2018 Recovery Projection for Companies That Raised Hundreds of Millions in 2014

Introducing The Startup's 2018 review of 100 companies that raised big rounds in 2014, and reacting to being on the unrecoverable list.

List of Items Obtainable from Apple Pay Billing Address

Which fields Apple Pay's billing address exposes in Japan — spoiler: no phone number.

Reading Notes: 『岩崎弥太郎と三菱四代』(Iwasaki Yataro and Four Generations of Mitsubishi) by Kawai Atsushi

Takeaways from four generations of Mitsubishi leadership — vision, talent development, and the social responsibility of the wealthy.

Summary of information I referenced to complete tax filing with e-Tax

A collection of references I used to complete tax filing with Japan's e-Tax system.

[EC] Definition of remote islands and shipping fee determination processing

Notes on Japan's remote-island definition and Yamato Transport's shipping fee policy for EC sites.

Must-See Support Site for Facebook Developers: 'fb.developers'+'

A quick introduction to fb.developers'+, a Japanese-language support site for Facebook developers.

Is a Salary Freeze Effectively a 3% Pay Cut? The Reality of Rising Prices and Real Wages (November 2025)

Do you feel like your paycheck should be going further, but somehow it isn't? As prices continued to rise throughout 2025, the real value of our wages has been steadily declining. This article uses official data to simulate just how much harder life would be if your salary had been frozen, and explores what engineers can do to break free from this situation.

Reference Articles for Determining 'Is an Email Address Personal Information?'

Reference notes on whether email addresses count as personal information in Japan, with citations.

How to Quickly Build a Japanese IP VPN with OpenVPN + Linode

Quickly build a Japan-IP VPN with Linode's Tokyo 2 region and the OpenVPN Marketplace one-click app.

IPO Salaries Typically Range from 4.2 to 5 Million Yen

A look at Mercari's and ZUU's 2018 securities reports and typical IPO-era salaries in Japan.

Five cultural differences between Japanese and US companies you should know

A colleague's Tech Talk Tokyo #4 slides on five cultural differences between Japanese and US companies.

Local LLM Development by Japanese Companies: A Comprehensive Survey of Domestic AI Models

A comprehensive survey of local LLMs developed by Japanese companies, covering technical specs, industry adoption, and cost structures.

Technical Verification of LINE URL Scheme

Verifying the LINE URL scheme for sending text messages, with a URL-encoded example.

Data matching latitude/longitude with Japanese addresses can be obtained free from MLIT's 'Location Reference Information Download Service'

Japan's MLIT offers free lat/lng to address data via its Location Reference Information Download Service.

I Canceled NURO Mobile

A memo on canceling NURO Mobile after Rakuten Mobile's 0 yen plan ended.

APN Settings to Use Rakuten Mobile on Android OnePlus 6T

APN settings and LTE-only switch for running a Rakuten Mobile SIM on Android OnePlus 6T.

Reading Notes『ネット興亡記 敗れざる者たち』(The Rise and Fall of the Internet: The Undefeated) by Takashi Sugimoto

Notes on a book chronicling Japan's internet and startup history, plus the drama adaptation and related essays.

Reading Notes: 'Future-Making Entrepreneurs: Failure and Success Stories of 20 Japan-Born Startups'

Notes from '20 Stories from Japan-Born Startups' on the center-pin strategy and early recruiter/PR hires.

Sandbox Services Compared — Isolation, Japan Region, and Pricing for the AI Agent Era

A deep dive into the fast-growing sandbox services landscape, comparing Firecracker microVMs, gVisor, and V8 isolates across key services — with a focus on Japan region availability and practical selection guidelines.