Japan's PC market stagnant in 1997Modest 7% growth forecast for 1998Japan's PC market suffered a slight drop in 1997, mainly because the introduction of higher price, high-end PCs failed to attract the interest of Japanese consumers. As with other household purchases, PC buying behavior has been negatively affected by Japan's lingering economic malaise.
According to a survey by market researcher IDC Japan, overall PC shipments in Japan in 1997 reached 7.93 million units, down by 2.1 % from the previous year. While these figures differ somewhat from those released by the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (see "Japan's PC shipments to fall in FY97," April, p. 9), the downward trend is clear in both sets of statistics.
Business segment PC shipments in 1997 accounted for 67.5% of the total according to IDC Japan, up by 5.7 percentage points from the previous year. The home segment, meanwhile, accounted for just 26.0% of PC shipments, down by 5.6 percentage points. (A year-on-year comparison of shipments shows an even steeper 19.5% decline within the home PC market segment.) The educational market fell slightly, to 4.6% of total shipments, while government purchases accounted for the other 1.9%.
Midsize and large corporations (100 or more employees) contributed most to growth within the business PC market. These companies have realized that modern information systems are necessary to stay competitive in today's business environment, prompting them to move closer to a "one person, one PC" concept. The release of models with faster CPUs, and new operating systems and application software that can run only on newer PC systems, have also stimulated demand for replacement of older models.
However, the SOHO (small office/home office) market, says IDC Japan, remains largely unaware of the benefits of computers. Reasons include an absence of strong motivation, a lack of skilled computer users, a higher average age of employees, and an economic situation that has forced budget cuts.
In 1997 the top three vendors -- NEC, Fujitsu, and IBM -- held onto their rankings for a second year, while Apple, ranked at 3rd in 1995 and 4th in 1996, continued its slide to 5th for 1997. Dell, although ranked 8th for a second year, marked the highest growth rate (38.3% year-on-year) among the leading vendors and is steadily edging up on No. 7 Compaq. For 1998, IDC Japan forecasts that overall PC shipments will slightly exceed 8,500,000 units for a 7.3 % increase over 1997. The forecast is a conservative one since the factors that brought about the market decline of 1997 have continued into the first half of 1998. The second half of the year should see some favorable factors emerge, including \100,000-level consumer desktop PCs and the delayed release of Windows 98. IDC Japan says that price will be a key factor, with the home PC market expected to grow by a healthy 17.5%. -- NT New name, new telecom strategyNokia Mobile Phone KK has announced that it will change its name to Nokia Mobile Communications KK. The new name reflects a change of corporate strategy that extends the scope of business to sales of infrastructure products and services, not just mobile phone terminals.
Nokia Mobile Phone KK was established in 1993 as a joint venture between Nokia and Mitsui & Co., a major Japanese trading company. Nokia established an R&D center in Tokyo in 1995 to enhance development of products tailored to the Japanese market. In 1997, Nokia was selected by NTT Mobile Communications Network (NTT DoCoMo) as one of the partner companies to participate in development of IMT-2000, the next-generation mobile communications system that will adopt wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA). Nokia has another company in Japan, Nokia Japan KK, which is responsible for R&D work and procurement.
"Our goal is to meet the growing demands of end users by providing them with a broader range of new services involving integrated network infrastructure and terminals," says Olav Stang, president of Nokia Mobile Communications and Nokia Japan. For more information on Nokia Mobile Communications KK, access http://www.nokia-asia.com/japan/.-- NT
Japan's Net ad sales top \6 billionInternet-related advertising expenditures in Japan exceeded \6 billion in 1997, according to a survey conducted by major advertising agency Dentsu. This surpassed an earlier estimate of \4 billion for the year.
According to Dentsu's Dec. '97 to Feb. '98 survey of 423 Japanese Internet sites that carry online advertisements, corporate expenditures for production and placement of online advertisements on Japanese sites reached about \6.04 billion in 1997. The survey also found that advertising revenue on the sites ranking among the top 10 in terms of hit counts was about twice that of the previous year. Dentsu forecasts that advertising expenditures on the Japanese Internet will exceed \9 billion in 1998.
For more information about the survey, contact Dentsu at 03-5551-5599.-- NT
IBM sets up distributed learning systemIBM Japan has announced the installation of an educational assistance system at Tamagawa Gakuen Women's Junior College. Using this system, reportedly the first of its kind in a Japanese college, the college was to begin offering distributed learning courses from April. Courses will be monitored to assess the potential of this new style of learning.
The installed system uses Lotus Learning Space, a Notes Domino-based solution intended for development and supervision of distributed collaborative learning courses. It runs on a Notes Domino Server. Tamagawa Gakuen Women's Junior College will use the system to introduce new educational methods that feature Internet-based team discussions and collaboration.
The system, which allows students to overcome time and place restrictions, is expected to create a new learning environment for use by schools, colleges, and corporations. Students who enroll in a distributed learning class can use desktop or laptop PCs for access and can "attend" classes at any time of the day or night. A discussion database function allows questions and answers between individual students and teachers. -- YN
Fujitsu sets up telecom center in UKFujitsu has announced that Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited, its European telecom subsidiary, has set up a new telecommunications software development center in Northern Ireland. Fujitsu Telecommunication Software Ireland, based in Belfast, will enhance the company's development of network management system software and embedded telecommunication systems software. The new center will support Fujitsu's growing telecommunication business in Europe.
Activity at the new center will focus on the development of a network management system for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switching systems, x-Digital Subscriber Loop (xDSL) units, and high-capacity transmission systems such as Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH). The center will also work on developing software for each of the systems and provide maintenance and technical support to customers. Fujitsu anticipates a sharp increase in demand for broadband communication throughout Europe.-- NT
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