Mapion And TFPS Introduce NFC Technology Service Allowing Game Points To Be Used For Purchases At Real Shops

Mapion Inc. [J] and TF Payment Service [J] have developed a service that allows the use of mobile game special points at real shops. This uses NFC, and by linking the service platforms of both companies, payments are settled simply by holding a smartphone.  It acquires a series of marketing data from customer introduction to… Continue reading Mapion And TFPS Introduce NFC Technology Service Allowing Game Points To Be Used For Purchases At Real Shops

Social Gift Service “mixi Birthday” Delivers Half A Million Virtual Cakes In First Week

Frenxxo, Inc. [J] has announced that the total number of greetings sent by the social gift service “mixi Birthday” [J] within one week of its release has exceeded half a million. “mixi Birthday” is a service which allows you to present mixi friends with digital birthday cakes and decoration items (free / for a fee)… Continue reading Social Gift Service “mixi Birthday” Delivers Half A Million Virtual Cakes In First Week

Android App Karelog Lets You Spy On Your Boyfriend Remotely [Update: Pulled]

Are you a woman? Are you easily getting jealous? Does your boyfriend own an Android cell phone? If you answered all of these questions with “yes”, then a new Android app called “Karelog” [JP] (Boyfriend Log) might be the right thing for you. In a nutshell, it’s a piece of “spyware” that you secretly install… Continue reading Android App Karelog Lets You Spy On Your Boyfriend Remotely [Update: Pulled]

Zaim: The Socialized Cashbook App Helps You Find Better Ways To Save Daily Expenses

Takako Kansai[J] (@kansai_takako), a full-time engineer at Tokyo’s web service start-up and also the best known tech geek girl in this country, just released her first iPhone app called Zaim on Tuesday. Zaim, meaning “financial affairs” in the Japanese pronunciation, makes you possible to easily note where you have bought something, what you have bought,… Continue reading Zaim: The Socialized Cashbook App Helps You Find Better Ways To Save Daily Expenses

Facebook Spot Information Is Jacked By A Giant Japanese Coupon Business Player

Facebook Spot Information is becoming popular in Japan after Facebook had started Check-in Coupon (Check-in Deals) in Japan. Facebook Japan Holds An New Coupon Service Launch Event In Shibuya The problem arouse when Recruit[E], Japan’s largest coupon business player, registered spot information of restaurants on behalf of restaurant owners without enough notification. Hitoshi Nakamura(twitter id:… Continue reading Facebook Spot Information Is Jacked By A Giant Japanese Coupon Business Player

Snapeee: Can Teen Taste Snapshot Sharing Win Hearts Of The Young In Asia?

Tokyo-based tech start-up Mind Palette[J], who was chosen as one of the five projects that Cyber Agent support in their incubation program, released the iPhone app called Snapeee this week.   It is a picture-based social network platform that has a feature of decorating user’s snapshots, that is deeply inspired by the Japanese subculture fashion that… Continue reading Snapeee: Can Teen Taste Snapshot Sharing Win Hearts Of The Young In Asia?

Kayac Introduces FB-integrated VoIP App For The iPhone

Kanagawa-based funny app developer Kayac introduced Reengo, a VoIP app for the iPhone that allows you to place a call to your Facebook friend without dialing the number.   According to TechCrunch Japan[J], the company chose Facebook from available options as an integration platform because they would like to spread the app out globally. As… Continue reading Kayac Introduces FB-integrated VoIP App For The iPhone

Which Foreign Startups Are Doing Well In Japan “Under The Radar”?

It’s no secret that in recent years, quite a few foreign (mostly American) web brands have made it big in Japan: Google, YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia, Amazon etc. But what about startups that don’t have huge budgets to internationalize, no staff in Japan and – in some cases – not even a Japanese user interface (usually… Continue reading Which Foreign Startups Are Doing Well In Japan “Under The Radar”?

BeeTV: Docomo’s Mobile TV Service Hits 1.5 Million User Mark

Mobile TV is often cited as being a dream of the future in most markets, but it has been around in Japan, the world’s most advanced mobile nation, for years. The majority of the 100+ handsets Japan gets every year comes equipped with a 1Seg digital TV tuner (some even have 2 tuners to watch… Continue reading BeeTV: Docomo’s Mobile TV Service Hits 1.5 Million User Mark