Line users personal data put at risk in China
It has come to light that engineers at a Chinese company entrusted with system management of messaging app provider Line were able to access personal information of Japanese users.
Japanese privacy protection regulations stipulate that consent of users must be obtained before their personal information is transferred to a foreign country. Line failed to provide users with a sufficient explanation regarding foreign access to their data. The company reported the matter to the government s panel on personal information protection.
Line has about 86 million users in Japan. Its parent company Z Holdings has decided to set up an in-house committee to investigate and rectify the situation.
Consumers in Japan continued to keep a tight hold on their wallets in the second half of last month.
They spent less on dining and tourism amid the country's second state of emergency to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan's government will likely decide as early as Thursday whether to lift the coronavirus state of emergency currently in place for Tokyo and three nearby prefectures.
NHK World
The ongoing state of emergency in the greater Tokyo area is causing problems for shift workers, as well as the late-night eateries they rely upon. A key measure of the Japanese government s coronavirus crackdown is a request for all restaurants to close at 8 p.m.
The request came into effect in January, and has been widely followed. But the owners of some establishments have made considered decisions to stay open later.
The operator of a Chinese restaurant in Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, says his customers come first. Yang Sanggoo s restaurant has been open for 37 years in an industrial suburb. Its usual hours are 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and it services factory workers and long-distance truck drivers. After coming home late from work, I don t have the energy left to cook, says one customer. I appreciate that this place is open until late at night.
A major Japanese railway company has announced it will extend its furlough program again to allow some employees take paid leave. It says the workload remains low because of weak passenger numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic.