When we launched this column in 1994, the Internet was still a minor player on the Japanese IT stage. Now that it has taken a leading role, a less generic (boring) title for this monthly column is in order. So, with this anniversary issue, "The Internet" becomes "The Digital Forest."
by Forest Linton
Japanese Internet providers
At last count, there were more than 230 ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in Japan. Did you know that more than half of these are based in Tokyo alone, with no non-Tokyo access points? I get a lot of questions regarding Internet access outside of the Tokyo area, so this month I will present some of the options, plus a brief overview of the industry as it is shaping up.In Japan there are only about 8 or 10 top-level providers -- those who have direct-connected lines to the US Internet. Almost all of the rest of Japan's providers get their international IP service from one these top-level providers. (See the listing in the "Internet service providers" box).
In addition to these top-level providers, there are another 10 that I would classify as "national ISPs." These are providers who are building their own nationwide backbones linking individual city access points into large, high-speed networks connected to the Internet. They are also connecting to the NSPIXP (Japan's de facto commercial routing point). Together, the top-level providers and "national providers" make up the majority of Japan's commercial Internet backbone.
A top-level or "national" ISP is the logical choice for corporate Internet connectivity, but if you are an end-user wishing only to connect at your place of residence, you may be better off shopping amongst smaller local or regional providers in your area. Almost all of these local providers obtain their Internet connectivity from one of the top-level or "national" ISP companies. The listing in the "Internet service providers" box shows several major cities (outside of Tokyo and Osaka) and a corresponding local service provider in each.
If there is no local ISP in your area, then you should contact one of the "national" providers -- they may already have a local access point near you, or have plans to build one soon. Japan's backbone is finally taking shape, and growth has been incredibly fast in the past 6 to 8 months. It won't be long before every major area has a local connection point.
Finally, in the "Internet service providers" box, I include the half-dozen providers who offer English language support and systems. If you're not comfortable dealing in Japanese for sign-up and customer support, you may want to check out one of these options.
For the most comprehensive, up-to-date information on Japanese ISPs, I recommend that you look through the back of Impress's Internet Magazine. If you can handle even the rudiments of written Japanese, you'll find much helpful information about Japan's Internet providers and the services they offer and areas they cover. Happy hunting.
Security update
In the June 1995 issue of Computing Japan, I wrote a column about security and encryption. At that time, I mentioned that Phil Zimmerman, the man who created the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) security scheme, was under investigation. He had been charged by the United States government with illegally exporting (by allowing people outside the US to download his shareware) the high-level encryption codes that are considered munitions by the US government.The most recent news is that the charges against Phil Zimmerman have been dropped. In addition, legislation has been introduced in the US Congress to ease the restrictions on exporting security software. As US companies began turning to offshore programmers (in Russia and Europe), members of Congress realized that the US was in danger of falling behind in the world's encryption industry.
If the pending legislation passes through Congress, full-strength US-designed encryption software and protocols may be available for use worldwide. This is good news for electronic payment schemes that rely on encryption.
Yahoo and Yahoo Japan!
Yahoo is commonly acknowledged to be one of the most popular content indices to the World Wide Web. Yahoo was one of the first sites to develop a marketable brand name, and it has been very aggressive in leveraging that brand in the US and, recently, in foreign markets.Apparently, they also felt the brand was ready for the big leagues, as Yahoo recently went public by offering 2.6 millions shares on the US Nasdaq market in mid-April. Yahoo's IPO (initial public offering) symbolizes an important new category of Internet companies on Wall Street. Early last year, phase one started with public offerings of infrastructure builders (service providers) like PSI, BBN, UUNet, and Netcom. In late summer, phase two began with client and server software companies like Netscape, Spyglass, NetManage, and Cybercash. Content providers like Yahoo mark the third phase of recent IPOs.
Ironically, Yahoo's offering was upstaged by two rival companies: Lycos and Excite, which are both Web search and indexing services. Lycos went public on April 2 and quickly doubled its offered price of $12 within the first week (though it has since fallen to around $16). Excite, a relative unknown, hit the markets at $20 and quickly dropped to $13.
