Facebook is now available in Japanese, CEO Zuckerberg says in Tokyo

Facebook's CEO Marc Zuckerberg personally traveled to Tokyo to announce the launch of the Japanese version of his super-successful social network. Actually he came for just a day (on May 20th), gave a few interviews telling why Japanese people should join Facebook and left.



It goes without saying this is not the way to go in this country. Just translating Facebook into Japanese (by over 1,300 native speakers) will not help much as well.

Difficult environment for Facebook
I have put together some reasons Facebook will have a hard time gaining a siginificant market share in Japan here. Fellow blogger Takuya Homma adds a few thoughts, most importantly the need of a kick-ass mobile version of a Facebook Japan. This is totally correct, given the fact that the number of users of Japan's largest SNS Mixi accessing the site via their cell phones exceeds 50%. Moreover, a lot of their members use the site as a blogging platform.

Zuckerberg also said in one statement Facebook is known for its safety since people are using their real names. Well, first of all this is not necessarily true. Everybody and his brother can set up a Facebook profile using any name. Secondly, the majority of Japanese users of social networks would HATE to reveal their identity and post photos of themselves online. Just look at Mixi: How many members demonstrate this behavior there? Almost no one...

So in my view Facebook faces a very, very hard time on the Japanese market. At least Zuckerberg came the long way from the USA to show his face - he didn't travel to my home country Germany when Facebook launched the German version a few weeks ago...

Update:
Lisa Katayama (a US-based writer and journalist) wrote an excellent article on Facebook Japan, which can be found here.

Softbank brings Alibaba.com to Japan

Japanese web and telecom giant Softbank and China-based B2B platform Alibaba are collaborating. 65 percent of Alibaba Japan will be owned by Softbank, the rest by Alibaba's parent company. The companies are investing 20 million USD into the joint venture.

There are over 1 million products registered on Alibaba Japan at the moment. The site boasts 75,000 Japanese members.

The new company will be lead by CEO Makoto Koyama. Japan's richest and Softbank's big man Masayoshi Son is going to be a director.

The official press release in which the joint venture was announced the day before yesterday can be found here (Japanese).

In my view, it is about time something happened in the B2B web space in Japan. After all, this is the country of companies: According to the Japanese Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry 4.7 million SME are registered in Japan!

Report: Gaijin-lead Web 2.0 service iknow! event in Tokyo

Last Wednesday, I attended an event at the Tokyo 21 c Business Club in Marunouchi focusing on the relatively fresh Japanese web service iknow! (link leads to an English page).

iknow! is marketed as a social learning web service for Japanese users interested in studying English. On the site, teachers can connect to students and students can interact with each other to improve their English skills. However, that's not all.

In fact, iknow! is a full-fledged web site featuring TONS of functions which are useful also for completely individual training: dictations, vocabulary tests, quizzes, brain stimulation games etc. When the service launched in October last year, I was actually VERY impressed with its high quality and the team is working on improving and expanding iknow!.

Cerego, the US-based company running the service uses, chose "learning technologies" as its slogan. In fact, Cerego's CEO Eric Young told me several scientists were hired to make sure iknow! is being developed in Japan based on the most current methodologies of learning and teaching languages.

The event itself centered on the main functions iknow! offers to users and a Q&A which followed after the presentation. Eric and Andrew Smith Lewis (CEO of Cerego Japan) answered several questions from the audience which included iknow! users who were not from the web industry or press. I found that very cool!

The language education industry in Japan is a multi-billion dollar business. I am eager to see how iknow! will try to monetize its service in the future. Although Cerego employs a huge team, iknow! is completely free at the moment! The CEOs said the main focus at the moment is to attract as many users as possible.

And the initial numbers are more than impressive: According to information given during the presentation, 100.000 users are currently registered. This service is going to be a huge success, I am sure!

Pictures: iknow! event at Tokyo 21c Business Club (click to enlarge)

Japanese company releases new tool for use in Second Life

I personally believe the basic concept behind the idea of Second Life (the existence of "virtual worlds" in 3D populated by avatars) will be here to stay in the web world forever.

In Japan, people took a liking to Second Life particularly after Linden Lab decided to translate the site into Japanese last year. In November, major TV network Nihon TV broadcasted the world's first show recorded in the virtual world (as reported). And the show is still on.

Japanese company offers Second Life services
There are quite a few companies which exist only because there is Second Life. MagSL (Magazine Second Life) for example is a Tokyo-based provider for various services related to Second Life. The company offers auction tools, construction, advertising and other services tailored for that virtual world.

Since late February, MagSL added an ASP solution to analyze behavior of avatars in 3D environment to their product range. In the corresponding press release, the company says it distinguishes user behavior on 2D web pages from the way people act in 3D worlds. According to MagSL, this difference justifies specialized behavior analysis software. Well, that makes sense.

MagSL is (naturally) marketing their new product as a pure B2B solution. Companies represented in Second Life can use the software to find out how avatars in Second Life react to their Marketing efforts, i. e. to promoting events.

I think more and more software focused on "virtual worlds" on the web will be released in the future. And interestingly, Japanese companies in particular seem to be pioneering this field.

Sony is soon offering "Playstation Home" for their Playstation 3 video game system while Japanese web powerhouse Transcosmos views its self-developed virtual world "meet-me" as a potential Second Life-Killer.

Remote controller for PC operation and Chinese character input

Typing in Japanese can be a real pain. Whereas using the Roman alphabet to type on a keyboard is a relatively direct and easy issue, typing in Japanese usually involves a lot of converting (i.e. from the Japanese alphabet Hiragana to the Chinese characters called Kanji). Also, there sometimes are multiple Kanji to choose from which is nothing but an additional hassle.

