 Non-traditional methods of controlling games are all the rage in Japan these days. Sega made headlines last year with "Toirettsu" or "Toylet," a game that drunken male patrons can play in the men’s room, since it's entirely controlled via one's urine stream. Meanwhile, a just-unveiled project by researchers at The University of Electro-Communications near Tokyo will soon have players using their tongues on the Kinect.
Interactive Poster Kisses You Back! 04/02/2012
 If you've ever been to Tokyo or any other large Japanese city, you'll have noticed the huge variety of billboards plastering the urban landscape, often featuring the month's most popular idol. Now researchers at Keio University are working on a system that will allow passers-by to interact with said posters via an ultrasound sensor setup.
Knifeless Nose-Jobs Made in Japan 04/01/2012
 Beauty experts have developed a way for women to get the effects of plastic surgery without going under the knife - but the resulting bizarre facial contraptions involved are only for the seriously motivated. Among the amusing range developed in Japan is the Hana Tsun nose straightener - billed as a 'nasal support beauty clip' which has two silicone prongs that are inserted into the nostrils.
 Meet the SpeechJammer, a disturbing piece of gadgetry that can remotely stop a person from talking. A pair of Japanese researchers have create a solution to a problem we didn’t even know existed: People talking too loudly, for too long, or out of turn. Their answer — a “gun” that silences the person speaking.
 Japan is the country with the highest number of vending machines per capita, and you can just about get anything and everything from a vending machine. Apart from the usual physical sustenance that we are used to such as drinks and food, along comes this particular vending machine that takes the place of the chicken – by dispensing eggs, of course.
 Last winter, enterprising South Koreans reportedly found a low-tech answer to a first world problem: To avoid operating cell-phone touchscreens without gloves in freezing weather, they used mini sausages as finger surrogates. Whether or not you choose to believe that people were actually using the so-called meat stylus, it did make the news in Japan. A year later Japanese retailers obviously did read the hand signals for help. Special gloves with conductive fingertips that let people to keep their digits warm and still operate phone and tablet touchscreens are the new hit!
 Android is poised to receive a significant boost in Japan after Yahoo revealed plans to build a dedicated app store for the Google mobile operating system next year, according a report from Japanese tech blog Asiajin. The ‘Yahoo! Market’ store will allow Japanese Android smartphone owners to download applications directly from its site, while local developers will be able to upload apps to the store bypassing Android’s official app store altogether.
Amazon about to Enter Japanese E-Book Market 10/19/2011
 Amazon.com Inc may enter the Japanese e-book market this year and launch its Kindle readers in the market, the Nikkei business daily reported. The largest internet retailer, which plans to set up an online e-book store this year, is in final stages of negotiations with publishers like Shogakukan Inc, Shueisha Inc, Kodansha Ltd and Shinchosha Publishing Co, the Nikkei said.
DoCoMo Unveils 24 New Mobile Devices 10/18/2011
 NTT DoCoMo on Tuesday unveiled its 2011 winter - 2012 spring product lineup of 24 models for launch in or after November, including 14 smartphones, the largest and most diverse collection ever released by DoCoMo. The new smartphone lineup meets a broad range of needs for users in Japan, including smartphones for DoCoMo’s extra-high-speed next-generation LTE service, Xi, for mobile data communication at up to 75 Mbps; and smartphones equipped for mobile-wallet, infrared-based data exchange, one-seg mobile TV and tethering.
Ceatec 2011 Opened its Doors in Chiba 10/04/2011
 Smartphones detecting bad breath and radiation, twistable remote controls and a super-thin tablet computer featured among the cutting-edge gadgets at Asia's biggest tech fair in Japan on Tuesday. Around 600 firms unveiled their innovations at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (Ceatec) exhibition in Chiba, near Tokyo, expected to draw 200,000 visitors during its five-day run, organisers said.
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