Smartphone users now account for over half of Japan’s mobile telephone subscribers, a survey of 2,000 adults said Saturday. The Dec. 5 to 8 survey, which drew valid responses from 63.7 percent of the pollees, found the ratio had risen to 52.7 percent from ...
When the lights change at the scramble crossing near Tokyo’s Shibuya Station, one of the world’s busiest crosswalks, hundreds of people with their eyes glued to smartphone screens pick their way through the throng. Despite being engrossed in their phones, playing the latest installment ...
Smartphone messaging service Line Corp. said Thursday it will launch a payment service in coming months as it seeks to play a more fundamental role in customers’ lives. “The key word for our goal from now on is ‘Life,’ ” Chief Operating Officer Takeshi ...
With the latest Apple iPhone model hitting Japanese stores on Friday, the nation’s three major carriers are wracking their brains over how to get a lead in the market despite a plethora of similar products. NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Softbank Corp. will ...
The Meteorological Agency is planning a system to send urgent warnings for extreme weather events to mobile phones in affected areas. Officials said Thursday they want to get the system, which will be based on emails sent to people who subscribe to the service, ...
Japan and India have largely agreed to jointly produce rare earth metals that could be exported to Japan as soon as next year, sources close to the matter said Thursday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is to arrive in Japan on Saturday for ...
Warnings against online misconduct were issued to 220 minors under 18 in the first half of the year, the National Police Agency reported Thursday. The warnings covered activity ranging from paid sex and dates to underwear sales, and 102 were involved in prostitution or ...
New guidelines permit mobile phone use in hospital waiting rooms and patients' private rooms but still ban the devices from operating rooms and laboratories.
Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are considering seeking taxes on mobile phone owners and the pachinko industry to cover a chronic shortage of government revenue. With the balance of government debts at a record ¥1.04 quadrillion at the end of June, ...
NTT Docomo Inc. said Friday that sales and profits dropped in the first quarter compared with the previous year, on slumping voice call revenue and discounts for two-year contracts. The telecom giant posted ¥1.07 trillion in sales, down 3.4 percent, ¥209 billion in operating ...
New mobile phone entrant Ymobile Corp. unveiled monthly fixed-price service plans Thursday that include voice calling and Internet access to woo newcomers to smartphones with simpler and cheaper contracts. The SoftBank subsidiary, launched in June in a merger with eAccess, which runs Emobile, and ...
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to basically oblige mobile phone carriers to “unlock” their handsets so they can handle other companies’ services, informed sources said Friday. The ministry is set to present the plan to a panel Monday and map out details ...
