Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from June 2002

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from June 2002

User data from beauty Web site leaked via Internet.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 27 Kyodo Kommy Corp., a beauty treatment service firm, said Monday the personal information of more than 37,000 of its Web site users was leaked via the Internet. The company, which operates Tokyo Beauty Center aesthetic...

World Cup games boost hotel Net service systems.(Cisco Systems' Long Reach Ethernet)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 27 Kyodo The upcoming World Cup soccer finals are giving a boost to network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. as more hotel operators want to install Internet access equipment, company officials said Monday. Cisco...

Shipments of mainframe computers in Japan down 4.9% in FY 2001.(Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association report)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 27 Kyodo Domestic shipments of mainframe computers fell for the fifth consecutive year in fiscal 2001, dropping 4.9% to 474.5 billion yen, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association said Monday....

Web site leaks personal data on 45,000 people.(YKK Architectural Products' Web site)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2002... TOYAMA, Japan, May 27 Kyodo Personal data on 45,000 people who logged onto the Web site of a Tokyo-based building materials firm were leaked due apparently to hacking, firm officials said Monday. YKK Architectural Products Inc....

Symposium to be held on Internet auction problems.(Japan Federation of Bar Associations)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 28 Kyodo The Japan Federation of Bar Associations will hold a symposium Saturday in Tokyo to discuss problems related to Internet auctions and ways to protect consumers, association officials said Tuesday. The symposium,...

Hikari Tsushin in 16 bil. yen group net loss for 7-month year.
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 28 Kyodo Hikari Tsushin Inc., the largest agent for sign-up membership for data-communications services, reported a group net loss of 16.12 billion yen for its latest business year to March 31, which ended after seven months...

Info on users of company, university Web sites leaked.
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 29 Kyodo Personal information on some 3,500 users of the Web sites of two companies and a university was found to have been leaked via the Internet, company and university sources said Wednesday. The Tokyo-based Nihon...

Sony, Fujitsu scrap talks on Internet business tie-up.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 29 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING INFO) Sony Corp. said Wednesday it has agreed with Fujitsu Ltd. to discontinue negotiations for a possible tie-up in the Internet business after the two firms were unable to agree on terms of the...

75 mil. pieces of music copied in Japan via Net: survey.(Statistical Data Included)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 29 Kyodo An estimated 75 million pieces of music have been duplicated via online music-swapping sites, mostly illegally, during the past couple of years since such sites became available in Japan, industry associations said...

METI to try to end row over game software secondhand shops.(Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 30 Kyodo The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will attempt to mediate an ongoing dispute between game software makers and the secondhand shops that sell their products by setting up a game software distribution...

3 arrested for allegedly hacking space agency computer.(NEC Toshiba Space Systems)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 30 Kyodo Three former employees of NEC Toshiba Space Systems Ltd. have been arrested on suspicion of hacking a computer of the government-affiliated National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and stealing data of a...

Nintendo posts 2nd straight year of record net profit.(Statistical Data Included)
June 3, 2002... OSAKA, May 30 Kyodo Game machine maker Nintendo Co. said Thursday it chalked up a group net profit of 106.44 billion yen in fiscal 2001 to March 31, a record for the second straight year. The result reflects strong sales of its Game...

McDonald's installs IP phones in outlets for free calls.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 30 Kyodo McDonald's Co. (Japan) Ltd. said Thursday it has installed Internet protocol (IP) telephones for free calls at some of its fast-food restaurants in time for the World Cup soccer finals. The ''McBB phones'' will be...

Nintendo to pursue better software under Iwata.(Satoru Iwata)
June 3, 2002... OSAKA, May 31 Kyodo Satoru Iwata, the incoming president of Nintendo Co., indicated Thursday that the major video game maker will put priority to developing better game software rather than worrying about game consoles. ''Game...

Japan's Internet-automobile technology may become global norm.(Intelligent Transportation Systems)
June 3, 2002... TOKYO, May 31 Kyodo Japan's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), based on Internet data transmission, is expected to be adopted by the international community as the global standard, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)...

Hitachi, IBM agree on joint firm for HDD businesses.
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING HITACHI'S COMMENTS) Hitachi Ltd. and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) said Tuesday they have agreed to integrate their hard disk drive (HDD) businesses under a joint company to be majority...

Hitachi to buy back up to 10% of outstanding shares.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it will buy back up to 300 million shares, or about 10% of its outstanding shares, for up to 300 billion yen as part of its efforts to support its share price. Hitachi said the share...

Dai Nippon Printing develops new software for combining PCs.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo Dai Nippon Printing Co. said Tuesday it has developed new software that combines computing functions of idle personal computers (PCs) at work to enable other PCs to perform better. The new software, AD-Powers,...

Auction site operators ease stance on legislation.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo Yahoo Japan Corp. and two other leading operators of online auction sites have told the government they will drop their opposition to legislation to control online auctions, company officials said Tuesday. Yahoo...

