Asahi reported that the popular online restaurant site Gurunabi (Japanre abbrev. of “Groumet Navigator”) opened a new page showing the ranking of restaurants by score of users’ review. Gurunabi is an information site where restaurants pay for their shops listed, and the site had been the champion of restaurant guide sites for years until its… Continue reading GuruNavi Compromises With Users’ Review, In Competition Against Tabelog
NHN Japan, Naver Japan and Livedoor To Be A Single Company, NHN Japan
NHN Japan and its subsidiaries Naver Japan and Livedoor announced [J] today that it would merge three companies into one, new NHN Japan on January 1, 2012. According to ComScore, the whole NHN Japan group is getting 43.08 million unique users’ visit monthly. The group has been enhancing its smartphone support, and the total number… Continue reading NHN Japan, Naver Japan and Livedoor To Be A Single Company, NHN Japan
Decopic: Kawaii Photo Sharing App Gets 500,000 Users In 2 Weeks
Decopic, a “kawaii” photo editing and sharing app Tokyo-based startup Community Factory developed for iOS and Android, has hit the 500,000 user milestone – in just 2 weeks. According to the company, the app was released on October 19 and reached that user base on November 2. Community Factory says they followed a multi-platform, multi-language… Continue reading Decopic: Kawaii Photo Sharing App Gets 500,000 Users In 2 Weeks
No. Of Japanese Startup Funds Exceeds Last Year In 9 Months
Japan Venture Research Report said [J] that the venture capital funds for start-ups are established 17 from January to September 2011, which is already more than 2010’s 15. The funds investing IT are 8 in 2011(by September), whilst 4 in 2010. The report tells that in 2011, there have been more small sized funds observed,… Continue reading No. Of Japanese Startup Funds Exceeds Last Year In 9 Months
Japan’s Web News Week 44
This week’s Japanese Web/IT related news which we did not write as a dedicated article. # tried to make this unwritten-links posts be weekly, from three times per month. Referred pages are all in Japanese, unless otherwise stated. Zero Reflextion Glass by Nippon Electric Glass Enterbrain’s Social Game Users Research Tells Japanese Market Grows 4.4… Continue reading Japan’s Web News Week 44
CyberAgent America Releases New iPhone App “Animal Bakery”
CyberAgent’s [J] American corporate body CyberAgent America,Inc has released a new iOS game application “Animal Bakery.” Download is free. “Animal Bakery” is a restaurant management social game where you make your own bakery and treat the animals of the forest to food prepared with natural ingredients. With over 40 animals appearing, over 60 recipes, and… Continue reading CyberAgent America Releases New iPhone App “Animal Bakery”
Register For The Next Startup Weekend In Japan: November 18, Kyoto Research Park
Startup Weekend is in the process of establishing itself as a “brand” and regular event in Japan’s web and startup world, and following Tokyo in August, it’s now time hold a Startup Weekend in Kyoto. The so-called Startup Weekend X Kyoto Research Park event (Facebook page) will take place: November 18 (Friday), from 6.30pm – November… Continue reading Register For The Next Startup Weekend In Japan: November 18, Kyoto Research Park
One Man’s Karaoke Box “Hitori Karaoke” Appears In Tokyo
Koshidaka, a company runs 317 karaoke shops all around Japan (and one oversea, in Korea), foretold that it would open a new category business “Hitori Karaoka”(one man’s karaoka) at Kanda, Tokyo around the end of this month, November 2011. Different from many other countries where Karaoke means singing in a bar in front of other… Continue reading One Man’s Karaoke Box “Hitori Karaoke” Appears In Tokyo
“Selfy Channel” Makes Its Way To China For #1 SNS Sina Weibo
GCREST [J] has opened service of their avatar community “Selfy Channel” (USA: Tinier Me) for China’s largest SNS “Sina Weibo” [C] as “Xiaotiandi” [C] (Small World), via development and management by a major Chinese social game developer FiveMinutes Inc. GCREST’s support base FiveMinutes will oversee development and administration of “Xiaotiandi,” and they will provide service… Continue reading “Selfy Channel” Makes Its Way To China For #1 SNS Sina Weibo
Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars – DeNA(Mobage) Agrees To Purchase Pro Baseball Team
DeNA just announced [J] that it had submitted an application on acquisition of pro-baseball team Yokohama Bay Stars from current owner Tokyo Broadcasting System(TBS) group to Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB). DeNA is to pay 6.5 billion yen (US$83.3 million) for 66.92% stock of the team, and will pay 3 billion yen (US$38) to NPB… Continue reading Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars – DeNA(Mobage) Agrees To Purchase Pro Baseball Team