June 2001 Issue

On the cover: Takeshi Natsuno, facing the world. Photograph by Andrew Pothecary

June 2001
No. 20


Subscribe to receive print issues.

June 2001 Issue

In Touch

  From the Editor
 
 

Features

  Takeshi Natsuno: The Incrementalist
The man responsible for content management and business model strategy development at NTT DoCoMo says he wants an evolution, not a revolution.
 
 
  Mission Impossible For Broadband Providers?
Japan is witnessing a "rash" -- as one NTT exec puts it -- of broadband upstarts. But do any of these challengers stand a chance against NTT?
 
 
  Grading the Exchanges
It's been a year since Nasdaq Japan and 18 months since Mothers launched. They were supposed to help high-tech startups go public and raise money. Are they doing what they were designed to do?
 
 

Filter

  A New Way to Read the Morning Paper
One of Japan's largest newspapers is trying an interesting online publishing experiment.
 
 
  Idees Fortes
Wireless newspaper delivery to your home -- anywhere in your home.
 
 
  Caffeine Junkies Get Free Broadband
An oasis of free, fast Net access hopes to draw in the coffee-sipping masses -- and demo the latest in desktops, notebooks, and ISP offerings.
 
 
  Updata
The "five hot startups" we picked in September 2000 turned out to be, well, hot. And the high-tech sushi joint we covered in March has added a new touch.
 
 
  When Population Density is a Plus
In April we told you about Japan's wireless P2P scene, which could lead to a new kind of person-to-person network. The idea is catching on.
 
 
  Top Java Downloads on Cellphones
Which i-Appli apps are popular?
 
 

People

  Henry Scott Stokes
The urbane author of A Hundred Samurai Companies discusses the state of financial journalism and the role of small and medium-sized companies in the Japanese economy.
 
 
Atsuki Ishida
The CEO of FreeBit.com aims to make the free ISP business model a profitable one.
 
 

Research

  Statistics
(PDF-formatted file, Acrobat 4.0 or later required)
This month: The entrepreneurial stigma; Xbox vs. PS2; B2C e-com growth; the keitai generation; Asian wireless subscribers.
 
 
Japan Studies
Attitudes are hardening toward foreign workers in Japan.
 
 

Investor

  Special Report: Online Brokers
More Japanese than ever are trading online, and despite the market downturn, Web brokers are booming. But how many will survive?
 
 
The Other i-modes
Fifteen million happy non-DoCoMo users can't all be wrong.
 
 
On Our Radar Screen
Ventures we're keeping an eye on: Video News Network, Enfour, ImaHima.
 
 
Fishing For Online Riches
An Osaka-based outdoor goods vendor gets more than just nibbles on its site.
 
 

In Parting

  Art Department
Graphic designer Hajime Tachibana has chosen a strange new canvas for his latest works: the cellphone screen.
 
 
  Blowfish
Enough with the cellphones already! And turn down that vending machine!
 
 

Note: The function "email this page" is currently not supported for this page.

Magazine: