Digital World Tokyo | Japan

Japan sales figures show Blu-ray picking up speed, CRT and VCR on life-support

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:57:00 GMT

When it comes to consumer electronics, Japan is generally an excellent weathervane for forecasting the picture in the West a few months ahead. With that in mind, the latest electronics sales figures suggest a balmy Fall lies ahead. Data from the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) show some staggering increases in sales of Blu-ray players and recorders during May. Compared with one year previously, BD hardware sales have risen over 2,000 per cent to bring shipments of 82,000 machines in Japan. The tiny base of twelve months ago makes the percentage increase large, but the absolute figure compares well with DVD hardware sales of 336,000. In other sectors, digital audio player sales are still growing, with flash-based machines taking over 90 per cent of that market. Also, car sat-nav systems - particularly those with hard drives - are selling faster than last year. Back in the living room, LCD and plasma TVs are both on the up and showing increases of around 116 per cent on last year, however LCD outsold plasma by 573,000 to 78,000. As might be expected, CRT tellies and VCRs are on their last legs - they sold 16,000 and 11,000 units respectively in May. The only question is where on Earth are they being sold? We can't find them anywhere. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Video: Sony shows off PlayStation Home and Life With PlayStation services

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:11:01 GMT

We've all heard about Sony's strategy meeting in Tokyo yesterday (read my report here, if you're bored), but even more interesting than the news that everything's going to be connected in Sony's Brave New World and movies will be streaming left and right were a couple of demo videos unleashed on the underwhelmed journos assembled at the event. I managed to grab brief clips of both PlayStation Home and the new Life With PlayStation service, which you can see below. PS Home is nothing new, although it's been delayed for around a year. It looks pretty standard for this sort of virtual world thing, but we'll know more at E3 next month. Life With PS reminds me of the news and weather channels on the Wii - see for yourself (amid the gloom and camera shake - sorry!) in the second vid below. PlayStation Home Life With PlayStation

Amazing survey says some Japanese might buy an iPhone

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:35:01 GMT

In yet another one of those tech surveys that says close to nothing while appearing to contain something of substance, a Japanese probe has found that - shock! - some people here are interested in buying an iPhone. Don't be mislead by the headline that claims 91 per cent of Japanese aren't planning to buy an iPhone - instead, look at the finding that 9 per cent do intend to pick one up when it launches next month. Frankly, if close to one in ten of the Japanese population does make the switch, Apple will be laughing all the way to the bank. Currently, over 100 million people there own cellphones, so you do the math. Still, a sample size of just over 400 in the iShare survey can't really be construed as indicative of anything much. What we do know, however, is that Apple's decision to go with Softbank as the Japanese carrier severely restricts its chances of landing anything like the above numbers. The third-largest Japanese network has a touch under 19 million subscribers at the minute, suggesting iPhone sales of anything close to 1 million will represent a good result. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Amazing survey says some Japanese might buy an iPhone

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:35:00 GMT

KDDI building real-world bank to encourage e-payments

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:27:00 GMT

Earlier this month, when we looked at the future of mobile technologies from an academic's perspective, one of the predictions that stood out was that phone companies looking to encourage mobile micropayments using their handsets would be well advised to team up with a solid financial institution first. Today, we hear from Japan that the second largest operator there, KDDI, has received a license to create its own online bank together with the established Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. If it succeeds, Jibun Bank, which means 'Self' or 'Me' bank, will play a large part in encouraging KDDI phone customers to start using the e-cash facilities in their handsets. Company CEO Tadashi Onodera said, "Our objective is to make KDDI phones the most convenient cellphones on the market and the safest way to transfer money." Although KDDI isn't the first electronics vendor to start a bank, its clear intention to fold financial services into its phones is novel. Market leader NTT DoCoMo has financial arms, but has yet to offer a full-fledged banking service. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Exclusive: DoCoMo gives us its side of the Japanese 3G iPhone story

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:36:00 GMT

Everybody knows the 3G iPhone will hit Japan later this year on the crap-tastic Softbank network, but I don't believe anyone else was able to get NTT DoCoMo to admit it had been in the race too. Personally, when I spoke to Big D's Shuichiro Ichikoshi (one of the industry's genuine nice guys) late yesterday evening about the Softbank/Apple deal, it was pretty clear he had plenty on his mind. However, I didn't expect him to admit what he did - that DoCoMo wanted what it ultimately could not have, the iPhone. Read all about it here, as written up by one of my colleagues over at Tech Radar: DoCoMo failed to nab iPhone

