Nico Nico Douga Hits 28 Million Users, Generates US$46 Million In Sales Last Quarter

Nico Nico Douga, Japan’s answer to YouTube, is still growing nicely, five years after launch. Dwango, the Tokyo-based company behind the popular service, released its financial report [PDF] for the last nine months (ending in June 2012). And according to the report, Nico Nico (the company’s most important asset) reached 28.08 million users in June.… Continue reading Nico Nico Douga Hits 28 Million Users, Generates US$46 Million In Sales Last Quarter

Video: Girl Band JKT48 (AKB48’s Sister Band) Promoting Rakuten In Indonesia

JKT48, the Indonesian sister band of ultra-popular Japanese girl group AKB48 (Asiajin), is promoting Rakuten Belanja Online, Rakuten’s joint venture with Jakarta-based media powerhouse PT Global Mediacom, on Indonesian TV. In the 30-second commercial, various members of the group can be seen wearing different clothes and accessories and using gadgets – and apparently all items can… Continue reading Video: Girl Band JKT48 (AKB48’s Sister Band) Promoting Rakuten In Indonesia

Japan Gets Its Own YouTube Movie Rental Service

So far, only YouTube users from Canada, the US and (since October) the UK were able to rent movies, but yesterday, Japan has finally been added to the list, too (the country is the second biggest market for movies in the world). Youtube users in Japan can initially stream content from a total of five… Continue reading Japan Gets Its Own YouTube Movie Rental Service

Video: Mobile Train Information Service “Yamanote Train Net”

Mitsubishi Electric has developed a prototype app for iPhone and Android phones that could make life for the millions of commuters living in Tokyo a bit easier. The so-called “Yamanote Train Net” [JP] app is currently being tested in one train on the famous Yamanote line that circles the center of Tokyo. Users can expect… Continue reading Video: Mobile Train Information Service “Yamanote Train Net”

Blackboard Wars

Japanese high school students made stop-motion animations with blackboard, chalks and all school things for school festival. The first one uses over 2,500 photos, the second one over 3,000. According to the poster’s comment, free tools like PictBea­r [J] and NicoVisualEffects [J] are used. via @ryohgo_narita

Ultra High-speed Japanese Typing On iPhone

It is known that Japanese high school girls type Japanese so fast on feature phone 10 digits key, but this person on iPhone could be faster than they. On Japanese flick input training app, he writes up 45 letters/5 phrases in 6.99 seconds, which is 386 letters per minute. [Update] Another high-speed iPhone Japanese type… Continue reading Ultra High-speed Japanese Typing On iPhone

Public Service AC Commercial Buzz Pulls More Parody Videos

We reported that placeholder public service commercial buzzed crazy a week after the Eastern Japan Disasters. This AC commercial film parodies have been being added more and more. Each of cartoon character on the original ads calling people in society to greet and care each other, now has its own derivative works by mainly users… Continue reading Public Service AC Commercial Buzz Pulls More Parody Videos

Kinect Driven “Ghost in the Shell” Cyberspace

Kamakura based web/app company Kayac reproduced a cyber space in a popular anime series “Ghost in the Shell – Stand Alone Complex(S.A.C.)” at Parco Part 1 department store, Shibuya, Tokyo. By using kinect input device with big screens, visitors can experience to chase and catch out Tachikoma, an AI tank (Wikipedia) in the virtual space.… Continue reading Kinect Driven “Ghost in the Shell” Cyberspace