Fujitsu devises way to use biodegradable plastics for PCs.
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 5 Kyodo Fujitsu Ltd. said Wednesday it has developed the world's first technology that allows the bodies of notebook personal computes (PCs) to be made from biodegradable plastics as a step toward environmental protection. ...

NEC to unload majority of stake in Thomson Multimedia.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 5 Kyodo NEC Corp. said Wednesday it will sell a majority of its 4.96% stake in major French electronics maker Thomson Multimedia by the end of September as part of ongoing efforts to improve its financial position. NEC...

Sony gives up investing in Fujitsu-Hitachi venture for PDP.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 6 Kyodo Sony Corp. has decided to give up putting up capital in the joint venture of Fujitsu Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd. for production of plasma display panels (PDPs) for use in such high-tech products as high-definition...

Subscribers to DSL service top 3 mil.
June 10, 2002... TOKYO, June 7 Kyodo The number of subscribers to digital subscriber line (DSL) high-speed Internet access services has surpassed three million for the first time, the telecommunications ministry said Friday. The number stood at about...

Info on some 250 people leaks via Mitsui unit's Web site.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2002... TOKYO, June 10 Kyodo Personal information on some 250 people was accidentally made public via a Web site run by home builder Mitsui Bussan House-Techno Inc., company officials said Monday. The information included names, addresses and...

Meiji, Yasuda to unify computers for policy sales staff.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2002... TOKYO, June 11 Kyodo Meiji Life Insurance Co. and Yasuda Mutual Life Insurance Co., due to merge in April 2004, said Tuesday they will develop and unify a computer system linking branch offices in October at the earliest. The...

Microsoft unveils Japanese OS for Tablet PC.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2002... TOKYO, June 12 Kyodo Microsoft Co. on Wednesday unveiled the Japanese-language version of an operating system for the Tablet PC promoted by its U.S. parent that allows users to input handwritten information with a special pen. Five...

Fujitsu to step into mobile telecom business: paper.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2002... TOKYO, June 13 Kyodo Fujitsu Ltd. will enter the mobile communications market by leasing the personal handy-phone system (PHS) communications network operated by DDI Pocket Inc., a Japanese business daily reported Thursday. Fujitsu...

Hitachi to raise profitability in software service business.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2002... TOKYO, June 13 Kyodo Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday it expects to raise profitability in its software service business by raising the ratio of operating profit to sales to 10% in the year to March 2006 from 5% in the year ended March 31,...

Sumitomo Chemical to boost LCD-part output in Asia.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2002... TOKYO, June 13 Kyodo Sumitomo Chemical Co. said Thursday it will invest some 15 billion yen to boost production and sales of a main liquid crystal display (LCD) component in South Korea, Taiwan and China. The chemical maker said the...

Microsoft to move H.K. unit into Cyberport.
June 24, 2002... HONG KONG, June 18 Kyodo The Hong Kong unit of U.S.-based software giant Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it will move into Cyberport, the territory's high-tech and information infrastructure project, in October. Microsoft Hong Kong Ltd....

Fujitsu, Microsoft to create new tie-up structure.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... TOKYO, June 18 Kyodo Fujitsu Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday they will form a new alliance by combining existing tie-up agreements between the Japanese computer maker's overseas group companies and the U.S. software giant. ...

Tests of wireless communication network slated in Fukuoka.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... FUKUOKA, June 18 Kyodo The Fukuoka municipal government said Tuesday it will begin testing in August with a group of seven Japanese and South Korean high-tech companies a wide-area wireless communication network. Using optical laser...

PC recycling rate tops legally required 50% in 1st yr.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... TOKYO, June 19 Kyodo The recycling rate of desktop personal computers (PCs) for business use stood at 78.5% in fiscal 2001, far outpacing the 50% requirement under a law in force since April last year, the government said Wednesday. ...

Toshiba, Fujitsu agree on comprehensive tie-up.
June 24, 2002... TOKYO, June 19 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATED FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT BY PRESIDENTS) Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd., two of Japan's five major semiconductor makers, have agreed to form a comprehensive tie-up in semiconductor operations, the...

IBM Japan to donate PC sets to 95 nursery schools.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... TOKYO, June 20 Kyodo IBM Japan Ltd. said Thursday it will launch a ''KidSmart'' program later this month in cooperation with 95 nursery schools to help preschool children become familiar with personal computers (PCs) through playing...

31 companies create consortium for broadband projects.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... TOKYO, June 20 Kyodo A group of 31 companies, including NEC Corp. and KDDI Corp., formed a consortium Thursday to conduct joint content-planning for broadband communications projects, companies said. The consortium will study how to...

IBM joins DVD6C patent group.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2002... TOKYO, June 20 Kyodo The DVD6C technology patent group said Thursday U.S. computer giant International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has joined it, bringing its membership to seven. The group manages major patents on digital versatile...

Broadband operators to offer faster ADSL services.
June 24, 2002... TOKYO, June 21 Kyodo Broadband operators are set to offer faster asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) Internet access services in larger areas amid increasing competition with rivals, industry officials said Friday. eAccess Ltd....