JKT48, the Indonesian sister band of ultra-popular Japanese girl group AKB48 (Asiajin), is promoting Rakuten Belanja Online, Rakuten's joint venture with Jakarta-based media powerhouse PT Global Mediacom, on Indonesian TV.

In the 30-second commercial, various members of the group can be seen wearing different clothes and accessories and using gadgets - and apparently all items can be bought on the site.

Rakuten Belanja Online was first announced back in December 2010 and began operations in June 2011.

Here's the JKT48 TV spot:

Tags: Indonesia, Japan, News, Video by Serkan Toto
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So far, only YouTube users from Canada, the US and (since October) the UK were able to rent movies, but yesterday, Japan has finally been added to the list, too (the country is the second biggest market for movies in the world).

Youtube users in Japan can initially stream content from a total of five American and local studios onto their PCs and Android phones, namely

• Toei
• Sony Pictures
• Universal
• Warner Bros.
• Bandai Channel (for anime)

On its official blog, YouTube Japan says that the initial line-up consists of a mix between paid and free movies (200 in total), for example Unknown, Red Riding Hood, Take Me Home Tonight, or Sucker Punch.

Paid titles cost either 300 or 400 Yen, depending on how new they are. Movies can be rented from 24 to 72 hours.

The online movie rental space in Japan has seen some movement recently. Apart from established players like Gyao, YouTube Japan's new service competes with newcomer Hulu (which started streaming movies and other content in Japan in September this year) or Nico Nico Douga (which started doing the same in cooperation with Warner Bros. a few days ago).

Tags: Android, Japan, New Service, Video by Serkan Toto
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Mitsubishi Electric has developed a prototype app for iPhone and Android phones that could make life for the millions of commuters living in Tokyo a bit easier. The so-called "Yamanote Train Net" [JP] app is currently being tested in one train on the famous Yamanote line that circles the center of Tokyo.

Users can expect to get various information (and ads) delivered to their smartphone when they enter the train.

Mitsubishi explains what's needed for the app to work:

"This is a completely closed Wi-Fi environment in a train. Content from a server on the train is basically provided via Wi-Fi, so the service isn't directly connected to the outside world."

The app tells users how crowded the train in question is (in real-time), what the temperature is like, when and where it's best to change trains, which trains are delayed, etc.

There is also a "channel" for advertisements (videos), but it will be also possible to download coupons or "entertainment" content on your iPhone or Android phone.

Downloads (Japanese only, free):
iOS
Android

This video, shot by Diginfo TV, provides more insight (Japanese/English subbed):

Tags: Cellular Phone, Japan, New Service, Video by Serkan Toto
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Japanese high school students made stop-motion animations with blackboard, chalks and all school things for school festival.

The first one uses over 2,500 photos, the second one over 3,000.

According to the poster's comment, free tools like PictBea­r [J] and NicoVisualEffects [J] are used.

via @ryohgo_narita

Tags: Japan, Video by Akky Akimoto
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It is known that Japanese high school girls type Japanese so fast on feature phone 10 digits key, but this person on iPhone could be faster than they.

On Japanese flick input training app, he writes up 45 letters/5 phrases in 6.99 seconds, which is 386 letters per minute.

[Update] Another high-speed iPhone Japanese type video. This person types a real message. (Thanks @StingRaySlapper )

Japanese input is not just typing letters but involves Hiragana->Kanji conversion with selecting the adequate one. These videos show people's good adaptability.

Tags: Japan, Video by Akky Akimoto
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