What are Japan’s top products in 2010? That’s a question Japan’s (and one of the world’s) biggest advertising agency Dentsu recently asked in a survey [PDF] it has been conducting since 1985 (n=1,000). For the first time, Dentsu has also compiled a “hit list” that’s supposed to shine a light on what’s going to be… Continue reading Hit List: Japan’s Top 20 Products In 2010 (And 2011)
Category: News
Yahoo Japan And Online Fashion Store Zozotown Announce Tie-Up
Yesterday, Japan’s biggest website Yahoo Japan announced a tie-up with Chiba-based Start Today, operator of popular online fashion store Zozotown. Under the agreement, Yahoo has listed around 100,000 items from Zozotown’s catalogue in its Shopping category. As you can see on the screenshot below, big Y already began promoting Zozotown on its shopping site. If… Continue reading Yahoo Japan And Online Fashion Store Zozotown Announce Tie-Up
Startup Weekend Tokyo 2010: Picture Crop Tool Kachop Wins 1st Prize Among Nine Teams
It was Global Entrepreneurship Week between November 14 and 21 when a variety of business development events took place in Tokyo and Kyoto. In time with this opportunity, there was a three-day tech event called Startup Weekend Tokyo last weekend, which was the second edition here in Japan. At this event, people having a variety… Continue reading Startup Weekend Tokyo 2010: Picture Crop Tool Kachop Wins 1st Prize Among Nine Teams
JAFCO Invests $6 Million In Japanese Groupon Clone Luxa
Like everywhere else, the Japanese market is full of Groupon clones. Market share-wise, the “original” Groupon (Groupon Japan) is leading after it acquired one of its local clones earlier this year. It’s followed by Piku, the first Groupon-like service in this country. But Japanese venture capital companies still see room for even more coupon services.… Continue reading JAFCO Invests $6 Million In Japanese Groupon Clone Luxa
Japan’s Itochu Invests In Hong Kong And Taiwanese E-Commerce Sites
Major Japanese trading (and Fortune 500) company Itochu is making a foray into the Asian e-commerce space. According to The Nikkei, Itochu made two investments recently, having bought into Hong Kong-based online shopping company Fortune Link (website is currently down) and Taiwan-based PChome. About 10% of each of these sites have been acquired by Itochu,… Continue reading Japan’s Itochu Invests In Hong Kong And Taiwanese E-Commerce Sites
Rakuten Brings “Super Points” Loyalty Program To Buy.Com
Japan’s biggest e-commerce company Rakuten, which currently boasts a market cap of US$9.7 billion, has been relatively quiet after having acquired US-based Buy.com earlier this year (for US$250 million). Now Buy.com is announcing it has introduced a loyalty program called “Rakuten Super Points” on its site. The way it works is pretty simple: much like… Continue reading Rakuten Brings “Super Points” Loyalty Program To Buy.Com
LTE vs. Extention Of Current Techs: Who Brings Us The World’s Fastest Mobile Broadband?
Japan’s largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo announced at their seasonal press conference that it would launch an LTE (long-term evolution) service called Xi[J] (pronounced as “crossy”) on Christmas eve of this year in Japan’s highly populated areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. LTE is collectively known as 3.9G mobile technology standard that allows you to… Continue reading LTE vs. Extention Of Current Techs: Who Brings Us The World’s Fastest Mobile Broadband?
Medical Net Communications Goes IPO On Tokyo Stock Exchange
Japan’s tech IPO market has been drying up dramatically in recent months, but there are still some IPOs happening. Today it was announced that Tokyo-based Japan Medical Net Communications, which operates several sites for medical services in this country (full list here), is next. The company has received approval to list on the Tokyo Stock… Continue reading Medical Net Communications Goes IPO On Tokyo Stock Exchange
Nico Nico Douga Turns In The Black In Full-year Result And Plans New Office In Harajuku
Dwango[J], the parent of the company running Japan’s largest video sharing site Nico Nico Douga[J], announced its full-year consolidated financial statements (Oct. 2009 thru Sep. 2010) last week, which showed us Nico Nico Douga had turned in the black for the first time in their full-year result. (In their monthly earnings, it already turned in… Continue reading Nico Nico Douga Turns In The Black In Full-year Result And Plans New Office In Harajuku
Kadokawa To Launch E-Book Distribution Platform; Some Novelists Can’t Wait And Launch Their Own
Kadokawa Shoten Publishing[J] and its subsidiaries, which are known for having published many comic titles and magazines, announced on Friday that they would launch an e-book distribution platform called Book Walker next month. Approximately 100 titles will be available for the iPhone and the iPad users at the launch of the platform, and 20 titles… Continue reading Kadokawa To Launch E-Book Distribution Platform; Some Novelists Can’t Wait And Launch Their Own