On Tuesday, Japanese prime minister Taro Aso[J] dissolved the lower house of parliament for the upcoming general election which is set for August 30th. Representative candidates are forced to fight against their competitors and to appeal their policies to potential voters under the shining summer sun. All political parties are now more aggressive than ever… Continue reading Two Parties Start Cyber Negative Campaigning For Upcoming Election
Category: Society
Election And Internet In Japan
Agile Media Network held a conference “Internet Changes Election?” [JP] on April 24th. Statesmen and NPOs discussed about the use of Internet for election in Japan. Shin Itoh of Japan Initiative [JP] gave a 30-minutes talk on Japanese Election Law. He said that the law is unreasonably strict. Electoral campaign is only allowed during official… Continue reading Election And Internet In Japan
Twitter & Politics: Can Tweets Change Our Society?
On Tuesday in Roppongi, Tokyo, Glocom (Global Communication Center, International Univ. of Japan) held a workshop focusing on how we can take advantage of Twitter for improving our politics. Invited panelists are: Fumi Yamazaki(@Fumi), freelance researcher and former project manager for Joi Lab, Digital Garage. Daisuke Tsuda(@tsuda), freelance IT journalist and recently reporting on Twitter… Continue reading Twitter & Politics: Can Tweets Change Our Society?
Do Animated Tourist Guides Boost Local Economy?
Tokyo-based animation studio FanWorks[J], which is well known for a famous title “Yawaraka Sensha ” or “Soft Wartank”, tied up with animators and TV broadcasters in Toyama (a Honshu island’s prefecture facing the Sea of Japan), and launched a project to promote the prefecture’s sightseeing business by creating original animation titles[J/E/F/C/K] which are intended for… Continue reading Do Animated Tourist Guides Boost Local Economy?
Teachers’ Concerns Vault Website Watchdogs To Thriving Business
We’ve got a social issue of clandestine school weblog sites on which children slander their classmates by posting anonymous messages. For school teachers are too busy to resolve these issues, education boards of several local authorities tend to outsource website patrol operations to watchdog experts. Tokyo metropolitan government put its patrol work on public bid… Continue reading Teachers’ Concerns Vault Website Watchdogs To Thriving Business
Seasonal Celebration At Shrine For Akihabaran Soil And Soul
A shrine located in the Akihabara electric district and was built more than a millennium ago, Kanda-Myojin celebrates its annual biyearly festival in the town, and live streamers are shooting the people who thank the local deity, pray for peace in the town and carry portable shrines on their shoulders. As of this writing, the festival… Continue reading Seasonal Celebration At Shrine For Akihabaran Soil And Soul
Ex-school Sites Are On Sale For The First Time In Japan’s Internet Auction History
A rural town located on the south coast of Hokkaido Island, Niikappu, put four of the town’s unused municipal elementary school sites on sale on Yahoo Auction[J]. The sites consist of school buildings, swimming pools and teachers’ dormitories. The bid started in the USD21M to USD67M price range. Because of the declining number of applicants for schools… Continue reading Ex-school Sites Are On Sale For The First Time In Japan’s Internet Auction History
Mixi Bans Their Users From Dating
Social network service Mixi banned users from dating. Mixi changed their terms of policy on December 1st, in accordance with the “Dating site regulation act”. They are now prohibiting users from “using Mixi mainly to meet with strangers of the other sex”. Recently, Mixi has deleted many groups which hold group dating or offline meetings.… Continue reading Mixi Bans Their Users From Dating
Laptop users plugging in at stations risk police visit
In US airports, many people can be seen using their laptops plugged in to nearby outlets. If you do that in Japan, you could be arrested by the police. In February 2004, a man using a power outlet in Nagoya Station was questioned by railroad police. The case was reported to the prosecutor’s office as… Continue reading Laptop users plugging in at stations risk police visit