William Auckerman

Japanese advertising agency Hakuhodo Inc. and Toyota group trading company Toyota Tsusho Corp. have set up a joint venture to sell and distribute digital entertainment content via the Internet. Hakuhodo, Japan’s second-largest advertising firm, owns a 66 percent controlling stake in the new company, Indivisio Inc. Nagoya-based Toyota Tsusho, an industrial products broker and global […]

Following rival 7-Eleven’s Softbank-backed foray into online book sales, Japanese convenience store chain Lawson Inc. has announced that it will work with e-commerce venture Digital Garage Inc. to develop an Internet-based extension to its successful network of in-store electronic shopping kiosks. The planned Web site, tentatively dubbed Lawson Digital Station, will feature an Internet shopping […]

As the Internet, e-mail, and mobile computing continue to grow in popularity, data transmission could soon surpass voice communications in terms of market potential for cellular phone firms. Taking advantage of its hegemony as Japan’s largest mobile communications operator, NTT Mobile Communications Network (NTT DoCoMo) this week forged yet another in a series of strategic […]

Going online is a daily event for more than three-fourths of Internet users in Japan, reveals a recent Fujitsu Research Institute (FRI) survey. With the Internet now an integral part of Japanese lifestyles, a growing number of users are eager to try out “daily life-related” Web sites and services, such as online shopping, online banking, […]

KDD Communications Inc. (KCOM) and Compaq Computer KK this month jointly inaugurated the world’s first commercial application of Compaq’s MilliCent micro-commerce electronic sales system. Japanese users can download MilliCent “scrip” (electronic currency) from KCOM’s NetCoin Center, and use it to purchase low-cost digital contents from stores in a KCOM-hosted virtual shopping mall. MilliCent can handle […]

Lured by improved voice clarity and the prospect of high-speed wireless Internet access, more than a half million Japanese consumers have subscribed to cdmaOne’s cellular phone services in the past three months. cdmaOne is the name given to the IS95-CDMA (code division multiple access), a digital cellular phone services offered in Japan by DDI Corp. […]

Last week, Fujitsu Ltd. announced that it intends to offer an integrated Internet shopping settlement service for members of its InfoWeb and NIFTY-Serve online services in Japan. The new service, dubbed iREGi (“Internet + cash register”), is scheduled to commence on August 2. Initially, iREGi service users will only be able to shop at some […]

Cognizant of the growing market potential in Japan for cost-effective Internet protocol (IP) networking solutions, especially among telecommunications firms and midsize corporate users, Japan Cisco Systems this month entered into two strategic partnerships. On May 17, Cisco Japan and NTT group company NTT-ME (Multimedia Engineering) Corp. announced a deal with US-based Cisco Systems Inc., will […]

enCommerce, Inc., a leading California-based supplier of secure enterprise portal management solutions, last week announced the establishment of enCommerce Japan as its first international subsidiary. Tokyo-based enCommerce Japan will provide technical support services for the parent company’s established Japanese customer base as well as work on increasing sales in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. Heading […]

Hewlett-Packard Japan (HP Japan) and two Nippon Telegraph and Telephone group companies, NTT-ME and NTT-X, this week announced formation of a wide-ranging strategic alliance to provide Internet- and multimedia-focused corporate systems and services. The three companies will develop a variety of package solutions related to electronic commerce, multimedia applications, and systems maintenance and support. HP […]

Titus Communications, which last year became the first Japanese cable television MSO (multi-system operator) to offer combined broadcasting, telephony, and Internet services over its cable network, announced that it will soon extend its Internet access service to two cities in Kanagawa prefecture. Titus, Japan’s second-largest cable TV MSO with over 270,000 subscribers, first began providing […]

Hoping to lure prospective online investors who are novice PC users, Matsui Securities has teamed up with Dell Computer Japan to offer personal computers especially customized for use with the brokerage’s Internet stock-trading service. Under the deal, Tokyo-based Matsui Securities is recommending Dell computers to prospective users of its online Netstock service. For its part, […]