- Healing Japanese men5 February 2012, 2:35 pm
Having done healing Japanese women recently, I now present the female version via goo Ranking, looking at the features of healing-type women. Demographics Over the 25th and 26th of November 2011 1,074 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.4% of the sample were female, 11.6% in their teens, [...]... 
- When your dreamboat sinks5 February 2012, 2:26 pm
goo Ranking took a look at when women get totally disillusioned with the object of their affection. Demographics Over the 25th and 26th of November 2011 1,074 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.4% of the sample were female, 11.6% in their teens, 14.7% in their twenties, 26.9% [...]... 
- One in four social gamers have bought items1 February 2012, 3:46 pm
With a lot of money to be made these days in producing casual games, both single player and multiplayer online, this survey from goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com into social gaming was quite an eye-opener for me. Demographics Between the 16th and 20th of January 2012 1,077 members of the goo Research online [...]...
- Email usage patterns of mobile phone owners30 January 2012, 3:38 pm
japan.internet.com recently reported on a sruvey by goo Research, their third regular survey into mobile phone users’ email usage. Note that mobile phone here covers both existing feature phones and smartphones. Demographics Between the 16th and 18th of January 2012 1,086 members of the computer-based goo Research monitor group who had also registered as mobile [...]...
- Painful memories of unrequited love29 January 2012, 4:13 pm
goo Ranking recently looked at painful experiences people had when confessing their love to another. Demographics Over the 25th and 26th of November 2011 1,074 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.4% of the sample were female, 11.6% in their teens, 14.7% in their twenties, 26.9% in their [...]...
- What not to do with someone else’s wife29 January 2012, 4:04 pm
goo Ranking had a survey that might be quite applicable to many of my readers, if the tales that I’ve heard of one-to-one English lessons with bored housewives are to be believed, as they took a look at what married people should not get up to one-on-one with someone else’s spouse of the opposite sex. [...]...
- Little awareness of Internet TV or Google TV in Japan26 January 2012, 4:06 pm
japan.internet.com recently reported on a survey conducted by goo Research into internet television, which is basically a television that instead of (or is it “along with”?) getting a signal over a cable or radio waves, it uses the internet to obtain its content. Demographics Between the 10th and 12th of January 2012 1,093 members of [...]...
- Japan’s best-selling home appliance brands of 201124 January 2012, 4:23 pm
I recently got this interesting set of statistics on home appliance market share, from a survey conducted by GfK Marketing Service Japan. The data was collected from a database called ACSISS-E that is updated daily based on sales in a representative sample of Japanese electrical superstores. The report named the top three brands in each [...]...
- 2012 (Heisei 24) New Year Postcard Nengajo lottery results22 January 2012, 4:02 pm
The winners of the 2012 New Year Postcard lottery for the Year of the Dragon (my year!) have been announced, and the winning numbers and prizes are as follows. The number to check is the six digit number at the bottom right of the card. Note that some cards do not actually have numbers, which [...]...
- What you wish your Japanese boyfriend/girlfriend would quit doing22 January 2012, 3:10 pm
Today’s goo Ranking silliness is a look at what guys wish their girlfriend would quit doing and what girls wish their boyfriends would quit. Demographics Over the 25th and 26th of November 2011 1,074 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.4% of the sample were female, 11.6% in [...]...
- The JNN Poll of February 4-5 - A Quick Review5 February 2012, 11:25 pm
... 
- Parsing Out Hashimoto's Goals5 February 2012, 1:44 am
...
- Hatoyama Never Ceases To Amaze4 February 2012, 11:40 pm
...
- Stumbles On The March To Glory3 February 2012, 9:58 pm
...
- Very Kind Of Them #73 February 2012, 8:43 am
...
- The Construction State, Crumbling3 February 2012, 4:22 am
...
- Tanaka Naoki And Censure2 February 2012, 11:26 pm
...
- Hi, My Name Is Tanaka Naoki And I Do Not Know Anything1 February 2012, 10:20 am
...
- Comment Moderation28 January 2012, 12:18 am
...
- Rocket Science26 January 2012, 11:07 pm
...
- Starting a business in Japan: Wendy’s25 December 2011, 11:30 pm
Two years after exiting the Japanese market, American fast-food restaurant Wendy’s returns to Japan Tuesday with the first store opening in Omotesando, located at 5 chome Jingu-mae. It is the result of a joint venture agreement between Wendy’s/Arby’s International Inc and Higa Industries Co Ltd, a successful food importer and distributor based in Tokyo. Higa [...]...
- Foreigners in business: Outdoor Japan Media18 December 2011, 10:00 pm
Adventure, travel, fun, culture, lifestyle – that’s what Outdoor Japan Media is all about. The company, founded by American Gardner Robinson, is best known for its Outdoor Japan website, celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, and Outdoor Japan Traveler magazine, marking its 6th year of publication. Outdoor Japan also publishes the Japanese version of the [...]...
- Incorporating in Japan – KK or GK28 November 2011, 12:00 am
If you are thinking about incorporating a company in Japan, you will quickly find that the standard choices for incorporation are either a kabushiki kaisha (hereafter “KK”) or a godo kaisha (hereafter “GK”). While both are limited liability, each has certain characteristics which may make one or the other more attractive to you when considering [...]...
- STARTING A BUSINESS ~Are you getting ready for take-off ?~8 November 2011, 12:00 am
Would you like to start a business in Japan? If you’ve got the entrepreneurial spirit and are thinking of starting a business in Japan, an Administrative Scrivener (Gyosei-shoshi Lawyer) is one of the first contacts that you should be making. The red tape is a potential nightmare and even most Japanese business owners don’t [...]...
- Starting a business: Everdream Soft25 October 2011, 9:00 pm
One of the fastest-growing mobile card games right now is Moonga, a product from the fertile imagination of Shaban Shaame, founder and CEO of Swiss firm Everdream Soft.The game runs on the iPhone and the iPad and may be purchased at the app store. Once the game starts, players are invited to register using nicknames [...]...
- Foreigners in business: Fullcircle Innovations10 October 2011, 10:32 pm
When you meet Flavio Souza, the first thing you notice is how passionately he speaks about the goals of his company Fullcircle Innovations – a digital company set up to develop and promote technological innovations in favor of a better sustainable planet.To do that, Souza, who comes from Brazil, has set up two sites so [...]...
- Case Study: Starting a Nightclub29 August 2011, 12:00 am
There are no shortages of nightclubs and bars in Tokyo, but what sort of legal compliance is required in Japan to operate your own establishment? While considerable literature on the subject is available, much of it is written in Japanese and documents for submission to the authorities must be completed in Japanese. This article gives [...]...
- Businesses in Japan – Beanstar Corp27 July 2011, 7:22 am
Mitsushige Tsuruno wears many hats—PR and social media expert, executive director at Public Relations Society of Japan, instructor in communications, marketing and presentation skills, and last but not least, the best-selling author of more than 20 books on communication skills, personal/professional productivity, human relations and so on. Born in Osaka, Tsuruno founded his own company, [...]...
- Aggressive Global Strategies Play a Role in Japan’s Economic Rehabilitation13 July 2011, 3:27 am
Ever since Carlos Ghosn joined Nissan as its chief executive officer in 1999, the company has become a shining example of how aggressive restructuring plans can turn a company around from seemingly inevitable ruin. Starting with Ghosn’s Nissan Revival Plan and later refined under his Nissan 180 strategy, Nissan accomplished sales of one million cars [...]...
- Foreigners in business: Good PR25 May 2011, 7:26 am
For so long in Japan, whenever a company was confronted with a crisis, the CEO or president would apologize and bow deeply at a press conference…and that was about it. That no longer works, as we are seeing in the aftermath of the March 11 disaster. Having a crisis management plan in place is now [...]...
- New App Controls Your Dreams6 February 2012, 8:18 am
Ad agency Hakuhodo’s Future Technology Works department have come up with a new app that controls your dreams. The Yumemiru (translated as see the dream) app lets users select different scenarios to dream about and then through sound influences your thoughts while you snooze.
The free app has 8 different scenarios to choose from including [...]... 
