Jan 11 Domains with .tokyo could be available next year
From next year, Internet users may be able to have domain names ending with .tokyo, .sendai or .canon in e-mails and Web sites, according to sources. At least five local governments and two Japanese companies--Canon Inc. and Hitachi Ltd.--have indicated they plan to register their names for top-level domains under a plan to massively increase the number of available domains on the Internet. Domains are a set of Internet addresses that come after an "@" mark. The ones installed in the root zone of e-mail and website addresses are called top-level domains. There are only 22 top-level domain categories, including one for countries, such as Japan's .jp. Companies typically use the .com category, while .org is for nonprofit organizations. In 2008, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a U.S. nonprofit organization that manages domains across the globe, decided to liberalize the usage of top-level domains. It will begin receiving applications for the new domains from Thursday to April and then examine whether it will allow them to be registered ahead of their expected use next year. (Yomiuri)
Jan 01 Japan developing cyber weapon
Japan has been developing a virus that could track down the source of a cyber attack and neutralise its program, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday. The weapon is the culmination of a Y179 million ($A2.28 million) three-year project entrusted by the government to technology maker Fujitsu Ltd to develop a virus and equipment to monitor and analyse attacks, the daily said. The United States and China are reported to have put so-called cyber weapons into practical use, Yomiuri said. Japan will have to make legal amendments to use a cyber weapon as it could violate the country's law against the manufacture of a computer virus, the daily said. (MSN)
Dec 31 Used bookstores turn to Internet sales for a lift in turbulent times
When talking about books, there are not as many polarizing issues as the contrast between chain bookstores and independent booksellers. Many people blame the former group for the gradual disappearance of the latter. Without demonizing the big chains, independent shops have traditionally been an important part of the local community. This is particularly true for the English-language used bookstores which for many years have been serving the expatriate community across Japan. The two only surviving shops in Tokyo - Good Day Books and The Blue Parrot - are devoted to their mission and plan to stay around for many more years to come. (Japan Times)
Nov 09 Softbank, Alibaba seeking partners to take over Yahoo
Softbank Corp. and China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. are talking with private-equity funds about making a bid for all of Yahoo Inc. without the company's blessing, sources said. Alibaba and Softbank, in an effort to buy back stakes owned by Yahoo, have grown impatient with a lack of progress in direct talks with the firm, said the sources, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. The two companies aim to work with partners that haven't signed nondisclosure agreements circulated by Yahoo that can make it harder to bid for the whole company, the sources said. Yahoo prefers to sell a smaller stake, rather than cede complete control, they said. (Japan Times)
Sep 05 World's biggest blog obsession
Internet users in Japan spend more time reading blogs than any other country in the world, according to a recent study from comScore, a research company measuring the digital world. The average Japanese user spent 62.6 minutes reading blogs during June of this year, when the survey was conducted. That was far more than second-place South Korea with an average of 49.6 minutes and third-place Poland with 47.7 minutes. Japanese may appear busy and overworked, but they manage to squeeze in a lot of blog time. (Japan Times)