Traditional business and social culture works against Japan's Internet entrepreneurs, offering less access to capital and limited stock option incentives, even under normal economic conditions. But those seeking to maximize e-market share in Japan or capitalize on Internet innovations must observe critical differences between Japan and U.S. Internet user demographics. Numerous factors make the Japanese Internet user different. In Japan, work is still where the connection is. While approximately 60 percent of Japanese Internet users report that they are logging on from home, Japanese spend most of their time online at work.
Technological trends are also a factor.
A very small percentage of Japanese Internet users currently access the Internet using voiceless communication devices such as cellular phones, personal handy phones or personal digital assistants. As many as 20 percent, however, would like to use their mobile devices to access the Internet. Cyber feminism was the strongest demographic trend last year, with women comprising approximately 26 percent of the Internet population as of June, and some projecting that they may approach half of the online population by the year 2003. While still the minority on the Japanese Internet, women are using it for personal empowerment, have an appetite for a broader range of Internet products and services and, naturally, are influencing its development. Because women control home finances, advertising and marketing firms are drawing conclusions about e-commerce feasibility studies by monitoring them as the critical Internet trendsetters in Japan.