Life

Life

Useful info and insights for daily life.
Smartphones Explainers SoftBank HAWKS Basketball

Sit Down but Don’t Pedal: A New Mobility Option Comes to Japan

With its extensive network of rail lines, trams, monorails and buses, Japan is well known for having a wide array of public transportation choices. There is still room for improvement, however, and new and complementary mobility options to…

How to Prevent the Risk of Hearing Loss When Using Headphones and Earphones

As people use headphones, earphones and earbuds with their smartphones more and more, some are likely to listen to music at high volumes while others may spend several hours each day with earphones in their ears. This kind of regular usage…

Visitors to Japan from 11 Countries and Regions Can Make Cashless Payments by Using PayPay’s QR Codes

2023 was a banner year for tourism in Japan as COVID-19 subsided and Japan re-opened its borders. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, visitor arrivals to Japan in December 2023 were 2.734 million, a record high for Decemb…

Tabist GINZA: Affordable and Comfortable Accommodation with Special Amenities in the Heart of Tokyo

During the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions made 2020 to 2022 a difficult time for hotel businesses in Japan. Amid this challenging time, Tabist, a SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) group company, was launched to offer new experiences tai…

Live in Japan and Plan to Travel to the US? Enjoy Unlimited Data Usage with “America Flat-rate”

For users of SoftBank Corp.’s ‘SoftBank’ mobile service in Japan thinking of traveling to the United States, there’s a unique service that may be of interest. Called “America Flat-rate” (or “America-houdai” in Japanese), the service gives …

Visiting Japan? Use This App to Find Free Wi-Fi, Discover Places to Go and Take Pictures with Local Mascots in AR

While Japan was mainly closed to travel when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, 2023 is seeing a revival of tourism as entry requirements ease. Many services and tools are appearing to help make the journey more enjoyable and convenient fo…

ZOZO’s “niaulab” Combines AI with Expert Tips to Help People Find the Style that Suits Them Best

With its e-commerce platform ZOZOTOWN supporting over 8,500 brands and 11 million customers in Japan*, ZOZO, Inc. is a well-known Internet apparel pioneer in the country. A SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) group company since 2019, ZOZO also m…

Bringing Meaningful DX to Companies in Japan: Interview with INCUDATA’s President

Digital Transformation (DX) is a term that continues to gain traction in the business world. While more companies are setting goals to promote DX so they can enhance their competitiveness, many companies are still finding it difficult to i…

SoftBank Corp. and Mapbox Japan Bring AI-powered Coaching and 3D Maps to “Tour de Tohoku 2022,” a Bicycle Event to Support Earthquake Recovery Efforts

On September 18, 2022, Yahoo Japan Corporation, a SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) group company, and Kahoku Shimpo Publishing Co., the Sendai-based publisher of a major newspaper in Japan’s Tohoku region, held Tour de Tohoku 2022, a bicycle e…

Visiting Japan? How to Stay Connected and Informed if a Disaster Strikes

While Japan was closed to tourism for approximately two years due to the global spread of COVID-19, in June 2022 it reopened its doors to guided tours in limited numbers. In September 2022, Japan began to further relax entry restrictions i…

The State of Cashless Around the World: A Deep Dive

Earlier this year, the editors of PayPay Inside-Out and SoftBank News teamed up to learn more about the state of cashless payments around the world by checking with PayPay employees, who hail from more than 40 countries and regions. As the…

SoftBank Corp.'s umamill Adds Halal-certified Japanese Foodstuffs to its Export Lineup

Walking through a grocery store, you may have noticed foodstuffs that show the “Halal Certified” mark. “Halal” means “permitted” in Arabic, and when a food product is halal certified, it means that it’s been prepared in accordance with Isl…

10 Ways to Maximize Your Smartphone’s Battery Life

Battery life is vital when using a smartphone. Sometimes it’s essential to conserve battery power, especially when you forget to charge up your smartphone or bring a portable charge on the go. Persistent heat can also drain battery life an…

Some Easy Ways to Conserve Power During Hot Summer Days

In late June this year, temperatures in Japan reached sweltering record highs. And, amidst a power shortage, the Japanese government called on households and businesses to reduce their energy consumption for the first time in seven years. …

SoftBank Corp. and SoftBank HAWKS Team Up to Provide New Ways to Enjoy Baseball in the Metaverse

The Fukuoka SoftBank HAWKS professional baseball team and SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) are collaborating to bring Fukuoka PayPay Dome—home stadium of the HAWKS—to the metaverse so fans can enjoy sports and entertainment in entirely new way…

