| May 17 | DoCoMo to launch smart phones for elderly |
 Leading Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo on Wednesday unveiled its first smart phone specially designed for elderly users, as the company bids to tap into an ageing consumer population. (AFP  ) |
| May 15 | Sony, Panasonic eye next generation TV tie-up |
 Japan's cash-bleeding electronics giants Sony and Panasonic are looking to join forces to produce next generation televisions in a bid to claw back market from South Korean rivals, a report said Tuesday. (Japan Today ) |
| May 11 | 5,000 illegal 2channel messages not deleted |
 A total of 5,068 messages containing information on illicit activities, such as ads for banned drugs, were left undeleted in 2011 on 2channel, one of Japan's largest online forums, despite repeated requests for their removal, National Police Agency data showed Thursday. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 11 | Apple's iPhone was No. 1 smartphone in Japan in 2011 with 7.25M sold |
 Sales of the iPhone reached 7.25 million units in all of 2011, making Apple the top smartphone vendor in the country. (appleinsider.com) |
| May 10 | Japan's social media heavyweights scrap gambling games |
| Japan's leading social gaming companies Gree Inc and DeNA Co Ltd said on Wednesday they would gradually phase out games that contain aspects of gambling as they face increased pressure from regulators. (Reuters) |
| May 10 | LG smart TV debuts here in June |
| South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will launch in Japan a smart television capable of Internet access with a simplified remote control in early June. (Japan Times) |
| May 09 | Amazon Japan starts buying used video games |
| Amazon Japan K.K., a unit of U.S.-based online retail giant Amazon.com Inc., has introduced a new service to buy used video game software via its website. (Yomiuri) |
| May 06 | 'Kompu gacha' online games may be illegal |
 The Consumer Affairs Agency has concluded that a system used by some online game operators on social networking service (SNS) websites constitutes a violation of a law that bans certain types of sales methods, according to sources close to the agency.
(Yomiuri ) |
| May 05 | Yahoo! Japan launches its own Android browser |
 For a company that ostensibly competes directly with Google, Yahoo! is curiously invested in Android - in Japan, at any rate. After launching their own pseudo-app store last year, the web search company has created a custom browser app for the Japanese market. (androidcommunity.com) |
| May 04 | EU and Japan to make the Internet safer for children |
| Europe and Japan will work together on a strategy to make the Internet safer for children and teenagers. The new strategy was announced by Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes on Wednesday. On Thursday, she met with Tatsuo Kawabata, Japanese minister for Internal affairs and Communications to discuss how the European Union and Japan could collaborate on such plans. (PC World) |
| May 03 | Smartphone apps to monitor drivers |
| Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. has developed a smartphone application that automatically recognizes when a traffic accident has occurred and records images prior to the accident and afterward. (Yomiuri) |
| May 02 | Japan's gamers are starting to shoot 'em up |
 It's a long running stereotype: Japanese gamers like role-playing games (RPGs), and Western gamers prefer first-person shooters (FPS). That doesn't mean hardcore FPS players don't exist in Japan. They do. (Japan Times) |
| May 01 | Samsung moves on from Japan to nibble at Apple |
| The Japanese may have pioneered the model of a vertically integrated electronics manufacturer, but Samsung looks to have perfected it. The Korean company started by pulling apart Japanese TV sets, then reverse-engineered the manufacturers' business model. (Reuters) |
| Apr 27 | Nintendo reports first annual loss in the console age |
| The problems of Nintendo and Sony, world-conquering Japanese brands of the 80s and 90s, have been reported widely - not only floods, earthquakes and exchange rates have battered these giants, but also changing market tastes and the rise of the smartphone, which has nibbled patiently away at their traditional hardware markets. (Forbes) |
| Apr 26 | Sony sends 15 million songs to cloud to close iTunes gap |
| Sony Corp. will probably put songs by Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston online in Japan through its streaming music service. The trouble will be finding listeners who haven't bought them from Apple Inc. in the past seven years. Sony said it will introduce Music Unlimited, a cloud-based catalog of 15 million songs, in its home market by the end of December after rolling it out in 16 other countries first. (Bloomberg) |
| Apr 25 | Game firms cap teen spending |
 Major social networking game operators Gree Inc. and DeNA Co. have decided to limit young users' monthly spending on their game content at ¥10,000, sources said Tuesday.
They made the decisions in response to growing calls for such caps to be introduced as many young customers tend to spend tens of thousands of yen a month partly to obtain game characters.
(Japan Times ) |
| Apr 25 | As technology shifts, Asian giants wrestle for TV control |
| LG Electronics will steal a march on its rivals by bringing forward the launch of a 55-inch flat TV using next-generation technology, raising the stakes in a cut-throat battle for the living room between Asia's top tech powerhouses. (Reuters) |
| Apr 22 | 'Decoy' scam websites on the rise across Japan |
| Online scams in which victims are deceived into taking part in long friendly e-mail conversations that eventually cause them to lose money are increasing rapidly across Japan. The websites, many of which are paid online dating or job-hunting sites that are based on e-mail exchanges, have been collectively labeled "sakura (decoy) websites" due to the means their operators use to scam their victims. (Mainichi) |
| Apr 21 | 2channel's chief said slow to delete inappropriate posts |
| The administrator of 2channel, an online bulletin board, is reluctant to delete "problematic" postings, according to a man who helped monitor the site. The administrator, whose name was not released, "hated too much deletion," said the man, who used to be a member of a volunteer team that would delete inappropriate messages. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 20 | Don't eat that - it's my phone |
 If you see a lump of rice surmounted by a piece of salmon, topped off with a piece of seaweed, on your co-worker's desk, you should resist the urge to eat it.
Likewise, a deep-fried pork cutlet slathered in curry sauce, and lying on top of next week's management report, shouldn't cause you alarm, or even afflict you with hunger pangs.
It's probably your friend's phone. (majirox news) |
| Apr 19 | Sharp to sell 80-in. LCD TV, Japan's largest retail set, for $12,000 |
 Sharp said Wednesday it will sell an 80-inch LCD TV in Japan, the largest such set available through retail in the country.
The Japanese electronics manufacturer said the new addition to its Aquos line will cost $12,000. It will go on sale in June as part of a new lineup of six sets, the smallest of which is 40 inches in size.
(computerworld.com ) |
| Apr 18 | Why good Wi-Fi is so hard to find in Japan |
| Friends visiting Japan often ask me why there are no, or very few, Wi-Fi hotspots available at hotels and cafes in Tokyo. They mention that in their countries, many places offer free Wi-Fi for guests - often it is completely open, or you simply need to ask the staff for the password. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 17 | Playstation Vita already dropping to record low sales in Japan |
 Sony's latest gaming handheld is not doing well in Japan, and that likely represents a lack of interest for the device worldwide.
March was not a good month for the gaming industry. Sales of video games were down by around 25%, and even the hottest game on tap, Mass Effect 3, didn't manage to reach one million units on the most popular console.
(tgdaily.com ) |
| Apr 16 | Amazon to launch Japan e-book business |
| U.S. online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. will introduce an e-book service using Kindle readers in the Japanese market by the end of this year, it has been learned. Amazon.com has been negotiating with multiple publishers in Japan since last year, informed sources said. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 14 | 'Adult video' malware hits Android users in Japan |
| A new malware that promises gaming and anime-adult videos but steals their contact data is victimizing Japanese users of Android devices, a security firm said over the weekend. McAfee said the Trojan is in the Google Play market, and displays a video downloaded from the Internet only if sensitive information is sent to a remote server. (gmanetwork.com) |
| Apr 14 | Apple ordered to pay Tokyo woman $7,400 after iPod nano causes injury |
| A Tokyo court has ordered the Japan arm of Apple to pay a woman damages after she sustained burns from an overheating iPod nano. A Tokyo woman who sustained burns to her hand when her iPod nano overheated has been awarded damages to the tune of 600,000 yen ($7,400). (digitaltrends.com) |
| Apr 13 | Globe, Japan firm sign Internet phone app deal |
| GLOBE Telecom has partnered with Japan-based company IPS Inc. to offer cheap call rates initially offered to users of iPhone, iPad and the iPod. The companies launched a mobile application for Apple iOS-based devices called Tokyo03, an Internet phone application that assigns the user a virtual number. (businessmirror.com.ph) |
| Apr 09 | Twitter introduces brand pages in Japan, a first for Asia |
| Twitter first launched brand pages in the US in December last year and four months later the advertising feature has come to Japan, the first market in Asia. DoCoMo, the country's largest mobile operator, national retailer Lawson and Warner Entertainment Japan are the first companies that will take advantage of the pages, according to the Twitter Japan blog [Japanese], via Asiajin. (thenextweb.com) |
| Apr 07 | Softbank tops rivals in new phone contracts for second year in row |
