Trading in the shares of Internet-related venture businesses is booming on the Japanese stock market. The media are full of reports on information technology and Internet-based e-commerce. Computer and telecommunications technologies are bringing revolutionary changes to society, but Japan and the United States have radically different ways of developing those technologies.
In the U.S., trading in high-tech shares continues to boom, but e-commerce is slowing down. Share prices of e-commerce companies for consumers have dropped 30 to 40 percent from their highs. Contrary to initial expectations, those companies have so far failed to produce high profits.
The stock price of the online bookstore Amazon.com has fallen 40 percent from its high. Some investors have given up on e-commerce stocks. U.S. stock prices are said to be inflated, but that is not entirely true; individual shares are bound to fall if the companies fail to produce profits. This merely indicates the soundness of the U.S. stock market.