Going online in the PC graveyard: The sociocultural evolution of Japan's mobile internet

This chapter explores how the keitai (mobile) Internet has come to dominate Japan, marginalizing the PC-based Internet. The discussion focuses on the country's cultural and ideological aspects that have worked as driving forces behind its mobile Internet boom. Special emphasis will be given to the validity of the common belief that the Japanese language has been a barrier to PC and Internet diffusion. This chapter argues that the Japanese language has actually encouraged rather than discouraged Internet adoption in Japan. Relying on media comparative analysis, this essay examines how Japan has developed a qualitatively different Internet use pattern that cannot be revealed in statistics like "number of Internet subscribers" or "household Internet penetration rates.".