Various corporations implement loyalty programs through the utilization of point cards, which incentivize consumers through effective point redemption schemes. Furthermore, multiple corporations form strategic alliances utilizing common points, such as T-points and Ponta points, in order to establish their own economic zones.

However, some individuals hold a negative perception towards point redemption programs, as they may find it irksome when sales associates inquire about their possession of a point card on every purchase. Additionally, exercising caution when utilizing point cards is recommended, as the pursuit of points may lead to excessive spending.

This study aims to investigate the inclination towards points among consumers by analyzing the correlation between the perceived value of four types of points (T point, ponta point, WAON point and nanaco point) and consumers' personal characteristics, using samples of people in their 20s to 50s. The results of this analysis indicate that individuals who possess weaker economic standing or those who value detailed and comprehensive information when making purchases tend to hold a higher perceived value towards T point, ponta point, WAON point. However, further examination is necessary to understand why this trend is not reflected in the case of nanaco point, as it may be attributed to the mechanism of nanaco point, such as the fact that points are not awarded for cash payments, and credit card users receive preferential treatment.

In 2019, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) was enacted in Singapore. POFMA is a law regulating so-called ‘fake news’ and ‘disinformation,’ but it does not use these terms. Instead, it refers to ‘false statements of fact.’ This paper examines the criticisms regarding the Singapore government’s definition of a ‘false statement of fact,’ which has been considered ambiguous, and the counter-arguments against such criticisms. Specifically, this paper examines whether the definition of ‘false statement of fact’ is unique compared to existing definitions of fake news and disinformation in light of the key issues in defining them. In doing so, this research finds that the definition of ‘false statement fact’ employs jurisprudential logic rarely seen in previous studies defining fake news and disinformation. The logic has led to discrepancies and frictions in the legislative and implementation process between politicians and ministers of the ruling People's Action Party and critics of POFMA. In particular, the distinction between fact and opinion, the examination of communicators' intent, and how to determine falsity became significant issues in developing POFMA. Still, determining these distinctions and examinations became possible only after the implementation of POFMA and the accumulation of precedents.

This paper examines the factors affecting the internet use as a source of parenting information among mothers of elementary and junior high school children. The knowledge gap hypothesis and the digital divide thesis presume that the information gap by socioeconomic status (SES) will increase with the spread of the internet and its use as a new source of parenting information. We estimate a hybrid model that distinguishes between inter-individual differences (between-level) and intra-individual changes (within-level) using data from Wave 1 (FY 2015) and Wave 4 (FY 2018) of the “Japanese Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents.” Results indicate that at the between level, mothers with higher level of education and household income tend to use the internet as a source of parenting information. Mothers who used friends and acquaintances, schools and cram schools, and mass media as sources of parenting information were also more likely to use the internet. At the within level, household income had a positive effect on internet use among mothers whose children were in the first through third grades of elementary school at Wave 1. In addition, the use of relatives, schools, and cram schools as sources of parenting information had a positive effect on internet use, while the use of mass media had a negative effect for those whose children were in the first to third grades of junior high school at Wave 1. Because mothers with higher levels of education and household income, and those who have other sources of parenting information, tend to use the internet as a source of parenting information, it seems that the emergence of the internet as a means of obtaining parenting information has widened the gaps in parenting information.

Some science fiction works have suggested the potential for our society by depicting a technocultural society in the future. Thus, this study analyzes Harmony from the viewpoint of what kind of body and self a networked society would create.

Harmony depicts a society in which people form a public body by connecting with and submitting to the medical network system that maintains their health. In that society, becoming a private body is required for breaking the relationship full of “resource awareness,” that is, “disconnection.” Harmony also envisions a world where human beings are said to be “completed.” In Harmony , human beings are guided to the world where the “I” that wills “disconnection” no longer exists, and a private body does not appear. In other words, it is a fixed and unchanging world where no new relationships are created.

Paradoxically, Harmony highlights the consciousness of “I” that emerges in an individual concrete situation where bodies are embedded. That “I” is only an assemblage of fragments that is the result of adaptation to the situation. It is not a firm existence. However, along with the consciousness of “I,” the ethics of “disconnection” appears as a strategy for maintaining oneself.

Recently, a posthumanist focuses on the concept of “ technologies of the self, “ which Michel Foucault presented. Also, the author, Project Itoh, suggests that we should start with the “technologies of the self” in order to explore a networked society in which individual members flexibly transform and maintain themselves.