Japan telecom giant NTT Docomo to end own emoji after 26 yrs
Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo Inc. will retire its set of original emoji whose release 26 years ago helped shape the visual language of today's digital communications.
The carrier's Android smartphones and feature phones marketed from June will not come with the Docomo emoji set. Announcing the decision in late May, the firm said they had "fulfilled their role" while noting that Google's emoji had become more common globally.
The new mobile phones will adopt Noto Color Emoji by Google or Samsung emoji instead, it said.
The Docomo emoji were introduced in 1999 with the company's i-mode service, an Internet-capable mobile phone system that the company also plans to terminate, in 2026.
Emoji became massively popular in Japan as an element of texting, especially among teenagers in the 2000s, with some creating emoji-only messages, before taking root globally.
In 2016, NTT Docomo's set of 176 emoji was included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, with the museum stating, "Filling in for body language, they reassert the human within the deeply impersonal, abstract space of electronic communication."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Bugs are popular pets in nature-loving Japan, buzzing with lessons about ecology and species
TOKYO (AP) -- The pet of choice in Japan, as much as cuddly kitties and playful puppies, is the humble bug. The bug has been a key part of Japanese culture from the Heian era classic "The Tale of Genji" to popular modern-day manga and animation like "Mushishi," featuring insect-like supernatural creatures. Japanese people appreciate the glitter of fireflies let loose in the garden or the gentle chirping of crickets kept in a little cage. You can feed the bug pets watermelon, but special jelly pet food for bugs is also available at stores. Naturally, bugs are on sale as well, with the more esoteric ones selling for 20,000 yen ($133). Here, crawly and buzzing critters are not just relegated to the scientific realm of the entomologist working on a taxidermy of pinned butterflies. Celebrities boast about their fascination with bug-hunting as their hobbies just like a Western movie star might talk about his yacht or golf score. The bug as companion is an essential part of what's observed, enjoyed and cared for in everyday life, reflecting a deeply rooted celebration of humankind's oneness with nature. "They are so tiny. If you catch and study them, you're sure to discover something new," says Munetoshi Maruyama, professor of bioenvironmental sciences at Kyushu University, whose fascination with bugs began as a child, like many Japanese. "They are so beautiful in shape and form." One thrill that comes from studying insects is discovering a new species, simply because there are more than 1.2 million known kinds of insects, far more than mammals, which translates to a lot of undiscovered ones, said Maruyama, who has discovered 250 new insect species himself and shrugs that off as a relatively small number. Japan differs from much of the West in encouraging interaction with bugs from childhood, with lots of books written for children, as well as classes and tours. "In Japan, kids love bugs. You can even buy a net at a convenience store," he said. "It's fantastic that bugs can serve as a doorway to science." The fact some insects go through metamorphoses, transforming from a larva to a butterfly, for instance, adds to the excitement, allowing kids to observe the stages of a life span, Maruyama said. Tracing the movement of bugs can be a way to study global warming, too, while so-called "social insects," like bees and ants show intelligence in how they communicate, remember routes to find their way back to their nests or burrow elaborate underground paths as colonies. Because bugs carry out important functions in the ecosystem, such as pollinating crops and becoming food for birds and other wildlife, human life isn't ultimately sustainable if all bugs were to disappear from earth. The love affair with bugs was clear at an exhibit in Tokyo, aptly called "The Great Insect Exhibition," running through the end of this month at the Sky Tree Tower, where crowds of children gathered around trees inside indoor cages so they could observe and touch the various beetles. One kind of rhinoceros beetle known as Hercules, which originated in the Caribbean but is now also found in Japan, is reputed to be the biggest beetle on record, although it's just several inches in length. Its back coat is a shiny khaki color, though such shades change depending on the season. The other parts, like its horn and delicate but spiky legs, are dark. "We want the kids to feel the emotions and joy of actually touching the insects here. That's really positive for the workings of a child's brain," said Toyoji Suzuki, one of the event's organizers, who insisted everyone, including adults, touch the bottom of the beetles' horns and wings to feel how surprisingly soft and fluffy they are. Four-year-old Asahi Yamauchi, who was at the exhibit with his grandmother and getting his photo taken inside a special installation that made it look like he was inside a beetle, loves bugs as much as he loves dinosaurs and has what he called a cute beetle as a pet at home. "My friend had one so I wanted one," he said.
