Monday, June 16, 2003
From Quirky Japan web site:
3.† Yakuza are said to be the only group in Japanese society that uses keitai's (mobile phones) more than school girls. Whether they're calling in another ten reinforcements to help beat up an elderly shop-keeper who's a few days behind in his payments, checking results at the track, or reporting to the oyabun (boss), the cell phone is an essential tool and fashion accessory. Daily conversations of three or four hours with gang bosses are very common and yakuza higher-ups are said to carry as many as five or six at one time, preferring phones that take pre-paid phone cards because they are more difficult to trace.
3.† Yakuza are said to be the only group in Japanese society that uses keitai's (mobile phones) more than school girls. Whether they're calling in another ten reinforcements to help beat up an elderly shop-keeper who's a few days behind in his payments, checking results at the track, or reporting to the oyabun (boss), the cell phone is an essential tool and fashion accessory. Daily conversations of three or four hours with gang bosses are very common and yakuza higher-ups are said to carry as many as five or six at one time, preferring phones that take pre-paid phone cards because they are more difficult to trace.
Email about blog
> I don't understand certainabout BLOG,but it's interesting that
> "let the world know what's on your mind".
> I'm crazy about movie and music,and these days I'm interested
> in describing impression in word.
> So,it's a very fit tool for me,I thought.
> And I tryed to make my website,but web sites need to design or
> HTML knowledge and so on,but BLOG is easy to start.
>
> BLOG is not popular in Japan now,and deference between web
> diary is that ... I don't arrive at the conclusion myself now.
> I'll try to think,please give me time.
> I don't update by mobile because mobile interface is poor and
> messy,and I usually connect internet so I can use PC always.
Jun Maeda
> I don't understand certainabout BLOG,but it's interesting that
> "let the world know what's on your mind".
> I'm crazy about movie and music,and these days I'm interested
> in describing impression in word.
> So,it's a very fit tool for me,I thought.
> And I tryed to make my website,but web sites need to design or
> HTML knowledge and so on,but BLOG is easy to start.
>
> BLOG is not popular in Japan now,and deference between web
> diary is that ... I don't arrive at the conclusion myself now.
> I'll try to think,please give me time.
> I don't update by mobile because mobile interface is poor and
> messy,and I usually connect internet so I can use PC always.
Jun Maeda
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fd20030608tc.htm
Die with a stranger: suicide via the Net
By MICHAEL HOFFMAN
DaCapo (June 4)
There are as many reasons for wanting to die as there are for wanting to live.
"I've wanted to die since I was a small child," says Mika, who speaks to DaCapo about cruising the Net in search of the perfect suicide.
The theme was thrust into the public domain in February, when a man and two women who had apparently met through the man's suicide Web site were found asphyxiated in his Saitama apartment. Four similar cases followed in quick succession.
The term "Net shinju" then slipped into vogue. Shinju calls to mind the famous romantic suicides of old Japan, the victims consumed by a love too pure for the arbitrary rigors of the world.
Commentators rushed in to stoke dark fears about the Net bringing out the worst in us. The fears are real, but Mika, 21, is a case in counterpoint. She went to the Net to die and returned reconciled to life.
"As a child I was bullied and didn't want to go to school," she tells DaCapo. "My parents had very strong views on education, and I could see I wasn't the daughter they wanted. There was no place for me in the world. I just wanted to vanish somewhere."
The Internet opened up new possibilities in that regard. "I made contact with two parties looking for companions in suicide," Mika resumes. "The first already had enough people. With the second, it became a question of how to do it. Charcoal? Pesticides?"
The e-mail discussions continued, "very businesslike." Then a high-school girl joined them and "the atmosphere changed. She had problems with her parents, was in despair about this and that. . . . Before we knew it we were trying to comfort her, give her reasons for living. Suicide was no longer the issue." The site closed down. Mika is alive and attending university.
It's not always easy to live, and the miseries of life often seem more vivid than the joys. In Japan, more than 30,000 people a year kill themselves.
True, premodern Japanese traditions glorify suicide as part of the warrior ethos, but there's not much warrior ethos around today. One new Self-Defense Forces recruit, asked by DaCapo for his thoughts on the possibility of dying for his country, implies that the samurai dictum to always think of one's death is far from his mind. "It's having to cut off my long dyed hair that's really bugging me."
Actually a recent spate of SDF suicides -- 331 in the past five years -- is causing concern, but is attributed to bullying and intensified discipline rather than to a resurgence of samurai spirit.
Biotechnology, an infant science, augurs a future lifespan measured in centuries, but for some, life is already too long. Books on death and suicide are best sellers. An especially remarkable one was "The Complete Manual of Suicide." When it came out in 1993 it was, for Japan, an altogether new type of how-to book. It has since sold over 1.2 million copies. Like sex books, it bears a warning on its jacket: "If under 18, please refrain from buying."
