We have an English-based [Windows] computer and would like to know if it is possible to view Japanese Web pages without spending a lot of money buying fonts, etc.?

Jason & Fumiko Urwiller

Yes, it is. For the easiest (and free) solution, see the Help Desk in our December 1996 issue (page 16) for tips on "Browsing the Japanese Web in English" with Microsoft Internet Explorer. And there are shareware "font package" solutions that work with any browser (and other Windows 95 programs); one of these, NJWIN's CJK Multilanguage Support System, was reviewed in our April '96 issue (page 23). These solutions are fine for casual browsing, but if you want to be able to both read and write Japanese in any Windows program, consider buying a commercial package like KanjiKit (covered in our August '96 issue, page 28).--Ed.

I recently saw your magazine in an airport lounge. Congratulations on a very useful publication. I hope to read more issues.

Daniel Pirani

I was reading the October issue of Computing Japan and enjoyed your editorial. I am a computer science engineer and have read various computing magazines of high caliber, [but] your magazine is not there yet -- as I'm sure you know. You are probably correct in stating that you are number one in Japan for English-language computing magazines, for the simple reason that you are the only one in existence that I know of.

My reason to write to you, though, is not to condemn the magazine, which is still in its infancy, but to encourage you to improve it more and more.

Darel Henman

We welcome all comments -- even critical ones. To set the record straight, I didn't write in my October editorial that we "are number one in Japan." What I did say was that the Computing Japan website had been "ranked No. 1 on the Japan Window 'This Week's Top 10 Japan Web Sites'," and that in July and August we were included in the prestigious Nikkei Net Japan Hitlist of the top 10 Japan-based sites with English-language content. (Ditto for Nikkei's October and November top 10 hitlist, by the way).

Thanks for your encouragement. Several readers have commented to me that the magazine has improved considerably both in design and content over the past two years, and I hope they (and you) will be able to say the same thing in another two years.--Ed.

To close this month, here are a few representative comments posted on our website. These indicate that interest is high (at least among Web users) in telecommunications topics, so we'll try to have more of those.

If you have any special "wants", articles you'd like to see, or other comments, don't hesitate to tell us by fax (03-3499-2199) or e-mail (editors@cjmag.co.jp).

"I would like to see more information on":

  • business developments in the information/telecommuniations industry, such as joint ventures, acquisitions and mergers, etc.

  • what Japanese information/telecommunications companies are doing outside of Japan, especially in Asia.

  • the various online information services, both business- and consumer-oriented.

  • the activities of foreign information companies, such as America Online, Individual Inc., and others who have started services in Japan.

  • the current development and future of Japan's telecommunications industry.

  • profiles of foreign companies that are successful in Japan.

  • what is covered in Japanese computer magazines (i.e., the "What the Japanese Are Reading" column, which I don't see anymore).



Send your comments, criticisms, and kudos to editors@cjmag.co.jp