Last week, the government certified the first ever LTE modem and the honor of having this modem certified belongs to electronics giant LG Electronics. This is a huge step towards the establishment of an LTE network in Japan, and we can only hope that the technology will spread to the rest of the world.

What’s so good about LTE anyway? Think about data transmission that reaches 100Mbps (wirelessly) – at the very least! You can just imagine how fast wireless transfer of data will be if LTE becomes the standard. No more frustrating moments while you’re on the road, I bet.

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s biggest telecommunications company will be using the LTE modem to run tests later on this year. If the tests prove to be a success, then commercial clients just might be able to use LTE technology before the end of year 2010. That means that the general public will not have access to the technology till 2011 at the earliest. Still, things are looking pretty good as the news is that NTT DoCoMo is working with other partners with regard to handsets and other devices that can be used on the platform. Exciting, don’t you think?

Japan’s Fujitsu, however, is quick to speak up. Apparently, they have been using the term iPad to call a gadget that they launched as early as 2002. If this is true, then Apple might have to deal with a trademark issue in the coming months.

The official word is that the Fujitsu subsidiary in the United States launched their own iPad in 2002. The Fujitsu iPad is a small handheld gadget that is targeted at stores. Its purpose is to keep track of inventory, to scan barcodes, and other similar activities that store clerks may have to do. Inside the Fujitsu iPad, there is an Intel processor. It runs on Microsoft (big difference!). The gadget’s screen is 3.5 inches and has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The positive thing – at least for Apple – is that the trademark application has not yet been approved. However, Fujitsu applied for the patent in 2003, definitely giving it an edge. The company has not made any announcement as to what their next move will be though. The official word is that they are “sorting out the facts.” As for Apple, they are no strangers to this sort of thing.

This time around, Castrol is jumping into the advertising bandwagon big time. Have you ever heard of the “wonderful” robot made by Castrol Japan? If not, then check this video out at the World Cup Blog.

So what can the robot do? If you took the time to watch the video, you would know that it can kick a football (just like a football player does when making a free kick). But it’s not just like any kicker – the machine can kick a ball at a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour! That’s 70 kilometers per hour more than the world record that is held by famous football player Cristiano Ronaldo! Of course, there really is no comparison (despite the allusions made by Castrol executives) here as Ronaldo is made of flesh and bone while the machine is, well, a machine (made of nuts and bolts?!).

In any case, this robot will certainly draw a lot of attention, if only for the fact that it doesn’t look anything like a football player and that it has awesome kick powers.

In Japan, the trend is for men to do something quite different: ikebana. If you’re not familiar with this term, it is the Japanese word for flower arrangement. The literal English translation of ikebana is “the way of the flowers.” Obviously, this art has been dominated by women and dates back to more than half a century ago.

As with most everything, though, the tradition is slowly changing, and more and more Japanese men are turning to ikebana for some stress relief. Actually, let me correct myself – this art started with male artisans but became dominated by women. This new trend then is actually a going back to roots sort of thing.

The idea behind ikebana is simple: to establish harmony and the sense of being one with nature. The styles are minimalist and the activity itself is conducted in silence. You can easily see how stress-relieving the whole thing can be. It is thus no wonder that more Japanese men are practicing the traditional art of flower arrangement these days. And more than busting all that stress away, you get to have a beautiful home!

Yesterday, the Japanese government pledged the huge amount of five million dollars. With the help of the various agencies of the United Nations, Japan aims to be able to distribute the money properly in order to help out the victims of the quake, which is reported to have killed over a 100,000 people.

On top of this pledged sum, the Japanese government is also planning on sending relief goods that are desperately needed by the people of Haiti. These good include food and tents and are estimated to be worth more than $300,000.

More than this, Japan also plans to send teams to assess the situation in terms of medical needs. If the plans were followed, there may very well be a Japanese team in Haiti as of this writing.

We all know how prone Japan is to earthquakes. In fact, of all the major earthquakes that occur in the world, Japan probably gets the largest number. As such, they have always been quick to lend a helping hand to those who are in need.

For those of you who want to help out, get in touch with your nearest Red Cross office and find out what you can do.

I am talking about the Toyota Prius, of course. This car was launched with a lot of promises and much potential. It seems that it has lived up to its reputation – based on sales figures released in the past week, 208,879 units of the Prius were sold by Toyota in 2009. The figure makes the Prius the number one car in Japan. More than that, though, it is the number one hybrid car in the entire world!

Is the Prius as great as it seems or is there another reason for its success? Experts and consumers alike extol this hybrid’s virtues but there is another factor that has to be taken into consideration. The truth is that packages and incentives provided has made the price of the Prius so low that consumers are more attracted to it. With all the incentives, one might be able to save as much as 4,200 USD!

Aside from the Prius, another hybrid car sold really well in Japan last year: the Honda Insight. Compared to Toyota’s sales figures, Honda only had 93,283 – not even half. Still, overall sales figures support the fact that hybrids are very much on their way to being the standard.

Shiseido Co Ltd, Kao Corp, and Kose Corp – do these names sound familiar? At the very least, you probably recognize Shiseido, as it is a brand that is sold all over the world. These are the three biggest cosmetics company in Japan, and they are banking on really really expensive face creams to boost their businesses. Last year (or this year rather), they all launched their own versions of a face cream that is supposed to battle the effects of aging.

Guess how much it costs? How about 120,000 yen ($1,316)? Yup, women have to shell out that much money for each bottle of this cream; women who are 40 years old and above, that is. And this is what the companies are banking on. Their products, they say, are a hit with a certain age range, regardless of the social standing. True enough, their face creams are selling quite well despite the economic problems that the country is facing. They are also targeting women of the same age range from neighboring countries – and it seems to be working well for them.

How about you, would you spend that much on a bottle of anti-aging cream?

This week, it’s Susan Boyle who’s visiting Japan. She is there to be part of a TV show. Mind you, this is no ordinary TV show. In fact, it has been dubbed as the best local variety show in the country. More than that, Susan Boyle’s appearance in the show will be broadcast live all over the country on New Year’s Eve.

If you thought that Susan Boyle’s fame is limited to the western world, then you are mistaken. The Scottish singer was greeted at the airport by countless fans, all of the clamoring for a song right then and there. She declined, however, saying that they would have to wait for the show to be aired to see and hear her perform. According to the grapevine, she will be singing I Dreamed a Dream, the song which propelled her to worldwide fame.

Susan Boyle, the church volunteer, may not have won Britain’s Got Talent; no one can deny, however, that she has surpassed other contestants. And you know what? The Japanese are quite happy to be part of her success. I wish I had that show on my cable TV. It would be interesting to watch, don’t you think?

AFP reports:

Japan’s former world champion Mao Asada, returning to form with a fourth straight national title, is rekindling a hot rivalry with South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na ahead of their Olympic debut.

Asada nailed her trademark triple axel in the free skate to triumph at the Japanese championships on Sunday, prompting a nationwide sigh of relief for one of the country’s few gold medal hopefuls at February’s Vancouver Winter Games.

“It is important to aim high. I want the gold medal,” the 19-year-old said on television on Monday. “I will aim to perfect all of my programmes.”

It was the first time that the 2008 world champion has stood on the top of the podium in any event this season, which has been fraught with her failures in landing the highly demanding 3.5-revolution jump.

Her countrymen are definitely happy with her most recent performance, but Asada is probably the most fulfilled person at this point. This should be a good booster for her as she prepares for the Winter Olympics in February, which is just a couple of months away.

So when I read about a Japanese man marrying a video game character, I was not all that puzzled. In a news report published by Reuters, I learned about SAL9000 – that’s the Japanese guy’s online moniker – marrying Nene Anegasaki, a character in the video game Love Plus. I am not familiar with the video game, but from what I have been reading (and based on the name as well!), it is a dating simulation game.

SAL9000 says he is an “otaku,” which is the Japanese term for young adults who have an extreme passion (or even obsession) with video games and fantasy. I think it is also being considered as a sub-culture, and in their own world, it is acceptable to call characters their “wives.” SAL9000 says that since he has been calling and thinking of Nene Anegasaki as his “wife,” the logical thing to do was to marry her!

The couple exchanged “I do’s” several weeks ago, and they spent their honeymoon abroad – in Guam. They have been traveling the famous city of Tokyo as a couple, with SAL9000 documenting their dates diligently. As for the new husband, he says his wife can rest assured that he will never cheat. Ahh, where have I heard that before?