So anything which makes it easier to enter Japanese characters on a PC should be highly welcomed. That is why I decided to blog about a device a friend of mine pointed me to.

New type of remote controller for PCs
The パソコンのリモコン (pasokon no rimokon/PC remote controller) is offered by a company called Tokyo Ergo Corp. and was already introduced at the CEATEC exhibition last year in Chiba. Although I was there, I didn't see the product.

Picture: PC remote controller


Tokyo Ergo says the device makes it possible to use a PC with one hand and claims it can fully substitute both a keyboard and a mouse (I haven't tried it yet)! The remote controller is connected to a PC with a 2 meter cable (USB) and weighs 70 grams.

While mouse movements can be mimicked by just moving the button located on the top of the device, input of Japanese characters is a little trickier. To convert words written in the Roman alphabet or Hiragana to Kanji, it is necessary to observe the screen where a special control switch is displayed. The character which is to be typed in can then be chosen from by moving the button on the screen's control panel (which is possible in 6 different directions).

While this sounds very cumbersome, Tokyo Ergo claims 1.5 Japanese characters can be written per second this way, given the user practiced a bit with the system!

I am not sure if the world needs this piece of hardware but it might be a cool gimmick for some hardcore geeks. The company says its product can be used on a private basis (i.e. for operating a PC while lying down), by handicapped/injurered persons, during business presentations or by sales clerks who don't have to sit down to operate a PC for demonstrating products to customers.

The device is steeply priced at 13,650 Yen (128 USD/85 Euro) and is available through the company's online shop.

10 winners of CNET Japan's Tech Venture contest

Last week, CNET Japan held a Tech venture contest and a total of 10 companies were awarded with prices. The event drew a lot of attention in the Japanese web and IT world.

Companies awarded which have an English website (unfortunately only three do):

- Community Engine
(development of network middleware and applications among other things)

- Utagoe
(broadcasting service)

- Enigmo
(online video commercials through collaboration with consumers, their Rollmio service is available in English)


Companies which offer information in Japanese only:

- Niwango
(operation of i.e. Nico Nico Douga online video platform (my review))

- PTP
(digital TV recording service)

- i-Broadcast
(mobile platform for videos and photos)

- Entermotion
(mobile marketing)

- aucfan.com
(online auction services)

- J-Magic
(face recognition for mobile devices)

- Cirius
(mobile ads)

More information on the winners is available on Akihito Fujii's blog. Akihito-san is working for Sun Microsystems Japan and thankfully provides a detailed write-up about Tech venture 2008 in English (part 1, part 2).

He also acted as a judge for the contest.

Mobile browser from Japan: Jig

Jig is the name of a genuine Japanese Internet software product, a mobile web browser. There is also an English version available which is very welcome. The best point: For overseas customers the usage of jig is completely free!

A few days ago, Taisuke -who is CEO and CTO of the Tokyo-based company of the same name- demonstrated jig to me personally. And I really liked it!

Jig is actually "just" a proxy browser. The Java application reshapes web sites designed for PCs so that they can be displayed on mobile phones. When installed on a handset, (almost) any given web site can be surfed via the "jig browser mouse". The so-called mouse is actually an arrow which users can scroll across web pages and click on items with.

Video: The jig browser in action (direct link and more videos)


The application supports three views: original PC mode (PC view is taken over without modifications), mobile mode or overview (the web site is shrinked to a single screen on the handset). Tabbed browsing is possible. All three major Japanese mobile phone carriers are supported.

Moreover, jig offers mini-applications called jiglets. These include an RSS-reader, a digital clock, a scheduler and many more. It is also possible to install a mailer jiglet with which you can handle PC mail. Jiglets can be developed by the users themselves as well!

Users can also view Flash videos, WMA and WLV files on their handsets.

Downloading the full browser application costs 630 Yen a month (5.80 USD/4 Euros) or 6,000 Yen a year (55.50 USD/38 Euros). It is also possible to install a slimmed-down version for half that price or download a trial version for free. The overseas version is completely free!

Active company
Jig has been around since 2003 and is now competing with other mobile browsers such as Opera Mini and Skyfire.

The company is really active in improving its services. For example, jig won an award at the "Global Mobile Content Awards" held in Korea in 2007 for its "jig movie" application which enables users to view streaming videos (i.e. live content and movies) on their mobile phones. Last December, Yahoo! Japan decided to include a technology developed by jig to include in their mobile widget service "Yahoo! Desktop".

Not bad at all. It is good to see a Japanese company being in such a good position in a very interesting market.

Review: Japan's Web giant Rakuten

Rakuten is one of the biggest fish in the Japanese Web market. In fact the service is a giant even by global standards: Rakuten is the country's largest E-Commerce site (oh, that old word) and Japan is the world's second biggest economy. This alone says a lot.

The company is well known over here for offering the country's largest shopping mall site (Rakuten Ichiba).



I will review Rakuten in the following order:
I) General Info
II) Starting Page
III) Functions and Features
IV) Business Model
V) Opinion

I) General Info
Rakuten was founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997 and went IPO three years later. Mikitani is still CEO. The Tokyo-based company employs almost 4,000 people.

Market capitalization stands at around six billion USD (!) and was even much higher some years ago. Rakuten yields an annual revenue of about two billion dollars.

Last month, the company announced it plans to enter as many as 27 international markets until 2012 (China, Taiwan, Brazil etc.). Rakuten USA is headquartered in Boston.

Here is their company info site in English.

II) Starting Page
As to be expected, the starting page is huge. There are dozens and dozens of sub pages/services which actually come close to being comprehensive sites/companies in themselves!

Please click on the picture for an enlarged and translated version of Rakuten's starting page:


The container on the top left I labeled "Main contents/Links" comprises the following tabs:
Auctions, Group purchases*, Mobile Rakuten, Present Finder, Market*, Rankings, Financial Services, Shopping Cart, Rakuten Travel, Portal*.

"Group purchases" means that prices will fall if more people buy a certain product. Under "Market", users can browse Rakuten through categories to find and buy products. "Portal" links to Rakuten's own search and information portal Infoseek (acquired in 2000).


III) Functions and Features
The company is highly diversified, both horizontally and vertically. Thus their site integrates a wide range of services.

Apart from the services described above on the starting page (financial services, a successful travel site (English version is here) etc.), Rakuten offers
- a flea market
- an online bookstore
- a download service for digital contents
- a ticket sales service and much more.

Rakuten is even involved in the Golf business!

Rakuten's online shopping concept is very user-friendly because of its unified shopping cart approach. This means users can put i.e. a BluRay disc, diet pills and shoes into one basket from different shops and pay in one sum.

All services are being offered under the "Rakuten" brand. So no wonder that some people even speak of an online shopping monopoly when talking about the company.

IV) Business Model
Rakuten's business model is quite simple: Make money through lots and lots of services covering lots and lots of industry sectors.

For example, approximately 60,000 shops are currently registered on the site (Rakuten Ichiba, Travel and business section combined) offering over 20 million different items. The company is earning revenue by charging fees from online mall operators, travel agencies, securities companies etc. (fixed fees/commission model).

Rakuten also offers a magazine, a special credit card, a comprehensive mobile site, and much more. Also, in the past years the company bought a professional baseball team, several financial/consulting/Web companies and a stake in a major Japanese TV network! In 2005 for example, Rakuten acquired LinkShare, an American Web marketing company, for 425 million USD. These guys are not throwing around peanuts.

V) Opinion
Rakuten is ridiculously huge, that's for sure. I can't think of an E-Commerce site with a similar scope in the US or Europe at least. But somehow the company manges to keep everything under one umbrella even though Rakuten and its CEO were regularly in the papers in the past due to a number of scandals.

From a customer's point of view, I personally like the unified shopping cart approach in Rakuten Ichiba even though I never bought anything there. But from I hear, shopping at Rakuten works without any problems. Given the highly critical and strict mentality of Japanese consumers, this is a must anyway.

Judging design, usability and structure, the site itself is OK given its enormous range of contents.

It will be very interesting to see how Rakuten will change and grow (or maybe collapse which is always possible) in the future. Especially their plans to internationalize rapidly sound really, really ambitious....

Japan's Information Grand Voyage Project

Western academics in Japan-related research often use the term "iron triangle" when referring to a nexus of power which they say comprises private business, the bureaucracy in this country and its mightiest political party LDP.

If the iron triangle really exists, the boldly titled "Information Grand Voyage Project" (情報大航海: Jouhou Daikoukai) must be one of its offsprings in the IT field. This is the English site provided by the initiator, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (unfortunately the link at the bottom of the page is dead). This ministry (aka METI) is by far the most influential political institution in Japan.

Information found in Non-Japanese media about the Information Grand Voyage Project is curt to say the least. In other words, almost no one outside Japan knows about this initiative although it is planned to last 3 years and involves the METI and major Japanese technology companies. Thus it makes sense to shed some light on this project in the scope of this blog.

Here is Hitachi Consulting's more useful site on the project in English.

Key points and goals
- project began in 2007, lasts until the end of fiscal 2009 covering different phases from development, testing to deployment of innovative technologies
- parties involved: METI, Hitachi, JAL, NTT DoCoMo, Oki Electric, Blogwatcher and other companies
- main principles: user orientation, global contribution and use of open source technology

METI claims the goal of this project is to categorize the amount of information worldwide which exploded in recent years due to advancements in Information Technology and make it usable for human beings. The project partners aim at developing a new kind of search and analysis technology which helps filtering information specifically tailored to the individual in question.

However, the METI is not reluctant to say there is one more intention behind its initiative: proactively boosting Japan's global competitiveness in the IT industry.

There have been LOTS of other projects comparable to the Information Grand Voyage Project in the past (many of them not rooted in the technology sector). Usually, these programs are established to improve infrastructure, enhance competitiveness or to pave the way for revitalization of selected regions or industries in Japan.

How is this abstract project plan turned into concrete activity?
The project covers a number of seperate "mini-projects"/experiments which in the end should lead to the "establishment of an innovative environment". This would just mean bla-bla in a lof of other countries but as usual the Japanese mean it.

One example for such a "project within the big picture" is the "My Life Assist Service" jointly developed by NEC and NTT DoCoMo.



Testing by approximately 2,000 volunteers began last month. Testing sites include Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. The experiment is scheduled to stop at the end of next month.

Using the GPS function in mobile phones, the service provides users with filtered/useful information specific to their location.

This is not really sensational news but there is more to it. Based on inference technology developed by the University of Tokyo, the My Life Assist Service also takes into account the individual's Web browsing behavior! By combining a user's location with the analysis of (let's say guessing of) his or her tastes and preferences based on web sites previously accessed, the service is presumably able to offer highly individualized information.

I read an interesting example here [j]. If a user listens to a particular song from a movie soundtrack (via his mobile phone-not unusual at all in Japan) very often, the service can recommend trips to sites where the corresponding movie was shot. Another example: If a person seems to browse through sites for vegetarians a lot, the system could display suitable restaurants in the user's vicinity during lunch time.

