A recent "fake news" scandal involving IT giant DeNA Co. shows how quickly bogus health information can make the rounds online. According to a 300-page report released last month by a third-party panel looking into the scandal, Welq -- one of the firm's 10 content curation sites and one that focused on health -- totally lacked the awareness that medical information should be handled carefully because inaccuracies can do serious harm to people's health. Instead, Welq worked hard to find an algorithm it could use to mass-produce articles that would dominate Google's search rankings. The site managers also naively believed that, in an era when the most rigorously researched and reported works of journalism struggle to sell, they could strike it rich as long as they kept readers attracted to the site, regardless of accuracy. As a result, some of the stories ended up looking like a bad joke, like the one that said ghosts might cause stiff shoulders.

It appears not many people are into investment in Japan. As of last December, only about 16 percent of Japan's 1.7 quadrillion in personal financial assets was held in stocks, investment trusts or bonds. This is partly due to a general belief that investments are for the affluent or those with financial expertise. Others, meanwhile, just don't want to take the risk. But a new service known as robo-advisers might change this trend, allowing people to dive into investments more easily.