Using smartphone to settle payment in China: an unending evolution on a scale of 3000 trillion yen a year

Recently Nihon Keizai Shimbun electronic version reported the following:

中国スマホ決済、止まらぬ進化　年3000兆円規模に

ネット・IT 中国・台湾 アジアBiz

2019/9/15 23:00日本経済新聞　電子版

【上海=張勇祥】3000兆円近くに拡大した中国のスマートフォン決済が進化を続けている。支払いにとどまらず、医療や金融など重要な個人情報を扱うサービスにも広がる。それぞれ10億人規模の利用者を抱えるアリババ集団と騰訊控股（テンセント）は無数のビジネスを生んだ。あらゆる決済を捕捉する情報管理社会は先進国のビジネスと折り合えない部分もあるが、雇用を創り利便性を高めたとして中国人の信頼は高い。

アリババが本社を置く浙江省杭州。余杭第一人民医院では診察を待つ患者の姿が大きく減り、会計窓口でも人影はまばらだ。顔認証による予約から診察、支払いまで「手ぶらサービス」を導入したためだ。

スマホ決済の支付宝（アリペイ）から発展した。保険証とスマホ決済、顔データをひも付ければ診療予約はスマホで30秒で済む。診察室に顔認証用カメラを据え、診療結果の保存からアリペイを通じた支払いまでほぼ自動だ。

技術的には個人を見分ける顔認証や、銀行と資金をやり取りするアリペイを結びつけた程度だ。だがアリババは「看病難（医者にかかるのが難しい）」といわれた光景を一変させた。医療データを収集し、人工知能（AI）を活用した自動診断の新事業も探る。

民間調査では過去1年のスマホ決済は178兆元（約2700兆円）に達しなお伸びる。英調査会社RBRによると、世界のカード決済は2017年に25兆ドル（約2700兆円）強で、単純比較はできないが、ほぼ同規模に当たる。ICT総研（東京・千代田）によると日本のスマホを使ったキャッシュレス決済は18年度で1.1兆円にとどまる。

アリババが生んだ就業機会は関連産業を含め4千万に達したとの調査もある。10日に会長を退いた馬雲（ジャック・マー）氏はこの規模を1億人に広げ「アリババ経済圏を国内総生産とみなした場合、世界5位の『経済大国』を目指す」と語る。

絵空事ではない。日本経済新聞社が上海や江蘇省、浙江省などの50人余に実施したアンケートでは、過去1カ月に現金を一度も使わなかったとの回答が4割に上った。

江蘇省南京のソフトウエアエンジニア、胡明強さん（28）は7月に独フォルクスワーゲン（VW）のセダン「ラヴィーダ」を購入した。頭金の6万元はアリペイで決済した。胡さんが過去1カ月に現金を使ったのは「飲み物5元と駐車料金20元」という。

集まるデータは無数の新たなビジネスを生み出す。「利用限度額は8万元、利息は1日当たり残高の0.05%です」。アリペイのアプリで何回かタップすると「借唄」の画面に着く。傘下の金融会社を通じて手がける小口融資だ。

限度額や金利はAIが判断する。スマホ通販の淘宝網（タオバオ）で代金の踏み倒しはないか。アリペイで公共料金やスマホ利用料を滞納していないか。決済行動すべてが評価対象だ。与信枠を設け、利用者がクレジットカードのように後払いできる「花唄」というサービスも展開する。

AI融資の正確さは一般の金融機関をしのぐ。アリババは小口融資を数十億元ごとに一束にまとめ、投資家に売却して資金を回収する。その資料によると、融資が不良債権となる比率は17年6月時点で0.47%で、中国の商業銀行の平均の1.8%を下回る。

個人情報の保護を重んじる日米などの先進国とは異なり、薄気味悪さをしのぐ利便性や経済面のメリットがあれば受け入れるというのが中国を包む空気だ。日経のアンケートで現金主体の決済を貫いているとの答えは1人だけだった。スマホ決済の急激な拡大は中国特有の事情に支えられている面もある。

Translation

 [Shanghai = Zhang Yuxiang] Smartphone payments in China, which had expanded to nearly 3000 trillion yen, continued to evolve. It covered not only payment but also services that handled important personal information such as medical care and finance. The Alibaba group and Tencent, each with one billion users, had produced countless businesses. While an information management society that captured all settlement details would in some aspects could not be squared with business in developed countries, yet the trust of the Chinese was high because it created employment and improved convenience.

Alibaba had its headquarters at Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. The number of patients waiting for medical examinations at the Yohang 1st People's Clinic had greatly decreased and its accounts office was quiet. This was because a “hand-free service” had been introduced - from appointments through face recognition to medical examinations and payments.

It evolved from the Payment Treasure (Alipay) for smartphone payments. If you linked your insurance card, smartphone payment, and face data, you could make a medical appointment in 30 seconds on your smartphone. A face authentication camera was installed in the examination room, and everything from storing medical results to payment through Alipay were almost automatic.

Technically, it combined facial recognition to identify individuals, and then just to tie-up between Alipay money exchanging with the bank. Yet Alibaba had completely changed the situation of “Kànbìng nán (it is difficult to see a doctor)”. A new business of automatic diagnosis which collected medical data and used artificial intelligence (AI) was now being explored.

According to a private survey, smartphone payments in the past year had reached 178 trillion yuan (about 2700 trillion yen) and were still growing. According to a British research firm RBR, global card payments were just over $ 25 trillion in 2017, while a simple comparation could not be made, yet they were having the same size. According to ICT Research Institute (Tokyo / Chiyoda), cashless payment using Japanese smartphones was only 1.1 trillion yen in FY2018.

According to some studies, Alibaba, including related industries, had created 40 million job opportunities. Jack Ma, who retired from the chairmanship on the 10^th had said that, having a size of reaching 100 million people, “if we consider the Alibaba economic zone as gross domestic product, we aim to become the fifth largest ‘economic power’ in the world.”

It's not a fabrication. In a survey conducted by Nihon Keizai Shimbun on over 50 people in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, 40% of respondents said that they had never used cash in the past month.

Jiangsu Nanjing software engineer Hu Mingqiang (28) purchased the Volkswagen (VW) sedan "Lavida" in July. The down payment of 60,000 yuan was settled by Alipay. In the past month Mr. Hu used cash “to pay drinks for 5 yuan and parking fee 20 yuan".

Data collection had created countless new businesses. “The limit is 80,000 yuan and the interest are 0.05% of the balance per day.” Tap on the Alipay app several times the screen of “Jiè bei /Debt Song” would come out. It was a small loan handled through an affiliated financial company.

AI would determine the limit and interest rate. Wasn't there a failure to repay money spent on Taobao using smartphone mail order? Were you delaying paying public charges or smartphone usage charges with Alipay? All payment actions were subject to evaluation. A credit line would be set up to provide a service called " Huā bei/Flower song", which allowed users to pay after-payment like a credit card.

The accuracy of AI loans surpassed ordinary financial institutions. Alibaba collected small loans together in billions of yuan, sold them to investors to collect back the funds. According to the data, the ratio of loans to bad loans was 0.47% as of June 2017, which was 1.8% lower than the average of Chinese commercial banks.

Unlike developed countries such as Japan and the United States, which placed great importance on protecting personal information, the atmosphere surrounding China was to accept convenience and economic benefits over the undesirables. In the Nikkei questionnaire, only one person answered that they were making cash-based payments. The rapid expansion of smartphone payments had also been supported by the circumstances peculiar to China.

     So, China is pioneering a social experiment in slighting the importance of protecting personal information etc. for the benefit of convenience. The reasons for this social change perhaps need a social scientist to explain.

SOFTBANK - 5G base station development plan is two years ahead of schedule

Recently Nihon Keizai Shimbun Electronic Edition reported the following:

ソフトバンク、5G基地局整備計画を2年前倒し

22年度末に1万1千局

ネット・IT

2019/9/16 23:00日本経済新聞　電子版

当初は24年度末を最終年とした全国約1万1千局の5G基地局整備を22年度末に終える方針だ

ソフトバンクは次世代通信規格「5G」の基地局整備を当初計画から2年前倒しする。当初は2024年度末を最終年とした全国約1万1千局の整備を22年度末に終える方針だ。20年3月に5Gの商用サービスを始める予定で、早期に全国の市町村で利用できる体制を整える。新たな通信網の整備競争を促すことになれば、5Gを使った高度なサービスの普及を後押しすることになる。

5Gは現状の4Gに比べて大容量の高速通信が可能になる。多数の機器と同時に通信できる特長もあり、スマホなど携帯通信だけでなく産業のIoT（モノのインターネット化）技術の基盤となる。安定した通信網をつくれるかは通信各社にとって競争力に直結する問題だ。

NTTドコモとKDDI、ソフトバンクの既存3社に加え、新規参入の楽天モバイルの4社は19年4月に総務省から5G向け周波数の割り当てを受けた。割り当ての根拠となった計画で、ソフトバンクは24年度末を最終年度に全国に1万1210局を設けるとしていた。人員体制の拡充で整備工事などを急ぎ、これを22年度末までに前倒しする。割り当てを受けた周波数についてはスウェーデンのエリクソンとフィンランドのノキアの基地局を採用することを決めている。

全国を約4500の10キロメートル四方の地域で区切り、どれだけの地域に中核基地局を設けたかを示す総務省の基準では全国の6割強をカバーすることになる。これは当面の目標で22年度末以降も整備を続ける。

5G基地局では各社が新技術を競う。ソフトバンクは、電波を飛ばすアンテナ数を増やすなどの工夫により、繁華街などでも通信が低速になりにくい5G向け技術を採用済み。この技術に人工知能（AI）を組み合わせ、電波の飛ばし方を最適にする機能を持つ基地局を整備していく方針だ。

用地や機材を設置する建物を確保する必要がある基地局の整備は簡単ではない。楽天は整備が当初計画から遅れ、19年10月としていた本格参入の時期を最長で20年春まで延期した。NTTドコモとKDDIもソフトバンクと同様に24年度末までの基地局整備の計画を前倒しすることを検討している。

Translation

Originally the plan was to finish the development of approximately 11,000 bases for 5G stations nationwide by end of FY2024, now the policy would be to end it by end of FY2022.

Soft-bank would advance the base station for the next generation communication standard “5G” two years ahead of its initial plan. Originally, the plan was to finish the development of about 11,000 stations nationwide with the end of 2024 as the completion year. Schedule was in place to start 5G commercial service in March 2020 and to prepare a system that could be used in municipalities nationwide at an early stage. If the competition for the development of new communication networks was promoted, it would encourage the spread of advanced services that used 5G.

5G was capable of high-capacity high-speed communication compared to the current 4G. It also had the feature that could communicate with many devices at the same time. It became the basis of not only mobile communication such as smartphones but also industrial IoT (Internet of Things) technology. Whether a stable communication network could be created was directly related to the competitiveness of communication companies.

In addition to the existing three companies of NTT Docomo, KDDI, and Soft-bank, the fourth, Rakuten Mobile, as a new comer in April 19^th had received 5G frequency allocation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Soft-bank said, according to its plan that became the basis for its assignment, with the end of FY2024 as the final year, 11,210 stations nationwide would be set up. By hurrying up development work by expanding the personnel system, this could be finished by the end of FY2010 which was ahead of schedule. For the assigned frequency, it decided to adopt Swedish Ericsson and Finnish Nokia base stations.

                                                                                                                            

The whole country was divided into approximately 4500 regions of 10km square. The standard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which showed how many regions the core base stations to be established, covered about 60% of the whole country. This was the immediate goal and would continue be developed after the end of FY2022.

Each company would compete their new technologies at 5G base stations. Softbank had already adopted technologies for 5G, such as increasing the number of antennas that emitted radio waves so as to make it difficult for communication to slow down even in downtown areas. The policy was to combine this technology with artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a base station with functions that optimized the way radio waves were emitted.

It was not easy to develop a base station which needed to secure a site and a building with equipment installed. Rakuten's development was delayed from its original plan as noted inside its formal entry that was set for October 19^th, and the longest delay could be up to the spring of 2020. NTT Docomo and KDDI, just like Softbank, regrading their base station development, were also considering moving ahead their plan of completion which was originally aimed at FY2024 year-end.