Bending the sun’s rays to light high-tech buildings

Thu, 29 May 2008 00:52:00 GMT

In this age of environmental awareness, a couple of high-tech Japanese companies have turned the clock back over a hundred years to reduce energy consumption using 19th-century lighting techniques. Ishikawa Optics & Arts and Inosyo have independently developed techniques for illuminating the interior of buildings that reduce the reliance on electric lighting [subscription link]. Harking back to Victorian drives to light interiors without electricity, Inosyo's new skylight system funnels natural light from a glass dome on the roof through mirrored tubes and into any room. The result is ceiling fittings that are as effective as fluorescent lights. Ishikawa's Solbene system is even more directly related to the Luxfer Prism glass made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright. The 2008 version uses 1cm glass prisms sandwiched between glass plates to refract exterior sunlight into dark building interiors. Around 70 per cent of light hitting the glass is directed towards the ceiling of the room, while 20 per cent shines on the floor, replicating a standard electric lighting effect. Although a Solbene installation for a 10 square meter room costs ¥500,000 ($4,800), the savings in electricity bills for large complexes such as factories could make it both economical and environmentally friendly. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Gorgeous Japanese kids’ dinner set hewn from bamboo

Tue, 20 May 2008 17:54:00 GMT

Japan has long enjoyed the reputation of being home to some remarkable craftsmen in fields as diverse as ceramics and woodblock prints, but today's mail brought the first piece of art I've ever seen that's designed to be bashed around by kids at meal times. FunFam's exquisite kids' dinner setting consists of 15 separate pieces, each hand-crafted from pristine bamboo. As well as a heavy tray, there are four plates, a bowl and nine pieces of cutlery. The ¥19,800 asking price may seem a bit steep, but it's probably a long-term investment, as it's pretty clear junior ain't gonna smash this crockery into little bits when he throws it against a wall for the umpteenth time. Better still, the bamboo is gorgeously warm in the hand, so there's even a chance he or she might actually enjoy sitting down at the table for more than five minutes. Full details (in Japanese) are online at the FunFam website. (Via FunFam)

BSG says What the Frack? to Japanese bicycle

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:53:01 GMT

Battlestar Galactica fans on a budget might get a kick out of this Japanese Mama Chari (or 'Mom's bike') named for their favorite pseudo swearword. The ¥49,000 ($450) bicycle comes with a sturdy child seat in front of the handlebars, three gears and that all-important oedipal epithet right there on the frame for the world to see. Swooshing Cylon noises and peew-peew laser effects are your own concern.

BSG says What the Frack? to Japanese bicycle

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:53:00 GMT

Face recognition machines to stop under-age smoking - not!

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:21:01 GMT

Everyone knows that smoking causes the skin to age unnaturally and lines to appear around the eyes prematurely, but who could have guessed that smokers would one day be thankful for their tobacco-induced wrinkles? The bizarre state of affairs comes from a new Japanese cigarette-vending machine that uses face recognition to determine if a customer is over the legal age for buying tobacco, which is 20 in Japan. Fujitaka's 'Child Check System' will start appearing in some of Japan's half million or so machines from this July - that's around the same time as the taspo RFID age-verification system we've seen previously. Eschewing pre-registered RFID cards, the Fujitaka system works by analysing a digital photograph taken by a camera embedded in each machine. A database of 100,000 faces allows it to look for the lack of lines and skin tone that suggest a minor is trying to buy cigarettes. There are, of course, plenty of people who look young well into their 20s and beyond. These folk can either insert a driving licence for age verification or register their mugs with the vending machine owner. Regardless of the smart technology behind the Child Check System, its chances of success look slim. One young-looking smoker buying a pack of Seven Star cigarettes from a machine in Tokyo told us, "What's the point? I'll just go into a shop anyway. The staff there are far too busy to even care what they are selling." As if to underline the problem, even though it hasn't begun yet, the alternative taspo system has had a miserable pre-registration rate and suffered criticism from privacy advocates. Moreover, previous attempts at 'face recognition' using video cameras embedded in cigarette machines and linked to someone sitting in a room nearby (really) have been predictable flops. Any still to be found on the streets of Japan tend to have their cameras obscured by dark burn marks - made by cigarettes, of course. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Cool Japanese blog widgets add a dash of color

