Category: Society

“Worst Busters” Project To Reform The Worst Of Japan With Smartphone Apps

Omoshiro Houjin Kayac Inc. [J] has announced that they will begin Worst Busters, [J] a project that will, using an application, reform the worst areas in the 47 prefectures of Japan, by their collaboration with 1192 Inc. [J]. “Worst Busters” is a project to take on what 1992 has deemed the “worst” of society as… Continue reading “Worst Busters” Project To Reform The Worst Of Japan With Smartphone Apps

As The First In Its Kind, Digital-Focused Event To Be Held This Weekend In Fukuoka

As the first in its kind (for me at least), there will be a big three-day event in Fukuoka this weekend, which is called Myojo Waraku or just “MJ” in short, where a bunch of celebrities, geeks and techpreneurs from music, online video filming and start-up communities in the city come together. For those who… Continue reading As The First In Its Kind, Digital-Focused Event To Be Held This Weekend In Fukuoka

Wiki Covering 11 Countries: Digital Media Across Asia

Here is some recommended reading, probably of value for just about everybody reading Asiajin: in 2007, Students at Singapore Management University have created a wiki called “Digital Media Across Asia”, which now covers a total of eleven countries (in English), namely: Australia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Singapore South Korea Taiwan Vietnam On… Continue reading Wiki Covering 11 Countries: Digital Media Across Asia

Think You’ve Got What It Takes? iPhone App For Japanese Thugs’ Rite of Passage

photo by Macotakara [J] Studio MorikenStudio Moriken [J] has released a free iPhone application called Konjoyaki that lets users experience a piece of Japanese Yankee culture. “Yankee” in Japan does not mean North American – it refers to “bad boys” or “thugs”. The name of the app (‘Konjoyaki’ – literally “Burn, with guts”) comes from… Continue reading Think You’ve Got What It Takes? iPhone App For Japanese Thugs’ Rite of Passage

Japanese Government Allows ISPs to Target Ads by Browsing History

A Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省) working group recently published an opinion stating that certain network monitoring technologies (Deep Packet Inspection) can be used by Internet Service Providers to serve targeted advertising to users, but only after the user has been clearly notified of these practices. This news made the top page of Sunday’s… Continue reading Japanese Government Allows ISPs to Target Ads by Browsing History

Japan e-Business Assc. Blames Court For Rejecting Online Drag Sales

Online drag retailers Kenko.com in Tokyo and Wellnet[J] in Yokohama have sued Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for seeking to lift the ban on online drag sales, and Tokyo District Court[J] dismissed the suit on Tuesday.   Japan e-Business Association[J], consisting of e-commerce giants such as Rakuten and Yahoo Japan, announced a comment blaming… Continue reading Japan e-Business Assc. Blames Court For Rejecting Online Drag Sales

Mixi Introduces Two Tiers Friends System

Japan’s biggest social network service Mixi added a new feature around its Mai-Miku(comes from “My Mixi”) friend system, adding “good friend”. In addition to the existing “diary only to friends”, you can write a “good friends only” diary now. There have been many troubles on Mixi Diary such like people boasting their petty crimes were… Continue reading Mixi Introduces Two Tiers Friends System

Election Campaigning On The Net: When Does Law Catch Up With Social Trends?

Prior to the general election scheduled at the end of this month, Rakuten publicized a letter from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan(DPJ) in response to the question by 60 Japanese business leaders including Rakuten’s CEO Hiroshi Mikitani. The leaders asked both parties about their policies on six subjects… Continue reading Election Campaigning On The Net: When Does Law Catch Up With Social Trends?

UGC Song Parody: Freedom Of Expression Or Libeling Her?

Noriko Sakai, who used to be a popular J-pop idol in late 1980s and is now an actress starring on several TV commercial films, was arrested on a suspicion of possessing illegal stimulants last weekend.   She has an enormous number of her fans in Asian nations, especially Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and several… Continue reading UGC Song Parody: Freedom Of Expression Or Libeling Her?