| Feb 03 | Japanese entrepreneurs aim for Silicon Valley |
| For an emerging generation of Japanese innovators, the dream isn't a job for life at a big company. They have new ambitions, and they're determined to go places. Especially Silicon Valley. Small but growing numbers of Japanese entrepreneurs are jumping into the startup scene in northern California, particularly since the earthquake and tsunami last March. They include Naoki Shibata, who took the plunge by giving up the sort of life many Japanese in past decades spent their lives trying to attain. Only 30, Shibata had an executive-level position at online retailing giant Rakuten Inc. and an assistant professorship at the prestigious University of Tokyo, where he earned a Ph.D. Last June he launched AppGrooves, an iPhone application discovery tool. "I wanted a global company from the first moment," he said. "If you want to reach a global market, then you have to start from Silicon Valley." (AP) |
| Feb 03 | E-book apps found 'stealing' private user info |
| What kind of electronic books do smartphone users prefer? When and how much of each book are they reading? Some smartphone e-book applications have collected this sensitive information for developers without obtaining permission from users, according to sources. The e-book market has been rapidly expanding, and is expected to grow to 200 billion yen in three years. Therefore, experts are calling for clear guidelines on how e-book software should handle smartphone users' private information, as it can reveal their thoughts and beliefs. Viewn, an application provided by the SoftBank group, features 42 items, including magazines, newspapers and television programs. Since June 2010, the software collected identification data of smartphones that had installed the app, as well as kept records on items viewed by users--without first obtaining user permission. Furthermore, in September, the app began collecting users' names and e-mail addresses. (Yomiuri) |
| Feb 02 | Brazil passes Japan as number two country on Twitter |
| Brazil has leapfrogged Japan to become the second most-represented country on Twitter, according to a study from social media research company Semiocast. The U.S. is still the top country on Twitter in terms of number of users with 107.7 million accounts. But Brazil now comes in at number two with 33.3 million, followed by Japan with 29.9 million. To determine its results Semiocast analyzed 383 million Twitter accounts created prior to 2012, looking at criteria like the location listed on the profile, time zone, language used to tweet, and GPS location when available. Although Brazil has more Twitter users, Japan's Twitterati is still more active, Semiocast said. Nearly a third (30 percent) of Japanese accounts tweeted between September and November of last year, while a quarter of Brazilians posted a 140-charater message during the the same period. Additionally, Japanese is the second most-used language on the platform behind English. In fact, Japanese was the first non-English tongue added to Twitter in April 2008. (pcmag.com) |
| Feb 01 | Disney Mobile on DoCoMo brand launches with two new Android phones in Japan |
 It appears Disney's mobile efforts in Japan are going pretty well, and with the help of carrier NTT DoCoMo they're expanding under the joint "Disney Mobile on DoCoMo" brand name. The partnership is kicking off with two new Android-powered handsets launching over the next couple of months that pack in access to exclusive content from Disney like full-length animations, games, wallpapers and more. First up is the F-08D (left), a "luxury smartphone" that features silhouettes of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, a 4.3-inch HD (720x1280) LCD display, dual cameras and 1.2Ghz dual-core OMAP4430 CPU available in pink or white next month with preorders opening up February 17th. (engadget.com  ) |
| Jan 31 | Cyber-attack disrupts website of nuclear crisis panel |
| The website of the government-appointed panel probing the Fukushima disaster was hit by a cyber-attack Saturday night that lasted until Sunday morning. The content of the website was replaced with a black background and an English sentence reading, "DR. MTMRD from K.S.A. f--- your site," said Shinji Ogawa, the panel's secretary general. An analysis of the website's access logs showed that the cyber-attack began at 11:13 p.m. Saturday, Ogawa said. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 27 | Nintendo chief promises to do Wii U launch right |
| Nintendo's chief is determined to get right the launch of its next game machine, Wii U, set for this year's holiday shopping season, and acknowledged Friday some mistakes with selling its 3DS handheld. But Nintendo Co. President Satoru Iwata warned earnings for the fiscal year set to begin April will be the toughest ever for the Japanese manufacturer behind the Super Mario and Pokemon games. Iwata's remarks come a day after it lowered its annual earnings forecast to a 65 billion yen ($844 million) loss, much larger than the 20 billion yen ($260 million) loss projected earlier. It posted a 77.62 billion yen profit the previous fiscal year. (AP) |
| Jan 27 | Smartphone traffic projection caught DoCoMo off guard |
 NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Thursday that the disruption of texting and mobile phone services the previous day happened because its packet-switching equipment doesn't have enough capacity to handle the data traffic generated by smartphones.
