News On Japan

Standard QR payment system planned

Mar 17 (NHK) - Smartphone users in Japan may soon start enjoying a faster and easier shopping experience. The country's 3 major banks say they're going to join hands to standardize a single payment system using QR code.

The banks are Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho Bank.

The head of the Japanese Bankers Association says QR code standards currently differ among providers.

That means retailers must install multiple systems.

IT giant Rakuten and social networking service provider LINE have already introduced their own QR payment systems.

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A Japanese government information-gathering satellite has successfully been put into a planned orbit around Earth. (NHK)

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The Hakamada case, a decades-long legal struggle, ended with an acquittal for Iwao Hakamada (88), who, along with his sister Hideko, fought for 58 years. Hakamada was suspected of the 1966 murder of a miso company executive’s family.

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