Japan Media Review Update: March 18, 2004

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

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

Japan, South Korea Launch World's First Satellite for In-Car, Mobile TV
From Bloomberg via Singapore's The Business Times: Toshiba Corp., Japan's largest laptop computer manufacturer, and South Korean cell phone operator SK Telecom launched a satellite on March 13 that can transmit digital TV to cell phones and car TVs in Japan and South Korea. The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and is the first of its kind. It can handle more than 100 channels and transmit data three times as fast as broadband. Toyota Motor Corp. and Samsung Electronics are among more than 200 companies behind the project.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori

TV Asahi Report Prompts Outcry From Advocates for Mentally Disabled
From Mainichi Daily News: TV Asahi news program "News Station" has come under fire for a report about a government plan to reintegrate mentally disabled people from a national care facility back into their hometowns. The national care center in question, Nozominosono, is the target of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's recommendation to transfer out several residents by 2008. Inclusion Japan, a support group for relatives of the mentally disabled, said in a statement that the station's Feb. 24 report insinuated that government recommendations for more community-based group homes for the mentally disabled were "against people's will." The organization said the report could provoke prejudice against the mentally disabled and requested that TV Asahi review the report. In response to the outcry, a TV Asahi representative said "News Station" reported that communities needed time to prepare for the change, adding that they didn't mean to "(give) an impression that disabled people were better off living in care homes for the rest of their lives."
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori

Japan Accounts for Half of Camera Phone Market, Report Shows
From Wireless Week: Japanese consumers bought half of all camera phones sold in 2003, according to a report from InfoTrends Research Group. But worldwide shipments of the popular handsets have risen dramatically as the Japanese market is showing signs of saturation, meaning that Japan's market will likely recede. Worldwide, camera phone sales are expected to double this year. The report predicts 150 million camera phones will be sold in 2004, up from 70 million last year. Japan's early adoption of camera phones is attributed in part to the fact that it was the first country to build out true 3G networks, which facilitate high-bandwidth applications such as sending images. Also, the Japanese affinity for the latest gadgets contributed to the boom.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Eric Ulken