The telecoms giant admitted to miscalculating the surge in data traffic that could be expected from smartphone users.
"Our estimate (of the communication volume) was insufficient . . . We apologize to our subscribers for causing the trouble," DoCoMo Executive Vice President Fumio Iwasaki told a news conference.
(Japan Times ) |
| Jan 27 | Toshiba plans to release e-book reader |
| Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it will enter the e-book reader market with the release in Japan of its BookPlace DB50, which boasts a 7-inch color screen, on Feb. 10. The Internet-enabled device via Wi-Fi services can store up to about 6,000 novels, or about 150 comic books, the electronics company said. The product will be priced at about ¥22,000. Users can purchase e-books at the BookPlace store run by BookLive Co., a unit of Toppan Printing Co. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 24 | Internet goes underground |
| Japanese etiquette frowns upon the use of mobile phones in buses or trains, and it is rare to see someone speaking on a phone while using public transport, despite the excellent coverage in urban areas. There remain some dead spots, though, where mobile phones cannot be used and the Internet remains inaccessible - chiefly while riding the subway lines between stations. Change is coming soon to this area in major cities where such subway networks are in use, including Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. Starting this year, passengers will be able to use the Internet through their mobile phones, even while traveling tens of meters underground, and may send and receive messages. (majirox news) |
| Jan 24 | Hitachi to outsource flat-screen TVs |
| Hitachi Ltd. said Monday it will end in-house production of flat-screen TVs by the end of September and outsource them to foreign manufacturers as it downsizes its TV business. The major electronics company, which began TV production in 1956, plans to transfer TV output to Taiwan and China to cut costs and up its profit structure. Nevertheless, the firm will keep the Hitachi brand name and continue engaging in TV operations, including development and sales, it said. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 23 | 10 control systems infected by viruses / Manufacturing sector vulnerable, ministry says |
| At least 10 control systems managing production lines at vehicle and chemical plants had been infected with computer viruses by last March, forcing some of them to temporarily suspend operations, according to an investigation by the economy ministry. This is the first time such serious damage has been reported in control systems, which are generally considered less vulnerable to cyber-attacks because they are isolated from external networks. Cyber-attacks targeting control systems are increasing overseas. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry plans to establish two new organizations to beef up and scrutinize the security of such systems by spring 2013. In 2009 and 2011, the ministry surveyed about 330 companies, including manufacturers, about cyber-attacks. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 21 | Japan to lead adoption of connected TVs |
| Connected TVs will account for over 80% of televisions shipped globally by 2015, compared to 27% in 2011, according to a new report from UK firm Futuresource Consulting. On a regional level, Japan is predicted to lead the way in adoption of connected TVs, with 59% of shipments in 2011 integrating IP connectivity as standard. Penetration in the US and China hit 29%, but Europe is believed to be behind the curve with 24% of TV sales being connected. As demand grows, major TV manufacturers are responding by making IP connectivity a standard feature in 60% to 80% of their product portfolio, according to Futuresource. In addition, embedded Wi-Fi is expected to drive usage, with many premium models now offering this feature. (iptv-news.com) |
| Jan 21 | Japan sees first urination-based computer game |
| Sega has created a number of urination-based games for people to play while they spend a penny. The computer games company has revealed bars in Japan have been installing its Toylet devices in their bathrooms. The games - which cost $1,958 each - are controlled by the strength and direction of a person's urine stream, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reports. A screen displaying animations to go with the game is positioned above the urinal and players are even able to download their scores onto memory sticks. (breakingnews.ie) |
| Jan 20 | Only in Japan - Cloud-based, Wi-Fi enabled LED lights |
| Convergence is a brutal mistress, lovingly embraced by Samsung and hurriedly implemented by others in less-than successful gadgets. In Japan though, where "weird" is seemingly the norm, a company called Net LED Technology has now combined LED lights with Wi-Fi devices. It's what you always dreamed of. A smartphone that can control your light source. NetLED is beautifully simple in its execution, but brutally expensive. For roughly US$780, a user can install the netLED router which acts as the digital middleman between the smartphone and the lights. (gearburn.com) |
| Jan 19 | Rakuten eyes cheaper e-readers / Lower-priced devices may help boost domestic e-book sales |
 The domestic market for electronic book readers is likely to sharply expand as Rakuten Inc. plans to market cheaper e-readers as early as this spring, aiming to increase e-book sales by popularizing a low-priced e-reader.
