 4-5 hours per day in apps
Although the mobile app boom driven by pandemic lockdowns has long since passed, consumers’ mobile usage is still growing. According to new data released today by app intelligence firm data.ai […]
Japanese e-commerce enabler AnyMind raises funding in equity, debt for acquisitions
The pandemic has triggered more demand for online shopping and fueled many smaller retailers to establish their own online offerings. Japanese commerce enabler AnyMind, which helps brands and influencers’ online […]
Japan’s gaming blockchain builder Oasys raises $20M in private token sale
Veterans from the established gaming world are flocking to web3. Whether they do it out of a fear of missing out or genuine belief in blockchain technologies, the trend appears […]
‘Move-to-earn’ Solana app StepN is latest crypto gaming craze
Since its launch in December, StepN, an app that lets users walk and run to earn tokens, has quickly become a household name in the play-to-earn blockchain gaming, or GameFi, […]
Japan’s Economy Shrank 1 Percent as Consumers Fled Covid
TOKYO — Last December, after two years of stop-and-go growth, Japan’s economic engine seemed like it might finally be revving up. Covid cases were practically nonexistent. Consumers were back on […]