Cool and bold ideas but some serious privacy issues have already been raised. The companies involved are working on solving the problem though. That may be one of the reasons the My Life Assist Service is still called an "experiment" [j] by DoCoMo itself.

The Japanese government will evaluate which systems (as said above, other companies are developing projects as well) turn out to be worth integrating into the big picture.

While some of the "experiments" sound promising the budget for the Information Grand Voyage Project as a whole is a mere 40 million USD.

Can Facebook make it in Japan? Pros and Cons

Facebook has flaws. Some management decisions are sometimes debatable to say the least. And yes, some requests get can get on your nerves. But in my view, Facebook is still the best place to connect with people. Much better than Friendster, Bebo, MySpace etc.

No Facebook Japan yet
Update: Facebook Japan launched (May 20th, 2008), see my post.
As of now, Facebook does not offer a Japanese version. But it seems that the company finally makes some serious moves towards internationalization. This month, my fellow Germans Alexander, Marc and Oliver Samwer have invested in Facebook, supposedly to prepare the entry into Europe. In November last year, famous Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing decided the service is worthy enough to shell out 60 million USD of his pocket money to them (he is Asia's richest man).



So a "Facebook Japan" might come closer even though it is undecided yet when this will become a reality.

MySpace offers a Japanese version now. Friendster followed in December. Both sites offer no incentives for many Japanese people to join however. I am sure most "ordinary" Japanese people never even heard of these services.

The same is true for Facebook.

The Japanese don't really care much about other SN than Mixi. As regular readers of this blog know by now, Mixi rules the Japanese SN market (my Mixi review). Mixi is supposed to have a user base of 12 million people.

Can Facebook emulate this tremendous success? Time to think about some pros and cons.

Pros:
1)
Japanese people love innovations and Facebook will be new to a LOT of users over here.

2)
Compared to domestic products, foreign goods and services are often viewed as cooler, more exotic and desirable. This is especially true for consumer goods but may be a plus in the Web world as well.

3)
Facebook is totally different from Mixi and would be quite unique in this country's Internet market. In my view Facebook is actually "better"/more useful than Mixi. Especially some of the applications are quite cool.

4)
More and more Japanese people have international friends they would like to be connected with. A Japanese version of Facebook might overcome the language barrier in online networking (Mixi is only available in Japanese).

Cons:
1)
Facebook is too late. They are late-comers yet super-successful competitors to MySpace and other services in the US and internationally. But WITHIN Japan, we have a "the winner takes it all" situation in my opinion. The cake is baked and Mixi took the largest bite already.

2)
The Japanese are the most quality conscious people in the world. Users here would not forgive any mistakes. Especially security/privacy problems are serious issues in this country. I am not sure if Japanese people would trust a foreign social network service to keep their personal data safe.

3)
Facebook does not have a "Japanese identity" which would certainly help (although it would set off the "gaijin bonus factor").
Some sites like Youtube were successful in Japan BEFORE localization/translation. The reason: No Japanese company managed to push a similar product into the market in time. German Facebook clone "StudiVZ" (sold for 100 million USD last year) is much more successful than Facebook mainly because it has roots in the country's university scene. At the very least Facebook needs a physical presence in Japan (MySpace established an office in Tokyo some time ago).

4)
Facebook applications are cool but mostly in English. This will remain unchanged even if Facebook will offer a localized version of their site. Most Japanese people will not have the nerves to struggle with English menus, texts and "How-to"s. In this case, only applications written in Japanese and tailored for users over here would help.
Facebook without its thousands of applications is almost "just another social network".

Conclusion:
It will be VERY hard for Facebook to continue its success story in Japan. They are in a situation like Web giant Ebay 5 years ago when Ebay lost to Yahoo Japan's well-established auction service. The world's No.1 auction site closed their office in Tokyo after a few months.

My guess is Facebook will go for a cooperation with a Japanese player (like Ebay finally did with Yahoo Japan some weeks ago). Maybe they are on the prowl already.

The question is: Which Japanese service can that be?

IT/Web events in Tokyo: ICA Japan New Year Party & UltraSuperTube v2

I had the pleasure of attending two IT/Web industry-related events in Tokyo on Wednesday.

1) UltraSuperTube Vol. 2
The UltraSuperTube Vol. 2 party was well attended. It was organized by Tokyo-based interactive agency UltraSuperNew.

The company also celebrated its first anniversay (Congratulations, Mike!) on this occasion. I went to the venue (SuperDeluxe in Azabu) at about 11 pm and saw/listened to Vanilla Ice's infamous "Ice Ice Baby" video (amongst others) which was streamed on multiple big screens from Youtube.

The whole event basically centered on the idea of throwing a party for people from the IT, art and media world in Tokyo using Internet videos as a background. The audience was well mixed (gaijin and Japanese).

I thought it was cool but had to leave pretty early. Attendance was free.

2) ICA Japan New Year's Party
The ICA Japan (International Computer Association) party was REALLY packed. The ICA Japan is considered to be one of the most important technology and business-related organizations in Japan.

I can confirm this, judging from the many people I had the pleasure of speaking with. The overwhelming majority of attendees had a business background: IT company owners, Marketing managers, Business development managers, consultants, sales people etc. etc. So the party was particularly interesting for me.

Unfortunately, Japanese people were a little underrepresented in my opinion. It is beyond my understanding why a Japanese IT/Web company would not send someone to attend a party of that scope and importance. The party was an excellent platform to expand a company's network, get new ideas and speak with competitors and potential clients. The same goes for any gaijin-run company from the technology sector.

