Tag - mobile-phones

 
 

MOBILE PHONES

A Rakuten Mobile branch in Tokyo. Rakuten is set for another tough year in 2024, at a time when rivals are on the attack with competitive pricing and reward campaigns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2023
Rakuten's mobile misadventure: from ambitious plan to millstone
Founder and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani's vision of a low-cost network using cloud-based software and cheap hardware did not pan out.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2018
SoftBank unveils ¥2.4 trillion IPO for Japan mobile telecom business
SoftBank Group Corp. is seeking to raise ¥2.4 trillion in the initial public offering of its domestic telecommunications operations scheduled for Dec. 19.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2017
Fujitsu looks to sell struggling mobile phone business
The firm, which could start taking bids as early as next month, has struggled to win back consumers from smartphone competitors like Apple and Samsung.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 5, 2017
YouTube unveils India mobile app for spotty internet signals
Alphabet Inc.'s Google said Tuesday it would roll out a mobile YouTube application designed for India, boosting the search company's presence in a burgeoning market with spotty internet access.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 19, 2016
Japanese police tapped cellphones in 10 investigations in 2015
Police last year eavesdropped on electronic communications in 10 separate investigations, the Justice Ministry said Friday. The cases led to 101 arrests.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2016
SoftBank to offer lower price option for smartphone users
SoftBank plans to provide a new cut-rate pricing option for smartphone customers who neither talk for long periods nor use a great deal of data.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2015
Railway companies in eastern Japan set to relax rules for cellphones when near priority seats
Since 2003, railways have asked passengers to turn off their mobile phones when near "silver" priority seats, for fear electromagnetic interference from the devices could interact with pacemakers, harming the wearer.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2015
SoftBank exec says don't expect 'Galapagos phones' to be around forever
While conventional but feature-rich cellphones are still in demand in Japan, one SoftBank executive says don't expect them to stick around forever.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2015
SoftBank veers from iPhone in shift to embrace all mobile devices
Since the iPhone debuted in Japan in 2008, SoftBank Mobile Corp. has been heavily promoting Apple smartphones, driving the growth of the telecom giant led by billionaire Masayoshi Son ever higher.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2015
Overuse of mobile gadgets hampers students' ability to study, sleep
Excessive use of mobile phones causes students to fare poorly in elementary, junior high and high school, not only because it makes them lose their concentration due to a lack of sleep, but also because it apparently compromises what they have studied, researchers say.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2015
Japan's mobile phone carriers to begin scrapping SIM locks starting Friday
Mobile phone service operators will be required to remove carrier-specific restrictions, or SIM locks, on handsets starting Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 13, 2015
Tepco in talks with mobile carriers to form partnership: sources
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is currently in talks with three major Japanese mobile carriers to find a partner for joint marketing, as the planned liberalization of the retail electricity market next year is expected to boost competition, informed sources said Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Mar 7, 2015
Using imported mobile devices may be illegal
Residents of Japan may be shocked to learn they are technically violating the country's Radio Law by connecting computers, smartphones and tablets that have been purchased outside of Japan to domestic WiFi sites.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Mar 7, 2015
Sinister shades
I'm not coming back. Put the bags in the trunk.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2015
NTT Docomo to hang up on expats in U.S. in 2016
NTT Docomo Inc. is set to terminate its mobile phone service for Japanese people in the United States next year in a move that would mark the effective withdrawal of Japan's largest mobile carrier from the giant market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2014
Messaging firm Line to offer pay, taxi, food delivery services
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2014
Lookalike carriers struggle to shine in Japan's saturated cellphone market
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2014
Japan, India to jointly produce rare earth metals for export to Japan
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.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2014
220 mostly female minors warned against online solicitation
Warnings against online misconduct were issued to 220 minors under 18 in the first half of the year, the National Police Agency reported Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2014
New guidelines ease restrictions on cellphone use at hospitals
New guidelines permit mobile phone use in hospital waiting rooms and patients' private rooms but still ban the devices from operating rooms and laboratories.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores