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Japan Has iPad(Aipad) – It’s Hi Tech Adult Diaper


Last article, I wrote Fujitsu’s iPad is only for USA market so this time Apple would not have a trademark problem in Japan… Maybe wrong.

ITMedia found [J] a sensor-ready adult absorbent brief product [J] by a company called Awajitec [J], named “あいパッド”, which pronounce exactly same as iPad in Japanese. Although the product page’s filename implies the English spelling is “Aipad”, it is similar as “Aiphone”, a Japanese intercom company from whom Apple had to get permission of usage for iPhone.

The diaper, which has 2 lines of aluminium, can be connected by clip with a small sensor unit. When the diaper soaked, the sensor notifies it via radio waves. It eases some burden of family and caretakers who support elderly.

This “Aipad” was firstly appeared at a health care related conference in 2004, as the company page says.

If you see the categories of the products, “Aipad” is not so close to “iPad” as “Aiphone” with “iPhone” at the case both are devices enabling remote talk. So Apple may not have to add another license permission note on its Japanese site. Well, I don’t know.

See Also:

Aipad brochure [J, pdf]

Tags: Japan by Akky Akimoto
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iPad-Fujitsu Trademark Conflict Sounds Familiar In Japan


Apple iPad

Apple’s “revolutionary” tablet PC iPad name collides with Fujitsu US’s shop clerk gear which exists for 8 years. (Engadget goes deeper)

That may remind US people Apple and Cisco’s issue around the iPhone brand. To Japanese, “Aiphone” story is familiar.

When Apple brought iPhone into Japan, they faced a similar issue against another Japanese “intercom” vendor Aiphone. Both “iPhone” and “Aiphone” can be spelled identically in Japanese, so in the end Apple compromised with Aiphone K.K.

Apple Japan’s site shows that their iPhone trademark is permitted by Aiphone in Japan.

Apple/Softbank Mobile also asked media to use different Japanese spelling (アイフォーン) than the natural spelling of iPhone (アイフォン). That rule is well kept on printed media and on iPhone commercial film, but consumer do not care. i.e. people call it in more natural pronunciation.

Here is the Aiphone’s TV commercial film mixed with early iPhone promotion videos, according to it, Aiphone is used at Whitehouse.

This time, Fujitsu’s iPad was not a commercial products nor sold in Japan so Apple would not have difficulty in Japanese web search.

[Updated 2010-03-28] iPad trademark was confirmed to be handed over from Fujitsu to Apple. (via Engadget Japanese)

Tags: Japan by Akky Akimoto
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January 2010 Japan-IT Links (part 1)


Last week our RSS subscribers passed over 5,000, which is a good milestone. Twitter followers also increased to 400. Following @asiajin also will notify our latest articles. Thank you so much.

Here is the first half of January Japanese IT/Web interesting news links we did not take as a dedicated article. (part 2 is here)

Referred pages are all in Japanese, unless otherwise noted.

If you want to know any specific news more, but unable to find them in other English blog/media, please let us know.

As you see, we know a lot things to write but contributors time are limited. So we are looking for authors. We will help Japanese research/reading part so do not worry if your Japanese is not perfect.

We also want sponsorship to keep this group blog. Ideal if from Japanese companies because our initial motivation was to introduce them to non-Japanese web. Problem is we only write in English and they do not check English sites :-) If you know them please suggest us to them!

Tags: Japan, Trend by Akky Akimoto
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Japanese Government Site For Whistle-blower Finally Launches, Still Insists Non Existing “.com”


As we reported [1][2], Japanese government opens a website for people to inform wasted tax money or irrational rules issues directly to them.

The domain name, after squatted, is “http://www.cao.go.jp/” which guarantees the website is by government. However, they do not stop using “Hatomimi.com” [J] logo and tries to send confuse people to the squatter’s site.

Tags: Japan, News by Akky Akimoto
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Rakuten Allies With Baidu To Promote Their E-commerce Business in Mainland China


Japan’s biggest, and the world second largest e-commerce company Rakuten, which is also known by its active overseas activities in last years as a Japanese originated web company, announced its partnership with China’s leading, and the world third largest search engine company Baidu. [pdf]

According to the release, Rakuten and Baidu agreed to establish a joint venture operate a B2B2C (Business to Business to Consumer) in China market. Rakuten will invest 4.3 billion yen (about 48 million USD) in the first 3 years. Ownership will be 51 % Rakuten, 49% Baidu.

It still needs to be authorized by Chinese government, but they are seeing it will come in the latter half of this year.

Rakuten is exceptionally active among successful Japanese big web companies, who bought US Linkshare in 2005, opened foreign branch in Luxenbourg Europe in February 2008, starts e-mall in Taiwan in 2008 and bought local e-commerce company in Thailand in 2009.

See Also:

Rakuten’s Release [J, pdf]

Rakuten’s Release in English – not direct translation of Japanese release [pdf]

Tags: China, Japan, News by Akky Akimoto
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