| Softbank Mobile Corp. was the nation's top gainer in mobile phone contracts for the second year in a row in fiscal 2011, the companies' reports showed Friday. In the year to last month, Softbank achieved a record net increase of 3,540,300 contracts compared with its previous high of 3,532,100 in fiscal 2010 by taking advantage of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4S smartphone and iPad tablet computer and other popular products. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 07 | Fraud targets Android phones / Major increase in viruses that steal information, send false bills |
| There has been a large increase in the number of cases in which Android smartphone users are asked to pay large bills after installing a virus-infected application that steals their personal information such as phone numbers. The number of confirmed new viruses targeting smartphones with Google Inc.'s Android operating system increased 150-fold from a year ago. Propelling the surge in the number of new viruses are malicious businesses, which use the personal information of smartphone users for billing fraud or resell the information to others. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 04 | Japan developing way to control games with your tongue |
 Non-traditional methods of controlling games are all the rage in Japan these days. Sega made headlines last year with "Toirettsu" or "Toylet," a game that drunken male patrons can play in the men's room, since it's entirely controlled via one's urine stream. Meanwhile, a just-unveiled project by researchers at The University of Electro-Communications near Tokyo will soon have players using their tongues on the Kinect.
(MSN ) |
| Apr 04 | Expectations high for next-generation 'ultrabook' computers |
| Major electronics makers are working to put out thin, light, next-generation laptop computers called "ultrabooks," which are being seen as a new product category following the spread of tablets. On March 13, Dell began selling its first ultrabook, the "XPS13," which is six to 18 millimeters thick and weighs around 1.4 kilograms, for a direct-to-consumer price of 89,980 to 129,980 yen. (Mainichi) |
| Apr 04 | Could video-game consoles disappear into the cloud forever? |
| A new PlayStation. A new Xbox. A new Wii. The last one is definitely happening with the upcoming Wii U and the others are no doubt being prepped for high-profile "reveals." But what about a future with no consoles? None at all. For movie lovers, if they want to watch a flick, they simply get a DVD machine or a Blu-ray player - it doesn't matter if Sony, Samsung or Panasonic made it. And, let's say, you don't own physical, disc-based media: Then, you can stream whatever movies you want through your TV or PC. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 03 | Toshiba exits mobile phone business |
| Toshiba Corp. has pulled out of the mobile phone business by selling its 19.9 percent stake in Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications Ltd. to Fujitsu Ltd., the two companies said Monday. The company, which sells and markets mobile handsets, was originally set up in October 2010 by taking over Toshiba's mobile phone operations. It has since been renamed Fujitsu Mobile Communications Ltd. and is now under the full control of Fujitsu. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 02 | It's Japan vs. Korea with launch of Samsung Display, Japan Display |
 On Monday, two newly created juggernauts in the display business, Samsung Display and Japan Display, began operations, each staking a claim to the title of world's largest display maker.
In one stroke of the pen, Samsung created one of the world's largest display companies on Sunday night, spinning off Samsung Display Co. with its inauguration ceremony. The company has begun business operations, representatives said. Samsung announced the decision in February.
(pcmag.com) |
| Apr 02 | Interactive 'posters' from Japan will react to being kissed |
 If you've ever been to Tokyo or any other large Japanese city, you'll have noticed the huge variety of billboards plastering the urban landscape, often featuring the month's most popular idol. Now researchers at Keio University are working on a system that will allow passers-by to interact with said posters via an ultrasound sensor setup. (theverge.com ) |
| Apr 02 | Broadcaster launches first shows for smartphone, tablet PC crowd |
| A subsidiary of NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Sunday began offering the first TV channels aimed exclusively at users of smartphone and tablet computers. Mmbi inc.'s Nottv service offers access to three channels of programming for ¥420 a month in the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas and other locations. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 01 | Tsunami-hit areas switch to digital broadcasting |
 The three tsunami-hit prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima on Saturday became the last places in Japan to switch from analog TV broadcasting digital terrestrial TV broadcasting.
The rest of the country switched over last July, but Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry extended the switchover date until March 31 for the disaster-hit Tohoku region.
