********************************************************** Japan Internet Report No. 26  May 1998 ********************************************************** In this month's issue: - Will barcode integration make surfers of couch potatoes? - Bleak future in Japan for electronic money - Japan's telecom market in perspective - Interview with Tokyo Mystery Guest - Industry briefs - Fun facts to know and tell about the Japan market - More back issues of JIR now on line ********************************************************** Will barcode integration make surfers of couch potatoes? The never-ending quest by Japanese companies to make Internet usage possible without actually touching a computer (actually a very good idea, in my opinion) continues. This month we introduce what at first blush seems to be the most baffling, convoluted and just plain ridiculous method of Web surfing yet devised: Assigning each Web site a bar code, and providing users with portable scanners that enable them to simply run the scanner over a printed "catalog" of Web pages to visit sites of interest. It sounds preposterous, but on reflection, it actually makes a lot of sense. First of all, the system exists now and is being sold by a company in Nagoya called Neorex (Neorex claims it has sold 2,000 units to date, primarily to Internet cafes). It is advertised in the June 1998 issue of a paper publication entitled Home Page Guide. Each Web site description in the guide also has its URL printed in mini barcode (1/20 the size of ordinary barcode). Readers can purchase a Super Cat mini barcode reader with software that, when installed, enables instant access to a Web site simply by running the barcode scanner over the appropriate bar code. This system is useless to experienced Internet (PC) users, but is a godsend to neophytes. It would make a lot of sense in hotels, for example, where many guests don't have computers with them, but would welcome a chance to surf the Internet while kicking back on a bed unencumbered by a traditional keyboard and the need to stare at a screen in order to navigate the Web. It would also make sense in a "TV Guide" type of publication for users of television-based Internet access tools. Such users are interested in the Internet, but less so in using PCs. In Japan, where there is a lot of resistance to computers and English language typing (and typing in general), Super Cat very neatly solves a key man-machine interface problem. Check it out at <http://www.neorex.co.jp>, or even better, check out the president's hilarious "Broken English" pages at <http://www.neorex.co.jp/BrokenEnglishPage1.htm>. Neorex probably faces an impossible task in terms of its stated goal of making its system the standard method for Web browsing, but it has some dynamite technology that solves a key problem that many companies recognize but few address: Making PCs easier to use. My guess is that some variation of this kind of technology will be crucial if the World Wide Web is ever to become a television-accessible, mainstream entertainment medium in Japan. (Late-breaking news: Toppan Printing, Japan second-largest printing company, has acquired exclusive rights to use and sell the Neorex mini barcode technology described above. A key selling point of the technology is that it enables catalogers and other firms to print barcodes at 1/20 the normal size, saving space and making layouts easier and more attractive. Toppan reportedly has plans to use the technology in online applications, after first deploying it for print customers.) ********************************************************** Bleak future in Japan for electronic money In another year or two I may eat my words, but the future for electronic money in Japan looks mighty shaky to me. One sign: Industrial Bank of Japan has scrapped its plans for a joint venture with Mondex. But more important, there is already a practical, secure online payment solution that is used by millions of people around the world to buy products online, and which is the default standard for business-to-consumer online transaction settlement. It is called "the credit card." ********************************************************** Japan's telecom market in perspective It was gratifying to see Intel's Andy Grove speaking out this month about how NTT's dominance of Japan's telecom sector stifles Internet usage. As longtime readers know, it's a theme we've been flogging in JIR for more than two years. Here are some facts that help put NTT's dominance in perspective: The company's fiscal 1997 revenue ($46.49 billion on an unconsolidated basis) was more than eleven times the revenue of DDI, its closest rival, and nearly seven times the COMBINED revenues of its top two domestic Type One competitors. Meanwhile, mobile sector subsidiary NTT DoCoMo's fiscal 1997 revenue ($9.38 bil) dwarfs all other mobile competitors combined, and is nearly 30% more than the combined revenue of DDI and Japan Telecom, NTT's biggest rivals OUTSIDE the mobile sector! NTT's revenue is nearly 20 times that of KDD, the leading international carrier. This demonstrates what a relatively small portion of total telephone traffic in Japan is accounted for by international calls. But it also suggests the power NTT may have to dominate international services once its "breakup" allows it to legally advance into the international sector (besides, NTT already owns a 10% stake in KDD). I'm with you, Andy... ********************************************************** Interview with Tokyo Mystery Guest This month we enjoyed telephone and e-mail chats with Tokyo Mystery Guest (TMG), a professional translator who has been working in Japan for more than ten years. For reasons of client confidentiality, TMG is remaining anonymous. - How does Japanese-to-English translation differ when you're writing for the Web rather than for paper publication? It depends very much on how many ways the client intends to use the text. If it will only appear as a home page, the client seems to place more attention on gearing the text to the layout and keeping the top page brief. The writing style also tends to be a bit catchier, like ad copy. As you might expect, though, if the text will be both printed and placed on the Web (for example, a company newsletter), no special allowances are made. The problem lies in the proofreading stages. I have found that clients will often ask that final galley proofs be checked before a document is sent to press, but clients rarely let me proofread a Web site before it is launched. Visiting some of the home pages I have translated makes me realize that this proofreading step is crucial for Internet translations as well. Japanese Web page designers often fiddle with my masterpieces. - How do advertisements and marketing text differ in Japan and the United States?     