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July 06, 2025
 

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Akky Akimoto
Akky Akimoto writes for Asiajin.com, an English/Spanish blog on the Japanese web scene. He is also an in-house blogger for Cybozu Labs, which helped him get over 120,000 tech-loving Twitter followers. He has worked as a localization engineer in the U.K., the U.S. and Vietnam as well as in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Mar 7, 2015
Using imported mobile devices may be illegal
Residents of Japan may be shocked to learn they are technically violating the country's Radio Law by connecting computers, smartphones and tablets that have been purchased outside of Japan to domestic WiFi sites.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jan 10, 2015
Point systems stir privacy fears among Net users
The battle for point card supremacy in loyalty programs is hotting up across the country, causing consumers to express concern over privacy issues as a growing number of companies get in on the act.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Dec 13, 2014
Furor over protest website highlights growing influence of youth
An online stunt by a student activist who poked fun at the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over its decision to call for a snap election has highlighted the advantage young people have in using social media to push their own political agenda.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Nov 8, 2014
Smartphone app CocoPPa takes a custom approach to overseas sales
Although very few smartphone apps made in Japan have managed to take the world by storm, one that has is CocoPPa. Made by Japanese company United, Inc., the app allows users to customize the design of not only their smartphone wallpaper but also the icons for the other apps on their phone.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Oct 11, 2014
Digital manga giving print a run for it money
Manga is a central part of Japanese pop culture, appealing not only to kids but also to salarymen and women on their daily commute. Even former Prime Minister Taro Aso declared his love for the medium.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Sep 13, 2014
Internet fraud takes a turn for the strange
Two widely reported Web stories this year have been related to online-services fraud. One concerns online banking, the other account-hacking on a smartphone messenger service.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Aug 9, 2014
In Japan's social-gaming space, one monster hit can be all it takes
Social-game apps on smartphones have become a massive market, and every year another new mega-hit game emerges with players in the multimillions. The games themselves are usually free to play, but staggering profits generated by optional in-game purchases have made the makers of these apps extremely...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jul 12, 2014
The pros and cons of kids owning smartphones
Smartphones are everywhere now, and their diffusion has spread from adults to students in high school, then junior high and now even elementary school. The trend has led to the question: When and how should kids use smartphones?
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jun 20, 2014
Well-bitten consumers shy of Japan's disappearing e-books
Although it has now been surpassed by the United States, Japan was once the world's largest market for e-books, thanks to the early success of the cellphone-content business. But in today's competitive market, e-book sellers disappear every few months, leaving consumers to wonder whether the digital...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
May 23, 2014
More and more smartphone users in Japan look to news curation
Curation isn't just for museums anymore. There has been a recent uptick in the popularity of smartphone apps that customize news for users in Japan, and this customization is called kyurēshon.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Apr 18, 2014
Apps take new lead from social games
On Japanese TV, you may notice that a lot of commercials for smartphone social games emphasize the word muryō (free). Consumers have been purchasing digital content on their phones for years, even since the clam-shell cellphone days. Now, more and more Japanese people are migrating to the sort of smartphones...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Mar 20, 2014
Who holds the deeds to gossip bulletin board 2channel?
Massive anonymous bulletin board 2channel has played an important role on the Japanese Web for 15 years (mostly on the dark side). Riddled with gossip and rumors, the site has always kept its ownership vague to avoid legal conflict, but recently a longtime background supporter seems to be trying to shake...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Feb 20, 2014
'Kantai Collection': Social game of warships sets course for big money
Casual online games based on military themes and with a kawaii (cute) twist are currently a surprise hit in Japan. Is this related to the recent rightward tilt in national politics, or just part of Japan's creative desire to "cutify" everything.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jan 16, 2014
Japan's mobile apps provide an 'A' for every 'Q'
Question and answer sites have for a decade been one of the most popular user-contributed services on the Web — and Japan is no exception. On the traditional Web, the market has been occupied by a few big players, but the recent popularity of smartphones has attracted new startups to the mobile Web...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Dec 17, 2013
Looking at 2013's Japanese social-media scene
In the Japanese social-networking scene, Facebook still isn't dominating the way it does in the United States and many other countries. There are several other networks in Japan, both old and new, that occupy unique positions, though 2013 was an unusually quiet year, with no big takeovers among social-networking...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Nov 19, 2013
Homegrown social networks struggle with how to get rid of redundant staff
Social-network services that once led the domestic Web-industry are now facing a downturn and they are finding that IT companies are not immune to labor toubles.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Oct 15, 2013
Japan's social-networking pioneer turns matchmaker
There was a time when the only social network that mattered in Japan was Mixi, but these days, after years of stagnation, it is hardly heard of in daily conversation — being replaced in popularity by rivals such as Gree, Mobage, Twitter, Facebook and most recently Line.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Sep 17, 2013
Accidental leak IDs over 30,000 'anonymous' 2channel users
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.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Aug 20, 2013
Chain stores suffer part-timers' stupidity on the Web
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. While the initial so-called enjō...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Jul 16, 2013
Japanese adults spend crazy money on cellphone games
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 rare to spot someone on the train...
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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