Thu, 08 May 2008 23:33:01 GMT

We've had a bunch of emails over the last few days asking about that little Flash widget down there at the bottom of the right sidebar (take a look waay down there), usually from readers asking what the heck all that Japanese stuff is. While there are probably hundreds of such widgets around, that particular one is from Sony Japan's Flo:Q site. In return for giving over a little advertising space, users get a panel that can hold anything from podcasts to Flickr searches. It's not perfect (no play controls on the podcasts, for example), but it is a pretty cool little thing. Check it out here if you fancy building one of your own - Japanese language requirements aren't too onerous, so it's easy to follow. There's a similar one here from house builder Sekisui Heim - it's not particularly customizable but you do get an earthquake button that makes your neighbor's inferior house collapse in a pile of dust.

Cool Japanese blog widgets add a dash of color

Thu, 08 May 2008 23:33:00 GMT

RFID in Japan: Japan’s experience with RFID phones and contactless cash

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:57:01 GMT

Over the last few years, residents of busy metropolises like London and Hong Kong have grown used to the convenience - not to mention lower prices in London's case - of transport networks that accept electronic payments. Handy pieces of plastic, like the Oyster Card, with chips onboard are clearly a part of life for many people, but the same RFID technology has a far greater reach in Japan, where it has taken the next step and migrated to mobile phones as well. Extra visibility The change began in summer 2004, when NTT DoCoMo launched the first phone with a Sony FeliCa IC chip and branded the service Osaifu Keitai, or 'Wallet Mobile' in Japanese. Early applications were focused mainly on replicating the SuiCa transport card based on the same chip in a phone. The main advantages of doing so, of course, are the facts that a phone can go online to suck more cash from a credit card or bank account and that it has a screen for viewing the pre-paid balance. Those first applications were soon joined by numerous others, ranging from a confusing host of different brands of e-cash for shopping in specific stores to discount coupons, cinema reservation systems and even an RFID credit card that is directly linked to the monthly phone bill. At the last count, there were over 40 such services available through phones with RFID. Although that may sound like a bewildering array, a quick stroll in any Japanese street will reveal that the SuiCa brand itself - also accepted as e-cash now - is by far the most common; a result of blanket marketing when the original card was introduced in 2001. The ins and outs That's a brief overview of what RFID phones can do, but how exactly do users get to grips with what seems like a pretty complex technology? All Osaifu Keitai applications require the user to first connect to a mobile internet site and then download a Java application, known as an i-appli, which provides the interface and a secure data channel to the servers of the company he or she wants to do business with. For example, recharging the pre-paid balance on the in-phone SuiCa card requires just a few clicks to enter a password and choose the amount; marginally easier than taking a card and a bundle of cash to a vending machine. However, a more demanding task like booking a long-distance train journey adds layers that include perusing a timetable, choosing seats and even paying a supplement for the famous Shinkansen bullet train. It's easy to see how just popping into a station to get the ticket might be easier. One in four Consequently, the myriad RFID functions of most new Japanese phones are still overlooked by the vast majority of subscribers to the three major networks. We asked market leader NTT DoCoMo for its take on the situation. Spokesman Shuichi Ichikoshi told us: "[Only] one in four customers who own an Osaifu Keitai use the function continuously. It's not surprising that the ratio is so low… but we're not satisfied with the current situation and are going to implement various measures to increase usage, and increase the number of retailers that can use Osaifu Keitai [as e-cash]." In other words, the commercial drive that has at least got a few million people using the function has really only just begun - there are 102 million phone users in Japan to aim for. Cash still king Daniel Bukenya from the Mobile Consumer Lab in Niigata, Japan, explained one reason why around 80 per cent ignore the IC chip in their phones: "One other impediment is that Japan is still a heavily cash driven economy. The fact that customers will need cash for certain transactions and not need it for other transactions has prevented them from fully embracing the mobile contactless payments." Conversely, his more optimistic colleague, Mobile Consumer Lab director Philip Sugai, sees the glass as half full: "If this number is accurate, I feel that it is extremely high. That this many consumers are actually trying Osaifu Keitai applications is a very good sign for the future of this technology and the applications that support it." Speaking of the future, the other areas ripe for RFID phones to grow into, such as home security and anywhere that requires identity verification, present problems we haven't even begun to grapple with. Sugai again: "Having features such as entry keys for your home, quick payment options for small purchases, credit card and banking information all available through the mobile phone, there may be significant concerns by consumers to have all of this information and capability centralised in one place. "All we need to read about is one major crime or theft of banking or credit card information, or a rash of house break-ins due to flaws in the RFID technology and consumer sentiment may quickly change." What's in it for the West? That's a scenario - in a more low-tech way - that anyone living in Britain throughout the last few years will be familiar with, suggesting prudence may hold back any such advanced RFID deployments in the near future, but what is likely to be next for the West? In a nutshell, it all comes back to the simpler functions of RFID cards, phones and whatever other devices end up housing the chips. Europeans are likely to be using phones and cards as e-cash long before the high-end features arrive. We've already seen Barclaycard's OnePulse trial in London and Nokia's e-cash-toting 6212 phone and feel sure that they represent the thin end of an electronic payments wedge that will transform shopping for small-ticket items. For that to happen, however, retailers need to start installing the terminals needed to process RFID purchases. DoCoMo's Ichikoshi explains why that's inevitable: "Stores, such as convenience store chains, in Japan benefit from being able to process their customers much faster due to the cashless procedure, which may promote more customers to visit. They also benefit in terms of marketing and can get useful customer information." Naturally, the phone companies benefit too, with commission on each RFID credit-card transaction (in DoCoMo's case) being just for starters. Other plus points for the networks of building advanced RFID functions into their phones include a 'keeping up with the Joneses' effect and stronger subscriber loyalty. After all, no one wants to transfer half a dozen e-cash services as well as a phone number to a new network. Changes afoot Philip Sugai points out that the implications for a successful RFID platform are vast: "I think this is why DoCoMo and other operators have invested in banks and credit card companies so that they can participate in the transaction fees paid by retailers for using these networks. "As ARPU (average revenue per user) is trending downward, this is clearly an important new revenue stream for operators in Japan today and for the future," he concludes. So, will our phone companies transform into many-tentacled financial institutions? Almost certainly, but not in the near future for anyone living in the West, we'd suggest. Far more likely is a growing acceptance that the phone in your pocket really will become that mobile wallet it already is for a quarter of Japan's hipsters. When that day dawns you'll really regret leaving home without it - trust us, it's not a pleasant feeling. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