Rakuten said Thursday it completed the purchase of Kobo Inc., a Canadian firm that operates an e-book business in about 100 countries. The main reason behind the acquisition is to introduce the Kobo e-reader into the Japanese market.
The Kobo e-reader allows Japanese text layouts such as vertical writing. Rakuten plans to sell the device for less than 10,000 yen. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 19 | Man admits putting prison footage on YouTube |
 A 44-year-old man temporarily uploaded footage of Kagoshima Prison on the video-sharing website YouTube, prison officials said.
The man told reporters at the prison in Yusui, Kagoshima Prefecture, he took the footage just for fun on Dec. 21 when he was driving a truck to transport materials there and offered an apology. The footage has been removed from YouTube.
Following the incident, the Justice Ministry on Wednesday ordered prisons across the nation to check all vehicles entering prison premises.
It also ordered prisons to inspect drivers and their belongings when they enter prison buildings. (Japan Times ) |
| Jan 17 | Samsung Galaxy S2 WiMAX announced for Japan |
 It feels like Samsung isn't ever going to run out of Galaxy S2 phones to make. The company has announced just announced a new variant of the Galaxy S2, this time it's headed for Japan's KDDI au and it features WiMAX radios. The phone will be similar to the Galaxy S2 HD LTE except for the 4G radios. Other specs include a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 4.7″ Super AMOLED HD (1280 x 720) Display, 8-megapixel rear camera (1080p HD video capable), 2-megapixel front facing camera, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, microSD card slot, NFC support and 16GB of internal storage. Interesting how this phone doesn't seem to be packing a TV tuner like most Japanese phones these days. (ubergizmo.com) |
| Jan 17 | When the Internet ate my son's manga magazine |
 The card in the mail delivered sad news, disguised as progress. Shonen Jump magazine, a monthly digest of translated-into-English Japanese manga,, was ceasing print publication. Instead, subscribers were invited to sign up for Shonen Jump Alpha an online-only feed of new manga (the Japanese term for comic books). Shonen Jump Alpha, declared the card, would be a great bargain! There would be more manga content available than ever before, and new chapters in ongoing serials would be posted on a sprightly weekly basis.
My heart sank, however, because I knew someone who was going to be very disappointed. My son. (salon.com) |
| Jan 14 | Google Japan leaks app buyers' data to developers |
| Google Inc. inadvertently provided the personal data of people who bought smartphone applications via its Google Checkout settlement service to app developers. The information includes customers' names, phone numbers and home and email addresses. An official at Google Japan Inc. issued an apology for the leak. Google had stopped passing on phone numbers by Thursday, the official said, adding the incident was the result of "a system malfunction." While it is unclear how long the malfunction continued, it may have impacted application purchasers worldwide. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 14 | Facebook and Japan finally friend each other |
| Facebook has always been a fringe player in Japan's social networking culture. As of one year ago, according to analytics site Socialbakers, about 2% of Japan's online population was registered on Facebook, compared with roughly 60% in the United States. Homegrown sites like Mixi, GREE and Mobage-town have dominated the sector, each counting a user base in excess of 20 million-about 10 times greater than Facebook's January 2011 totals. And according to a recent report from comScore, Japan is the only market where Twitter is more popular than Mark Zuckerberg's juggernaut. There are many reasons why Facebook has started slow in Japan, but perhaps the most resounding is that its competitors offer their customers a highly prized shield of anonymity. Japanese people typically don't divulge their real names on the web, instead opting for pseudonyms that allow them to freely express themselves without fear of reproach. (canadianbusiness.com) |
| Jan 11 | Gaming key to Sony profit rebound-executive |
| Sony Corp's videogaming business, led by its just-launched handheld "Vita," will prove pivotal in returning the company to profitability, Kazuo Hirai, the executive pegged to succeed Howard Stringer as president, said on Tuesday. But Japan's leading consumer electronics brand remains committed to its TV business despite predicting its eighth straight year of losses, Hirai and Stringer told reporters at a media roundtable at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "The television is the home. We want to sustain the television as the center of the home," Stringer said. (Reuters) |
