Web 3.0

Mercari, a major player in Japan’s flea market app industry, announced new countermeasures this week to address the growing number of disputes occurring between buyers and sellers as more people turn to secondhand marketplaces.

Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s first Digital Minister known for advancing civic participation through technology, visited Japan to share insights on digital democracy. At a Tokyo event, Tang joined University of Tokyo professor Yutaka Matsuo, a leading expert in artificial intelligence, and Katsuya Uenoyama, CEO of AI developer PKSHA Technology, for a wide-ranging discussion on how AI can reshape democratic systems.

A popular Japanese health management app known as Asken has removed a scoring anomaly that users affectionately dubbed the “Jiro Bug”—a glitch that awarded disproportionately high health scores to meals including Jiro-style ramen.

Japan appears ready to restart its casino expansion plans. Reports from Hokkaido Shimbun suggest the government will launch fresh license applications for two more integrated resort projects.