Nanapi [J], a web service to share hacks posted by users, had acquired 3.8 million US dollars from Globis Capital Partners in Tokyo. Nanapi is a service to share life hacks, called as life recipes in this service, posted by users. Users can post their own hacks easily via Nanapi works [J], and can earn… Continue reading Nanapi, User-Generated Lifehacks Sharing Service Raises $3.8 Millon
Google Translate Adds “Listen” Japanese
According to the official blog, Google Translate has added a text-to-speech functionality for three new language, Arabic, Korean and Japanese. It is helpful for you to check how Japanese brands are pronounced, though you need to put proper Japanese Katakana or Hiragana there. For people who have no idea how to pronounce Mobage Town and… Continue reading Google Translate Adds “Listen” Japanese
December 2010 Japan IT Links (Part 1)
Early part of December news which we did not write as a dedicated article. Continued to (Part 2) We introduced Disqus commenting system on Asiajin, and hoping to have more conversations with you now. Referred pages are all in Japanese, unless otherwise stated. Twitter Eating Record Service Eatwit ex-Livedoor CEO Takafumi Horie’s Paid Newsletter Subscribers… Continue reading December 2010 Japan IT Links (Part 1)
Gree Opens English Corporate Site – How About Others?
Gree has launched its company site in English today. It is a recent trend for big three social networking services to show their interest in international market. All of Gree, Mobage-Town and Mixi want more third party game/app development companies, and when competition is tough in Japan, of course it is a good option to… Continue reading Gree Opens English Corporate Site – How About Others?
GTA Chinatown Wars Released On Japanese App Store As More Western Developers Use iPhone to Penetrate Insular Games Market
Yesterday, Rockstar Games released a fully localized version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Japanese app store as more Western game brands invest in localizing and releasing iPhone apps. This comes at an opportune time for many Western gaming brands – not only is the Japanese games market showing signs of becoming increasingly insular on… Continue reading GTA Chinatown Wars Released On Japanese App Store As More Western Developers Use iPhone to Penetrate Insular Games Market
Video: DeNA CEO Tomoko Namba’s Interview at LeWeb’10
Tomoko Namba, the CEO of Japanese mobile social gaming giant DeNA (and one of my personal heroes), gave a pretty interesting interview at web industry conference LeWeb’10 earlier this month. LeWeb organizer Loic LeMeur asked her for a full 20 minutes about her company’s history, present and future plans Namba, speaking in excellent English, doesn’t… Continue reading Video: DeNA CEO Tomoko Namba’s Interview at LeWeb’10
51% Of Japanese Have No “Close Friend” On Their Social Network Friends List
Microsoft Advertising reported that a social media usage research conducted by Microsoft in Asia-Pacific(APAC) 11 countries and regions. According to about 3,000 answering online to the questions (375 of them are Japanese), average APAC users are using 3 social networking services. They think only one-forth of their friends list are their close friends. 51% of… Continue reading 51% Of Japanese Have No “Close Friend” On Their Social Network Friends List
Samurai Incubate Holds Annual 1-Day Camp For Young CEOs
Samurai Incubate, a Tokyo-based seed accelerator aiming to bring up many tech start-ups, had the second edition[J] of their annual showcase event in late November, which is called Samurai Venture Summit (for short, SVS) and showed us their investing portfolios and pitch presentations by CEOs of tech start-ups. It was an one-day event using a… Continue reading Samurai Incubate Holds Annual 1-Day Camp For Young CEOs
DeNA Exports Mobage In Alliance With Samsung
Yesterday issue of The Japan Times, on my monthly article I reported two social gaming network giants DeNA(Mobage Town) and Gree competition. And the competition between the two rivals is set to continue beyond their desire to be Japan’s leading social network as both companies are seeking another growth possibility — international markets. In the… Continue reading DeNA Exports Mobage In Alliance With Samsung
Virtual Social Dating Game For Ladies To Cheat Your Virtual Fiance
Kakeochi(Elopement in Japanese) (URL, only available on Japanese feature phone) is a new social game by Index Corp. on Japan’s No.1 social networking service Gree. In the game, you play a female university student, who has a fiance elected by parents. One day you attend a high-school alumni association party, and meet 5 attractive guys,… Continue reading Virtual Social Dating Game For Ladies To Cheat Your Virtual Fiance