Japanese pagers to issue last beeps on Tuesday, ending 50-year run
Half a century after their debut, Japan's pager services will finally cease on Tuesday, bringing an end to what was once considered a must-have communications tool by high school girls before the advent of mobile phones. Tokyo Telemessage Inc., the nation's sole remaining pager provider, ...
Japan to require carriers to immediately unlock SIM cards for smartphones
The communications ministry reveals plans it will ask major mobile phone carriers to remove SIM locks immediately upon the request of customers.
New communications minister Sanae Takaichi backs 5G networks for Japan's rural areas
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi has expressed her eagerness to promote active use of fifth-generation, or 5G, communications networks for rural areas. "I want to fully utilize the 5G technology ... in order for people to live safely and get high-quality welfare and ...
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz denied a media report that Israel had planted listening devices in Washington D.C. "Israel doesn't carry out any espionage operations in the U.S.," Katz said. "The U.S. and Israel share a large amount of intelligence information and work together to ...
SoftBank to abolish two-year binding mobile phone contracts in Japan
SoftBank Corp. said Friday that from next week it will stop giving its mobile phone users two-year contracts that offer discounts on monthly communication fees but impose substantial penalties for canceling early. The major mobile phone operator will start offering rate plans from Sept. 13 ...
Apple to open largest Japan outlet in Tokyo's Marunouchi business district
U.S. technology giant Apple Inc. is set to open its largest directly run Japanese outlet in the Marunouchi business district of Tokyo on Saturday. Media were invited to view the store on Thursday. Its sales floor space is larger than that of any of its ...
With changes to phone sales in Japan threatening its bottom line, Apple hits out at 'unfair' rules
Government-mandated changes to the discounts mobile carriers can offer on handset devices starting in October could put an end to Apple’s dominant market share.
Ministry urges Rakuten Mobile to speed up preparation of base stations ahead of Japan rollout
The communications ministry has instructed Rakuten Mobile Inc. to speed up its rollout of base stations, with the mobile operator slated to launch its service in Japan on Oct. 1, it was learned on Thursday. The oral instruction was issued on July 17. As of ...
Japan's Rakuten swings to quarterly loss on Lyft and mobile service
Rakuten Inc. reported an unexpected quarterly loss Thursday, hit by the depressed value of its investment in ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc. and heavy spending on a new wireless service. The company said it booked a ¥1.8 billion operating loss in the April-June quarter compared with ...
In smartphone era, flip phones finding second life among elderly Japanese
The smartphone may have the dominant position in the marketplace, but old-school flip phones, or garakei, are finding a second life among elderly Japanese because of their low cost and ease of use. Shops handling used garakei are visited by many people looking for handsets ...
Major mobile phone carriers NTT Docomo Inc. and KDDI Corp. saw their consolidated net profits drop in April-June while rival SoftBank Corp.'s net profit rose in the fiscal first quarter. Docomo's net profit fell 11.9 percent from a year before to ¥192.3 billion, squeezed by ...