| Jan 11 | Domains with .tokyo could be available next year |
| From next year, Internet users may be able to have domain names ending with .tokyo, .sendai or .canon in e-mails and Web sites, according to sources. At least five local governments and two Japanese companies--Canon Inc. and Hitachi Ltd.--have indicated they plan to register their names for top-level domains under a plan to massively increase the number of available domains on the Internet. Domains are a set of Internet addresses that come after an "@" mark. The ones installed in the root zone of e-mail and website addresses are called top-level domains. There are only 22 top-level domain categories, including one for countries, such as Japan's .jp. Companies typically use the .com category, while .org is for nonprofit organizations. In 2008, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a U.S. nonprofit organization that manages domains across the globe, decided to liberalize the usage of top-level domains. It will begin receiving applications for the new domains from Thursday to April and then examine whether it will allow them to be registered ahead of their expected use next year. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 11 | Sony boasts 500,000 vitas sold in Japan |
| During Sony's keynote at CES, executive deputy president Kaz Hirai announced that 500,000 PS Vitas have sold since the platform was released in Japan last month. Sales of the PS Vita have been lackluster: Just three weeks after release, it was reported that the console's weekly sales had dropped below 42,000, selling fewer units than its predecessor, the PSP. Breaking 500,000 units by CES would indicate that sales had improved in the last week. Sony also announced that a Netflix app is in the works the PS Vita. Hirai said that Netflix is trying to have the app ready for the console's US launch at the end of February. Considering that you can get Netflix on pretty much any online-enabled device these days, it's hardly surprising. (complex.com) |
| Jan 10 | Twitter is huge in Japan - bigger than Facebook, actually |
| Twitter is getting to be kind of a big deal globally, at least among marketers and the digerati. But in Japan, the microblogging service already trumps Facebook in traffic. According to stats from comScore, Japan sends around 25 million monthly unique visitors to Twitter. Facebook, on the other hand, sees around 15 million monthly unique visitors from Japan. Still, until recently, neither site has been as big in the region as Mixi, Japan's homegrown and highly popular social network. While we don't have data for monthly uniques, Mixi had around 27 million users as of April 2010. (venturebeat.com) |
| Jan 09 | iPad catches thief in Fukuoka |
 Smart technology is becoming a valuable crime-fighting tool. A stolen iPad hunted down a thief on Jan. 7 in the Fukuoka prefecture.
A man received his bag back after his iPad, which was inside the bag and was equipped with tracking software, notified him of its whereabouts. He immediately called the police.
The police found the thief walking down a street in Kitakyushu City with the stolen bag, whereupon the unemployed 19-year-old male was arrested and charged with theft.
The theft took place happened in the early evening on Jan. 6 while the victim was sleeping in a lounge on the second floor of a pachinko parlor. (majirox news) |
| Jan 09 | Sony quits organic-screen TV business |
| Sony Corp. has discontinued production of TV sets with organic electroluminescence (EL) display panels, widely seen as the mainstream panel to be used in next-generation flat-screen TVs, it was learned Saturday. Though Sony will continue selling organic EL monitors for its corporate clients, it will concentrate its home-use TV production business on liquid-crystal display models. The move comes as South Korean makers are aiming to strengthen sales of their large-screen organic EL TV sets, and underlines the difficulties domestic manufacturers are facing in the TV production market. Sony released the world's first organic EL TV model in 2007. With some organic panels as thin as 3 millimeters, the TVs were said to be a symbol of Sony's revival as an advanced-technology developer. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 06 | Toshiba to roll out 'thinnest' 10-inch tablet at CES |
 Toshiba claims it is going to introduce the world's thinnest 10-inch tablet at the Consumer Electronics Show next week in Las Vegas.
The company's Japanese-language Web site says it's the thinnest and lightest 10.1-inch tablet in the world.
Though Toshiba's not revealing a model number, it's probably a good bet that the mystery tablet is one already available in Japan: the Regza AT700. Or the very similar Toshiba Excite, slated to appear in in the U.S. later this month.
It's thin at 7.7mm.