Yahoo didn't disappoint traders, however. It opened at $24 (almost double its offered price), and then shot up to $43 on the same day. Over the next week it gradually eased down, and eventually stabilized around the $30 level. This moderate share price values the company at over $700 million dollars! Amazing for a company with revenues of only $1.3 million in eight months.
Although still rough around the edges, Yahoo Japan was officially up and on the Web in April. It looks just like the English version... except that it's in Japanese. Yahoo Japan is a joint venture between Yahoo Inc. and Softbank. (This comes after Softbank reportedly purchased around 35% of Yahoo Inc. in late '95.)
After spending some time going through the guide, it's obvious there aren't nearly as many categories or links as in the English version. I did some random searches using both romaji and katakana and found about half of what I was looking for. (Unfortunately, Computing Japan magazine wasn't yet in the database, so I wasn't very impressed.) However, Softbank's sales machine has already launched into action, as there's quite a selection of ads on many pages.
Yahoo Japan: http://www.yahoo.co.jp/
Yahoo USA: http://www.yahoo.com/
CommerceNet Japan is up and running strong
On March 26, CommerceNet Japan threw a "grand opening" party together with CommerceNet (USA) here in Tokyo. The keynote speaker was CNET chairman Jay Tennenbaum, who flew in from Silicon Valley for the event.The basic message of the event was that commerce on the Internet is more important than ever, and CommerceNet Japan is quickly gathering momentum. CommerceNet Japan now comprises over 30 Japanese member companies, and it plans to hold a joint International Workshop with CNET in San Francisco during the week of July 22. (This might be a good excuse for a quick business trip to the States.) Other planned events include an E-Commerce Pavilion at the upcoming Windows World Expo/Tokyo '96 (June 26 to 29).
Updated information can be obtained at http://www.commercenet.ntt.jp/.
When Forest Linton isn't writing for Computing Japan, he works as a software product manager for publisher/printer Koyosha Graphics in Tokyo. He can be reached at forest@gol.com. Be sure to check out the online Digital Forest at: http://www.twics.com/~forest/ and his Japan Web Guide at http://www.gol.com/jguide/.
Internet service providers
The phone numbers given here are "voice" numbers that you can call for information, not the "modem" numbers of the providers. Note that many may not have English-speaking staff.
"Top-level" providers
Global Online Japan 03-5330-9380
Global SprintLink 03-5561-0912
IIJ 03-5276-6240
InfoWeb 0120-544-254
Internet KDD 0120-199-100
ITJIT Net 03-5565-3901
MAJIC 03-5470-8515
NIS Internet 0120-070-052
Spin 03-556157-56
Starr-Direct 045-201-2250
Tokyo Internet 03-3341-6301
"National" providers
Asahi Net 03-3666-2811
Bekkoame 03-5610-7900
C+C Mesh (NEC) 03-3456-7461
Infosphere (NTT) 03-3432-4588
Mind (Mitsubishi) 03-5276-6821
RimNet 03-5489-5655
SANNET 06-994-3497
Sinfony (Sony) 03-5448-7272
So-Net (Sony) 03-3446-7532
STAR-NET 03-3423-5850
"Local" providers
Fukoka J-PAL 092-533-1597
Hiroshima Urban Internet 082-224-1231
Kanazawa NskNet 0762-24-1800
Nagasaki Internet Nagasaki 0958-26-3900
Nagoya MyNet 0256-41-1110
Okinawa Info Ryukyu 098-864-0062
Sapporo Netboard 011-218-3030
Sendai GNOC 022-221-1166
Yokohama Nissan-Internet 045-451-5623
"English-language" providers
Crisscross 03-3237-3626
Cyber Technologies 03-3578-4888
Global Online Japan 03-5330-9380
Internet Access Center 03-5561-0146
PSI Japan 03-5478-7537
TWICS 03-3351-5977