Rakuten Online Market has announced that their “Lucky☆Star x Macross F” line of figurines will be released this September. As the name suggests, these consist of the Lucky Star characters cosplaying the cast of Macross Frontier.

Considered to be the most “premium” of the prizes that one can achieve through the “Ichiban-kuji” lottery, it is said that the chance of one actually winning one is just 4%, meaning it could cost ¥15,000 to get one (along with a mountain of other trinkets)…

At a cost of ¥500 per draw, entrants could in theory walk away with:

Figure A: Konata in Alto costume
Figure B: Kagami in Clan costume
Figure C: Tsukasa in Ranka costume
Figure D: Miyuki in Sheryl costume

International participation looks to be extremely difficult. Expect much activity on auction sites in any case…

Via Banpresto.

Japanese ecommerce giant Rakuten has caused outrage after being exposed as selling customer personal information, including names, email addresses and home addresses, to all comers for a trifling ¥10 each.

Rakuten is one of Japan’s largest online retailers, and its largest online mall (Rakuten Ichiba), with annual revenues of some $2.7 billion, and primarily does business as a shopping portal, with individual shops paying fees and commissions to be listed and have access to the company’s ecommerce platform.

The company offers its participating shops the opportunity to buy the personal data of customers (as CSV files) using a handy online form, though without email addresses included.

However, for shops with revenues or orders over a modest amount, simply submitting a form and getting past their “inspection” procedure is enough to get the full addresses. They even offer to “discuss” orders from shops not meeting these criteria.

Since anyone can open a shop with them, and what happens to the data once it is sold is anyone’s guess, it does not appear there are any serious safeguards in place, and indeed this is demonstrated by experiments and anecdotes.

Tests using email addresses created exclusively for the purpose of ordering from them (using Gmail and similar) reveal that the addresses are quickly subjected to a steady torrent of spam entirely unconnected to Rakuten (which is in Japanese and disturbingly sometimes carries the full name of the customer, and so is likely not automatically generated), demonstrating that the problem is far from theoretical.

The wholesale hawking of customer data is likely legal (and presumably “consented” to at some point by the customer), and has been going on for a number of years, though of course no customer would expect this sort of outrageously unethical behaviour from a major Japanese brand.

The actual revenues from these sales are not clear, but with at least 50 million registered users by their own admission, it seems likely to be significant enough to justify the practice in the eyes of an unscrupulous management.

As anyone who has shopped with Rakuten can likely attest, although the prices can be amongst some of the lowest available, the merchants themselves are quite variable in quality, and notably any email address used to order with them is highly likely to be bombarded with spam from both Rakuten and the individual sellers, leaving aside the issue of personal details being sold.

Via Gigazine.

Privacy conscious Japan is unlikely to quickly forgive this, and anything less than an immediate and groveling apology (coupled with a halt to the practice) seems likely to permanently damage the company’s brand, especially considering the mass media is likely to excoriate them for the practice.

Whilst few would care what happens to the company after such a scandal, it does seem possible it will damage overall confidence in online retailers in Japan, and this may be the most damaging effect of the scandal, saving the matter of furnishing spammers with millions of addresses of course…

The latest hot product on online mall Rakuten, in fact now in the top ranking for male underwear, is the brassiere for men; the seller’s copy is instructive:

“It started with a customer’s remark: “Why aren’t there any bras for men?” Why? Because they are not necessary? But there are people who want them, so in fact they are necessary.

Men’s bodies are different from those of women, so a rethinking was required. Materials, design, and even the feeling… Of course, there’s no need, but…

It’s gentle and relaxing; those feelings should be important.

“But I’m a man!” Even with someone like you, we’d like for you to experience that gentleness.

Point 1:Choice of materials.
We’ve selected the same material used in men’s shorts. Soft and stretchable, a good fit is assured.

Point 2: Freedom of fit.
We’ve employed the “spectacles” design of bra front. The bra can freely move with your chest. Also, you can freely adjust the position of the bra.

Point 3: Relaxation.
Unlike ladies’ brassieres, the straps are soft and gentle. Rather than a “bust up” effect, we stress relaxation.

Point 4: Adjustable volume.
There’s an internal pocket for padding! If you need more volume, just slip in a pad!

With this, you can experience “men’s love”. Men want to experience the feelings of women! Your body is that of a man, but you feel like a boy maiden! You want to experience those soothing feelings♪ You need chest support! They might be all sorts of reasons, but gentleness is what you desire most.”

The bras in question are ¥3,000, and available in three suitably effete colours. Men larger than a A-cup look to be ill served, however. If you need such apparel, as they seem to assure you that you do, Wish Room’s Rakuten store awaits.

They also have a line of improbably skimpy underwear, presumably also of interest to their customer base. Can anyone really fit into these? Perhaps is it just their customers who can…

At any rate, they are selling well, with the products making it into the sales charts for male underwear: