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Soft drink vending machines in Japan to offer free Wi-Fi Internet access
Asahi Soft Drinks, Japan has developed a vending machine that provides free Wi-Fi Internet access. Asahi Soft Drinks will roll out 1,000 Wi-Fi vending machines this month in Tokyo, Sendai, the Chubu and Kinki regions, as well as Fukuoka. The company plans to expand the number to 10,000 within five years. The free Internet service,…
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Lady Gaga fails to help KDDI in TV commercial rankings in Japan
KDDI’s TV commercial series has dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 in the commercial popularity ratings in Japan despite employing great celebrities as all-male idol group Arashi and Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga endorsed an advertisement for KDDI’s Android lineup of phones, while Arashi appeared in a variety of commercials for KDDI.
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Shoppers in Tokyo pounce on fukubukuro lucky bags as soon as the stores are opened
Major department stores in Japan kicked off their first business day of 2012 on Monday as crowds of shoppers lined up to gamble on so-called lucky bags filled with random discount goods and other New Year’s bargains. The charm of the mysterious fukubukuro lucky bags is that their contents are supposed to be worth more…
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Japan Tourism Agency scraps its plan to give away 10,000 free flight tickets to foreigners to visit Japan
The Japan Tourism Agency has given up its plan to give away 10,000 free flight tickets to foreigners to visit the country after the Japanese government refused to allocate a budget for the campaign. The 1.18 billion yen ($15.17 million) budget request for the project titled Fly to Japan (to offer flight tickets to 10,000…
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Japanese magician Tenko Hikita invited to attend Kim Jong Il funeral
North Korea has invited world famous Japanese magician Tenko Hikita to attend the Dec. 28 funeral for Kim Jong II. Also known as Princess Tenko, she has performed magic shows in North Korea. She received the invitation over the phone and via email from one of Kim’s relatives after the death was announced Monday, her…
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Hackers breach servers of Japanese game developer Square Enix
Japanese game developer Square Enix servers containing data on 1.8 million customers was hacked yesterday. The extent of the damage is not yet known. The producer of hit titles such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest pulled down the Square Enix Members service shortly after discovering evidence of an intruder. The intruder breached an unknown…
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Fujitsu Develops worlds First Peak Power Demand Reduction Technology for Deployment in Smart Cities
Fujitsu today announced industry’s first development of peak power demand reduction technology intended for deployment in smart cities. In the past, peak power demand reduction has been handled by installing energy storage devices in buildings or households and using them during times of peak power consumption, then recharging them during off-peak periods. This approach, however,…