RFID in Japan: Japan’s experience with RFID phones and contactless cash

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:57:00 GMT

Apple secures Japanese iPhone naming rights - 3G release all but certain now

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:50:00 GMT

A seemingly insignificant press release from a Japanese company we've never even heard of has suddenly set tongues wagging about everyone's favorite rumor - the fabled 3G iPhone. Nagoya-based Aiphone chose this week to tell the world that it has been in talks with Apple since last summer about giving the US firm the right to use the 'iPhone' trademark in Japan. You say iPhone, we say… The possible conflict arose because, although 'Aiphone' and 'iPhone' are spelled differently in English, the Japanese rendering of both is exactly the same. Aiphone the company says it has "reached a friendly agreement with Apple" that allows both to use the Japanese version within Japan. Naturally, we have to ask why Apple should even bother going to such lengths unless it has concrete plans to bestow a 3G iPhone upon the GSM-free islands of Japan. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Apple secures Japanese iPhone naming rights - 3G release all but certain now

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:50:00 GMT

A seemingly insignificant press release from a Japanese company we've never even heard of has suddenly set tongues wagging about everyone's favorite rumor - the fabled 3G iPhone. Nagoya-based Aiphone chose this week to tell the world that it has been in talks with Apple since last summer about giving the US firm the right to use the 'iPhone' trademark in Japan. You say iPhone, we say… The possible conflict arose because, although 'Aiphone' and 'iPhone' are spelled differently in English, the Japanese rendering of both is exactly the same. Aiphone the company says it has "reached a friendly agreement with Apple�? that allows both to use the Japanese version within Japan. Naturally, we have to ask why Apple should even bother going to such lengths unless it has concrete plans to bestow a 3G iPhone upon the GSM-free islands of Japan. (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Geeky Google (Maps) goodness in Tokyo Bay

