One of the big differences between the web in Japan versus America or Europe is the way sites are being monetized. Generally speaking, the level of acceptance for the freemium model seems to be higher among Japanese users. As a ballpark number, it’s safe to say that usually between five and 15 percent of users… Continue reading In Japan, Freemium Works. Nico Nico Douga paid member user base passes 500k
Results for "mixi"
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See You, CU
Even Japan’s Web Colossus Yahoo! Japan can easily fail if trying to force real name to Japanese users. The social business networking service Yahoo! CU, which launched November 2008 is announced to cease on October 19th, before its first anniversary. CU encourages users to register their real name and organization name which they belong, to… Continue reading See You, CU
YAPC::Asia 2009 A Massive Perl Community Event
Following to the LLTV(annual Lightweight Language Conference in Tokyo) and PHP Conference Japan 2009 (Asiajin’s cover), another sub-1000 attendees class web developer conference YAPC::Asia 2009 is being held at Tokyo Institute of Technology. In 2008, LL(Lightweight Languages, which mean scripting languages for web development such like Perl/PHP/Python/Ruby), Ruby, PHP, Perl events were held monthly pace… Continue reading YAPC::Asia 2009 A Massive Perl Community Event
Top 20: Japan’s most valuable web companies
About a year ago, I wrote an article on Asiajin that contained a list of Japan’s most valuable web companies by market capitalization. A lot has happened since then (thanks to the exchange rate we now have 12 large-cap companies instead of six, for example), so let’s see how the list looks today. I am… Continue reading Top 20: Japan’s most valuable web companies
Event Preview: Web Innovation Showcase WISH2009 To Be Held
Agile Media Network, a Shibuya-based start-up company providing Japanese A-list bloggers with ad revenue opportunities and Asiajin’s adviser Motohiko Tokuriki[J] serves as the president of, plans to hold an event called WISH2009[J] on Friday evening next week. Mr. Tokuriki attended TedxTokyo last May, and he was highly inspired by the event and turned to think… Continue reading Event Preview: Web Innovation Showcase WISH2009 To Be Held
Q&A: What’s the Japanese equivalent of [enter foreign web service here]?
This is a reboot of a post I wrote back in July last year, listing up the Japanese equivalents of websites that are popular in the US and Europe. For example, Japanese people don’t know Ebay but auction their stuff off on Yahoo Japan Auctions, get in touch with friends via Mixi instead of Facebook… Continue reading Q&A: What’s the Japanese equivalent of [enter foreign web service here]?
Startup Showdown: Two Business Contests Announce Finalists
A couple of tech-oriented business contests announced the finalists on Friday. At first, Tokyo-based VC firm ngi Group and online game developer Aeria[J] jointly held the 1st edition of business contest for potential student entrepreneurs, which is titled “I-SHIN” meaning revolution in Japanese. The plan entries were open from last April to last May. The… Continue reading Startup Showdown: Two Business Contests Announce Finalists
NAVER, Korean based new communication search services landed on Japan, again
Yes, they come again. This time with solid determination and good amount of resources in Tokyo. NAVER, number one Web search service in Korea has started open beta service for Japanese market.It is their second entry for Japanese market since their first attempt which was ended 2005 due to focus on domestic market, or simply… Continue reading NAVER, Korean based new communication search services landed on Japan, again
If iPhone Were No.1 in Japan, Sony Would Be No.1 Music Player
Fortune reported an interesting survey on iPhone sales in Japan. Mashable, CrunchGear and some other blogs have also reported the news. From Japan, I am trying to provide some more detail for people who want to better understand this news. Is the ranking legitimate? Yes. The shops which give their POS (point of sale) data… Continue reading If iPhone Were No.1 in Japan, Sony Would Be No.1 Music Player
Monetize Hacks #3 Report (part 2)
(Following to the part 1) 5. Livedoor (Asiajin articles) Tomo Tsubota, Livedoor Blog [J] Business Department, opened and shared their user demographics and billing method. Livedoor Blog started in 2003 and became black ink in Sep. 2007. 30% of sales come from premium service, which is used by 17% of active users. (60% revenue is… Continue reading Monetize Hacks #3 Report (part 2)