At the very least, you get to converse with high-profile people, enjoy good food and a bit of entertainment. Many gaijin spoke Japanese very well so that the language barrier shouldn't be considered a problem.

Attendance cost 6,500 Yen. I really liked the venue (Club 57 in Roppongi).

Review: Japan's No. 2 social network GREE

Mixi is the quasi-standard when it comes to social network usage in Japan (read more in my Mixi-review).

Japan's second largest social network is called GREE. There is no information in English available about GREE online. That means outside Japan almost no one knows about this Web site even though MILLIONS of people are using it (mobile and Web version). So I decided it is time for a write-up to present this service to Non-Japanese speakers.



I will review GREE in the following order:
I) General Info
II) Starting Page
III) Functions and Features
IV) Business Model
V) Opinion

I) General Info
Gree, Inc. currently employs 74 people in its HQ in Tokyo. The name GREE is derived from a sociological concept named "Six degrees of separation".

The company published a press release last month claiming they have over 3 million users now. Impressive, but still a far cry from Mixi's userbase of well over 12 million. Both services started operations in Japan at about the same time.

GREE's president Yoshikazu Tanaka is 30 years old and founded the company in 2004 (!). Before, he was responsible for operating Rakuten's auctions operations.

Click here for a detailed statistic on details how GREE clearly trails Mixi in the Japanese SN market.

II) Starting Page
GREE's top page is rather minimalistic as you can see from the JPEG below for which I translated key items:


III) Functions and Features
GREE is an invite-only service like Mixi.

In essence, GREE offers the following functions:
- blogs
- photo albums
- video uploads
- messaging system
- forums
- reviews
etc.

What's more interesting is GREE's mobile version. The service is called "au GREE" for KDDI's carrier "au". The company invested 31 million USD in July 2006 to develop a mobile version of the Web site. Softbank and DoCoMo customers know it as "GREE mobile". Mobile GREE is "integrated" into the Web version so that PC-only users are able to interact with handset-only users if necessary.

au GREE in particular proved to be a huge success. Its user base passed one million in July 2007 (information from the latest official press release related to this number).

What's the difference between the mobile and the Web version?
For example, - besides the usual features - au Gree users can send each other html-rich emails (called "decoration-mail"), play games based on flash and get their fortunes told. Click here for screenshots.

However, there is also a mobile version of Mixi which is even more successful. No Japanese Web company would dare to offer a PC-only service!

IV) Business Model
GREE makes money in the following ways:
- advertisements
- affiliate links to online shops
- premium accounts

A GREE premium account costs 315 Yen/month (2.80 USD/1.90 Euros). Premium users get 1 GB of storage for uploading videos and pictures and unlimited Email storage. Moreover, users can keep provisions if the products they reviewed are purchased after clicking an affiliate link.

V) Opinion
GREE can keep up with Mixi as far as basic features and functions are concerned.

The huge marketing pull with which Mixi managed to conquer the Japanese SN market is the decisive reason for GREE being a distant second.

Another reason is to be seen in GREE's design and usability approach. The Web site has a business-like, rather "cold" feel to it. Not exactly like LinkedIn or Xing obviously but Mixi somehow exudes more fun and looks more casual.

GREE doesn't do anything terribly wrong but suffers from the "The winner takes it all"-law pertinent to a lot of Web 2.0 services. That is why in my opinion it will be VERY hard for GREE to enjoy a Mixi-like success in Japan in the near future.

Japan's top 50 blogs

Following up on my recent article about Japan's top 50 web sites, I now decided to publish what is probably the only hit list in English covering this country's most popular blogs in detail. As you may know, Japan is THE country of bloggers with some sources claiming there are more blogs written in Japanese than in English (!).

The following list is based on information from Technorati which is the world's most influential search engine for blogs. All blogs are Japanese only but I added a short description in English to all of them. Also I converted the Japanese title into Romaji (the Latin alphabet) whenever necessary.

The rank is decided by the number of blogs on the Internet which include a link to the blog in question. That means for example that Technorati will add one link count to all blogs on the following list after crawling my blog and this article.

Without further ado, here are Japan's Top 50 blogs (according to Technorati Japan, accessed January 4th, 2008-Japanese time):

1. GIGAZINE ブレーキをかけられず暴走する車を複数の監視カメラがとらえる
("GIGAZINE Breeki o kakerarezu bousou suru kuruma o fukusuu no kanshi kamera toraeru")
Tech and geek blog
7,147 links from other blogs on the web to this blog

2. Gizmodo Japan（ギズモード・ジャパン）, ガジェット情報満載ブログ
("Gizmodo Japan (Gizumoodo Japan) gajetto jouhou mansai burogu")
Blog about the newest electronic gadgets (Japanese version of Gizmodo)
4,684 links

3. Engadget Japanese
Blog about the newest electronic gadgets (Japanese version of Engadget)
4,458 links

4. にゅーあきばどっとこむ
("Nyuu akiba dotto komu")
Otaku blog
4,024 links

5. アキバBlog（秋葉原ブログ）
("Akiba Blog (Akihabara burogu)")
Otaku blog
3,171 links

6. しょこたん☆ぶろぐ
("Shokotan☆burogu")
Official blog of Japanese super idol and otaku dream girl Nakagawa Shouko
2,922 links

7. Nネタフル
("NNetafuru")
Tech blog
2,812 links

8. Garbagenews.com
Tech and geek blog
2,156 links

9. 404 Blog Not Found
Japanese coder Dan Kogai's personal blog
1,906 links

10. Yahoo!ブログ ★彡次男坊にゃ虐待弁当＆ダンナは倦怠期弁当＝逆切れギャク弁！★彡
("Yahoo!burogu ★彡Jinanbou nya gyakutaibentou&danna wa kentaikibentou=gyakugire gyakuben! ★彡")
Blog about lunch boxes (!)
1,746 links