The Manual was a major force behind the "tobiori boom." Tobiori means suicide by jumping off high buildings. "Not only is it painless," writes the author -- he's guessing, presumably -- "it also feels good."
Tobiori is not the most popular form of suicide. It ranks a distant second, says DaCapo, to hanging. And home is the favored venue, far ahead of the bosom of Nature, though some scenic forest locations post signs, in response to macabre discoveries by hikers and campers, requesting that people refrain from destroying themselves in the vicinity. "Consider the effect on children," pleads one.
Most suicides opt for a familiar enclosure -- if not the home, the car -- and prefer solitude or the company of carefully selected companions. Three of the four Net shinju episodes took place in cars.
Die with a stranger: suicide via the Net
By MICHAEL HOFFMAN
DaCapo (June 4)
There are as many reasons for wanting to die as there are for wanting to live.
"I've wanted to die since I was a small child," says Mika, who speaks to DaCapo about cruising the Net in search of the perfect suicide.
The theme was thrust into the public domain in February, when a man and two women who had apparently met through the man's suicide Web site were found asphyxiated in his Saitama apartment. Four similar cases followed in quick succession.
The term "Net shinju" then slipped into vogue. Shinju calls to mind the famous romantic suicides of old Japan, the victims consumed by a love too pure for the arbitrary rigors of the world.
Commentators rushed in to stoke dark fears about the Net bringing out the worst in us. The fears are real, but Mika, 21, is a case in counterpoint. She went to the Net to die and returned reconciled to life.
"As a child I was bullied and didn't want to go to school," she tells DaCapo. "My parents had very strong views on education, and I could see I wasn't the daughter they wanted. There was no place for me in the world. I just wanted to vanish somewhere."
The Internet opened up new possibilities in that regard. "I made contact with two parties looking for companions in suicide," Mika resumes. "The first already had enough people. With the second, it became a question of how to do it. Charcoal? Pesticides?"
The e-mail discussions continued, "very businesslike." Then a high-school girl joined them and "the atmosphere changed. She had problems with her parents, was in despair about this and that. . . . Before we knew it we were trying to comfort her, give her reasons for living. Suicide was no longer the issue." The site closed down. Mika is alive and attending university.
It's not always easy to live, and the miseries of life often seem more vivid than the joys. In Japan, more than 30,000 people a year kill themselves.
True, premodern Japanese traditions glorify suicide as part of the warrior ethos, but there's not much warrior ethos around today. One new Self-Defense Forces recruit, asked by DaCapo for his thoughts on the possibility of dying for his country, implies that the samurai dictum to always think of one's death is far from his mind. "It's having to cut off my long dyed hair that's really bugging me."
Actually a recent spate of SDF suicides -- 331 in the past five years -- is causing concern, but is attributed to bullying and intensified discipline rather than to a resurgence of samurai spirit.
Biotechnology, an infant science, augurs a future lifespan measured in centuries, but for some, life is already too long. Books on death and suicide are best sellers. An especially remarkable one was "The Complete Manual of Suicide." When it came out in 1993 it was, for Japan, an altogether new type of how-to book. It has since sold over 1.2 million copies. Like sex books, it bears a warning on its jacket: "If under 18, please refrain from buying."
The Manual was a major force behind the "tobiori boom." Tobiori means suicide by jumping off high buildings. "Not only is it painless," writes the author -- he's guessing, presumably -- "it also feels good."
Tobiori is not the most popular form of suicide. It ranks a distant second, says DaCapo, to hanging. And home is the favored venue, far ahead of the bosom of Nature, though some scenic forest locations post signs, in response to macabre discoveries by hikers and campers, requesting that people refrain from destroying themselves in the vicinity. "Consider the effect on children," pleads one.
Most suicides opt for a familiar enclosure -- if not the home, the car -- and prefer solitude or the company of carefully selected companions. Three of the four Net shinju episodes took place in cars.
Messages on keitai list concerning usability:
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 11:47:45 +0900
From: Joseph Luk
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: Usability on Japanese phones
Interaction designer here...
There were a lot of very good points touched on in this discussion, and
I think the bottom line is still that saying "Japanese usability
efforts being inferior or nonexistent" is comparing apples to oranges:
1. Cultural and linguistic effects on the user interface are huge,
probably more than most people imagine. For example, that "more
features/buttons is better" mentality is very much embraced here,
whereas Europeans seem to prefer a more streamlined approach. When you
design a UI for Japanese users, all kinds of parameters are different
-- the menu depth/breadth balance (= number of options simultaneously
presented to the user), textual area and layout, colours, feature
weighting, you name it. It's only natural that a European user would
find such an interface cluttered, overly subtle, and loaded with
"unimportant" features.
