3-Dii?

    
     Global gaming giant Nintendo is rolling out what they promise to be the "world's first 3-D mass-market product" in the new Nintendo 3DS. The product hit the shelves Saturday and was greeted by lines of eager consumers waiting to get their hands on the latest installment of Nintendo's hand held gaming devices.
      The console comes with a pricetag of ¥25,000, and when it arrives in Europe on March 25 and in the states on March 27th, it will be going for a price of 250 euros/dollars respectively. The company, which is based in Japan, expects to sell 4 million units through the end of march with Japan only accounting for 1.5 million of the their projected units sold.
     Nintendo is riding the wave of the recent 3-D surge that has hit movie theatres and home television platforms. However, unlike other 3-D experiences, the 3DS wont require the use of special glasses to see Mario or Luigi jumping out of the screen at you. A downfall to the product though might be the fact that there is a supremely limited number of games that are available to be played on the device due to the relative newness of the technology.
     The 3DS and its projected sales demonstrate the reach that a global power like Nintendo can have in our global economy. Their products have and will continue to sell successfully outside of their immediate market because of Nintendo's ability to market on a global scale. In turn, they'll continue to export parts of Japanese culture in the form of video game characters that have their roots in Japan. Not only that, but as a global provider of entertainment, Nintendo continues to attract game engineers from all areas of the world which creates diversity and provides for the exchange of ideas both business wise and culturally. The success of Nintendo's products at home and abroad serves as a win for Japan since it is often so difficult to break the American stranglehold on the entertainment market.
The Japan TImes

    

Here comes the funny

     Ever wonder what the Japanese think people in the United States would like to see on TV? Well, if the pilot of "Amerika wo Warawasero" (Make America Laugh) is successfully sold to American executives you may not have to wait that much longer for an answer.
     TBS is working in conjunction with a Japanese talent agency and a U.S. production house (Reveille) on a show concept where Japanese comedians propose show ideas for American television. Masi Oka, who played Hiro Nakamura on the show "Heroes" is producing the effort as he hopes to continue to breakdown barriers to the U.S. television market.
     In the past, when a show is being pitched to an american company from a foreign source the standard operating procedure includes the use of subtitles as they try to sell the concept or format of the show. However with "America wo Warawasero", Oka chose to simultaneously film two pilot episodes, taking time to use both an English speaking and Japanese speaking host. If the show is picked up by an American company, Oka is believed to have a collaborative role in its production.

"There is a chance that Japanese comedians will appear in the final U.S. version, but basically the idea would be to make the show in the U.S. using American talent," Yorihiro said.

     The show idea is interesting because it illustrates that people outside of our borders think about american entertainment, even to the point where they theorize what we might like. It also shows how hard it is to break into the american television consciousness. Not many shows from Japan make it onto U.S. airwars yet the reverse is far from the truth. The U.S. exports entertainment but rarely imports as it plays its roll of the colonizing media force. If TBS is able to find a home for this show it would be interesting to see what the Japanese, of all countries, might think Americans enjoy. Considering there programming is a little bit out there, I'm going to assume that their ideas would never catch on. On that note, I'll end with this...

Should I stay or should I go?

  
  Many college students relish the idea of heading off to a foreign country to study for a semester and experience a new culture. In many cases it's not if a student is going overseas but to which country and for how long. Japanese students, however, are bucking this trend and choosing to stay at home on the island.  
     According to the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science, the number of students leaving home to go abroad dipped 11 percent (67,000) in 2008 and has continued to decrease since then. This development runs counter to the business plans of Japanese corporations that are seeking employees with global experience as they try to branch out and find new markets in other parts of the world.

“There is clearly a mismatch between what the corporate recruiters are looking for and the college job seekers,” whose skills do not match the employers’ requirements, said Hitomi Okazaki, editor in chief of Riku-nabi, the leading job-search Web site in Japan.

     The companies in the country have responded to this by seeking out non-native Japanese employees to fill the gaps. Sony, Samsung, Yamamoto Transport and other companies have begun holding job fairs for students studying abroad in Japan in hopes of landing foreign students that have the global experience that they desire. Many companies have pledged to step up their non-Japanese hiring to 30-80% of their anticipated hires.
      It's interesting that in a global economy so many students would choose not to get more cultured by studying outside of their own country especially when they're being told by perspective employers that it's a requirement to have global experience. Some students may cite that out of country tuition is a lot more costly than staying at home but in the long run spending the cash now on your education most likely would outweigh the student debt they would incur.
     It will be interesting to see if the tactics being employed by the Japanese companies will spark an increase in Japanese student enrollment in study abroad programs. As we inch closer and closer to a more singular global economy I don't think that students will look at it as a luxury but more as a necessity to have overseas experience. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/world/asia/21iht-educLede21.html?_r=1&ref=japan&pagewanted=all
    

Matsumoto Brings home a Grammy

                    Takahiro Matsumoto and 2 other Japanese born musicians brought home Grammy's over the weekend showing that not just the United States can export award winning music. Joining Matsumoto in the winner's circle was classical pianist Mitsuko Uchida and jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara who won the award for best instrumental solist peformance with orchestra and best contemporary jazz album respectively.

                    Matsumoto was part of the popular Japanese rock duo B'z which was inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk in 2007 for their contribution to the music world. Matsumoto, who was taken aback by the award, later confessed that "the Grammy's was one of my dreams and a big goal."

                   This instance is a type of reverse cultural imperialism. Even though Japan isn't a lesser developed country, being in the top five of all world economies, it still isn't know for it's music outside of its country. Unlike the United States which exports its music and in turn its culture worldwide, most countries' artists are relegated to their home turn when it comes to audience. While the US still dominates the music market both domestic and abroad, it's nice to see that performers from other countries can gain recognition and take home awards like a Grammy.

The Japan Times

Grammy winner's

Journalism in Japan

    
     Here are some basic statistics on how large the news structure is in Japan and which companies play a pivotal role in the disbursement of the news. According to  World Press Encyclopedia , Japan is one of the more literate countries on the planet with a literacy rate exceeding 99%. The country is home to over 100 daily newspapers and 5 national newspapers. Although over 47 million people have access to the internet in Japan, the newspapers of the country continue to be widely read.
   The Japanese news system seems to be very similar to that of the one present in the United States with the exception that there seems to be one ruling voice when it comes to the voice of the paper. Unlike the US, Japanese papers portray a unity in their political stances. The five national newspapers rely heavily on their own content where as the smaller daily papers use international wire stories. Because of this practice by the larger papers and the Japanese people's curiosity of the outside world it is not uncommon for Japanese readers to opt for foreign news sources rather than a local one.
     The government plays a large role in the dissemination of Japanese news. Currently there are only two news agencies in Japan, Kyoto and Jiji. Both compete with each other and are comprised of multiple newspapers and radio/ television outlets. Japan has roughly 300 radio stations and 7,000 television stations but its the internet that is the fastest growing information outlet for the Japanese. In using the internet to aquire news, the people of Japan have a larger choice of sources including online english versions of their indigenous papers.