Scenic Japanese Web Sites
While the Internet is often dubbed an "information superhighway," a more apt metaphor might be a 39-story library with thousands of librarians, each using a different filing system, and no central card catalog. There are literally millions of volumes of information available on the Internet -- but unless someone tells you where to look, or you are skilled or lucky enough to stumble across a relevant Web page, the search process can be an exercise in frustration.by Jeremiah Stone
Trying to get meaningful information off the World Wide Web (WWW) can be a frustrating experience. Tidbits of information about Japan are not hard to find on the Internet, but searching through the available sites to find useful data on a particular subject -- while enjoyable (for those who love puzzles, at least) -- can require a great deal of effort.
For those who are new to Internet, or the WWW in particular, this article offers some basic pointers for getting the most from your Web searches. This information is not meant as a tutorial, but it does illustrate the possibilities and gives suggestions on useful places to start in your search for information about Japan's markets, technology, and language.
Searching the Web
One of the easiest ways to get information about Japan is to go to Stanford's Yahoo Search Web page (http://akebono.stanford.edu/yahoo). This Web page acts as an interface to a database of URLs (uniform resource locators). Here, users can register their own Web pages, or search through Yahoo's collection of pages (some 2 million Web pages are registered). A search under the keyword "Japan" when writing this article, for example, turned up 196 sources.
The Yahoo search page also has links to other search engines that may contain even more entries to relevant Web pages (though Yahoo remains my personal favorite). By using these various search engines, the newly initiated and the old-hand alike will be able to track down information on almost any page on the Web -- within limits. Whether because the creators have not registered a page, or because the sought-for keyword does not match one of the listed keywords, useful pages can be missed when using a keyword search.
As a supplement to search engines, and an aid to themselves and others, some WWW users have created their own Web pages that list particularly valuable sites, with built-in links to those sites. This article lists several pages of this type as a guide to finding useful information about Japan.
The language barrier
One possible hurdle to searching the Web for information on Japan is the language. While many Japanese Web pages recognize English as the common language of the Internet and provide at least a summary page in English, much important information is in Japanese only. While this makes kanji reading ability a necessity for the Japan-information miner, mere reading proficiency is not enough.Computerized Japanese is a double-byte language, which makes the proper software essential. On an English-based system, Japanese kanji and kana will appear as "garbage." Fortunately, Netscape 1.1N is double-byte enabled, so if your computer is running under a Japanese operating system (or the Japanese Language Kit for the Mac, or Japanese Win/V for IBM-AT compatibles), Netscape can display Japanese. For users of Mosaic, though, the picture is not so rosy -- you'll either have to wait for a double-byte-enabled version of Mosaic (rumored to be in the pipeline), or use a Japanized version of the same program.
Wandering the Web without Japanese ability may be a disappointing experience, but it will not be an entirely useless one. Several Japanese government agencies and academic institutions post much of their information on the Web in English. (For example, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications' MPT News is an English-only online publication that covers recent telecommunications policy decisions). In addition, there are many US-based Web sites with Japan-related information. Among the most promising of these is Japan Window, a joint program between NTT and Stanford University. (See "Japan Window -- Opening the Curtains for the Rising Sun" in the July Computing Japan.) Until you get on the Web and look at some of the sites, you will not know what is useful to you and what is not, so fire up your Web browser and learn by doing.
Sailing the Web sea
The sidebar on page 22 lists some of the Japan-related Web sites that I have found most useful. It is only a sample of what is available on the Internet, but it will at least help to start you on your way to collecting information about Japan.Check out the HTML addresses listed, and soon you will have your own collection of valuable Web sites (and some ftp servers that are accessible from those pages). While you'll have to wade though a sea of sites, the occasional pearls found along the way will make your journey well worth it.ç
General Japan information
Japan Window
URL: http://jw.stanford.edu/
Japan Windows is a recent addition by Stanford University that will endeavor to cover all aspects of Japan. There are currently five sections: Technology, Government, Business, Travel & Living, and Just for Kids. Several areas are still under construction.
The Forest
URL: http://www.twics.com/~forest/theforest.html
This page, created by Forest Linton, Computing Japan's Internet columnist, has a good set of links to other Japanese sites.
The Information Access Center
URL: http://www.iac.co.jp/
The Information Access Center is built on a TV-service paradigm, with areas of free services (analogous to broadcast TV) and areas of paid service (like cable). Several online magazines are represented, as well as doorways into government information services and Japanese business societies (the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, for example). Much of the information is currently being translated from BBS format to the more friendly Web format.