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:30:01 GMT

So, there we were on a jetfoil in Tokyo Bay the other day, cruising back from a DWT jaunt to Kozu-shima when we spotted this rather attractive monolith in the ocean just to the southeast of Haneda airport. Naturally, being inveterate trivia hounds and as no-one on the ship seemed to have a clue, we hit up Google Maps to find out what it was — perhaps an alien artifact? A floating sushi restaurant? Well, it seems the truth was a whole lot more prosaic, but nonetheless interesting. After spotting the mystery object on the satellite view (here), we switched to the map (here) to discover a humble ventilation shaft outlet from the underlying Tokyo Bay Aquatunnel that links the airport and Kanagawa Prefecture with Chiba Prefecture, thereby cutting out central Tokyo's clogged arteries. Apparently, the entire project, including the bridge that dives into the ocean to meet the tunnel, took 30 years to complete. Interesting. More info here for the die-hard tunnel fans.

Geeky Google (Maps) goodness in Tokyo Bay

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Geeky Google (Maps) goodness in Tokyo Bay

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:30:00 GMT

Net censorship spreading to Japan as suits fail to comprehend new media

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:13:00 GMT

It's easy to believe the tales of internet censorship we hear regularly from China, but not so its ostensibly democratic neighbor in Japan. That perception may change of Japanese regulations shake up the online world as proposed. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications there is seeking new laws to go before parliament in 2010 that will bully ISPs into complying with its censorship requests and, thus, effectively allow it to control what can and cannot be said online in Japan. Democracy, but not as we know it As this IHT feature story explains, the move is being seen as a digital extension of the control over the media the Japanese government has held since the post-war years of the 1950s. The widespread lack of freedom to report news independently in Japan has long been a complaint of journalists there, which is why the internet age has been increasingly embraced by professional and amateur writers alike. Unfortunately for freedom of expression advocates, the subtle nature of the likely changes mean there's unlikely to be an uproar. One lawyer told the IHT, "I'm afraid ordinary citizens don't care about these lack of rights, consequently the internet in Japan is heading for the Dark Ages." (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Net censorship spreading to Japan as suits fail to comprehend new media

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:13:01 GMT

Net censorship spreading to Japan as suits fail to comprehend new media

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:13:00 GMT

Shoppers to Toshiba: You shouldn’t have bothered

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:29:00 GMT

Even though we've heard of some fantastic customer service for Japanese early adopters of the failed HD DVD format, it seems not everyone's happy with the brave face being put on by Toshiba. In fact, a new survey by Nikkei Publications has found that almost half of respondents think Toshiba should never even have bothered with HD DVD in the first place. Asked, "At what point do you think Toshiba should have decided to withdraw from the HD DVD business?" 43 per cent said it should have done so in 2005 when it was still in talks with the backers of Blu-ray about finding a common high-definition format. The poll of almost 1,000 Japanese geeks offered some small consolation for Toshiba in that just under 30 per cent backed its choice to wait until now to pull the plug. Better yet, just under half of the technology and finance publisher's readers felt that the format war wasn't all bad news. A healthy 47 per cent said that "the format competition accelerated technical progress." (Crossposted to TechRadar)

Shoppers to Toshiba: You shouldn’t have bothered

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 07:29:00 GMT

Even though we've heard of some fantastic customer service for Japanese early adopters of the failed HD DVD format, it seems not everyone's happy with the brave face being put on by Toshiba. In fact, a new survey by Nikkei Publications has found that almost half of respondents think Toshiba should never even have bothered with HD DVD in the first place. Asked, "At what point do you think Toshiba should have decided to withdraw from the HD DVD business?�? 43 per cent said it should have done so in 2005 when it was still in talks with the backers of Blu-ray about finding a common high-definition format. The poll of almost 1,000 Japanese geeks offered some small consolation for Toshiba in that just under 30 per cent backed its choice to wait until now to pull the plug. Better yet, just under half of the technology and finance publisher's readers felt that the format war wasn't all bad news. A healthy 47 per cent said that "the format competition accelerated technical progress.�? (Crossposted to TechRadar)