Tokyo Police Acts Against Slander On Blog Posts

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has decided to give prosecutors files on 18 people, who are suspected to have slandered comedian “Smiley Kikuchi[J]” by posting groundless comments on his blog alleging that he is involved in a high school girl’s murder case. This kind of situation, in which blog readers slander a blog’s owner by… Continue reading Tokyo Police Acts Against Slander On Blog Posts

UQ Communications Commences Mobile WiMAX Trial

UQ Communications, the Japanese Mobile WiMAX license holder, will commence a trial period of 4 months prior to a formal network launch expected in July. Starting on the 26th of February 2009, trial area will include Tokyo, Yokohama and Kawasaki. Trial application forms are already available on UQ website, from which 5000 trial “Monitors” will… Continue reading UQ Communications Commences Mobile WiMAX Trial

Japanese Government Promotes Puppet Security Idol “Securina”

Securina is an another virtual idol unit by puppets newly appeared into Japanese otaku scene, as a part of “Check PC” campaign backed by METI, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. Shina, from Tokyo, who is unfussy and easygoing, likes Parfait. and Sena from Osaka, assertive and boyish, likes drive. The “Check PC”… Continue reading Japanese Government Promotes Puppet Security Idol “Securina”

Daum Starts Advanced Map Services in Korea

Daum, the largest portal site in Korea started new map features (ROAD VIEW and SKY VIEW) on January 18th. Daum has been providing map service in Korea. But they were not so competitive in the map service market. By providing this map features, I think Daum’s map has quite competitive in Korean map service market.… Continue reading Daum Starts Advanced Map Services in Korea

Osaka-based Tech Start-up Launches A “Meddlesome” SNS

The Osaka-based tech start-up Qript Inc. launched Friday its eccentric SNS called “Tsutsunuke [J]“, which has several features to avoid its user’s long silence to the service. Note:  “Tsutsunuke” means a situation where the thin wall deprives you of any privacy, and you can hear the tone of your neighbor’s voice in a typical type… Continue reading Osaka-based Tech Start-up Launches A “Meddlesome” SNS

Japanese Social Media Prism

Based on the concept presented at www.briansolis.com, H. Yoshikawa, Y. Yamagichi, and T. Nakamura rendered the Japanese Social Media Prism. This prism is being maintained constantly, so make sure you visit the original blog post for updates. Each Flower petal represents a Service Category (written outside the petal). Better known services are placed closer to… Continue reading Japanese Social Media Prism

Telecom Venture Presentations Held By Japan’s Governmental Incubator

On Tuesday, NICT (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology) held its annual conference providing telecom-related start-ups the opportunity to present their business plans.   An audience of more than 200 attended the event in Akihabara. NICT is a governmental venture, incubation, and research organization with a special focus on future telecommunications technology development, and is… Continue reading Telecom Venture Presentations Held By Japan’s Governmental Incubator

Lang-8 Raises Angel Round Just Under 10M Yen

Lang-8, a multi-lingual social network / language-learning site, has raised 9,570,000 yen ($100K) from prominent angel investors: * Kiyoshi Nishikawa, a founder of ngi group * Takashi Yoshida, ex-CTO of Rakuten * Masahide Nakamura [JP], CEO of Allied Architects * Shuichi Takenaga, CEO of Aucfan [JP] CEO, Youyou Ki, is going to use the investment… Continue reading Lang-8 Raises Angel Round Just Under 10M Yen

Fujitsu to offer Android related services

In a recent PR [JP], Fujitsu announced a complete services and consulting suite for Google Android. According to Fujitsu, Google Android will not only be used for Mobile phones, but as an embedded platform for various applications: Car navigation systems, Set Top Box, Office Appliances and the obvious Smart Phones. Based on Linux and maintained… Continue reading Fujitsu to offer Android related services

$8.70: Emobile Introduces Japan’s Lowest Monthly Phone Fee

Emobile, the No. 4 major cell phone carrier in Japan, said Wednesday that it will introduce a new cell phone price plan on February 7, which is the most attractive in Japan – at least if you aim for the lowest possible prices. For an almost unbelievable basic fee of 780 Yen ($8.70/6.80 Euros), Emobile… Continue reading $8.70: Emobile Introduces Japan’s Lowest Monthly Phone Fee