On the same day when Rakuten’s investment on Pinterest reported (Rakuten announced it officially on today May 18.), the Japan’s largest online mall also announced another domestic investment. On May 15, Rakuten and Online pharmacy company Kenko.com (kenko = health in Japanese) jointly announced [J, pdf] that they agreed on business alliance, as well as… Continue reading Rakuten To Purchase 51% Of Online Pharmacy Kenko.com
Category: Japan
Drecom Releases American iOS App “Monster Arms”
Drecom [J] Has released the new social game application “Monster Arms” for the American App Store. The support language is English so unfortunately it can’t be downloaded from Japan. “Monster Arms” is a real time strategy card game where you make an original deck and collect character cards while completing missions. It has social components… Continue reading Drecom Releases American iOS App “Monster Arms”
Plug-in Cat For Smartphone Is Under Development
When Japanese blogger @nekomura_otako posted her rough sketch of this Smartphone accessory idea on Twitter. http://twitpic.com/9bnn03 “I would like to have cat-shaped earphone-jack parts like this.” She did not expect that so many people liked and wanted it. But the Twitter buzz promptly found a company who offers to make it production. The mock-ups have… Continue reading Plug-in Cat For Smartphone Is Under Development
Japanese Font With Stroke Order
I never saw this kind of Japanese font. All Chinese letter has stroke number by side, so if you set the font on your browser and OS, you may always check the right stroke order. The sample text means “Chinese letter’s stroke order” 🙂 The font is avaiable here. via Modern Syntax Blog
Mixi Gives Up? Nikkei Business Report CEO Considering To Sell His 55% Ownership
Nikkei Business Online, an online version of business magazine under Nikkei group, on May 15 after the midnight reported that Mixi, one of Japan’s largest social networking service, a direct local competitor of Facebook, is on the table to sell itself. Some social networking competitors, such like Gree and DeNA(who runs Mobage), who had turned… Continue reading Mixi Gives Up? Nikkei Business Report CEO Considering To Sell His 55% Ownership
Six Japanese Social Game Platformer Announced To End Complete Gacha
A communication council of 6 major Japanese social gaming platforms – Gree, DeNA(Mobage), Cyber Agent, Mixi, NHN Japan and Dwango – just released that they would not release new games having Kompu Gacha any more. Kompu Gatcha in current games will be also terminated by the end of this month. From this morning, Klab (major… Continue reading Six Japanese Social Game Platformer Announced To End Complete Gacha
“PayPal Here”: SoftBank And PayPal Join Forces In Japan For Smartphone Payment Solution
PayPal President David Marcus, eBay CEO John Donahoe (PayPal is an eBay brand), and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son announced “PayPal Here” in Tokyo today, a payment solution for smartphones. This is huge news for PayPal’s Japan unit, which has been operating in this country for years but hasn’t achieved the success it has seen in… Continue reading “PayPal Here”: SoftBank And PayPal Join Forces In Japan For Smartphone Payment Solution
Event: J-Geek Vol. 2 To Take Place In Shibuya, Tokyo On May 17
If you consider yourself an Akiba pop culture geek and happen to live in Japan, then the so-called “J-Geek vol.2 International AKIBA POP Presents: ~ANIME★OLD SCHOOL!!~” event on May 17 in Shibuya should be right for you. (The first event took place in march this year.) Organized by Saeki Kenzo from Tokyo-based PearlNet, the event… Continue reading Event: J-Geek Vol. 2 To Take Place In Shibuya, Tokyo On May 17
Movatwitter Has A New Owner: jig.jp Buys Twitter Client Operator Mindscope
Tokyo-based mobile tech company jig.jp today announced it acquired Mindscope, the startup behind popular Twitter client movatwitter. movatwitter is Japanese-only, web-based and as such usable across various platforms, including smartphones, feature phones, the PC or handheld consoles like the Sony Vita or the Nintendo 3DS. Around 2009, Twitter’s official Japanese top page featured the app… Continue reading Movatwitter Has A New Owner: jig.jp Buys Twitter Client Operator Mindscope
Yahoo! Japan Releases Yahoo! Browser for Android
Yahoo! Japan, the largest and the most popular website in Japan, offers a new web browser for Android for free. The name is Yahoo! Browser. It starts from a speed dial page like Opera, Do Yahoo! Search on Yahoo! Browser, The browser offers semicircular menu, which shows up when you touch the either side edge… Continue reading Yahoo! Japan Releases Yahoo! Browser for Android