HELLO CYCLING Bike-sharing Platform Gathers Speed as a Transportation Alternative

An extensive and efficient network of trains and buses often comes to mind when Japan’s transportation infrastructure is mentioned. To avoid crowded trains and get to locations between stations and bus stops, however, bike-sharing is gaini…

SoftBank Corp. Launches App to Make Life Easier for Foreign Workers New to Japan

Japan is facing considerable demographic challenges—including a low birthrate and an aging population—that are causing labor shortages and posing a threat to economic growth. Against this backdrop, in 2019 the Japanese government created a…

OYO Japan Rebrands as Tabist to Offer New, Localized Travel Experiences

On March 16, 2022, OYO Japan held a virtual press conference to announce it will re-launch under a new brand name, “Tabist.” OYO Japan’s President and Chief Executive Officer Ryota Tanozaki unveiled the new brand and company name that will…

SoftBank Corp. and Cameo Partner to Connect Fans with Their Favorite Pop Culture Icons from Japan

On February 16, 2022, SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) and Cameo, a US-based leading marketplace connecting the world's talent directly with their biggest fans, announced a commercial partnership that will expand Cameo's global network to Japa…

The State of Cashless Around the World: a PayPay Inside-Out and SoftBank News Collaboration

When talking about the group companies of SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), one would be remiss not to mention PayPay Corporation. Jointly formed by SoftBank Corp. and Yahoo Japan in 2018, in collaboration with India’s largest digital payment …

SoftBank Corp.’s “SureTalk” Converts Sign Language and Speech into Text to Surmount Communication Barriers

The need to communicate with others who use different languages is universal. Ongoing technological advances in machine translation software are gradually closing the communication gap to enable conversations among those who speak differen…

SoftBank Corp. and PayPay Collaborate with SEVEN-ELEVEN JAPAN to Boost Cashless Payments and Official App Usage

One the major strengths of SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) is its unparalleled number of customer touchpoints. This customer foundation spans SoftBank’s mobile and broadband subscribers (55 million), and the users of platforms provided by gro…

How SoftBank Corp. and Create Restaurants are Collaborating to Digitally Transform Japan's Restaurant Industry

In Tokyo, a state of emergency was declared for the fourth time in July 2021 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and restaurants in the metropolis were once again particularly impacted. The restaurant industry is experiencing a decline in …

SoftBank Corp.'s umamill Bring Japan's Culinary Delights to the World

Whether it's sushi or ramen noodles, Japanese food is enjoying an unprecedented boom around the world. But Japanese food is much more than sushi, tempura or ramen – there are all kinds of processed foods and snacks, drinks and ingredients …

How Do Mobile Networks in Japan Compare to Others Around the World? Opensignal’s Report Offers Insights

On October 2, 2020, UK-based mobile analytics firm Opensignal announced its Global Mobile Network Experiences Awards 2020, and in its report SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) was ranked the global no. 1 carrier for Voice App Experience and no. …

That’s Robot Entertainment! “Pepper” and “Spot” Team Up to Cheer on the SoftBank HAWKS

After an almost three month delay caused by the spread of COVID-19, professional baseball in Japan this season got off to a start in June, first with empty stadiums and then limited spectator admittance from July 10 in line with government…

Did Japan’s Edo Period Have a Sharing Economy? Looking at Past XaaS Offerings

In this day and age, we benefit from a multitude of Internet-based services, and the sharing economy, or XaaS—an abbreviation for ‘X (anything) as a Service’—in particular is getting a lot of attention recently. Among XaaS offerings, ride …

Pepper PARLOR: A Unique Café Experience in the Heart of Tokyo

Not far from the hustle and bustle of Shibuya’s “Scramble Square,” one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world, lies “Pepper PARLOR,” a café that offers a completely new dining experience. Pepper PARLOR is nestled among the array …

How to Stay Informed and Connected in Japan in the Event of a Disaster

Japan has seen typhoons of increasing intensity in recent years. Typhoon Hagibis and Typhoon Faxai caused especially widespread damage, flooding and outages in the Kanto region and other parts of Japan in the fall of 2019. Japan is also pr…

How Technology is Helping to Uphold a Legacy of High-quality Green Tea

Whether relaxing at home or entertaining important guests, nothing is more refreshing than green tea in Japan. Although popular since ancient times, in recent years green tea plantations have come up against a major issue: a lack of succes…