Ever since the Chinese overtook Japan as the largest holder of foreign reserves, the US in particular has started to realize that having a bunch of foreign governments you're not necessarily friendly with holding your debt isn't such a good idea. While only Hillary Clinton has so far come out and said that the foreign holdings are a risk, perhaps she should have gone further and said...

NTT DoCoMo and McDonald's Japan will jointly start an e-marketing initiative based on DoCoMo Osaifu-Keitai e-wallet services. Both companies agreed to establish a joint venture to plan and manage e-marketing promotions to McDonald's new membership club, and the introduction of DoCoMo's iD-platform for mobile-phone credit cards and ToruCa e-coupon service at McDonald's stores.

Having been involved for the past five years in bringing Japanese mobile music services to overseas markets, I've developed a deep interest in the differences between mobile content (and music in particular) between Japan and other countries. In fact, the very first issue of this newsletter...

EMOBILE, a new carrier, unfolded its service plans and terminal line up for the domestic market. The company will offer flat rate mobile broadband services and voice. EMOBILE is member of the eAccess Group - an ADSL wholesale provider. Goldman Sachs and TBS, a Tokyo-based broadcasting company, are financially backing EMOBILE's market expansion. Initially, only mobile data services are offered. EMOBILE's flat rate mobile broadband data services...