NOTTV – that’s the name of a new mobile TV channel that could one day replace 1Seg, the current TV and broadcasting standard for Japanese cell phones. Japan’s biggest mobile carrier NTT Docomo, the country’s biggest ad agency Dentsu, and a handful of private-sector broadcasters are planning to launch NOTTV on April 1 this year.… Continue reading NOTTV: Japan Gets Smartphone-Only TV Channel (Video)
Category: Japan
Kakaku.com Unveils “Tabelog Yoyaku”, Online Restaurant Reservation Site
Kakaku.com, Inc. announced that “Tabelog Yoyaku” that you can make reservation on site at their part of “Tabelog” service. No membership is required and it is for free. “Tabelog Yoyaku” is service that you can check availability and make reservation. By searching dates, area and budget, restaurant can be reserved will be sown up, and… Continue reading Kakaku.com Unveils “Tabelog Yoyaku”, Online Restaurant Reservation Site
Google Rules Snail Mail Marketing In Japan
Tsuhan Tsushin reported that Google Japan got Grand Prix at Japan Post’s Direct Mail Award [J], which is an annual contest choose the best from companies’ direct mail(DM) really sent. This year, 28 DM are awarded from 672 applicants, and the most valued DM from three points of view, strategy, creativity and effectiveness. Google’s DM… Continue reading Google Rules Snail Mail Marketing In Japan
Report: Amazon To Bring Kindle To Japan In April
Business daily The Nikkei says it learned that Amazon Japan, the country’s second-biggest e-commerce company, is planning to finally offer its e-book reader Kindle to Japanese customers. According to the paper, Amazon is expected to launch Kindle devices in April this year “for less than 20,000 yen” (US$257). Apparently, the Kindle Touch will be positioned… Continue reading Report: Amazon To Bring Kindle To Japan In April
Mangajet Makes Your Tweet Into A Comic-style Illustration
Mangajet [J] is a new Japanese service which let you make a Japanese manga-comic style illustration with provided characters, background images, baloons with your text. The generated comic strip can be saved and shared on Twitter. Following to the Japanese manga standard, text will be written in top-to-bottom direction so Western languages won’t fit well,… Continue reading Mangajet Makes Your Tweet Into A Comic-style Illustration
D2 Communications Acquires 0.9% Stake In Tokyo-Based Ubiqituous Entertainment
Japan’s largest mobile marketing and advertising firm, D2 Communications (D2C), has acquired a 0.9% stake in Tokyo-based Ubiqituous Entertainment (UEI). D2C acquired a total of 400 UEI shares – other financial details of the deal, which was officially announced [JP] today, weren’t disclosed. In April last year, the two companies started a program called 9leap… Continue reading D2 Communications Acquires 0.9% Stake In Tokyo-Based Ubiqituous Entertainment
Not Only Tokyo – Twitter Japan Adds 6 More Japanese Cities On Trending Topics
Twitter added more choices of cities on its trending keywords in Japan on February 2. There were only all-Japan and Tokyo rankings before. 6 cities, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Sendai are the new ones. View Twitter Trends On New Japanese Cities in a full screen map There are many bigger cities than Sendai,… Continue reading Not Only Tokyo – Twitter Japan Adds 6 More Japanese Cities On Trending Topics
e-Money Service Edy Rebrands Itself As Rakuten Edy
BitWallet, who runs one of Japan’s most successful e-money service Edy since 2011, who joined the Japan’s largest e-mall group Rakuten in January 2010, 2 years ago, announced [J] that the e-money brand Edy will be changed to “Rakuten Edy” from June 1, 2012. Rakuten did similar renaming on companies they bought, like DLJdirect SFG… Continue reading e-Money Service Edy Rebrands Itself As Rakuten Edy
Istyle(@cosme) Goes IPO On TSE Mothers
(@cosme’s tag line on the logo is “site of everyone’s word of mouth”) Istyle [J], who runs Japan’s top cosmetic products review site @Cosme, announced [J] on February 3, 2012, that they will be listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers (Tosho Mothers) planned on March 8, 2012. The company was established in 1999, and its… Continue reading Istyle(@cosme) Goes IPO On TSE Mothers
Many Hatsune Miku Videos Being Removed From YouTube By Invalid Copyright Report
Popular human voice synthesizer Vocaloid Hatsune Miku are getting known oversea as a Japanese web phenomenon. Like the global company Google picked it up as a “singer” for Chrome promotion in Japan, where they chose Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga for US. As the Chrome video shows, there are massive number of generated songs and… Continue reading Many Hatsune Miku Videos Being Removed From YouTube By Invalid Copyright Report