Japan Media Review Update: November 17, 2003

JMR Staff (Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California)

Review
The following reviews are posted at: http://www.japanmediareview.org/japan/digest/digest.php

Nikon to Stop Production of Film Cameras, Focus on Digital
Dwindling film camera sales have prompted major Japanese camera maker Nikon to discontinue its 35 mm film camera production in Japan, saying that it will instead focus entirely on digital cameras, reports Agence France-Presse via Channelnewsasia.com. A spokesman for the company said that no final decision has been made, but Nikon has seen a loss in profits in film cameras compared to digital cameras. Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Nikon has stopped producing film cameras and will also stop shipments of film cameras starting in April.
-- By Japan Media Review Contributing Writer Helen Baek

Japan Airlines Flights to Include Satellite Broadband Internet Connection
Japan Airlines has signed a deal with Boeing to install a satellite broadband Internet connection into a few of its planes, reports UK magazine PC Advisor. Passengers can plug into "Connexion" through their notebooks or PDAs via in-seat Ethernet ports or onboard wireless LANs. Transmission speeds can reach 20 megabits per second, said Scott Carson, president of Connexion by Boeing. The system should become available in December 2004 on routes between Japan and London and later in American and European flights.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Shellie Branco

Japan to Pinpoint Cell Phone Emergency Calls Through Satellite
Via CNET Asia: In Japan, emergency call centers can locate a land line phone, yet they have been unable to pinpoint a cell phone. But a new system to pinpoint the location of a cell phone user's emergency call will be introduced to Japan, reports The Asahi Shimbun. While the United States proposed a system that will depend on new technologies to locate the caller, the system in Japan will be based on the satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) already used in vehicles. The Japanese Telecommunications Ministry, National Police Agency, and three major mobile service providers in Japan are expected to test the Japanese version of the E911 system in the United States in 2005. KDDI has already introduced 21 mobile phones with GPS, while NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone will incorporate the system into newer phones. According to The Asahi Shimbun report (Japanese only), out of 8.9 million emergency calls last year in Japan, 52 percent originated from mobile phones, including Personal Handyphones (PHS).
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori

New Japan-China Network Connection Features Automatic Translation
Hailed as the first of its kind, a new fiber optic network with a built-in translator will allow Japanese and Chinese corporations to explore each other's databases, chat and do research in their own languages, according to Agence France-Presse via Australian IT. The Japanese Telecommunications Ministry announced the plan to connect the two nations with the network. The ministry wants to expand it to other Asian countries and their languages. A Japanese government official said this is the world's first network linking two countries with built-in automatic translation. With the help of several Japanese universities and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the two countries will start an experiment on the network in December and continue until March 2005.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori