Connect with us

Top News

Japanese Emperor to abdicate in April 2019 (Lead)

Published

on

Tokyo, Dec 1 (IANS) Japanese Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30, 2019, after a nearly 30 years reign and marking an end of an imperial era, the Imperial House Council announced on Friday.

The 10-member Council including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and members of the Imperial family, made the announcement following a closed-door meeting to deliberate the 83-year-old Emperor’s abdication, reports The Japan Times.

Akihito’s elder son Crown Prince Naruhito’s succession will take place on May 1, 2019.

The last emperor to abdicate was Emperor Kokaku in 1817 in the later part of the Edo Period. In general, Japan’s monarch is not allowed to step down under the country’s legal framework.

Following the Emperor’s rare video message aired in August 2016 in which he signaled his desire to retire, Japan’s parliament enacted a law this June to allow Akihito to pass the Chrysanthemum Throne on to his 57-year-old son.

The law requires the Prime Minister to hear opinions from the Imperial House Council, which is a national deliberative body summoned to discuss important issues concerning the Imperial family, such as marriage of male family members and the loss of Imperial status.

It was last held in 1993 to approve the Crown Prince’s marriage to Masako Owada.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is expected to hold a press conference later on Friday to provide details of the meeting, The Japan Times reported.

After his abdication, Emperor Akihito will be called “joko” (a title for an emperor who abdicates in favour of a successor) and Empress Michiko, 83, will be given the title of jokogo.

Emperor Akihito ascended to the throne soon after the death of his father Hirohito in January 1989.

The Japanese Constitution defines the Emperor, once considered divine, as “the symbol of the state” with no political power.

His abdication will mark the end of the Heisei era.

Akihito is a direct descendent of Japan’s first emperor Jimmu, believed to reign around 660 B.C.

–IANS
ksk

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

Published

on

By

CasinoDays India

International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.

Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.

The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.

Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile

The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.

CasinoDays India

The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.

“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.

Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings

Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.

 

CasinoDays India

Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).

Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.

The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.

Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.

Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities

The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.

On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.

Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.

“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.

The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.

 

Content provided by Adverloom

Continue Reading

Trending