Japanese version of photo-sharing website Pinterest goes live with Rakuten...
US-based photo-sharing and social networking website Pinterest has launched the Japanese version of its mildly successful pinboard-style image-driven site and app, 18 months after Japanese e-commerce...
View ArticleNew website ‘Slash Temp’ lets you post artwork, then deletes it in 24 hours
With the popularity of the photo messaging app Snapchat, where uploaded photos and videos disappear after 10 seconds or so, it was only a matter of time until others followed. But this new website from...
View ArticleWebsite venture Buyma hooks up Japanese consumers with foreign luxury brands
A website calling itself Buyma has found a strategic new market in online selling, and that is to cater to Japanese buyers who want foreign luxury brands that are not available in the country. Calling...
View ArticleUS Ambassador Caroline Kennedy tweets against Japan’s dolphin hunt in Taiji
With the start of the dolphin-hunt season in the town of Taiji in Japan, a lot of conservationists have expressed concern over the activity, calling it a “brutal practice”. US Ambassador to Japan...
View ArticleTwitter post prompts 35-year-old entrepreneur to run ‘unconventional’ Tokyo...
Gone are the days when you had to be rich, or come from a political dynasty, or have x number of years in politics before you could run for a high-ranking position in government. 35-year-old boy wonder...
View Article‘Handsome’ Japanese reporter steals thunder from Thailand’s election,...
A Japanese reporter from Fuji Television Network has taken the limelight away from Thailand’s anti-government rallies and the February 2 election because of his good looks. 28-year old Daijiro Enami...
View ArticleChildren become new prey in Japan’s social networking-linked crimes
The number of minors, or children under the age of 18, who fell victim to crimes via social media networking services increased in 2013. According to the National Police Agency, the number increase by...
View ArticlePoll shows more than 40% of high school girls spend over 6 hours using...
Smartphones and mobile phones have now become a must-have among younger generations. Just ask Digital Arts Inc., which conducted a survey among Japanese high school students, finding that more than 40...
View ArticleJapanese netizens outraged over kids’‘prayer selfies’ taken to commemorate...
The “selfie” generation did it again. As Japan commemorated the third anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that killed tens of thousands and left many homeless, some kids earned the...
View ArticleNew anti-stalking law doesn’t cover repeated messages on social networks
A recent assault case wherein the suspect allegedly sent thousands of messages over the mobile app Line to the victim has brought criticism over the recently revised anti-stalking law. The law does not...
View ArticleJapan’s PM Abe, Ambassador Kennedy ‘tweet up’ with ISS astronaut
A “tweet-up” – which is, for the not-so-social-media-savvy, an online meet-up of people who know each other through the Twitter social network – which involved the United States Ambassador to Japan...
View ArticleMcDonald’s Japan to offer free extra toppings to counter sales tax increase
While news of Japan’s sales tax hike may have upset many consumers, one fast food chain is making sure you get more from your money’s worth. McDonald’s is now offering up to double portions of their...
View ArticleJapan Tourism Agency to study tweets in effort to better understand foreign...
If you think your social media rants and comments are useless and bound to fall on deaf ears, think again. As the country puts more efforts in making Japan an attractive tourist destination, the Japan...
View ArticleJapanese high school teacher pioneers Twitter-style teaching method
With the attention span of young people getting shorter, and teachers having to compete with all kinds of distractions, educators have to start becoming even more creative and innovative. A language...
View ArticleJustin Bieber visits Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine, Chinese ‘beliebers’ left...
No stranger to controversy and acts that disrespect others, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber did it again when he visited a war shrine in Japan. His visit elicited anger among his Chinese and South...
View ArticleJustin Bieber apologizes for controversial Yasukuni visit, removes Instagram...
International pop star Justin Bieber has apologized to his fans, particularly those from China and South Korea, who were outraged when he visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial for...
View ArticleJapan seeking criminalization of online revenge and harassment
While social media in the age of smartphones has made it easier to communicate with other people, it could also be an avenue to ruin another person’s online and offline reputation. Japan has now seen...
View ArticleChinese student asks for ‘cooked’ sushi at renowned Sukibayashi Jiro, gets...
By now, most of the people who frequent the Internet know of Jiro Ono’s sushi, not least because United States President Barack Obama singled out Ono’s sushi bar – Sukibayashi Jiro – for praise as...
View ArticlePhoto taken of imperial couple at train station & posted to Twitter, mixed...
Smartphone camera photos of Japan’s imperial couple – Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko – being posted on Twitter and going veritably viral shows the collision of Japan’s traditional culture with...
View ArticleDrunken Japanese turned into cautionary ads against excessive drinking
Passed-out drunken people are a common sight in most Tokyo streets, especially during weekends when hard-working people let out all their stress by drinking the night away. But this hasn’t always led...
View Article