And, yes, it is thin. All 7.7 mm of it. The iPad 2, by comparison, is 8.8 mm thick. At 558g, it's slightly less than the iPad's 613g. (CNET) |
| Jan 06 | Sony to launch flash cards with 125 Mbps write speeds |
| Sony said Friday it will begin selling memory cards with write speeds of 125 Mbps, the fastest in the industry, from February. The new cards are the first to be announced under a new standard called XQD, a specification from the CompactFlash Assocation announced in December. The cards are meant for working with data-heavy formats such as raw image and video data in high-end cameras, where write speed to memory is becoming a bottleneck as image sensors and processors become more advanced. Faster write times will mean less pause between pictures snapped in data-heavy formats such as RAW, and snappier editing for previously saved data. (Computerworld) |
| Jan 04 | Crisis spawns distrust as Web alliances try to push for truth |
 Historically, Japan has undergone major social change only when it was thrust upon the country from outside - prime examples being after its defeat in World War II and after the arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's warships in 1853 that essentially forced the country to open up to the rest of the world.
Grassroots activism had only limited success. It took nearly 50 years to win compensation for most victims of the chemical company in Minamata, Kumomoto Prefecture, that dumped mercury into the water, causing the rare neurological disorder that came to be known as Minamata disease.
But while the March 11 quake and tsunami also assaulted Japan from offshore, the homegrown disaster that came in their wake - the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant - has prompted a groundswell of activism among an ever-Internet savvy public less inclined to automatically defer to authority and official safety proclamations. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 03 | New semiconductors in the works / Japanese manufacturers to develop next-generation power-saving devices |
| Major electronic IT manufacturers including Hitachi, Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp., plan to jointly develop next-generation semiconductors that will operate with one-tenth of the power consumed by present-day devices, it has been learned. Next-generation semiconductors will allow the transfer of greater amounts of data while at the same time enable a reduction in the size of IT-equipment and their power use. The manufacturers hope to have the semiconductors available in fiscal 2019 and they anticipate the devices will be used widely at businesses including call centers that offer cloud computing services, as well as in products such as personal computers. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 03 | Japanese customers line up for Apple's Lucky Bags |
Apple Stores in Japan have continued the fukubukuro or "mystery bag" tradition, where sealed bags of merchandise are offered on New Year's Day at a hefty discount. If you're extremely lucky, you'll come away with a piece of coveted merchandise. Apple has been doing this in Japan since 2005.
The bags this year cost 33,000 yen, MacNN reports, which is about US$428 as of this writing. Items spotted in the bags both this year and in the past include the following:
* Headphones
* Cases
* An 8 GB iPod touch
* Various high-end accessories
* Speakers
* A special 2012 New Year's t-shirt
The exceptionally lucky shoppers got to walk away with a MacBook Air or an iPad 2. (tuaw.com) |
| Jan 02 | Twitter meltdown as over 16,000 Tweets a second are made in Japan as people welcome New Year |
 Social network Twitter ground to a halt as it was overloaded with New Year messages.
In Australia the site crashed at about 4am and was out of action for more than an hour.
The crash coincided with midnight celebrations in Japan when revellers were sending a record 16,197 tweets per second.
The overload meant no one could post new messages or read existing ones. Instead, frustrated users were greeted with the error message: "Twitter is over capacity." (Daily Telegraph ) |
| Jan 01 | In Japan, silent camera apps open door for unsavory photos |
| Cases of smartphone users secretly photographing unsuspecting targets have been on the rise, thanks to applications that silence the camera shutter sound. But there is no legal impediment to creating and selling these software programs, even as apps are tied to complaints of voyeurism. Companies in the industry say the blame lies with people who misuse these applications rather than the programs themselves. According to Japan's National Police Agency, 1,741 cases of illicit photography were reported in Japan last year, a 1.6-fold increase from 2006. The largest number of snap-happy voyeurs was reported in Kanagawa Prefecture. "About 30 percent of cases involved the misuse of smartphone apps," a senior Kanagawa prefectural police investigator said. (mercurynews.com) |
| Dec 31 | Firm pools three giants' prowess in small panels |
| The rapidly growing smartphone and tablet computer market is changing the face of the Tokyo commute: Many now can be seen flicking their fingers across touch-screen panels while riding public transportation. Japan's electronics manufacturers, many of whom are suffering from the strong yen and competition with other Asian rivals in the TV market, see a big opportunity in the exploding demand for small and midsize LCD panels in these mobile devices. Some are concerned Japanese firms might end up going down the same path as the nation's once dominant semiconductor and TV makers, who have since been surpassed by their regional rivals. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 30 | Sony PlayStation Vita sales fall sharply after Japanese launch |