I'm actually happier to see a UI that is narrowly focused on a
particular audience, at the expense of alienating some users, than the
"one-size-fits-all" approach so often crammed down the throat of users
around the world.
Then again Johan Bengtsson's original post was related to Japanese
phones sold in Europe to European users. There's no excuse for not
doing one's homework there. That's like the Americans trying to sell
cars in Japan. By all means please tell the vendors that usability is
the key to their success in Europe.
2. I think Juergen made a very good point about the difficulty of
conducting usability testing in Japan. Methods that often work well in
the West ("Say the first thing that comes to your mind") won't work as
well here as those that rely less on introspection and more on direct
observation.
3. That said, I think usability will be very well received in Japan.
All my Japanese engineer friends said they'd gladly give me a job if
they could. :) But seriously, the existing group decision making
process, emphasis on quality evaluation, and humility (especially
towards understanding Western users) make for a very ripe climate in
which to sell usability.
The main hurdle, I think, is to standardize methods that work reliably
in Japan. Acutally, one would expect a deeper history of usability in
Japan as work had to be done to understand the problems of porting and
marketing Western technology, as well as the whole text input issue
that's been a perennial topic of concern. Why are there not more
usability professionals employed as such in Japan? Is it simply a
marketing function?
On Sunday, June 15, 2003, at 04:05 AM, Jason Pollard wrote:
> If there is anybody on this ML whose sole job is usability testing
> (Japanese or
> otherwise in Japan) please speak up now. Otherwise, let it be known
> that THERE
> ARE NO USABILITY EXPERTS IN JAPAN. I back this up with my own
> experience
But there are such people on this list, and they work in Akasaka. :)
Cheers and good usability,
Joseph Luk
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 09:56:33 +0900
From: Dirk Rösler
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: Usability on Japanese phones
As a related personal observation I found that Japanese consumers are
generally don't seem bothered by having to read manuals or having to
deal with technical details.
I was very surprised to see the manuals inside the box of my wife's
keitai, it must have had 200+ pages, and a "quick guide" of half the
size (both sort of A 5 sized).
As for the technical details I find it odd that consumers are not only
bothered with technical specs, they are even used as marketing
differentiators sometimes. Some examples:
- "packet charges" or the whole concept of packets and the number of
bytes in it with mobile phones
- hard disk size in the Sony Cocoon; just tell us how many hours we can
record
- hard disk car navigation systems; what do I care how you store the
data in it?
It may be exciting for the technophile, but I cannot imagine my mum
being able to make any sense out of this.
Dirk
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 11:47:45 +0900
From: Joseph Luk
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: Usability on Japanese phones
Interaction designer here...
There were a lot of very good points touched on in this discussion, and
I think the bottom line is still that saying "Japanese usability
efforts being inferior or nonexistent" is comparing apples to oranges:
1. Cultural and linguistic effects on the user interface are huge,
probably more than most people imagine. For example, that "more
features/buttons is better" mentality is very much embraced here,
whereas Europeans seem to prefer a more streamlined approach. When you
design a UI for Japanese users, all kinds of parameters are different
-- the menu depth/breadth balance (= number of options simultaneously
presented to the user), textual area and layout, colours, feature
weighting, you name it. It's only natural that a European user would
find such an interface cluttered, overly subtle, and loaded with
"unimportant" features.
I'm actually happier to see a UI that is narrowly focused on a
particular audience, at the expense of alienating some users, than the
"one-size-fits-all" approach so often crammed down the throat of users
around the world.
Then again Johan Bengtsson's original post was related to Japanese
phones sold in Europe to European users. There's no excuse for not
doing one's homework there. That's like the Americans trying to sell
cars in Japan. By all means please tell the vendors that usability is
the key to their success in Europe.
2. I think Juergen made a very good point about the difficulty of
conducting usability testing in Japan. Methods that often work well in
the West ("Say the first thing that comes to your mind") won't work as
well here as those that rely less on introspection and more on direct
observation.
3. That said, I think usability will be very well received in Japan.
All my Japanese engineer friends said they'd gladly give me a job if
they could. :) But seriously, the existing group decision making
process, emphasis on quality evaluation, and humility (especially
towards understanding Western users) make for a very ripe climate in
which to sell usability.
The main hurdle, I think, is to standardize methods that work reliably
in Japan. Acutally, one would expect a deeper history of usability in
Japan as work had to be done to understand the problems of porting and
marketing Western technology, as well as the whole text input issue
that's been a perennial topic of concern. Why are there not more
usability professionals employed as such in Japan? Is it simply a
marketing function?