TWICS
URL: http://www.twics.com/
TWICS, a long-time English-based BBS and Internet provider in Japan, has a Web page with links to numerous Japan-related Web sites, as well as several pages posted by some of its users.
Technical sites
The Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST)
URL: http://www.jaist.ac.jp/
The home page of JAIST has information about their current academic projects and links to technical projects being pursued at other Japanese institutions. This is another good place to start a search for Japanese technical information. Papers can also be downloaded via WAIS.
Japan CS Project
URL: http://cs.arizona.edu/japan/www/japan.html
This page, maintained by the University of Arizona's Computer Science Department, is aimed at increasing the accessibility of scientific and technical information related to Japanese computing and computer science. The page has a lot of good connections to sites in Japan as well as a full archive of the well-known Kahaner reports on scientific happenings in Japan.
Software and Text Processing
URL: http://www.mickey.ai.kyutech.ac.jp/user/santos/FAQ/
FAQSLJ.software.html
This is an extensive reference and good starting point for any search of text processing materials on the Web and the Internet. The FAQ (frequently asked questions) contains an overview of available information on software and Japanese text processing techniques and has a full set of links to those sites. This is an ideal place to start a search for material on localizing and programming for the Japanese market.
Sony Computer Science Lab
URL: http://www.csl.sony.co.jp/
This page introduces the Sony Computer Science Lab and related technical topics, including a gateway to a database of technical papers. (The gateway only searches for Sony CSL papers.) In addition, links to other Web sites and Sony Corporation information are available.
University of Washington, Japan Information
URL: ftp://ftp.uwtc.washington.edu:/pub/Japanese/
This ftp site is included among the Web pages because it is one of the most useful sites from which to download just about any Japanese patch or shareware (including Japanese versions of NCSA Mosaic).
Business sites
NTT's Web Server
URL: http://www.ntt.jp/
This site has an amazing wealth of information, including links to various sources of information concerning Japanese culture (such as a sound file of the Japanese national anthem), geography (connections to satellite maps of the Pacific area), language (interactive learning tools), and government (the Constitution of Japan). Technical information includes Internet-related information as well as links to many other related sites.
Business and economics
URL: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~felsing/jstuff/biz.html
This Web page contains information in English on Japanese business and a variety of markets. Links to organizations (like the Keidanren as well as some American business organizations) and academic papers are also included.
Government sites
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT)
URL: http://www.mpt.go.jp/
This page is maintained by the MPT, Japan's government agency in charge of setting telecommunications policy. Among other valuable information, the site has the MPT Newsletter in English.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI)
URL: http://www.miti.go.jp/index-e.html
MITI's Web page includes an overview of the ministry structure as well as a listing of publications and statistics accessible in English. Much of the material is collected from the pages of the Japan Economic Foundation (JEF), a MITI-supported organization.
The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
URL: http:/www.jetro.go.jp/
The JETRO pages contain a large volume of information on Japan's international trade and on the organization itself. Included are procurement postings from the ministry gazette, statistics on Japanese trade, and articles on various aspects of Japanese business practices.
Publications online
Computing Japan
URL: http:/www.gol.com/cj/
Japan's only English-language magazine covering the information technology and computer markets is finally online. If you haven't seen Computing Japan's new Web site, take a look. You'll find the full text of selected articles from past issues, summaries of articles in recent issues, and links to other useful sites. On-the-scene reports of computer-related conferences and weekly news updates will be available starting in late summer.
Shima Media Network
URL: http://www.eccosys.com/SMN/index.html
This Web page is part of a project started by a former president of NHK (Japan's public TV network). The page contains a great deal of news about Japan as well as links to several other information-oriented sites. The editorial is original and updated about twice weekly.
AsahiNET
URL: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/asahinet/index-e.html
This set of pages maintained by the Asahi Shimbun has several nice features, including a searchable database of the fj UseNet news, some pages exhibiting haiku, and links to other locations around the Japanese Internet.
Impress WWW server
URL: http://www.impress.co.jp/
This is the Web page of the publishers of the Japanese-language Internet magazine. The page includes a link to the Akihabara Map program, which gives information about shopping in the Tokyo's famous Akihabara area (renowned for its electronics and computer bargains). The page also includes articles from Internet magazine and a map of Web sites in Japan (still under construction as of this writing).