     5G is an important field in the IT battle for leadership among countries world-wide. It is logical for Japan to try its best not to be left behind in the development of this advanced technology. Being a non-state planning economy like China, it can only rely on competition as one way to generate incentive among the companies.

Unidentified flying object sighting report - US Navy confirmed it as `` real ''

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

未確認飛行物体の目撃報告、米海軍が「本物」と確認

2019.09.19 Thu posted at 10:30 JST

（ＣＮＮ） 空中を高速飛行する未確認飛行物体（ＵＦＯ）をとらえたとされる映像について、米海軍がようやく、未確認物体に分類していることを確認した。

正体不明の物体は、軍の機密指定が解除された３本の映像に映っている。海軍報道官はＣＮＮの取材に対し、この物体を「未確認航空現象（ＵＡＰ）」と形容した。

映像は２０１７年１２月～１８年３月にかけて公開されたもので、高速移動する長方形の物体を、高性能赤外線センサーがとらえている。

このうち２００４年に撮影された映像では、センサーがとらえた物体は急加速して画面の左側に消えていた。センサーは物体の速度に追いつけず、再発見することはできなかった。

残る２本はいずれも２０１５年の映像で、戦闘機のパイロットが交わした「ドローンだ」「全部風に逆らってる」「見ろよ、あれ！」といった会話が収録されている。

海軍報道官によると、ＵＡＰに関する情報公開の目的は主に、パイロットの安全を脅かしかねない訓練空域への「侵入」について、訓練生による目撃情報の報告を促すことにある。

公開された映像がとらえているのは、海軍の訓練空域で頻繁に目撃される侵入事案のほんの一部にすぎないと報道官は強調。「長年の間、海軍のパイロットはそうした侵入事案を報告してこなかった。映像中に存在する、あるいは存在しないものに関する従来の用語や仮説には、パイロットの名誉を損なうような固定観念が付いて回ったからだ」と述べ、ＵＡＰの正体を探るためには、そうした物体を目撃した訓練生に報告を促すしかないと話している。

Translation

(CNN) It ​​was confirmed that the U.S. Navy finally classified an unconfirmed object as an image of an unidentified flying object (UFO) flying at high speed in the air.

The unidentified object was shown in three images that had been declassified by the military. The Navy spokesman described the object as "Unidentified Aviation Phenomenon (UAP)" in a CNN interview.

The video was released from December 2017 to March 2018 : a high-performance infrared sensor captured a rectangular object that moved at high speed.

Of these, in the video taken in 2004, the object captured by the sensor suddenly accelerated and disappeared on the left side of the screen. The sensor could not keep up with the speed of the object and to discover it again was not possible.

The remaining two were both the footage taken in 2015, and contained conversations such as “Drone,” “All against the wind,” “Look!”

According to the Navy spokesman, the purpose of public information about UAP was primarily to encourage trainees to report sightings of “intrusions” into the training airspace that could threaten pilot safety.

The spokesman stressed that the published footage captured was no more than a small fraction of the intrusions that were frequently witnessed in naval training airspace. It was mentioned that “For many years, naval pilots have not reported such intrusion incidents. The reason is that traditional terms and hypotheses about things that exist or do not exist in the video have generated stereotypes that undermine the pilot's honor". He said that the only way to find out what UAP was would be to encourage trainees who have witnessed such objects to make reports.

     It is interesting to note that UFO is now called UAP in the United States.

There is 35.8 million elderly people, an update shows a new height of 28.4% - the highest in the world

Recently NHK News On-line reported the following:

高齢者3588万人で最多更新 28.4％は世界で最高

2019年9月16日 4時35分

16日は「敬老の日」です。総務省の推計によりますと、日本の65歳以上の高齢者は3588万人で過去最多を更新し、総人口に占める割合も過去最高の28.4％で、世界で最も高くなっています。

総務省が発表した15日現在の人口推計によりますと、日本の65歳以上の高齢者は3588万人で、去年に比べて32万人増え、過去最多を更新しました。

また、総人口に占める高齢者の割合も、去年より0.3ポイント増えて、過去最高の28.4％となりました。これは、国連のデータで見ると世界で最も高く、日本に次いで高いイタリアの23.0％や、ポルトガルの22.4％を５ポイント以上も上回っています。

国立社会保障・人口問題研究所の推計では、この割合は今後も上昇を続け、2025年には30％となり、2040年には35.3％になると見込まれています。

一方、働く高齢者の数は去年862万人で、働く人全体に占める割合は12.9％で、いずれも過去最高を更新しました。

また、高齢者の就業率は24.3％で、10年前に比べて５ポイント近く増え、主要国の中でも高い水準となっています。

Translation

The  “Respect the Aged Day” was on the 16th. According to an estimate by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the number of elderly people aged over of 65 in Japan reached a record high of 35.88 million, and the ratio to the total population was 28.4%, being the highest in the world.

According to the population estimate announced on the 15th by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there were 35.88 million elderly people in Japan aged over 65, an increase of 320,000 compared to last year, and was a record high.

In addition, the ratio of elderly people to the total population increased by 0.3 points from last year, reaching a record high of 28.4%. This was the highest in the world in terms of data from the United Nations, surpassing 23.0% in Italy which was the second highest after Japan, and 22.4% in Portugal by over 5 points.

According to estimates from the National Institute of Population and Social Security, this percentage would continue to rise, reaching 30% in 2025 and 35.3% in 2040.

On the other hand, the number of working senior citizens was 8.62 million last year, accounting for 12.9% of the total number of working people, both of them were setting new records.

The employment rate for the elderly was 24.3%, an increase of nearly 5 points compared to 10 years ago, which was a high level among major countries.

     So, the number of old age people is increasing in Japan. Obviously, it will create burden on the society in the terms of medial care and social welfare. I think one solution to this problem is to let in more immigrants.

US Colt to discontinue the production of consumer oriented AR15

On 20th September 2019  CNN.co.jp reported the following:

米コルト、消費者向けＡＲ１５の製造を中止

2019.09.20 Fri posted at 12:42 JST

全米ライフル協会年次総会で展示されたコルト社のライフル＝２０１５年４月１１日/Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images

ニューヨーク（ＣＮＮ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ） 米銃器メーカーのコルトは２０日までに、アサルトライフル「ＡＲ１５」の消費者向け製造をやめると発表した。高出力の半自動銃への需要が低迷していることを受けた措置。

コルト社は声明で、消費者向けのライフル市場は「大幅な製造能力過剰」に見舞われていると指摘。ＡＲ１５は供給過多であり、製造継続を正当化できないと説明した。ピストルや回転式拳銃など他の消費者向けの銃については製造を続け、引き続き販売店網の拡大に取り組む方針。

コルトによると、軍や法執行当局との契約が追い風となり、同社の事業は依然健全な状態にあるという。「現在はこうした大規模契約が同社のライフルの全製造能力を吸収してくれいる状況」だという。

コルトは武器所持の権利を定める憲法修正第２条への支持を改めて表明しつつ、「消費者の需要に従い、市場の動きの変化に対応することが合理的だ」としている。

ＡＲ１５タイプの銃はコルトの他にも、パルメット・ステート・アーマリーやスミス・アンド・ウェッソンなどが製造する。こうしたタイプの銃は乱射犯によって使用されることが多く、風当たりが強まっている。

米国では銃暴力事件の頻発を受け、大規模小売業者が半自動ライフルの販売を中止するケースが相次いでいる。

ウォルマートは拳銃や一部弾薬の販売を中止すると発表。銃小売業者として国内有数の規模を誇るディックスも、銃販売の全面中止を検討中だと公表した。

Translation

New York (CNN Business) -- Colt, a US firearms manufacturer, had announced that it would stop producing the consumer oriented “AR15” assault rifle by the 20th. It was a measure in response to the stagnant demand for high-power semi-automatic guns.

Colt said in a statement that the consumer rifle market was hit by a "large excess of manufacturing capacity." It explained that AR15 was oversupplied and could not justify the continuation of its production. The company would continue to manufacture other consumer-oriented guns such as pistols and revolvers, and to continue to expand its dealer network.