Asahi Shimbun
an hour ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan's top art institute to plug and play degree in game studies
Katsuhiko Hibino, president of Tokyo University of the Arts, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on July 24 to announce the launch of a new graduate program specializing in game and interactive art next spring. (Shinya Maeda) In a game changer for the video game industry, Tokyo University of the Arts will establish a new graduate program in the field starting in April 2026. University President Katsuhiko Hibino announced the creation of the Department of Games and Interactive Arts by the nation's top art institute, commonly known as Geidai, at a news conference on July 24. 'Traditionally, the Japanese art community has kept its distance from business, economics and entertainment,' Hibino said. However, with the explosive growth of gaming, Hibino highlighted Geidai's new mission: to study and analyze entertainment from an academic perspective. The new program will be housed within the Graduate School of Film and New Media and will explore video games as a modern artistic medium. Students will study games in terms of their design, technology and visual expression. The program aims not only to train game developers but also to explore how game elements can be applied to broader societal challenges, including those in health care and education. The course will admit 20 students annually and emphasize small-group, seminar-style instruction. A faculty of seven, including Geidai professors and experienced industry professionals, will lead the curriculum. Among them is a developer with a background at Bandai Namco Group who has worked on more than 100 titles, including 'The Idolm@ster,' 'Fishing Spirits' and 'The Drum Master.' The curriculum includes regular critique sessions, as well as biannual public exhibitions of students' work. Participants will also have opportunities to engage in international collaborations, including joint projects with the University of Southern California--a world leader in game studies and development. Entrance examinations are scheduled for January to February 2026. The program targets graduates from art, engineering and technical colleges, among others.
Japan Today
2 hours ago
- Japan Today
Epic Games wins partial victory in Australian court against Google and Apple
By ROD McGUIRK Epic Games, the company behind the popular online game Fortnite, won a partial victory in an Australian court in U.S. billionaire chief executive Tim Sweeney's claim that Google and Apple engaged in anti-competitive conduct in running their app stores. Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach on Tuesday upheld key parts of Epic's claim that the tech giants breached Australian competition laws by misusing their market power against app developers and using restrictive trade practices. Google and Apple 's dominance of the app market had the effect of substantially lessening competition and breached Australian law, Beach found. But the judge rejected some of Epic's claim including that Google and Apple engaged in unconscionable conduct as defined by Australian law. Sweeney is also challenging Google and Apple dominance in the app markets through the courts in the United States and Britain. The litigation began in August 2020 when Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store expelled Fortnite because Epic installed a direct payment feature in the extraordinarily popular game. The court ruled both companies pressured app developers including Epic through contracts and technology to sell their products through the two dominant app stores. Epic posted online that the judgment was: 'Another HUGE WIN for Epic Games!' Apple said the company 'faces fierce competition in every market where we operate.' 'We welcome the Australian court's rejection of some of Epic's claims, however, we strongly disagree with the Court's ruling on others,' Apple said in a statement. Google said it would review the judgment. Google and Apple could potentially appeal the ruling before the Federal Court full bench. 'We disagree with the court's characterisation of our billing policies and practices, as well as its findings regarding some of our historical partnerships, which were all shaped in a fiercely competitive mobile landscape on behalf of users and developers,' a Google statement said. Beach has yet to release a 952-page judgment on Epic's case against Apple or his 914-page judgment on the case against Google. The judge gave an oral summary of his findings during a 90-minute hearing Tuesday. Lawyers will return to court on a date yet to be set to argue what Epic is entitled to in terms of damages. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