The switchover ends 59 years of analog TV broadcasting in Japan. (Japan Today ) |
| Apr 01 | Google: Japanese court didn't ban all our search suggestions |
| Google is setting the record straight about a court's demands that Google stop automatically completing its searches in Japan. Google searches on most browsers and devices automatically suggest search terms that you might be looking for, based on their popularity. Type "mash," for example, and the search engine will suggest you're looking for "Mashable" followed by a suggestion for "mashed potatoes." (mashable.com) |
| Mar 31 | New satellite imagery of Japan's disaster areas |
 Last March, a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. At the time, satellite imagery proved to be a useful tool in visualizing the affected areas. Updated imagery taken by GeoEye in February and March has now been added to Google Earth and Google Maps, providing a telling view of what the affected areas look like a year into recovery. (Google) |
| Mar 30 | Disney, Japan's DeNA to jointly develop mobile games |
| |
| Mar 30 | Apple TV beckons as jackpot in Hon Hai's Sharp gamble |
 It promises to revolutionise television in the way the iPad did computing, and the chance to make Apple Inc's much-anticipated smart TV could explain Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry's bold move to buy into 100-year-old Japanese firm Sharp.
Hon Hai took around a 10 percent stake in Sharp Corp, with the Taiwanese firm's billionaire founder Terry Gou putting his own money into a deal that marries Sharp's advanced TV technology with Hon Hai's expertise in making Apple products.
(Reuters ) |
| Mar 30 | Yahoo Japan to speed up development of smartphone apps |
 Yahoo Japan Corp., operator of the country's most-visited web portal, said it plans to accelerate development of mobile-device applications as the number of smartphone users rises.
"The one thing I've decided is to make smartphones our priority," Manabu Miyasaka, 44, who will become chief executive officer of Yahoo Japan on April 1, said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. "That market will grow much faster than the personal-computer market."
(Bloomberg) |
| Mar 28 | Japan gets new Android gadgets |
 I expect you've heard about as much as you can take regarding Apple's third-generation iPad over the past few weeks. It's an undeniably improved offering over the iPad 2, which itself is now a tempting buy at its new discounted price. But while the iPad is still the clear leader in the tablet space, there are some unique alternatives out there that are worth a look, particularly here in Japan.
(Japan Times) |
| Mar 28 | Smartphone shipments to rise 55% |
| Domestic shipments of smartphones in 2012 are expected to surge 55 percent to 31.13 million handsets, according to research firm IDC Japan. The rise is attributable to strong sales of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4S and other smartphone models, IDC Japan said Monday. (Japan Times) |
| Mar 28 | Japan lawyer calls for Google autocomplete change |
| |
| Mar 26 | Google ordered to suspend autocomplete function over cyber-harassment |
 The Tokyo District Court approved a petition demanding that Google Inc. suspend its autocomplete search feature for Internet browsers after a man alleged that it breached his privacy and got him fired, his lawyer said Sunday.
Google is refusing to suspend the feature, saying that its headquarters in the United States will not be regulated by Japanese law and that the case does not warrant deleting the autocomplete suggestions related to the petition under its in-house privacy policy, lawyer Hiroyuki Tomita said.
(Japan Times ) |
| Mar 24 | Fujitsu has phone fraudsters in its sights |
| Boffins at Fujitsu and Japan's Nagoya university are claiming to have successfully developed technology designed to prevent phone scammers by recognising certain keywords and detecting changes in voice pitch and level. It focuses on the notion of "overtrust", the situation that occurs when a human is overwhelmed with distressing information and loses the capacity to objectively evaluate whether they are being lied to or not. (The Register) |
| Mar 22 | Japan's new 'disaster aid' vending machine |
 Japanese vending machine maker Sanden revealed its new eco-friendly, hand cranked vending machine this month. Ostensibly designed to work during blackouts, particularly in the wake of earthquakes and aftershocks, the new machine has the potential to be an extremely useful emergency aid.
Japan has thousands of vending machines, and you've no doubt heard of some of the stranger variations that you would never find anywhere else. Banana dispensers, underwear dispensers and vending machines that scan your face.
(ZDNet ) |
| Mar 22 | Fujitsu touts phone fraud detector |
| Fujitsu Ltd. and Nagoya University have jointly developed technology to automatically detect telephone billing fraud by using voice analysis. The parners said they will start testing the technology with the National Police Agency and Bank of Nagoya later this month in a joint bid to protect people from swindlers who impersonate relatives in urgent need of money over the phone and fast-talk them into transferring cash from a bank. (Japan Times) |