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JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Nov 9, 2001

Successful firms have learned importance of patents

It was a big challenge for Canon Inc., one of Japan's top camera makers, to embark on the copy machine business in the late 1960s, as the market was dominated by the U.S. giant Xerox Corp.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2001

DoCoMo strikes deal with Dutch firm on i-mode license

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday it has reached an accord with a Dutch firm to license its popular i-mode technology services to the Dutch telecommunications group for 10 years to Jan. 1, 2012.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2001

Hands-free messages set for debut

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have developed a new communication system for vehicles that lets drivers exchange e-mail and make telephone calls without using their hands.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2001

David Mitchell experiments with success

Like his complex and cleverly constructed novels, a conversation with British writer David Mitchell is enjoyably cerebral and full of references to books, music and out-of-the-way places he has visited. Sitting in the famous sunken garden Shukkei-en in Hiroshima, the city he now calls home, Mitchell,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 28, 2001

Sesame Street for better English learning

The creators of "Sesame Street" are developing new content and materials to make the highly successful children's television program more useful for Japanese children learning English.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2001

Microsoft delays Japan Xbox debut

The launch of video game console Xbox in Japan will be delayed from November to Feb. 22, Microsoft Co., the Japanese unit of Microsoft Corp. of the United States, announced Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2001

NEC, Matsushita units tie up on 3G software

NEC Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. formally announced Tuesday an alliance to develop common software architecture for next-generation (3G) multimedia cellular handsets.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2001

Smart phones to link with Coca-Cola machines

Co. and trading house Itochu Corp. said Wednesday they will launch a joint trial service linking DoCoMo's multimedia cellular phones with beverage vending machines in Tokyo's Shibuya and Odaiba districts in September. After subscribing via i-mode, DoCoMo's cellular-based Internet service, users will...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 1, 2001

Oh, the places they'll go and the people they'll be

Ultraman, Japan's original TV superhero, first appeared 35 years ago, and since then there has been a string of Ultramen who adhere to the same cosmic rules (he can only remain on Earth for three minutes maximum) but who have embodied different values in line with the changing times.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2001

LDP to take donations over the Net

In an apparent bid to attract a younger generation to help fund the party, the Liberal Democratic Party will accept individual contributions via the Internet starting late next week, LDP member Hiroshige Seko said Friday.
JAPAN
May 31, 2001

DoCoMo launches trial of high-speed service

NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Wednesday launched a trial run of its third-generation mobile phone service that promises to eventually allow users to watch video transmissions on their handsets.
Events
May 15, 2001

Japan's ancient capital looks for new-tech entrepreneurs

KYOTO -- Size doesn't matter -- it's how good you are.
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2001

Pressing for freedom

Last Thursday was World Press Freedom Day. Most people probably missed it here in Japan, where Thursday was also Constitution Day, part of the mass timeout we call Golden Week. (They probably didn't spend much time thinking about the Constitution, either, or the coincidence that freedom of the press...
BUSINESS
May 3, 2001

Vodafone cements local foothold

Britain's Vodafone Group PLC announced Wednesday that it will purchase rival British Telecommunications PLC's shares in Japan Telecom Co., making it the top shareholder of the Japan's third largest telecommunications operator.
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2001

DoCoMo to commence 3G service in October

NTT DoCoMo Inc. officially delayed the launch of its next-generation cellular service from May 30 to Oct. 1 but refused to call it a postponement.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 7, 2001

A bibliophile's whodunit: Who is killing the book?

Who is killing the book in Japan? That is the provocative question posed by veteran nonfiction writer Shin'ichi Sano in his recent book of the same title ("Dare ga 'hon' o korosu no ka," President Sha, 1,800 yen).
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2001

Matsushita unit sets up lab in U.S.

OSAKA -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., said Wednesday it has set up a laboratory in California to develop technologies for broadband distribution of video and digital content.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 4, 2001

While my guitar gently weeps, the video rolls

Few pop-culture icons are as enduring as the electric guitar. Maybe that's why artists so love to destroy the things. Foremost in the pantheon of ax-smashers is Jimi Hendrix, who, after performing a screaming feedback version of the "Star Spangled Banner" at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, set his lighter...
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2001

Anxiety hangs over USJ ahead of launch

By Natsumi Mizumoto Kyodo News Many Kansai residents are counting on Universal Studios Japan to help revive Osaka's stagnant economy, but the higher the expectations, the greater the looming sense of anxiety as its launch next Saturday draws closer.
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2001

Sharp adopts Java for PDA series

Sharp Corp. said Friday it has adopted the Java programming language for its personal digital assistants, mobile phones and other electronics gadgets with telecommunications functions.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2001

Dini helps launch Italian cultural extravaganza

"Italy in Japan 2001" kicked off Monday with visiting Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini urging Japanese to learn not only about Italy's art, fashion and food, but also its advanced technology.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2001

National agency to sell space station images

Japan's space agency has announced it will sell the rights to use live broadcasts and video footage from the International Space Station.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 10, 2001

I'm a loser bunny . . . so why doncha pay me?

On a busy sidewalk in Harajuku, a man dressed in a suit sits drinking from a hip flask of Scotch, surrounded by five pink, fluffy rabbits.
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2001

Sega bets on silver lining in Dreamcast's demise

Sony Corp. emerged as the victor in the battle of the video game consoles in Japan, but the loser may prove to be the sweetheart among consumers.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2001

Firms develop chip interface allowing cellphone video transmission

Toshiba Corp. and Infineon Technologies AG, a leading German semiconductor and system solution company, have jointly developed an interface between their microchips that enables the transmission, decoding and encoding of video to next-generation dual-mode cellular phones, Toshiba said Monday.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2001

Firms develop chip interface allowing cellphone video transmission

Toshiba Corp. and Infineon Technologies AG, a leading German semiconductor and system solution company, have jointly developed an interface between their microchips that enables the transmission, decoding and encoding of video to next-generation dual-mode cellular phones, Toshiba said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2001

Swiss forum seeks Japanese delegates

During the era of student protests in the late 1960s, five students at a Swiss business college launched a symposium to encourage dialogue between disaffected generations by inviting corporate leaders and other establishment figures to their campus.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2001

DPJ lawmaker comes calling with CD-ROM business cards

House of Councilors lawmaker Mitsuru Sakurai of the Democratic Party of Japan has produced multimedia business cards that introduce his political activities with images and sound when used in a personal computer.
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2001

Domestic PC shipments surge 32.1%

Domestic shipments of personal computers surged 32.1 percent in 2000 from the previous year to an all-time high of 13.24 million units, MultiMedia Research Institute Inc. said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2001

DoCoMo announces moves in Europe

Cellular giant NTT DoCoMo announced Thursday two separate deals to expand its presence in Europe, agreeing with local carriers to launch Internet services similar to DoCoMo's i-mode on smart cellular phones in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Italy.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?