America writes sharp and comparative ad and marketing copy. Japanese texts merely create a general feeling about a product. Precision or comparison with competitors is not necessarily required. Japan also tends to appeal to its audience by being cute or adopting a product/company mascot. (Mitsubishi Bank used to feature Disney characters on their passbook covers.) Playing around this way would often give the impression in the West that the company or the product is not to be taken seriously. But these sorts of marketing techniques seem to work here. I also find that Japanese texts tend to over-explain things. In an attempt, I think, to try to include everyone and preserve the "wa", Japan explains things in so much detail that even a five-year-old child would not get confused. In the West, this kind of writing is insulting to an adult audience. - NTT, the world's largest telecommunications corporation, still features incorrect English, obviously written by a well-intentioned but non-native English-speaking Japanese person, on the top page of their English-language site. From the standpoint that NTT remains an insular, jingoistic monopoly, this makes perfect sense. But from an international PR standpoint, it baffles me. Can you offer some enlightenment? Imagine you don't speak Japanese and you pull up a Web page written in Japanese. What do you see? You see pretty symbols arranged in a, perhaps, pleasing way. This is the way Japan views English. English is not only a language. English is a decoration, and letters or words can be added or deleted for design purposes or to heighten the "impact" on the local audience. The meaning a native speaker of English would derive is secondary and often irrelevant because Japanese companies use English-like, romanized words to market their products or their company to the Japanese audience. Using "Japanglish" gives the Japanese reader the impression that the company is international and "in the know." I am not aware of NTT's particular reasons for coming up with their text. In Japanese, new words can be created by simply placing two or more Chinese characters side by side, and abbreviations are generally formed by deleting every other character in a formal name. Sometimes I wonder if the Japanese are applying the same techniques to concoct their English-language slogans. They write down their key ideas, remove any "unnecessary" elements, and voila! - How do you deal with Japanese clients who insist on using specific English phrases in the final product, even when those phrases are incorrect? Have you encountered this in your Web translation work? Generally meeting with the client directly is the best course of action because the problem is lack of trust. They want to be able to control the project. If I propose that we change the English, they are losing control, especially if I select a phrase they are not familiar with. If we get together in person and talk and they begin to see that I am skilled at my trade, they are more able to accept my suggestions. The trick in being successful, though, is talking to the person who actually makes the real decisions. Talking with a well-intentioned, low-level person is not productive since their main role is to relay information and run interference. I must confess, though, that sometimes despite my best efforts clients still insist on their tried-and-true English phrases. As yet, I have not been forced to incorporate strange English in my Web site translations (although I dare say it is merely a matter of time). ********************************************************** Industry briefs It's about time... JAPAN TELECOM has agreed with U.S. carriers AT&T, MCI, SPRINT and WORLDCOM to lower U.S.-Japan interconnection fees to 15 cents per minute for calls both originating and terminating in Japan, effective July 1. The move means JAPAN TELECOM will fulfill the Federal Communications Commission's conditions for providing facilities-based services in the U.S., and will be able to start offering international voice services in Los Angeles and New York. KDD is reportedly getting ready to follow JAPAN TELECOM and lower its own international interconnection fees in order to win FCC approval to provide facilities-based services in the U.S. SHARP develops telephone that incorporates Web browsing, e-mail, facsimile functionality SHARP has developed LCD Multimedia Phone, a touch panel/pen-equipped telephone that incorporates Web browsing, e-mail, telephone and facsimile functionality. The new product, slated for release this fall at about yen100,000 ($741), measures 313x202x79mm, slightly smaller than a typical home-use facsimile, and weighs only 1.7kg. The company plans to market the product primarily to people who want to exchange e-mail with friends and acquaintances, but are not used to operating PCs, according to a spokesman. If this really works, the guy's a millionaire Tokushima-based software developer MAKI ENTERPRISES has developed Mail GoGoGo, software that automatically prevents objectionable e-mail from being received by the user. The software uses a natural language analysis algorithm that can scan both English and Japanese language text and assign a point value based on content and "strong" language, then decide whether or not to receive the mail, according to the company. A single-user Macintosh version of the package will be released in June for 8,800 yen ($66), with a Windows version to follow. TOHAN teaming up with NTT for book sales over Internet Leading book wholesaler TOHAN will in July move its online book sales site to NTT's popular G-square Web site, simultaneously boosting from 3,000 to 45,000 the number of publications that can be ordered online and simplifying the purchase process. The company will