November 1999 Issue

On the cover: Hiroshi Mikitani, president of Rakuten online
shopping, and Roger Boisvert, president of
Tokyo ISP Global Online Japan.

November 1999
No. 1

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November 1999 Issue

Features
	E-commerce -- Japan at the Ready? E-commerce in Japan is set to take off. But from gerontratic corporations that just don't get the Net to laws against discounting books, any would-be Amazon.co.jp has to jump not a few hurdles before making it to the finish.

	Instant Gratification -- On Japan's Net with Rakuten Ichiba Rakuten, the operator of Japan's biggest online shopping mall, starts business each week with a regular Monday meeting at 8:00 a.m. All employees attend and report the current status of their projects in 60 seconds. For Rakuten's president, Hiroshi Mikitani, speed counts more than anything on the Net.

	Speeding Access to the Info Highway Commodore Perry's Black Ships cruised to Japan at a snail's pace. Today, the Net is blazing a much speedier path, and it looks like consumers and businesses stand to gain. Net service on your cellular telephone and cheap access via the power company, here we come!

	Bit Valley -- Japan's Internet Startups Gather A new wave of young but savvy netpreneurs are surfing right over the reefs that are ripping the guts out of Japan's traditional businesses. They move fast, they think "Net," and they won't put up with the red tape and ministerial "administrative guidance"-long-term hallmarks of this country's stolid business climate.

	Daring to Be Different -- Tokyo's GOL: An Idiosyncratic Success Story Opportunities for foreigners and Japanese alike have never been greater than in today's Japan. But it wasn't always like this, and certain netpreneurs were here at the beginning. Roger Boisvert-founder of Global OnLine-is one of them.

Columns
	VALLEY VIEW The business of E-business in Japan

	VENTURE WATCH Tokyo-based ISP interQ

	LOGON Online health care: Take two aspirins and e-mail me in the morning

	Joi's Diary Japan's cops are getting smarter, but only some of them.

	INSIDE EYE The MPT: The Irrelevant Ministry

Reports
	Sakura and Fujitsu to Launch Internet Bank In the Internet age, how can a bank-with no credit card service to call its own-tap into the online boom? Easy, says Sakura Bank, one of Japan's behemoths. The answer is to create a virtual bank.

	FYI: Finding Japan Info

	Bugged 2000-end of the Century, End of the World or a Non Event

	Local Motion: Preparing U.S.-made Software for the Asian Marketplace

	Softbank Creates Seed Capital Fund for Japan Net Startups At last, Japan-based Net startups have found their angel. For too long, Net companies looking for funds have been forced to look to individual investors or outside Japan, but one company has finally stepped forward. The company? The ever newsworthy (this summer anyway) Softbank Corp.

	What's So Funny about a Teddy Bear, the Internet, and a Little Understanding?

	Music on Japan's Net The Recording Industry Goes from Vinyl to Liquid

	Braving the Waters of Cross-Channel Marketing Rei Launches japan.rei.com

Research
	Japan Studies How Japanese Spend Their Time.

	Statistics (PDF-formatted file, Acrobat 4.0 or later required) J@pan Inc company profiles, A quick look at ISPs