Japanese smart city offers residents quake, privacy protection

A passerby holding a smartphone walks in front of screens showing market indices in Tokyo, Japan. Cities around the world are racing to embrace technology in a bid to improve urban life by collecting data to address problems such as traffic gridlock, crime and waste management. — Reuters

Digital tools launched in a Japanese smart city that can send disaster alerts to safeguard residents are part of an optional technology push aiming to overcome social and economic challenges, while also allaying privacy fears.

The smartphone alerts were introduced in Aizuwakamatsu city, Fukushima prefecture, last week by consultancy firm Accenture, which has worked with researchers to revitalise the city using technology since a devastating earthquake in 2011.