Politics & Diplomacy
Hashimoto to retract sex suggestion for U.S. military
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto aims to retract his remark that U.S. servicemen in Okinawa should use its adult entertainment industry to avoid committing sex offenses.
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Feb 22, 2012
Pick of the pixels from this year's CP+ show
by Rick Martin
One of the highlights of this month’s CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show 2012 in Yokohama was Nikon’s new D800 digital SLR camera, aimed at multimedia photographers and videographers. The 36-megapixel monster is once again spurring the debate over how many megapixels is too ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Feb 15, 2012
Cosmetics review website goes public with IPO
by Akky Akimoto
Tokyo-based Internet company Istyle Inc. announced on Feb. 3 its intention to list itself on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers Market (Tosho Mothers). The planned date of the IPO is March 8, 2012. Istyle’s flagship service @Cosme (pronounced “atto kosume,” — www.cosme.net) is the ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Feb 8, 2012
Watch out for latest 'nano'tech time piece
by Rick Martin
When Apple released its diminutive sixth generation iPod Nano back in September 2010, Steve Jobs quipped that one of the board members at Apple was planning to use it as a watch. And since then a number of different companies have put forth various ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Feb 1, 2012
Despite first loss in 30 years, Nintendo is still a contender
by Brian Ashcraft
Late last month, Nintendo signaled that for the first time in more than 30 years it was posting an annual loss — of $845 million — something that until recently had seemed virtually impossible. For three decades, Nintendo has been the company people associate ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Jan 25, 2012
Sony and Fujitsu take Japan into the battle for global smartphone dominance
by Rick Martin
Last year was the year that finally saw Android phones achieve booming growth all over the world, including here in Japan. But thus far, Japanese manufacturers have yet to crack the top tier of smartphone makers, as South Korea’s Samsung and the Taiwanese HTC ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Jan 18, 2012
'Stealth marketing' by companies is polluting online forums
by Akky Akimoto
You may have heard that the underbelly of the Japanese Web revolves around a massive bulletin-board service called 2-channel (pronounced ni-channel), where people can post messages anonymously. For Japanese, who find it difficult to freely express their opinions in public, that anonymity has meant ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Jan 11, 2012
Cyborg teddy bears, telephonic androids, USB missiles set to stun
by Rick Martin
Assuming you haven’t had your fill of toys already this past holiday season, we have a lineup of three gadgets that look particularly fun. Pinoky Here is a device that is, at the moment, still only a prototype — though fingers crossed it will ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Jan 4, 2012
A look back at the best games of 2011
by Brian Ashcraft
It’s that time of year again: Time to look back at all the games that were released in 2011 and sort out the best of the best. Which games won over gamers and stood out from the pack? This year saw the release of ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Dec 28, 2011
Looking forward to the next year in tech
by Rick Martin
If you can manage to look past the bummer of Mayan doomsday prophecies, 2012 looks pretty promising from a tech geek’s point of view. We’re not going to have to wait very long for the technology scene to change in 2012, with CES (the ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Dec 21, 2011
2011: The year when Japan went global over social networking
by Akky Akimoto
Over the past year, major U.S. social-media services have made some serious inroads into Japan. Here are some recent developments. Mixi vs. Facebook A report on Japanese social-networking services usage issued by Nielsen/NetRatings on Nov. 18 made a huge impact in Japan, as the ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Dec 14, 2011
Perfect toys for retro gamers and karaoke fans
by Rick Martin
People who were kids during the early days of console gaming often look for ways to recapture the the excitement of that time. Those who spent hours playing the Famicom here in Japan, for example, still have a weakness for retro gaming. And while ...
Digital | TECH_JAPAN Dec 7, 2011
Nintendo makes it through rough seas with flagship titles
by Brian Ashcraft
For decades, Nintendo was known for its Mario games and Zelda games. Then something happened: Nintendo, which had long catered to traditional gamers, found a new audience that was not interested in Mario and didn’t care much for Link. Nintendo began making games for ...