This is slightly off-topic but cool. There are hundreds of language schools in Tokyo, but the Idol Foreign Language Academy, which will open its doors very soon, is certainly unique. The concept of the school is based on having Japanese idols, young and cute girls who are famous to some extent (I am paraphrasing), teach… Continue reading Idol Foreign Language Academy: Now Idols Teach Languages (In Akihabara, Of Course)
Category: News
Japan’s Biggest Social Network Mixi Buys 20% Of Foreigner-Led Social Gaming Company Pikkle
Mixi [JP], Japan’s largest social network (17.4 million members at the end of June), yesterday announced [JP, PDF] they acquired a 20% stake in Pikkle, a Tokyo-based social gaming company that was founded in 2005. What’s particularly interesting about this deal is that Pikkle was founded by David “DC” Collier, a veteran in the videogaming… Continue reading Japan’s Biggest Social Network Mixi Buys 20% Of Foreigner-Led Social Gaming Company Pikkle
30min. Fundraises USD275,000 To Go Next Round
Japan’s best-known LBS (location-based service) app 30min.[J] (pronounced “san-zero minutes”) allocated new shares to Mitsui Ventures (MVC), and Mr. Yohei Nishikubo joined the company as the managing director today. Mr. Nishikubo is a venture partner of MVC and formerly served as the president of search ad agency and SEO (search engine optimization) consultancy J Listing[J].… Continue reading 30min. Fundraises USD275,000 To Go Next Round
Chinese Government To Shut Out Foreign Online Games
China’s national copyright administration[C] announced the government would ban the market entry of online game services which are operated by non-Chinese service providers. According to the country’s state-run news website Xinhua-Net, the deputy commissioner for the sci-tech department of the administration says, regardless of whether it’s an independent entity or a joint venture with a… Continue reading Chinese Government To Shut Out Foreign Online Games
Technorati Japan Closes Service October 23
Technorati in the US relaunched today, introducing a set of new features and a fresh overall look, and received a 2 million USD cash injection yesterday, but a few hours ago Technorati Japan has announced [JP] it will cease to exist as early as October 23. The move itself isn’t too surprising to many people… Continue reading Technorati Japan Closes Service October 23
Two Different Approaches To Digitize Printed Magazines
It is very interesting that there are two different ways leading to the almost same results. I wonder which approach makes it successful in their business. What do you think? Tokyo-based e-commerce related service provider Enigmo launched a new service last Wednesday, which is named Corseka[J] and allows users to browse and read their favorite… Continue reading Two Different Approaches To Digitize Printed Magazines
Top 50 Of Japan’s Most Rapidly Growing Tech Startups. GREE Is No. 1.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has compiled a list of the 50 fastest-growing tech firms in Japan [JP, PDF], and it’s quite interesting. The so-called Nippon Technology FAST50 was released yesterday by the company’s Tokyo subsidiary, and I took the liberty to fully translate the list. Deloitte says the ranking is based on sales growth over the… Continue reading Top 50 Of Japan’s Most Rapidly Growing Tech Startups. GREE Is No. 1.
WebCam: Tokyo’s New Landmark Is Currently Under Construction
Japanese terrestrial TV transmitting is set to completely turn to digital on July 24th of 2011. Here in Tokyo, all TV signals are currently being transmitted from the top of Tokyo Tower (332.5 meters or 1,090 feet high), but a new transmission facility located at a higher altitude is required to cover the Tokyo… Continue reading WebCam: Tokyo’s New Landmark Is Currently Under Construction
Japan’s No. 1 Online Mall Rakuten Buys Into Thailand’s Leading E-Commerce Company Tarad
Japan’s biggest online shopping mall Rakuten (nearly 50 million registered users in Japan/Asiajin articles) today announced [JP] a capital and business alliance with Bangkok-based Tarad Dot Com [TH], Thailand’s leading e-commerce company. The move marks Rakuten’s first serious attempt to gain in a foothold in the country, which has an Internet population of 13.5 million… Continue reading Japan’s No. 1 Online Mall Rakuten Buys Into Thailand’s Leading E-Commerce Company Tarad
The First Mixi Appli Is Blamed And Stopped As Discriminatory
Mixi, the biggest social network service in Japan, started their OpenSocial compliant application platform Mixi Appli officially opened to every Mixi user on PC on last month. Mixi Appli Mobile is planned to follow this month. After couple of months closed beta test, Mixi successfully lined up 130 applications by third parties and affiliated startups,… Continue reading The First Mixi Appli Is Blamed And Stopped As Discriminatory