also upgrade its search functionality, adopt e-mail-based one-to-one marketing techniques, and make single-click ordering possible in a series of moves that emulates market leader Amazon.com, according to one industry observer. TOHAN plans to have its entire catalog of 1.3 million publications online three years from now. Its annual online revenue target at that time will be yen1.2 billion ($9.0 mil), according to a spokesman. Excessive regulation, not monopoly power, is key barrier to competition in Japanese communications market, says study Excessive regulation is the key barrier to competition in Japan's communications sector, according to a research report commissioned by BRITISH TELECOM (BT). Sixty-one percent of the Japanese companies queried cited "excessive regulation" as the key barrier to competition, with only 2% saying that "monopolistic control of markets" is the key barrier, according to a BT spokesman. The telephone survey, conducted between December 1997 and February of this year, focused on multinational firms in 20 nations. Japan's 61% "excessive regulation" figure was the highest among all nations, while the 2% "monopolistic control of markets" figure was the lowest of all countries, suggesting a surprisingly low level of dissatisfaction with NTT's virtual monopoly over local telephone services, say industry observers. MITSUI & CO. to show movie previews on Web site MITSUI & CO. has teamed up with Tokyo-based venture firm VAGABOND and from May 18 will start showing movie previews on its CurioCity Web site. VAGABOND will be provided with video clips by more than 20 motion picture firms including WARNER, and will format and compress them for streaming over the World Wide Web. Under the new service, dubbed CurioTheater, Web site visitors will be able to select and view previews free of charge. The new service will be supported by banner advertising and used as a tool to draw in movie fans, according to a MITSUI & CO. spokesman. SEGA ENTERPRISES to start selling videos, CDs, tickets online SEGA ENTERPRISES plans from mid-May to start selling a wide range of "entertainment" merchandise via the Internet. The company will sell over its Web site videos, music CDs, books, theme park tickets and other merchandise provided by a number of different vendors, according to a spokesman. The company says it plans to create a virtual "department store" of goods designed to appeal to young customers, and offer Web surfers unparalleled online purchase functionality and convenience. NIFTY gets with program even more NIFTY will team up with ISPs with which it has been competing until now. The company plans to enable non-members to access the content offered through its Nifty-Serve online service. The rate will be fixed at 1,200 yen ($9.09) per month for unlimited access. By providing PC users with access to its vast content, NIFTY hopes to stem subscriber attrition and boost revenues. MPT to introduce telephone number portability by 2000 The MPT plans to introduce "number portability" into Japan's telephone system by 2000. "Number portability" means that consumers will not have to change their telephone numbers when switching to carriers other than NTT, and will not have to dial carrier code prefixes at any time. The committee that the MPT convened to study the issue found no technical obstacles to implementing number portability and will compile a final report by the end of May. True number portability in Japan's telephone sector is expected to spur competition and lower basic telephone charges. Internet usage by corporations grows nearly sixfold in two years, says survey Internet usage by Japanese corporations with annual sales in excess of 10 billion yen ($76.3 mil) grew 5.8-fold over the last two years, according to a study of 1,200 companies completed by Tokyo-based MULTIMEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE (MRI). The study, implemented in February and March of this year, found NEC the leading provider of leased line services, with a 10.6% share of the market. FUJITSU, NTT and INTERNET INITIATIVE JAPAN were second, third and fourth, respectively. TOYOTA TSUSHO to offer e-Parcel electronic delivery service in Japan Nagoya-based TOYOTA TSUSHO, the sole trading firm in the TOYOTA group, has obtained rights to sell in Japan the e-Parcel electronic document delivery service developed by Massachusetts-based venture firm E-PARCEL. TOYOTA TSUSHO will start to offer the new service May 18, aiming for first- and third-year sales of 450 million yen ($3.4 mil) and 1.0 billion yen ($7.6 mil), respectively. Service fees will start at 300 yen ($2.29) for transmission of up to10Mbytes of documents. ********************************************************** Fun facts to know and tell about the Japan market How many companies are there in all of Asia (excluding Japan) with sales exceeding U.S. $1 billion? Answer: Fewer than 50. How many companies are there in Japan with sales exceeding U.S. $1 billion? Answer: More than 1,000. If you read the Wall Street Journal, you may get the impression that Japan's economy is hopelessly out of the picture. In another year or two those guys at WSJ are going to get a big surprise... ********************************************************** More back issues of JIR now on line There are now six more back issues of JIR available online at <http://www.tkai.com/jir/>. There are now 25 issues in all, stretching back to February of 1996, our debut JIR. Readers with a strong need to know about the Japanese Internet scene will find these additional six back numbers quite informative, in spite (and because) of being more than two years old in some cases. There are some excellent interviews, observations and articles. I really enjoyed re-reading the Industry Briefs and seeing how events actually played out compared to predictions, projections, intentions etc. at the time of the original writing. Japan Internet Report how has more than 1,000 readers worldwide, more than I ever expected would sign up.  A regular media juggernaut... : ) ********************************************************** Tim Clark Editor To subscribe or unsubscribe to JIR, send any message to: subscribejir@tkai.com unsubscribejir@tkai.com Copyright 1998 by TKAI and Digitized Information, Inc. All rights reserved