- Sony Turns Old DVD’s Into New TV’s3 February 2012, 5:10 am
Sony have been struggling as of late with its reputation severely damaged due to the hacking scandals, plummeting sales, and last weeks CEO change it is in major need of a bit of a PR bost. One area it does seem to be pushing forward in however is the company’s sustainable innovation, the company are [...]...
- Android Mannequin Brings Shop Display To Life [Video]1 February 2012, 5:17 am
Tokyo department store Takashimiya has teamed up with Dr Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University to install a new visual merchandising concept using a lifelike android mannequin that has shoppers stopping in their tracks. Used as a Valentines Day promotion, the female android mannequin smiles, nods and even yawns as it interacts with passersby.
Dr Ishiguro [...]...
- Ad in Tokyo Watches You Move31 January 2012, 3:38 am
Came across this ad today for Suntory’s Black Oolong Tea in Shinagawa Station featuring the popular manga character Moguro .
Using a concave back, the signage creates the 3D effect of the character watching you wherever you go. Interesting and eye-catching stuff.
The ad is part of the campaign running at the moment for the drink [...]...
- Bunpei Ginza, History of Tokyo from Dawn to A.D 200030 January 2012, 1:53 am
Japanese graphic designer Bunpei Yorifuji of Bunpei Ginza has produced an awesome series of illustrations outlining the complete history of Tokyo from the birth of life through to modern day. In just 10 plates Yorifuji manages to capture the most defining moments building up to the making of modern day Tokyo!
The graphic artist is [...]...
- Robot Avatar Music Sharing Service “Beatrobo”6 February 2012, 10:46 am
I tried out the music service “Beatrobo,” where you create a robot avatar and listen to the same music (YouTube videos) with your friends and introduce music to each other. The avatar on the right has a little too much flavor … This “Beatrobo” is a social music community that was just released on December [...]Robot Avatar Music Sharing Service “Beatrobo”... 
- DMM Coming Out With Social Games, Including Some 18+5 February 2012, 1:00 pm
DMM.com [J], who offer mail order and DVD rentals as well as video distribution, are currently testing out offering social games for cell phones. The service page is here. [J] At the moment, titles offered by DMM.com are their own titles plus third party titles, 9 in all. Two of DMM’s distinctive titles, “Planet Girlfriend” [...]DMM Coming Out With Social Games, Including Some 18+... 
- Nobu-nyaga’s Ambition Steps Into Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau3 February 2012, 3:00 pm
Koei Tecmo [J] has made a contract with Taiwan’s Cayenne Entertainment Tchnology and have announced that they will develop their currently offered social game “Nobu-nyaga’s Ambition” for Yahoo! Mobage and Mobage in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. Koei Tecmo has also until now been developing joint service under management license contract for “Age of Discovery [...]Nobu-nyaga’s Ambition Steps Into Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau...
- Dole Japan Offers Special Bananas Listened AKB48 For Ripening At Tokyo Marathon 20122 February 2012, 3:04 pm
2012 version of annual Tokyo Marathon will be held on February 26, with 36,000 runners who luckily win the lottery from 283,988 applicants. At the marathon, one of the official supplier Dole Japan is going to provide 96,000 "lucky" bananas, named "Goku Sen"(Extremely Selected) [J], which will be chosen from its over 100 kind of [...]Dole Japan Offers Special Bananas Listened AKB48 For Ripening At Tokyo Marathon 2012...
- CyberAgent’s “Ameba” Tops 20 Million Users2 February 2012, 2:08 pm
CyberAgent [J] announced on December 30th of 2011 that the number of users of their “Ameba” [J] community has topped 20 million. To commemorate this momentous development of the “Ameba” service, they held the 20 Million Member Breakthrough! Thank You Campaign [J] between January 10th and 23rd. Since the Ameba service opened in September of [...]CyberAgent’s “Ameba” Tops 20 Million Users...
- Takeo-city To Force All Employees To Register And Work On Facebook31 January 2012, 10:33 am
Takeo city, in Saga prefecture in Kyushu island, has been known by its net-savvy mayor Keisuke Hiwatashi. As a mayor, he switched the city website onto Facebook page, which gets 50 times more page views according to Asahi [J], and let the Facebook page sell the local products on Facebook. he also called for Japan [...]Takeo-city To Force All Employees To Register And Work On Facebook...
- DeNA Sues Back To Gree And Its CEO Yoshikazu Tanaka31 January 2012, 10:07 am
DeNA, who runs Mobage, announced today [J] that it instituted legal action to demand Gree and its CEO Yoshikazu Tanaka an apology and compensation for the loss caused by Gree's press release and Tanaka's comments, which stated that DeNA did illegal business activities. As we reported in December, DeNA expressed [J] the possibility of counter [...]DeNA Sues Back To Gree And Its CEO Yoshikazu Tanaka...
- Video: Girl Band JKT48 (AKB48′s Sister Band) Promoting Rakuten In Indonesia31 January 2012, 3:55 am
JKT48, the Indonesian sister band of ultra-popular Japanese girl group AKB48 (Asiajin), is promoting Rakuten Belanja Online, Rakuten's joint venture with Jakarta-based media powerhouse PT Global Mediacom, on Indonesian TV. In the 30-second commercial, various members of the group can be seen wearing different clothes and accessories and using gadgets - and apparently all items can [...]Video: Girl Band JKT48 (AKB48′s Sister Band) Promoting Rakuten In Indonesia...
- Social Illustration Service Pixiv Hits 4 Million Members30 January 2012, 3:39 pm
Pixiv, the most popular of Japan's many social drawing services, announced [ENG] it hit an amazing four million registered users last Saturday (January 28). It took the site, which launched on September 10 in 2007, exactly 1,602 days to reach that milestone. That's about 2,500 users per day - not bad at all, especially for [...]Social Illustration Service Pixiv Hits 4 Million Members...
- Japan’s Web News Week 429 January 2012, 3:19 pm
This week's Japanese Web/IT related news which we did not write as a dedicated article. Referred pages are all in Japanese, unless otherwise stated. Navit Allegedly Manipulates Reviews On @Cosme By Using Trial Samples And Reward - Navit counter-release said that it is not manipulation but request. KDDI au Offers Opt-Out From Targeted Ads, But [...]Japan’s Web News Week 4...
- Edano key person in Japan's nuclear future, but keeps true intentions hidden6 February 2012, 8:38 am
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano recently revealed in a magazine interview that the prime minister for whom he holds the highest regard is Kantaro Suzuki.... 
- Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Saying yes to grief is a step to recovery5 February 2012, 2:35 pm
Separation from family, being diagnosed with a serious disease, a sudden natural calamity -- life is full of bitter experiences.... 
- The courage to see beyond prejudice5 February 2012, 8:46 am
The people we meet in life sometimes inspire us and, through their example, change us forever....
- Competition, stability, affordability must be watchwords in gov't electricity system reform4 February 2012, 9:06 am
The electric power supply system should be reformed in a way that will help spur competition on the market and reduce electricity charges while ensuring a stable power supply....
- Warming up to the best ways to beat the winter cold4 February 2012, 5:57 am
As I waited at the bus stop on a Tokyo street, I nervously looked around for any smokers....
- Attempts to threaten dollar's dominance could irk U.S.3 February 2012, 8:29 am
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda visited China at the end of last year to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao....
- Editorial: Gov't intervention in Okinawa election unacceptable2 February 2012, 10:43 am
The chief of the Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau was recently found to have held a "lecture" for bureau employees about the upcoming Feb....
- Editorial: Nuclear regulatory reform must weed out entrenched interests1 February 2012, 9:04 am
Bills relating to a shift in the nation's nuclear power policy were approved by the Cabinet on Jan. 31....
- 'Shadow meals' employed to keep families safe from radiation31 January 2012, 10:30 am
The practice of kagezen -- literally "shadow meal" -- entails setting out meals at home for a family member who is absent, in hopes that they will be safe while traveling....
- Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Don't overestimate your own strength29 January 2012, 5:21 am
As a psychiatrist with still so much to learn, I often try to read essays written by fellow senior psychiatrists for the general public....