SCI-TECH

According to Kyodo News, Tokyo metropolitan police department security division arrested three members of the company which ran online mobile gambling sites. It is the first time arrest ever over mobile gambling website across the nation. One of their site, Kensyou Jankenpon (“rock-paper-scissors rewards”. the site already suspended), operated by Seeds Style Co., Ltd. [J] [...]

Mobile Janken(Rock-Paper-Scissors) Site Charged By Illegal Gambling

The Japanese subsidiary of a Korean online game service operator, NHN Japan[J] announced at the briefing event held on Monday that they would enter the arena of social game business.  The company’s game new platform enables to change the progress of games according to where/when you’re playing, how the weather around you is, and expects [...]

NHN Japan Shakes Hands With 70 Game Developers To Enter The Social Game App Business

Google Asia Pacific and Japan vice president Daniel Alegre announced [J] on official Google Japan blog that Google’s search technology is again provided to Yahoo! Japan. According to the article, Yahoo! Japan uses Google’s search engine as a backend, is able to customize frontend in any way. Google emphasizes that Yahoo! Japan has freehand on [...]

It’s Official Now. Google Announces Their Search Platform Provided To Yahoo! Japan

Wall Street Journal’s blog All Things Digital(ATD) reported that Yahoo! Japan is going to announce that they will use Google Search as its search backend, switching from their customized Yahoo! Search Technology(YST). At this point, there are no Japanese media reported this rumour, except Bloomberg Japanese [J] which just refers All Things Digital. Until more [...]

Is Yahoo! Japan Switching To Google Search?

A Japanese artist Suzuki Yasuhiro‘s [J] “Zipper Motorboat” is sailing at Setonai-sea art festival [J]. Tokyo-based modern art creator Suzuki, who made a small prototype in 2004 (Movie), who has been dreaming “to divide the sea by gigantic zipper”, made up the ride-able sized boat as a water taxi. # It is under trial operation [...]

Motorboat Art Zipping Up The Sea

Back in May, Japan’s mobile gaming juggernaut DeNA ($3.8 billion market cap at the Tokyo Stock Exchange) took a serious step to bring Mobage-town (its highly successful mobile game community) global. DeNA formed a separate company for that endeavor (MiniNation KK) and localized a total of four games for Non-Japanese players, which were offered to [...]

DeNA (Mobage-town) Shuts Down Social Game “Bandit Nation” On Facebook

Accessport (web service developer known for its video search service Woopie), Seesaa[J] (blog service provider), G.Plan[J] (reward point exchange), Chance IT[J] (reward portal), Chobi Rich[J] (reward point exchange), NetMile[J] (a reward program that allows you to earn and use points on Japanese major commerce sites), Unitcom[J] (known for selling built-to-order PCs online), Runsystem[J] (Internet cafe [...]

Online Reward Portals And Internet Cafe Chains To Launch A Social App Platform

A Japanese blogger Mamipeko made a geeky challenge [J] on a nail art shop [J] in Ebisu, central Tokyo. Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer on her nails, The shop painter lady only knew “e” icon unfortunately. The one most took time to finish was Firefox. Google Chrome and Apple Safari are there, too. Thanks for [...]

Browser Nail Art By A Geek Japanese Girl

Naisyoku (Moonlight Job) is a new social game by Acquire Corp. for DeNA’s mobile social networking service Mobage Town. The Japanese word Naisyoku is not so positive. It literally means “working at home” but the word is often used to refer ultra menial labors done by low-income people who are unable to take regular jobs. [...]

Naisyoku – Japanese Mobile Social Game Leads You To Be… Menial Labor

I have no idea how he gets power and the internet connection, because plugging to power sockets in public space is not so safe in Japan. Tokyo Homeless and His PC

Tokyo Homeless and His PC

Recruit, an online-and-paper publication company (Asiajin) has been teasing its Groupon clone with Twitter lottery [J] of 20,000 yen to 100,000 yen ($1,100) prize, finally launched Pomparade [J] today, but their memorable first coupon had an issue. The first coupon seller is Ocean Casita, an Italian restaurant which locates at the 59th floor of Sunshine [...]

