Critics of Japan’s Handling of the Cruise Ship Coronavirus Quarantine Have 2020 Hindsight

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March 26, 2020, was a fateful day for the United States. According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, on this date the number of COVID-19 cases in the US surpassed those of Italy and China, thrusting the country to the No. 1 spot on the global list.

In Asia, Japan stands out for its containment of the coronavirus. Although it was one of the first countries to have positive COVID-19 cases outside of China, by the end of March, it had 2,227 cases. That’s still a relatively low number compared to the staggering figures in the US and most countries in Europe. [Read more…]

Blogging From the Road: Japan Edition

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The special sauce of the best travel blogs is a clever perspective on unique experiences. You don’t want to just describe a trip you took. Instead, you want to uncover how the trip made you feel. The best travel writing hits at something deep in the human condition about wonder, novelty and the slim veil of otherness. The best travel blogging is no different. By combining your natural flair for storytelling with stories of your experiences traveling, you can explore the emotive landscape in with invigorating perspective. Plus, it’s nice to get away. If you’re travel blogging Japan, here’s some tips for your survival.  [Read more…]

YouTube Helps Japanese Earthquake Survivors Through Special Video Channel

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Following the devastating earthquake and Tsunami that ravaged Japan was a massive amount of support from every part of the web. To help victims re-unite with their lost loved ones, YouTube launched a people finder channel. The channel is part of Google’s ongoing efforts to track down those lost in the Tsunami that swept away homes, villages, town and people following a massive 9.0 undersea earthquake.

The channel dubbed YouTube Person Finder launched March 18th and its aim is to collect video messages of those most affect in the disaster. At launch, messages shot by a major TV Station in Japan — TBS — will be shown. More videos will be added as the infrastructure improves. Major stations such as TV Asahi are expected to help the victims record their own messages as well to send to the channel.

Japan Bans Twitter for Upcoming Election

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The Mainichi Daily News is reporting that Japan’s cabinet has placed a ban on candidates using Twitter for the country’s upcoming House of Representatives election campaign.

Citing the Public Offices Election Law, the government has deemed Twitter content to fall under the “literature and images” clause within the law. [Read more…]

Twitter Japan Launches

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Twitter Japan have launched, in partnership with Digital Garage. Basically, it’s Twitter in Japanese (logout and select Japanese in the dropdown in the top right if you’re curious), but with ads:

The partnership agreement we have with Digital Garage also includes some commercial experimentation in the Japanese market through it’s subsidiary, CGM Marketing, Inc. At launch, visitors to Twitter.jp will see media from two clients. One is a new book about Twitter being released in Japan, another is an automotive news service built on Twitter and sponsored by Toyota.

Speaking of Twitter, people who suddenly found their direct messages (being private between two Twitter users) available to the public, should blame GroupTweet according to TechCrunch. I’m glad I didn’t go with the story right away, when I saw user Orli getting her private tweets all out in the open.