Sales of the PlayStation Vita have fallen by nearly 80 percent during the week that ended on December 25 according to tracking firm Media Create. Sony sold approximately 325,000 Vita units on December 17 and 18, but only sold about 10,000 units a day during the following week. Sales of the PlayStation Portable beat sales of the PlayStation Vita by approximately 25,000 units. In addition, Nintendo saw massive sales of the 3DS during the same week and nearly sold half a million units. That pushes Nintendo over four million units sold for the entire year, a fact that Nintendo officials mentioned in a recent press release. (Digital Trends) |
| Dec 29 | Can Web-savvy activist moms change Japan? |
| Japan's nuclear crisis has turned Mizuho Nakayama into one of a small but growing number of Internet-savvy activist moms. Worried about her 2-year-old son and distrustful of government and TV reports that seemed to play down radiation risks, she scoured the Web for information and started connecting with other mothers through Twitter and Facebook, many using social media for the first time. The 41-year-old mother joined a parents group - one of dozens that have sprung up since the crisis - that petitioned local officials in June to test lunches at schools and day care centers for radiation and avoid using products from around the troubled nuclear plant. "It's the first time for anyone in our group to be involved in this type of activism," said Nakayama, who now carries a Geiger counter with her wherever she goes. (AP) |
| Dec 28 | Amazon to delay e-book service here |
| Amazon.com Inc. is expected to delay the launch of an electronic book service in Japan beyond its target date of this year due to difficult negotiations with publishers, according to industry sources. Publishers have resisted Amazon's proposed contract terms that would give the U.S. online retailer the right to set prices. Amazon has expanded its e-book sales in the United States by offering far lower prices for e-books than for paper versions, the sources said Monday. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 24 | Tighter export rules for electrical appliances |
| The Environment Ministry will promote the recovery of rare metals from small electrical appliances and at the same time reinforce control on their export to prevent them from being inappropriately disposed and causing pollution, it has been learned. The ministry will submit a bill concerning the recycle of rare metals from small appliances to an ordinary Diet session next year. The proposed legislation will make it mandatory for exporters to explain how products such as cell phones and digital cameras will be disposed overseas and how rare metals within them will be recovered for reuse. (Yomiuri) |
| Dec 23 | Softbank to quit on Myspace in Japan: report |
| Softbank Corp will quit its domestic social networking site business after just five years, liquidating a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for the Japanese-language version of Myspace, the Nikkei business daily reported. The 50-50 joint venture with U.S. media group News Corp will shut down at the end of January and be liquidated, the Nikkei reported. The Japanese-language service will be taken over by U.S. firm Myspace LLC, the newspaper added. News Corp acquired Myspace for $580 million in 2005, when it was among the world's most popular websites, and the company's success in beating out rival Viacom Inc in a bidding war was viewed as a major victory for Murdoch. (Reuters) |
| Dec 22 | DoCoMo cable cut leaves 100,000 smartphone users in email limbo |
| NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday that a problem with an Internet service called sp mode for smartphones may have hampered email delivery for as many as 100,000 customers since Tuesday. The company partially suspended the service after customers, mostly in western Japan, complained Tuesday that replying to email messages caused the return addresses to be changed. The service will resume gradually starting Thursday, the company said. DoCoMo said the trouble occurred when a worker accidentally severed a cable that was part of a relay system in western Japan. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 21 | 2011: The year when Japan went global over social networking |
 A report on Japanese social-networking services usage issued by Nielsen/NetRatings on Nov. 18 made a huge impact in Japan, as the statistics indicated that the number of Mixi users (8.39 million) has fallen below that of Facebook users (11.31 million).
This news was widely picked up by the Japanese media - forcing Mixi to issue an official statement that it has 15.16 million active users. According to Mixi, the Nielsen research only includes traffic coming from personal computers, which accounts for approximately half of Mixi's users. In the company's financial report issued Nov. 2, it states that 80 percent of the traffic to the site is coming from mobile phones, while there is no sign that the majority of Japanese Facebook users are accessing Facebook from their mobiles. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 20 | PS Vita Japanese release rocky |
| The initial launch of the PlayStation Vita handheld in Japan has been a bit rocky. Reports of a number of software issues, as well as system lockups and touchscreen freezes, seem to be the order of the day. Japanese buyers are not happy and are venting their displeasure on social media sites. Sony is watching, and they have already issued a firmware update to address the issues and they are apparently preparing to issue an apology letter, as well, according to rumors. It is unclear why some of these issues were not resolved before the unit shipped, but at least Sony is trying hard to stay on top of the issues and get them resolved. (fudzilla.com) |
| Dec 20 | Geo raided over stolen software |
 Police raided three Tokyo outlets of major software rental firm Geo Corp. on Monday, alleging they knowingly purchased stolen game software from teenage shoplifting suspects.
