Foursquare doesn’t break down country-specific numbers, but anecdotally speaking, it’s pretty big. Some hints: Some months ago, I read in an interview (with the CEO, I think) that Tokyo is one of the cities with the most check-ins worldwide. (Sorry, can’t find it now) The API is...
My answer on Quora to: “Why does the iPhone have 72% of the smartphone market in Japan?”
I have written an extensive blog post on this question in April: ; Basically, what people in Japan and elsewhere define as a smartphone is vastly different. In the US, for example, it’s a phone with advanced functionality, for example web browsing capability. In Japan however, even the...
My answer on Quora to: “What is the composition of the NTT group of companies in Japan?”
With 195,000 employees, you’re looking at one of Japan’s biggest companies. Basically NTT is a parent company of five: NTT East, NTT West, NTT Communications, NTT Data and NTT DOCOMO: NTT East and West are to cover Japan from a regional/geographical perspective. NTT Communications...
My answer on Quora to “What are the most popular online portals in Japan?”
Traffic-wise, Yahoo Japan is not only Japan’s most popular online portal but the country’s biggest web site. Other popular portals include Livedoor, Goo, MSN, Nifty, Biglobe, Infoseek and Excite. Much like in other parts of Asia, portals are more popular destinations for web users than...
My answer on Quora to: “What innovative tech startups are coming out of Japan?”
Web/software startups worth mentioning in this context (apart from the ones listed up above) are: (picture bookmarking service) (Twitter-based content aggregation and communication tool) (TV program recording and viewing service for mobile devices) (video editing software) (mobile browsing and...
My answer on Quora to: “What mobile experiences / applications originated in Japan and then moved over to the US?”
Broadly speaking, Japan has invented the mobile web as a whole, i.e. if you look at factors like: NTT Docomo’s imode full PC web browsing on cell phones first app platform created in 2001 QR codes online billing and payment offline payments through cell phones (e-wallet) first 3G networks...