On Sunday, June 15, 2003, at 04:05 AM, Jason Pollard wrote:
> If there is anybody on this ML whose sole job is usability testing
> (Japanese or
> otherwise in Japan) please speak up now. Otherwise, let it be known
> that THERE
> ARE NO USABILITY EXPERTS IN JAPAN. I back this up with my own
> experience
But there are such people on this list, and they work in Akasaka. :)
Cheers and good usability,
Joseph Luk
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 09:56:33 +0900
From: Dirk Rösler
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: Usability on Japanese phones
As a related personal observation I found that Japanese consumers are
generally don't seem bothered by having to read manuals or having to
deal with technical details.
I was very surprised to see the manuals inside the box of my wife's
keitai, it must have had 200+ pages, and a "quick guide" of half the
size (both sort of A 5 sized).
As for the technical details I find it odd that consumers are not only
bothered with technical specs, they are even used as marketing
differentiators sometimes. Some examples:
- "packet charges" or the whole concept of packets and the number of
bytes in it with mobile phones
- hard disk size in the Sony Cocoon; just tell us how many hours we can
record
- hard disk car navigation systems; what do I care how you store the
data in it?
It may be exciting for the technophile, but I cannot imagine my mum
being able to make any sense out of this.
Dirk
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Japanese Broadband
Japan Sees Broadband Users Tripling by 2007
Japanese Blogs
Japan Blogging map
Japan Blogging Association
Group University Blog
SyncBlog
Blogs of Neoteny
Globe of Blogs
AMIJ Alum Blogring
Japanish Journals
JM's M&M
Cerebral Soup
Gen Kanai
Tokyo Boy: Moblogging in the Big Mikan ,..part->Getting Keitai
Web Log Guide from the Guardian
Finding International Blogs
Articles on Blogging in Japan: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/net/site/20030218ik91.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/net/site/20030225ik91.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/net/site/20030304ik91.htm
Japanese Usability
Kansei Engineering
More Kansei
Culture & Usability
The Effects of Cultural Markers on Web Site Use
paper part 1
paper part 2
Keitai
The Mobile-izing Japanese: Connecting to the Internet by PC and Webphone in Yamanashi"
Social Mobiles
Motorola Rings/personalizing
The Emergence of Context:
A Survey of MobileNet User Behavior
Mobile communication and the renegotiation of the social sphere Conference
The colorful world of mobile users from Nooper
Impact of Camera Phones on the Mobile Business:
Lessons from Japan
Pocket E-Life (Hakuendo Institute of Life and Living
Google for thumb tribe
Thumbs are the new fingers for the GameBoy generation
Hanging out with Japan's high-tech `thumb tribe'
What do Japanese commuters and forgotten laptops have in common with unread books?
Thumb generation
Contextualizing the Mobile Internet
Socio-Economic Research on Technology
Children,mobile phones, and Internet (Tokyo Conference)
Keitai and Daily Life
Cell Phone Photos
Crime and internet
If you want to be at the cutting edge of crime nowadays, you have to do it on the internet. Abducting a girl on the street is very much passe these days so if you want to make headlines, be sure to abduct only women that you met through a deai-kei saito (Internet Dating Site). Newspapers love to include the fact that killers and rapists met their victims on the internet and even though meeting a stranger in a bar is still much more dangerous than meeting someone online, journalists don't let things like that get in the way of a good story.
Cell Phones and Film
Cell Phone Theater
Cell Phone Film Festival
Movie with Keitai
Helpful Japan Sites
Quirky Japan
Bento Restaurant reviews for different neighborhoods in Tokyo
TokyoQ
Tokyo Essentials
Ga Tech Related Stuff
Everyday Computing
Japan Sees Broadband Users Tripling by 2007
Japanese Blogs
Japan Blogging map
Group University Blog
Articles on Blogging in Japan: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/net/site/20030218ik91.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/net/site/20030225ik91.htm
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/net/site/20030304ik91.htm
Japanese Usability
Kansei Engineering
More Kansei
Culture & Usability
The Effects of Cultural Markers on Web Site Use
paper part 1
paper part 2
Keitai
The Mobile-izing Japanese: Connecting to the Internet by PC and Webphone in Yamanashi"
Social Mobiles
Motorola Rings/personalizing
The Emergence of Context:
A Survey of MobileNet User Behavior
Mobile communication and the renegotiation of the social sphere Conference
Lessons from Japan
If you want to be at the cutting edge of crime nowadays, you have to do it on the internet. Abducting a girl on the street is very much passe these days so if you want to make headlines, be sure to abduct only women that you met through a deai-kei saito (Internet Dating Site). Newspapers love to include the fact that killers and rapists met their victims on the internet and even though meeting a stranger in a bar is still much more dangerous than meeting someone online, journalists don't let things like that get in the way of a good story.
Cell Phones and Film
Helpful Japan Sites
Ga Tech Related Stuff