Three arrested boys aged 18 to 19 are believed to have sold around ¥4 million worth of software they stole to some 20 Geo outlets in Tokyo and in Kanagawa Prefecture between June and August, the police said.
The boys were quoted as telling investigators they could sell brand-new software without inviting suspicion. (Japan Times ) |
| Dec 18 | PS Vita challenges smartphones |
 The world of computer games has entered a new kind of war, with Sony releasing on Saturday a handheld gaming device with increased network functionality in a bid to compete with popular smartphone games.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. on Saturday released its PlayStation Vita handheld video game console, which allows users to play with anyone in the world using cell phone lines.
For many years, competition in the video game industry was primarily between Sony's computer game division and game giant Nintendo Co.
However the proliferation of smartphones led to a rapid increase in the popularity of game software for mobile phones. As a result, competition between game producers to recruit talented developers is heating up. (Yomiuri ) |
| Dec 17 | Sony's PlayStation Vita hits stores in Japan |
 Sony's long-awaited PlayStation Vita portable game machine has hit stores in Japan as thousands of game enthusiasts lined up at shops from early in the morning.
Sony is predicting brisk sales, even though Saturday's launch may have missed some holiday shoppers. A successful debut would help the company offset the rest of its struggling business.
The device is a touch-interface and motion-sensitive handheld seen as a successor to the PlayStation Portable. Vita's launch will heat up competition with rival Nintendo Co.'s 3DS. (AP ) |
| Dec 16 | Japanese anime fans set new Twitter record |
 Last weekend, a Japanese television broadcast of classic Studio Ghibli anime Castle in the Sky prompted more than 11,349 tweets per second at a key moment in the movie. This perfect storm of tweets broke the previous record of 8,868 tweets per second after pop star Beyonce announced she was pregnant.
Over at Kotaku, there's an in-depth explanation of how an animated movie released in 1986 could create such a flurry of tweets, but it boils down to this: there's been a longstanding custom to write or say the word "balse" during a specific scene in the film. In recent years, the tradition has found its way to Twitter, and the popularity of the flashmob-like "Balse Festival" hit a peak during last weekend's showing of the film. (Reuters ) |
| Dec 15 | Hackers breach servers of Japan's Square Enix |
 Japanese game developer Square Enix said that servers containing data on 1.8 million customers had been hacked, but said the extent of the damage was not yet known.
The producer of hit titles such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest pulled down the Square Enix Members service shortly after discovering evidence of an intruder, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.
The intruder breached an unknown number of servers that could hold data for the service's one million members in Japan and 800,000 members in North America, but left untouched the servers with its 300,000 European members, she said.
Earlier this year entertainment giant Sony came under a series of attacks, affecting more than 100 million customer accounts in one of the largest data breaches ever. (AFP) |
| Dec 15 | Sony Gears Up For PlayStation Vita's Japan Launch |
| Sony's long-awaited PlayStation Vita portable game machine hits stores in Japan on Saturday with the company predicting brisk sales even though the launch has missed much of the holiday shopping season. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. President Andrew House told reporters Thursday that enthusiasm among gamers could lead to some shortages at first. But he said the company can meet demand after the initial surge of buyers. The PS Vita goes on sale in North America and Europe on Feb. 22. The device is a touch-interface and motion-sensitive handheld that Sony hopes will be a strong successor to the PlayStation Portable. House touted the Vita's advantages over rival Nintendo Co.'s 3DS, which had a disappointing start. (salon.com) |
| Dec 14 | Google's Street View shows Japan before and after tsunami |
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| Dec 14 | Silent apps help creeps peep / Disabling camera shutter sound makes smartphones stealthy |
| Cases of secretly photographing unsuspecting targets using smartphones have been on the rise as users exploit apps that disable the camera shutter sound, but there is no legal impediment to creating and selling these software programs. Firms in the industry say the blame lies with people who misuse these apps rather than the programs themselves. On Nov. 12, a man was arrested at a train station in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, after he took photos up the skirt of a female vocational school student with his smartphone as she stood on an escalator. The man reportedly told police he used an app that silenced the shutter sound to prevent his target from noticing what he was doing. (Yomiuri) |