Apple has introduced a digital version of the iTunes gift card in Japan that replaces the need for customers to buy a physical card... More
Japan
Japan Airlines combines beacons and smartwatches to improve customer service at airports
Japan Airlines staff at Tokyo’s Haneda airport are being provided with smartwatches that work in conjunction with Bluetooth Low Energy beacons, to give management a way to assign staff more efficiently and respond more swiftly to customer requests. More
Tamagotchi 4U to come with NFC
Japanese toy maker Bandai is to include NFC in the next version of its Tamagotchi electronic pets, enabling owners to tap their device on ‘Touch Spots’ and against other Tamagotchis and smartphones to exchange items and play games... More
JCB to launch NFC payments in 2015
Japan-based payments network JCB is to begin testing a contactless payments service in Tokyo this month, ahead of a commercial rollout in 2015... More
X-Men gets iBeacons promo
Twentieth Century Fox is to use Bluetooth beacons to promote the new X-Men: Days of Future Past movie to cinema-goers in Japan... More
Nintendo to launch NFC toys and payments
A new Nintendo Figurine Platform and a range of NFC toys that makes use of the NFC functionality in the Wii U GamePad is to be unveiled at the E3 games show next month, company president Satoru Iwata has announced. A standalone device that will enable NFC toys to be used with the Nintendo 3DS handheld console will also be introduced and NFC payments for games are to added, initially in Japan, from this summer. More
Japanese carriers ship 14m NFC phones
There were 13.92m NFC mobile phones in service in Japan at the end of January 2014, the Mobile NFC Association (MoNA) reports, and a total of 70 models of mobile phone that support NFC services are now available from the country’s three mobile network operators... More
Tomy to launch fingernails that light up with NFC
Japanese toy maker Takara Tomy Arts has unveiled a range of stick-on false nails that contain an NFC antenna and an LED light that can be powered up by an NFC phone... More
Japanese beauty salons to offer NFC coupons
Salon de Wallet, a mobile membership service for Japanese beauty salons, is to add mobile coupons that can be redeemed via NFC or mobile barcodes, using a solution developed by C-Sam, Dai Nippon Printing, carrier KDDI and POS provider HyperSoft... More
KDDI, SK Planet, Chunghwa Telecom and HKT form Asia NFC Alliance
Japanese carrier KDDI, Korea’s SK Planet, Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) are to work together to spread adoption of NFC services in Asia, using a shared NFC tag specification, brand mark and platform... More
NTT Docomo sets launch date for global NFC payments
Mobile network operator NTT Docomo, founder of Japan’s Osaifu-Keitai mobile payments service, is to take its mobile payments service global from 5 February 2014, in conjunction with MasterCard. More
BagJack adds NFC security
German messenger bag maker Bagjack is using an NFC-based anti-counterfeiting solution developed by Serfides to authenticate the products it sells in Japan... More
Toshiba shows TransferJet kiosk
Toshiba has demonstrated a touchscreen kiosk that combines a wireless charging station, NFC reader and fast data transfer technology TransferJet at the Ceatac 2013 tradeshow... More
Softbank offers Fujitsu Arrows A NFC phone with finger sensor
Japanese carrier Softbank has unveiled the Arrows A 301F, an NFC smartphone built by Fujitsu that includes a fingerprint reader on the rear of the phone for unlocking the device... More
Google Play gets NFC vending machines in Japan
Google Japan has unveiled a vending machine that allows consumers to tap to download Android games from the Google Play store via NFC... More
Sumitomo Mitsui to launch NFC payments in Japan
Banking group Sumitomo Mitsui is to introduce an NFC payments service this month that will be available through all three Japanese mobile network operators — NTT Docomo, Softbank and KDDI — and will work with a total of 31 NFC phones available from the three carriers... More
MasterCard, C-Sam and DNP to offer white label NFC platform in Japan
Japanese retailers are to be able to provide shoppers with branded NFC mobile wallets, courtesy of a new white label platform to be offered jointly by MasterCard, C-Sam and DNP... More
Japanese online retailer to launch DIY shopping wall
Online retailer DIY-Tool.com is to launch a physical “shopping wall” that makes use of NFC tags and QR codes, using a new platform developed by Tokyo-based Aquabit Spirals, NFC vendor Tapit and application development company EC Sites... More
Japanese library adds NFC tags
A library in the city of Hannō, Japan, is using NFC tags attached to bookshelves to provide readers with access to a range of services, designed to transform it from the traditional concept of a lending library into a modern “problem solving” service for local citizens... More
HP pushes NFC in Japan
Hewlett Packard will use Tapit’s NFC platform at 14 seminars across Japan this summer... More