11. らばQ
("RabaQ")
News blog
1,744 links

12. レオナルド・ダ・ヴィンチの旅日記
("Reonarudo da Vinchi no tabi nikki")
Blog about Leonardo da Vinci (!)
1,553 links

13. 若槻千夏のブログ『マーボー豆腐は飲み物です』 Powered by アメブロ
("Wakatsuki Chinatsu no burogu 『Maaboudoufu wa nomimono desu』 Powered by Ameburo")
Official blog of Japanese TV personality Wakatsuki Chinatsu who gave up blogging recently
1,534 links

14. MOON PHASE 雑記
("MOON PHASE gikki")
Otaku blog
1,314 links

15. 眞鍋かをりのココだけの話 powered by ココログ
("Manabe Kaori no koko dake no hanashi powered by Kokorogu")
Official blog of Japanese TV personality and idol Manabe Kaori
1,270 links

16. TechCrunch Japanese
Japanese version of the world's most influential Tech blog
1,253 links

17. P O P * P O P 世界のニュースをクオリティ重視で
("P O P * P O P Sekai no nyuusu o kuoriti juushi de")
News blog
1,195 links

18. まんたんウェブ (アニメ・マンガ・ゲーム) 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞)
("Mantan web (Anime・Manga・Geemu) Mainichijp (Mainichi Shimbun)")
Blog about anime, manga and games
1,150 links

19. *ホームページを作る人のネタ帳
("*Hoomupeeji o tsukuru hito no netachou")
Internet design and programming blog
1,099 blogs

20. 夕刊フジBLOG
("Yuukan Fuji BLOG")
News blog specifially targeted for males
1,032 links

21. 百式（100SHIKI.COM） 世界のアイディアを今日も明日も明後日も
("Hyaku shiki（100SHIKI.COM） Sekai no aidia o kyou mo ashita mo asatte mo")
Tech blog
1,023 links

22. IDEA*IDEA 百式管理人のライフハックブログ
("Hyaku shiki kanrinin no raifuhakku burogu")
Tech blog (similar to #21)
1,013 links

23. メディアファージ事業部 ブログ
("Media faaji jigyoubu burogu")
Official blog of IT and media company Crypton
966 links

24. ガチャピン日記
("Gachapin nikki")
Blog of wildly popular Japanese children's TV character Gachapin
945 links

25. 竹原慎二 オフィシャルブログ
("Takehara Shinji ofishiaru burogu")
Offical blog of former boxer Takehara Shinji
940 links

26. 小太郎ぶろぐ
("Kotarou burogu")
Otaku blog
914 links

27. 新垣 結衣オフィシャルブログ
("Aragaki Yui ofishiaru burogu")
Official blog of one of my favorite super idols: Aragaki Yui
908 links

28. まこという名の不思議顔の猫
("Mako to iu na no fushigigao no neko")
Blog centered on (strange-looking;)) cats
891 links

29. Yahoo!ブログ ごんざえもんの館
("Yahoo!burogu Gonzaemon no kan")
Otaku blog
847 links

30. Life is beautiful
Japanese coder Nakajima Satoshi's personal blog
829 links

31. FPN 新規事業とイノベーションを考えるビジネスニュースコミュニティ
("FPN Shinkijigyou to inobeeshon o kangaeru bijinesu nyuusu komyuniti")
Business blog
812 links

32. 日刊サイゾー, マスコミの裏を読む！体制の裏をかく!!
("Nikkan Saizou, masukomi no ura o yomu! Taisei no ura o kaku!!")
Otaku news blog
769 links

33. ルーブログ｜ルー大柴オフィシャルブログ『TOGETHER』
("Ruu burogu｜Ruu Ooshiba ofishiaru burogu 『TOGETHER』")
Official blog of comedian Lou Oshiba
768 links

34. SlashGear Japan
Blog about the newest electronic gadgets (Japanese version of Slashgear)
751 links

35. 池田信夫 blog
("Ikeda Nobuo blog")
IT and economics blog written by renowned university professor Ikeda Nobuo
750 links

36. 忍之閻魔帳
("Shinobi enmachou")
Game and movie blog
729 links

37. Yahoo!ブログ ジャブログに散る!
("Yahoo!burogu Jaburogu ni charu!")
Official blog of Ryuichi Ogata, member of Japanese boy band w-inds
709 links

38. Geekなぺーじ インターネット技術メモ
("Geek na peeji intaanetto gijutsu memo")
Geek and programmers blog
695 links

39. ◆めっつぉ Intermezzo
("◆Mettsuo Intermezzo")
Tech, game and geek blog
690 links

40. きくちＰの音組収録日記 フジテレビ
("KikuchiP no otogumi shuuroku nikki Fuji terebi")
Blog about production at major Japanese TV network Fuji
676 links

41. うちの3姉妹～マンガで見る今日の出来事～
("Uchi no 3shimai～manga de miru kyou no dekigoto～")
Blog about 3 manga siblings
661 links

42. Google Japan Blog
Google Japan's company blog
652 links

43. きっこのブログ
("Kikko no burogu")
Blog by Japanese hair stylist Kikko (!)
638 links

44. phpspot開発日誌 PHP/Ajax/JavaScript/CSS等の最新技術情報をお届け
("phpspot Kaihatsu nisshi PHP/Ajax/JavaScript/CSS nado no saishin gijutsu jouhou o otodoke")
Internet programming blog
625 links

45. DesignWalker
An L.A.-based Japanese web designer's blog
614 links

46. 小倉優子のこりん星のお食事って？ powered by ココログ
("Ogura Yuuko no korinsei no oshokujitte? powered by kokorogu")
Official blog of ultracute super idol and alleged alien life form Ogura Yuko
609 links

47. 佐藤健のOfficial Blog
("Satou Takeru no Official Blog")
Official blog of Japanese actor Sato Takeru
608 links

48. 茂木健一郎　クオリア日記
("Mogi Kenichirou kuoria nikki")
Official blog of Japanese multi talent Ken Mogi (his English blog is here)
602 links

49. モModern Syntax
("Mo Modern Syntax")
Private blog by the founder of Japanese blog service "Blogpeople"
595 links

50. Lifehacking.jp
Geek blog
591 links

There are a lot of blogs from celebrities in the top 50, aren't there? You can view Technorati America's Top 100 blogs here for a comparison.

For an excellent resource about Japan's blogosphere in English make sure to check out Global Voices Online's Japan section.

Japaaan: New SNS to uncover Japan's hidden must-go spots

As many people know, it is true that Japan is a big and beautiful country with a rich cultural heritage. Even a metropolis Tokyo has its nice places. I am kind of affiliated with the German embassy here in Tokyo and from what I hear Japan doesn't do a really good of promoting the country in Europe. Well, I can't say from here.

Now, a new social network called "Japaaan" was just recently established to do something very interesting: Unearthing Japan's nicest places which are yet unknown particularly to foreign visitors! So if you are an individualistic traveler who is interested in seeing Japan's hidden touristic treasures you should join the network. Families are welcome as well.

Signing up is free and done in 30 seconds. I am a member already ;).

Picture: New SNS "Japaaan"


My friend Yuki Naotori (CEO of web startup 7ns) created "Japaaan" in liaison with www.japan-hopper.com.

In detail, the network is a platform for people who are interested in travel destinations which are not accounted for in printed guides like "Lonely Planet" or on the usual travel web sites. This can include i.e. "hidden" onsen (Japanese hot springs), ryokans (Japanese inns), temples, remote villages, unknown sightseeing spots etc.

Gaijin and Japanese people are equally welcome to share their insider tips online.

Online AND offline plans
The activity is not only reduced to online discussions though. It is planned to actually travel to certain places together and document the experience. Later videos, pictures etc. of the trips would be posted on the web site.

I think this non-profit project is a cool idea. If you are interested, please join "Japaaan" here or through www.japaan.org.

There will be a first offline kickstart-meeting in a restaurant in Tokyo on January 9th. Everyone interested is cordially invited. Please visit the web site for details and make sure to let the webmaster know of you attendance as fast as possible so seats can be reserved.

Kanji-Fandom converts your name into Chinese characters

Did you ever wonder how your name is spelled in Chinese characters (called Kanji)? Writing it in Katakana (the Japanese alphabet) was yesterday. Now you can "Kanji it" very easily with Kanji-Fandom (website is completely in English).

This nifty and fun new web site (very minimalistic/Google-like) was just released and is still in beta. One of my readers pointed me to this service.


Just type in your name in the text box and the system automatically retrieves multiple Kanji characters which are connected to your gaijin name;).

For the default name "Michael Jordan" the result page looks like that:


You can choose from a list of Kanji and compose your own combination. The Kanji name can then be altered in various ways, commented on, rated etc.

For "Michael Jordan", the automatic recommendation looks like this:


It also explained what the Kanji means. In Jordan's case: Dance, Kick, Length and Group. Aptly named indeed ;).

Company Info
Kanji-Fandom is offered by B3United, a Tokyo based web company actually specialized in mobile solutions. For example, they provide the search engine for Chaku-Uta. Chaku-Uta is the wildly successful music download service from KDDI (Japan's No.2 mobile phone carrier serving over 25 million customers!).

Review: 8 reasons why Yahoo rules Japan

My posting about the Top 50 web sites in Japan featured a winner: Yahoo Japan.

The company not only dominates Internet search in Japan (approx. 65% market share) but the Internet as a whole, offering a wide range of services. Corporate business figures are not too shabby either. From April to September this year for example, Yahoo Japan's profits equaled 29,27 billion Yen (254 million USD/178 million Euros)!



Here are 8 reasons for Yahoo Japan's success so far:

1) Head Start
Yahoo started Internet operations in Japan in 1996 when Google didn't even exist.

2) Tie-up with Japanese communications powerhouse Softbank
Yahoo Japan didn't just translate its service but localized it in cooperation with a strong Japanese joint venture partner (telecommunications giant Softbank). Actually, Softbank owns 41% of Yahoo Japan while Yahoo Inc. only owns 33% of shares. In my view, Yahoo Japan is in fact a very, very Japanese company...

3) Adoption to Japanese tastes
Yahoo Japan's top page is cluttered (see the screen shot below for a translated version). Google Japan's top page is as minimalistic as its non-Japanese versions which is a good thing in my view. But Yahoo's design is appealing to Japanese people. Users here are used to see a lot of links and text boxes on a top page. In a way, they expect it to be like that!

4) Wildly successful auction site
"Ebay? What's that?" would be the answer the average Japanese Joe would give if asked if they knew a company of that name. There is actually no Ebay Japan (here is why they failed 5 years ago). Yahoo's auction service is absolutely dominant in Japan and makes a LOT of money. There are over 15 million items on sale! They have a popular mobile version, too.

5) Comprehensive online service lineup
While more or less buried in the West, Yahoo Japan is living proof the "Internet portal idea" is very much alive, at least here in Japan. I personally regularly use Yahoo to look up the TV program, weather, news, train information and much more. See the picture below for a translation of the Yahoo Japan top page.

