Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
Digital | JAPAN WEB WATCH Sep 17, 2013
Accidental leak IDs over 30,000 'anonymous' 2channel users
by Akky Akimoto
Japan’s most popular online bulletin-board service, 2channel (pronounced ni-chaneru), recently experienced what is probably the biggest problem in its 14-year history when its promise to keep users’ anonymity was severely broken by an information breach. 2channel was founded by Hiroyuki Nishimura in 1999. It ...
Digital | JAPAN WEB WATCH Aug 20, 2013
Chain stores suffer part-timers' stupidity on the Web
by Akky Akimoto
Over the last month or so, the hottest topic on the Japanese Web scene has been inconsiderate and shocking behavior by convenience- and food chain-stores employees who messed about with appliances and food, and then boasted with photos on social media, mainly on Twitter. ...
Digital | JAPAN WEB WATCH Jul 16, 2013
Japanese adults spend crazy money on cellphone games
by Akky Akimoto
Over the last decade, people’s behavior during their daily train ride has completely changed. In the past, Japanese were known to be avid readers of paperbacks (bunko) and manga magazines, and would do so even on Tokyo’s notoriously crowded trains. Now, however, it is ...
Digital | JAPAN WEB WATCH Jun 19, 2013
Web company IPOs in Japan pick up pace
by Akky Akimoto
What Web services are hot in Japan? One indicator that a company’s business is growing and that it’s expecting more growth is when it lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) with an IPO (Initial Public Offering). Today I’ll introduce a few Japanese Web ...
Digital | JAPAN WEB WATCH May 15, 2013
Google Glass may shatter Japan's 'manner' mode
by Akky Akimoto
Google Glass is the latest mobile Internet gadget to grab headlines. Resembling a pair of glasses, the futuristic device enables wearers to access the Internet — in particular Google’s search, maps and translation functions — as long as they have a Wifi or Bluetooth ...
Digital | JAPAN WEB WATCH Apr 17, 2013
Shows on the road: mobile, on-demand TV a hit in Japan
by Akky Akimoto
There must be very few homes in the developed world that don’t have a television, and Japan is no exception. Even in the Internet era, as terrestrial TV is slowly being replaced by networked TVs, cable channels and computers, regular TV broadcasting still makes ...
Digital | JAPAN WEB WATCH Mar 20, 2013
Japan expresses its love for Apple and Steve Jobs, in manga
by Akky Akimoto
Apple Inc. has been always loved by people in Japan. Even during its toughest years, in the 1990s, after cofounder Steve Jobs had been expelled and the company was almost dead, its Macintosh computer held a much greater market share in Japan than in ...