First Social Game Magazine Appli-Style On Sale

On December 2nd, Japan’s first (maybe the world first? do you know?) cellphone social game application magazine “Appli Style” has been released in Japan. The magazine, costs 680 yen (US$8), published by a publisher Eastpress, are sold at bookstores and convenience stores around the nation. (->

Tokyo Taxis Become WiFi-Enabled

In association with NTT DoCoMo, Tokyo Musen[J], an alliance of taxi operators in Tokyo, started today providing in-car WiFi Internet access for free for taxi users on 820 cars travelling within Tokyo Prefecture.   100 of the 820 cars carry PSP Go (PlayStation Portable) as well, taxi users are allowed to playing games with it,… Continue reading Tokyo Taxis Become WiFi-Enabled

Yahoo! Japan’s Search Engine All Switched To Google’s Confirmed By Y!J President Inoue

According to Jiji, Yahoo! Japan president Masahiro Inoue confirmed that their backend search engine switch had finished on December 1st. Japan Fair Trade Commission yesterday declared that the coalition between Yahoo! Japan and Google around search technology is not an unfair monopoly. He also said that another big switch to Google’s technology, ads network system… Continue reading Yahoo! Japan’s Search Engine All Switched To Google’s Confirmed By Y!J President Inoue

Family Mart Debuts New Rice Balls Suggested By Twitter Users

Following the cooperation between soft drink company Calpis and noodle maker Acecook with Mixi in 2008, we have yet another case of social media integration into product development in Japan. Major  convenience store chain Family Mart is concluding its campaign [J] where they release new rice ball flavors according to the suggestions of Twitter users… Continue reading Family Mart Debuts New Rice Balls Suggested By Twitter Users

Track The International Space Station(ISS) From PC, Facebook And Smartphone

SightSpaceStation by Tokyo-based Tori Ningen [J] is a site gives you full experience and knowledge on the International Space Station(ISS) watch. The English/Japanese/Spanish-trilingual web site tells you that the earliest date and time when you will be able to watch the ISS flies over your town next time. Google Maps, Google Street View and Google… Continue reading Track The International Space Station(ISS) From PC, Facebook And Smartphone

Make Tokyo Meeting 06: Where You Can See Future, Magic And Junk In A Place

Picture above: “Hyper knit creator” Saki Chikaraishi[J] (@hypersaku) wearing the iPhone-like sweater she has knit. Last weekend, at Ookayama Campus, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O’reilly Media‘s mechatronics magazine “Make” held the 6th meeting[J] and a bunch of unique gadgets were presented.  Let’s have a look at some of remarkable items. – – – – – – – –… Continue reading Make Tokyo Meeting 06: Where You Can See Future, Magic And Junk In A Place

Mixi Gives Up New “Search Friends By E-mail Address” Feature After Harsh Rejection

On November 30th, Mixi, Japanese counterpart of Facebook, one of the three biggest Japanese social network service, introduced a new feature [J, requires Mixi log-in], which allows you to search your friend on Mixi from his/her e-mail address, which makes Mixi step into real life networks side. Before the change, you could invite your friend… Continue reading Mixi Gives Up New “Search Friends By E-mail Address” Feature After Harsh Rejection

El Shaddai – The Latest Japanese Internet Meme

El Shaddai – Ascension of the Metatron – [J] is a Playstation3/Xbox360 action game. The game having the Hebraic name of God is planned to be released in 2011 so at this point there are only an official site and few demo movies. However, this uncompleted game has been causing huge buzz on Japanese web.… Continue reading El Shaddai – The Latest Japanese Internet Meme

Startups 2010: CyberAgent Ventures Announces To Invest In Five Tech Start-ups

CyberAgent Ventures[J], an invest arm of Tokyo’s web business conglomerate CyberAgent, previously known as CyberAgent Investment, announced today the result of Startups 2010[J] or their program digging up hidden tech start-ups from Japanese market.  Five teams were chosen to be financially and physically supported by CyberVentures in the program. Totally 108 teams have submitted their… Continue reading Startups 2010: CyberAgent Ventures Announces To Invest In Five Tech Start-ups

Preview: 14 Startup Demos From The Infinity Ventures Summit In Kyoto Next Week

One of Japan’s biggest web industry events is the so-called Infinity Ventures Summit (IVS), a two-day, invitation-only event that takes place twice a year (Asiajin is a media partner). The fall event will happen in Kyoto next week, namely on December 7 and 8. Organized by VC firm Infinity Venture Partners, the IVS this time… Continue reading Preview: 14 Startup Demos From The Infinity Ventures Summit In Kyoto Next Week