Picture: Top page Yahoo Japan (click to enlarge). This is the brushed-up version which is available after January 1st, 2008.


Let me break down the particularly important "CATEGORIES" column on the right (from top to bottom).

The first part is entitled "Yahoo!サービス" (Yahoo services) and covers 17 items:
Shopping, auctions, travel, news, weather, sports, map, traffic info, real estate, eating out, cars, BBS, blogging, beauty and dating.

The second part (お気に入り, meaning bookmarks) consists of five items:
Movies, music, games, astrology and videos.

The third part is named "ピックアップ" (Pick up) and currently features selected music only.

6) Investments in Japan
Yahoo Japan has a history of investing in the Japanese market signaling serious commitment to the domestic market. The company employs nearly 2.700 people in this country. Its HQ is located in Tokyo's poshest office complex, Roppongi Midtown in Tokyo.

Yahoo is also Japan's biggest broadband operator (Yahoo BB)!

7) Cooperations with Japanese companies
I already blogged about Yahoo Japan's plans to bring the web to HD-TVs (in cooperation with Sharp). The investment in Japanese web company GMO Internet (13.5 million USD two weeks ago) is a second and more recent example for Yahoo's integration in this country's economy.

8) Innovations
One recent example for a new service from Yahoo Japan is "Yahoo Videocast" which is not available in other countries. This subsite makes it possible for users to upload and watch videos from their mobile phones and on the web. Yahoo claims videos can be displayed on any handset. Not a huge thing but it shows they put some resources into fighting Youtube and Nico Nico Doga, at least here in Japan.

Moreover, Yahoo Japan and Ebay America are cooperating now so that Japanese people and Ebay users can trade internationally (background). This new service is called Sekaimon ("door to the world").

Did I forget anything?

Google aims at conquering Japan through the backdoor

Google is the world's No. 1 search engine but here in Japan, Yahoo is the undisputed king - not only for Internet search but also as a very comprehensive portal.



Today it came to light Google Japan will cooperate with Japan's leading telecommunications company and cell phone carrier NTT Docomo. In fact, NTT Docomo is the world's biggest mobile communications company. In Japan, the wireless market is clearly dominated by DoCoMo. The company served more customers in 2006 (51.1 million) than KDDI (25.4 million) and Softbank Mobile (15.2 million) combined!



So Google Japan's choice is not too bad and the Shibuya-based subsidiary surely has the pocket money to get a deal like that financed. The Tokyo Stock Exchange liked Docomo's idea. Docomo shares rose to a five-months high today!

In detail, Docomo plans to integrate Google's search engine, scheduling service, Gmail and other Google functions into its i-mode mobile Internet services.

That's not all. NTT Docomo is part of the Open Hand Set Alliance of Google's Android open source platform for the development of software for handsets. While the integration of Google services into i-mode is scheduled for this spring, Docomo aims at introducing a mobile phone based on Android in the second half of 2008. For example, joint development in the area of localized store information and navigation on mobile phones is planned.

Yahoo Japan is dominant also on handsets
i-mode users can already access Google search with their handsets. My guess is that Google will be featured more prominently on and in Docomo's handsets. For example, my Japanese handset features a "Y!" button with "Y" standing for Yahoo. After pressing it, I am connected to the Internet: The starting page is Yahoo Japan...

So maybe one day there will be a "G" button on Japanese phones and Google can finally conquer this difficult market here ;)

Japan's Top 50 web sites

I recently wondered which the most frequently visited web sites in Japan are. There are a number of services which track popularity of Internet services, i. e. Alexa, Nielsen or Comscore.

I am aware that measuring the popularity of web sites is a highly complicated issue and the results are not reliable to say the least. It is not even clear what popularity means: visits, page views, time spent on a particular site or...? Moreover, there is no agreement on a uniform tracking methodology yet. But this discussion is too technical here.

Alexa is said to be more accurate in territories in which English is the first language. For that reason, I chose Nielsen/Netrating Japan's ranking in the following list. The company released this information in July this year (Japanese only). The Top 50 is based on the time surfers from Japan spend on the site.

To compare and to some extent cross-check the data with more recent information, you can see the rank of the corresponding web site in the Alexa in brackets (accessed yesterday Japanese time). Alexa's traffic measurement method is a combination of page views and visits.

So here are the Top 50 of Japan's most popular web sites:

1. yahoo.co.jp (Alexa ranking: 1, my review)

2. mixi.jp (4, social network: my review)

3. rakuten.co.jp (5, online mall with English site, my review)

4. youtube.com (-)

5. fc2.com (2, online services)

6. 2ch.net (12, online forum)

7. goo.ne.jp (9, search/portal)

8. wikipedia.org (-)

9. biglobe.ne.jp (18, search/portal)

10. infoseek.co.jp (10, search/portal)

11. nifty.com (14, search/portal)

12. google.co.jp (3)

13. amazon.co.jp (11)

14. etrade.ne.jp (-, finance services)

15. msn.com (msn.co.jp is 48th)

16. nicovideo.jp (6, video sharing: my review)

17. jra.go.jp (-, horse racing with English site)

18. geocities.jp (63)

19. sakura.ne.jp (15, Internet provider)

20. qweb.ne.jp (-, currently inaccessible)

21. gyao.jp (49, video site)

22. so-net.ne.jp (40, search/portal)

23. livedoor.jp (-, online services)

24. hangame.co.jp (32, gaming, my review at Asiajin)

25. benesse.ne.jp (-, service corporation with English site)

26.