Recruit’s New Coupon Site Troubled, Raises Suspicious On Groupon Model

We will hold the first meetup in Shanghai this weekend. On July 24th (Saturday), Asiajin Shanghai meetup will be hosted to bridge startup communities of China and Japan. Two industry experts from Japan will talk about the Japanese startup industry and his own startup experience. We also plan to have a time to discuss and [...]

Asiajin Shanghai Meetup Held On 24th

First half of July news which we did not write as a dedicated article. Continued to (Part 2) Referred pages are all in Japanese, unless otherwise stated. Groupon Clone Q:pod Occupies Yamanote-Line Train. Q:pod Is A Joint Venture By Pakureserve And Infinit Ventures Rakuten Releases Rakuten-IE8 Tokyo Metropolitan Police Introduces The First Surveillance Camera Car [...]

July 2010 Japan IT Links (Part 1)

Twitnovels opened on 12th July by two Japanese companies, Heartrails and Marici, is a community based novel writing platform supporting Japanese and English “relayed” novels. “Relayed Novel” is a form of online writing which you can sometimes see on Japanese forums like 2-channel. There a forum reader starts writing a short text, then someone continues, [...]

Twitnovels – Crowdsourcing Novel Community

Cybridge[J], a Tokyo-based web service company supporting real shop and consumer businesses, launched an ASP-based deal-of-the-day outsourcing platform called Dadat[J] last Friday. The new service’s name may come from a Japanese imitative word meaning pound-pound reminding you of the scene that many customers are rushing into your store. The service allows potential deal-of-the-day service providers [...]

Cybridge Launches Deal-Of-The-Day ASP Platform For Potential Service Providers

On July 3rd, CA Mobile, Cyber Agent’s mobile contents subsidiary, released an iPhone/iPod app “The Suppin.”(Face without makeup). On the app, which features either Japanese gals or kyabajo-es(cabaret-club hostess. see Neo Japonisme’s excellent article if you are interested in), you can scrub down their special makeup – “mori make” explained that high-stacked make-up on the [...]

iPhone App To Scrub Down Gal’s Make-Up “The Suppin.”

Elecom Japan’s new compact iPhone battery charger AVA-ACU01 series hitting on store this middle of July has a cute variation AVA-ACU01F1, face designed one. The adapter takes Japan’s AC100V and provide DC5V with USB socket, which your iPod/iPhone can be plugged. Yes, that is cute. But a Japanese iPhone fangirl blog iPhone Joshi suggests to [...]

iPhone Battery Charger Having A Face

Sandwich chain-store Subway Japan [J] opened a new shop “Subway Yasai(=vegetable) Lab Maru Building Store” at very central Tokyo, in Marunouchi Building which locates just in front of Tokyo station. What makes the shop so unique is that there is a vegetable factory set inside the shop and it provides fresh lettuces for sandwich. Pesticide-free [...]

Subway Japan’s World-First In-Shop Lettuce Factory

“Kujira-san no Game”(Whale Game) [J] is a tiny Flash shooting game, which takes Twitter and its notorious Failing Whale as motifs, made by a Kansai-based game hobbyist group Daiojyo [J]. You may be requires to unlock your browser’s pop-up blocker. Control your bird by mouse, and shoot by left-click. There will be a power-up item [...]

Game To Defeat the Twitter’s Fail Whale

Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications published an interesting report [PDF] about the country’s market for mobile content and services this week. According to the ministry, that market grew by 12% to hit 1.52 trillion yen ($17.3 billion) last year, including mobile advertising. The $17.3 billion breaks down into mobile commerce, which was worth [...]

Japan’s Mobile Web Market Now Worth $17 billion. Virtual Items: $500 million.