Amazon already has a Japanese-language site offering books in English, CDs, and videos. The company is now looking for a Japanese partner for sales of Japanese-language books, and it is seen as being only a matter of time before it sets up a Japanese subsidiary. In the United States, meanwhile, N2K decided last October to merge with its former archrival, CDNow, a decision resulting at least in part from Amazon's entry into the field. Within Japan, however, domestic firms with large existing domestic distribution networks have been slow to jump on the e-commerce bandwagon. Rapid strides in secure payment systems Convenient and secure payment systems are a key issue for companies doing business on the Net, whatever their nationality.
Electronic money is still in the testing stage both in Japan and elsewhere.
Credit card payments are still the object of a fair degree of resistance from Japanese on-line shoppers, who tend to be leery of entering their card numbers on corporate web sites. Marketers have naturally been working to develop technology that will ensure the safety of on-line payment. Dell's Japanese subsidiary uses SSL, and so does N2K Japan. This uses special software that separates the order information sent to the merchant from the payment-related information sent to the credit card company or other financial institution, so that the merchant does not even see the consumer's card number. Companies currently developing and selling SET software include IBM Japan, Fujitsu, Hitachi, and the American company VeriFone.