Business / Corporate 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. Since the fall, Google has been conducting extensive tests in India of YouTube Go, which allows ...
National / 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. Nine of the cases were related to the alleged trafficking of illegal drugs, while the tenth involved an attempt on a person's life, ...
Business / Corporate Jan 16, 2016
NTT Docomo planning to increase handset prices
Mobile carrier NTT Docomo Inc. plans to raise handset prices by around ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 so it can provide discounts to customers who use less data.
Business / Corporate 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.
National Sep 21, 2015
Railway companies in eastern Japan set to relax rules for cellphones when near priority seats
by Shusuke Murai
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. After 12 years, the ban on phones, the validity of which researchers say has ...
Business Jul 13, 2015
Email disruption hits millions of au mobile phone users after fire
A fire at a communications center has been blamed for crippling email services for millions of au brand mobile phone users since Sunday. KDDI Corp. and fire authorities confirmed the fire, which damaged equipment at the center, in Tochigi Prefecture, also caused its email servers ...
Business May 22, 2015
SoftBank exec says don't expect 'Galapagos phones' to be around forever
by Kazuaki Nagata
While conventional but feature-rich cellphones are still in demand in Japan, one SoftBank executive says don't expect them to stick around forever. Known as "Galapagos phones," a reference to the high number of endemic species on the islands off Ecuador, the devices often have functions ...
Business / Corporate May 21, 2015
SoftBank veers from iPhone in shift to embrace all mobile devices
by Kazuaki Nagata
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. So it seemed odd when Microsoft Corp.'s Japan head Yasuyuki Higuchi and SoftBank Mobile ...
National / Social Issues May 1, 2015
Overuse of mobile gadgets hampers students' ability to study, sleep
by Shusuke Murai
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. Students ...
Business / Corporate 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. The move is expected to spark price and service competition in the domestic mobile phone market as users will be able to switch carriers more easily without ...
Business / Corporate 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. The utility will choose ...