According to Colt, contracts with the military and law enforcement authorities had helped, and the company's business remains healthy. “Currently, such large-scale contracts have absorbed the entire production capacity of the company's rifles.”

Colt reiterated its support for Article 2 of the constitutional amendment, which stipulated the right to possess weapons, and said, “It is reasonable to respond to changes in market movements according to consumer demand.”

In addition to Colt, AR15 type guns were manufactured by Palmetto State Armory and Smith & Wesson. These types of guns were often used by shooting criminals and had received increased severe criticism.

In the United States, as there was a frequent occurrence of gun violence, many large-scale retailers had stopped selling semi-automatic rifles.

Wal-Mart announced that it would stop selling handguns and some ammunition. Dix, one of the largest gun retailers in the country, had also announced that it was considering the suspension of gun sales.

     Colt was one of the most famous brand name in guns productions in the US and many historical famous pistols were made under this brand name. I think the assault rifle “AR15” is still used by the police in Hong Kong. “AR15” rifle is still one of the weaponry that can be seen in the Hong Kong police’s anti-riot platoon formation. It is carried by an orderly to protect the platoon in action.

2019年8月13日 星期二

US - Sales of bulletproof rucksack increased in preparation for the new semester, successive shootings noted

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

新学期控え防弾リュックの売り上げ急増、相次ぐ銃乱射受け　米国

2019.08.09 Fri posted at 16:45 JST

  新学期を控えた米国で、通学のための防弾リュックの売り上げが急増している/courtesy TuffyPacks

Bullet proof  backpacks (Source: CNN)

（ＣＮＮ） 米国で新学期を前に相次いだ銃乱射事件を受け、子どもに防弾リュックを買い与える保護者が急増している。ＣＮＮが過去１０年の事件について検証した結果、学校での銃乱射は増加していることが判明。幼い子どもを持つ親の不安は特に大きい。

そうした不安に応えて、ガードドッグ・セキュリティー、ブレット・ブロッカー、タフィパックといった各社が防弾リュックを売り出した。いずれも今回の銃乱射事件後に売り上げが激増しているという。

ブレット・ブロッカーは１２年前、３３人の死者を出したバージニア工科大学の銃乱射を受けて、ジョー・カラン氏が創設した。

警官だったカラン氏は、学校に通う２人の子どもたちのため、防弾パネルを入れたリュックを製作。クラスメートの親からも依頼されるようになり、同社を創業した。

同社のウェブサイトで販売されている防弾リュックの価格は１６０～４９０ドル（１万７０００～５万２０００円）。ほとんどは防弾パネルが背面に縫い込まれている。先週発生した銃乱射事件以来、売り上げは３倍に増えたという。

ガードドッグ・セキュリティーは２０１３年から防弾リュックを売り出し、２０１８年からはオフィス・デポなどの大手小売りチェーンでも扱うようになった。

タフィパックのスティーブ・ネアモア最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）は、学校教員の娘から、銃乱射に備えた避難訓練が学校で頻繁に行われていると聞き、２０１５年に同社を創業した。

同社の防弾リュックを買い求める客は、子どもの身を案じる父母または祖父母が約９５％を占める。

「銃撃事件が起きると、その後数日から数週間は売り上げが激増する」とネアモア氏は言い、先週の売り上げはほぼ４倍になったことを明らかにした。

Translation

(CNN) In the United States, the number of parents who had purchased bulletproof backpacks for their children had increased rapidly following a series of shootings before the new semester. As a result of CNN's examination of incidents over the past 10 years, it was found that school shootings were increasing. Parents with young children were particularly worried.

In response to these concerns, companies such as Guard Dog Security, Bullet Blocker, and Tuffy Pack had launched bulletproof backpacks. In all cases, sales were increasing rapidly after the shooting.

Brett Blocker was founded by Joe Curran 12 years ago after shooting at the Virginia Tech which killed 33 people.

Karan, a police officer, made a backpack with bulletproof panels for two children attending school. The company was founded by the parents of classmates.

The price of bulletproof backpacks sold on the company's website ranged from $ 160 to $ 490 (¥ 17,000 to ¥ 52,000). Most bulletproof panels were sewn on the back. Since the shooting last week, sales had tripled.

Guarddog Security had been selling bulletproof backpacks since 2013, and since 2018 it had been handled by major retail chains such as Office Depots.

Tuffy Pack CEO Steve Naremore founded the company in 2015 after hearing from his school teacher's daughter that evacuation drills were often conducted at school.

About 95% of the customers who purchased the company's bulletproof backpack were parents or grandparents who were concerned about their children.

“When a shootout happens, sales will increase exponentially over the next few weeks,”  Naremore said, revealing that last week's sales had almost quadrupled.

       So, parents of school students in the US were under constant fears that shootings can break out at anytime in schools.

A Chinese survey on 50 people - half of them used smartphone to make payments for "90 times a month"

Recently Nihon Keizai Shimbun Electronic Edition reported the following:

スマホ決済「1カ月90回以上」が半数　中国50人調査

ネット・IT 中国・台湾 アジアBiz

2019/9/15 23:00日本経済新聞　電子版

【上海=張勇祥】アリババ集団、騰訊控股（テンセント）が主導するスマートフォン決済は現金を完全に駆逐しつつある。用途が実店舗での支払いからスマホで受けられる様々なサービス、医療にまで広がり、利便性は現金をはるかにしのぐ。日本経済新聞社が8月に実施したアンケートでは、過去1カ月のスマホ決済の利用回数が「90回以上」とした回答は47%と半数近くを占めた。

「過去1カ月に現金を使ったのは一回きり。スマホの電池が切れていて」。河南省の大学講師、趙元昊（29）は愛車の給油に払った100元（約1500円）を除けば、支払いをすべてスマホ決済で済ませたという。趙さんのような例は、都市部ではむしろ自然だ。

日本経済新聞社がSNS（交流サイト）を通じて50人余りに調査したところ、過去1カ月の現金の利用回数が「0～5回以内」との回答は9割近くにのぼった。半面、スマホ決済が「月30回未満」と答えたのは3%弱にとどまった。回答者の大半が都市部に住み、30代までの若年層が8割を超すなど偏りはあるが、今後、スマホ決済が一段と定着する「のりしろ」が残っているとも考えられる。

アリババ、テンセントとも10億人規模の利用者を抱える。海外での利用者を含むなど単純には比べられないが、9億人ほどの中国の生産年齢人口をも上回る。子供や高齢者を除くと、大多数の中国人がスマホ決済を利用している。

中国でスマホ決済がここまで急速に普及した要因はいくつか考えられる。ほんの5～10年ほど前まではニセ札も一定量あり、現金の信頼性がいまひとつだったこと。スマホ決済を活用すれば、ネット通販で「払った、払わない」といった問題が劇的に減ること。簡便で、コストも既存の決済手段に比べ大幅に低いことも要因だ。

アリババが手がける支付宝（アリペイ）の場合、個人間の送金、決済に手数料はかからない。法人でも0.6%と、2～5%が一般的とされるクレジットカードを大きく下回る。現金は紛失や輸送にかかる費用がついて回る。コストと信頼性のバランスが既存の決済手段を上回ったからこそ、デファクトとしての地位を固めていった。

アンケートでは過去1カ月で最も大きいスマホ決済の使い道も尋ねた。車の頭金（6万元=約90万円）やネックレス（6万元）、家賃（1万元）、パソコン（9800元）など比較的高額な決済を挙げる声が続いた。現金で1万元を超す支払いは2例にとどまり、駐車料金や交通費など数十～数百元のケースが目立った。

日本では少額であれば交通系のICカード、高額はクレジットカードといったすみ分けもみられる。中国ではほぼ全ての決済をスマホが担う。クレジットカードの普及が遅れるなど、決済手段の未整備がリープフロッグ（カエル跳び）と呼ばれる急速な発展をもたらした。

スマホ決済は新たな雇用も生み出している。

「月収は6千元（約9万円）から7千元。郷里の安徽省にはこんな実入りのいい仕事はない」。康小輝さん（28）がアリババの出前サービス「餓了麼（ウーラマ）」の配送員になって1年たつ。

上海のオフィス街の浦々まで、1日に30件を配送する。食事は隙間時間に15元ほどの麺、ぶっかけ飯をかき込む。狭いアパートをさらに区切った粗末な住まいに暮らすが、現金収入は増えた。

出前の配達員や配車サービスの運転手と言った雇用だけでなく、スマホで選んだ衣料をレンタルできるサブスクリプション（定額制）サービスなどスマホ決済を基礎にした新しい事業もなお生まれ続けている。

Translation

[Shanghai = Zhang Yuxiang] Smartphone payments led by Alibaba Group, Tencent, were completely replacing cash. Usage ranged from payments at actual stores to various services that could be received on smartphones, and even including medical care; its convenience had far exceeded cash. According to a questionnaire conducted by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in August, 47% or nearing half of the respondents said that the number of times they used smartphone for payments was more than 90 in the past month.

“In the past month, I have used my cash only once. My smartphone battery ran out.” Henan University instructor Zhao Yuanzhang (29) said that all payments were made with the smartphone, except for the 100 yuan (about 1500 yen) paid for refueling his car. Such an example was more natural in urban areas.

When Nihon Keizai Shimbun surveyed more than 50 people through SNS (exchange site), nearly 90% of respondents said that the number of times they used cash within the past month was "less than 5 times". On the other hand, only 3% of respondents answered that smartphone payments were "under 30 times a month". Although most respondents lived in urban areas, and the young people in their 30s accounted for more than 80%, it seemed that there was still remained a “overlapping” before smartphone payments could become more established.

Alibaba and Tencent together had 1 billion users. Although it could not be compared simply to include overseas users, the working-age population in China had exceeded the 900 million. Excluding children and the elderly, the majority of Chinese used smartphone to make payments.

There were several reasons why smartphone payments had spread so rapidly in China. Until just 5-10 years ago, there was a certain amount of fake bills and the reliability of cash was unsatisfactory. If you used smartphone payment, problems such as “paid, not paid” would be dramatically reduced in online shopping. The reason was that it was simple, and the cost was much lower than existing payment methods.

In the case of Zhīfùbǎo (Alipay) handled by Alibaba, there was no fee for remittance or for the settlement between individuals. It was far below of what was generally accepted at a 0.6% for corporations, and at 2-5% for credit cards. Any cash lost and fees for transport that came along were added to the expense. The fact that the balance between cost and reliability exceeded that of existing payment methods had solidified Alipay position as a de facto.

The questionnaire also asked the purpose of the largest smartphone payment in the past month. There were continuous sayings on payments such as car down payments (60,000 yuan = about 900,000 yen), necklaces (60,000 yuan), rent (10,000 yuan), and computers (9800 yuan). There were only two cases of payment exceeding 10,000 yuan in cash, and cases of tens to hundreds of yuan such as parking fees and transportation costs were conspicuous.

In Japan, it could be seen that for small amount there was the transportation IC, and for huge amount credit cards were used separately. In China, smartphones handled almost all payments. Because there was an underdeveloped payment method, such as the slow spreading of credit cards, it brought about a rapid development, the so-called leapfrog (frog jumping).

Smartphone payments were also creating new jobs.

“My monthly income ranges from 6,000 yuan (about 90,000 yen) to 7,000 yuan. There are no such good jobs in my hometown of Anhui.” It had been one year since Mr. Kang Xiaohui (28) became a delivery person for Alibaba's " Èle me (Are you hungry)” delivery service.

He delivered 30 items to the Shanghai office streets district in one single day. During the meal time gap he quickly swallowed down the noodles, the dish rice that costed up to 15 yuan. Although living in a shabby small apartment that had been further cut into small units, his cash income had increased.

New businesses that based on using smartphone for payments were continued to be created, such as those that employed drivers for home delivery and for the dispatch service etc., and also the subscription (flat-rate) service that could use smartphones to choose rental clothing.

     It seems that city people in China is ahead of those in Hong Kong, Canada and Japan in embracing electronic payment in their daily life. I am interested to know the reasons for that.