Japan Market
Japan Market

Japan Market

DoCoMo Flat-Rate Data Subs Top 10 Million

DoCoMo just announced that subscribers to their flat-rate data communication billing plans “pake-hodai” and “pake-hodai full” surpassed the 10 million mark on May 1, 2007. The pake-hodai plan, launched on June 1, 2004, allows 3G FOMA i-mode subscribers unlimited viewing of i-mode content for a flat monthly subscription fee of 4,095 yen (including tax). The pake-hodai full plan, introduced on March 1, 2007, enables subscribers with full-browser handsets to view not only i-mode sites but also browse PC websites for a flat monthly subscription fee of 5,985 yen (including tax). Neither plan applies to data surfing using connected devices, such as PCs, and cannot be used outside Japan.

New Mobile Net Bank Announced

KDDI and Mitsubishi-Tokyo-UFJ Bank have jointly established the Mobile Net Bank Development Corp. in preparation for the two companies to launch their mobile ‘New Bank’. The entity has since been formalizing the business plan, finalizing products and services, and building the required core systems for the New Bank. Subject to approval from the appropriate authorities, KDDI, Mitsubishi-Tokyo-UFJ, and Mobile Net Bank have now agreed on the line-up of products and services and the commercial time frame for launch, which is scheduled to open midway through this financial year.

DoCoMo Reports FYE 2006 Earnings

Market leader NTT DoCoMo has just released their accounting for the fiscal year ending 2006. Net income dropped to 457.3 billion yen ($3.8 billion) in the 12 months to 31 March, from 610.5 billion yen a year earlier, when earnings included a 102 billion gain from share sales of Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Ltd. and KPN Mobile. While sales climbed 0.5 percent to 4.79 trillion yen annual profit was down YoY by 25 percent based on increased handset subsidies and 3G network upgrade costs. DoCoMo also noted that ARPU in the fourth quarter fell to 6,530 yen from 6,720 yen a year earlier.

Sharp Reports Mobile Sales Up 29 Percent

Profit at Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. jumped 15 percent in the latest fiscal year on strong sales of flat-panel televisions and mobile phones according to results reported this week. Net income surged to 101.7 billion yen (US$861.9 million) in the year through March, while sales climbed 12 percent to 3.13 trillion yen (US$26.5 billion), Sharp said in a news release.

KDDI Announces FYE 2006 Financials

KDDI has released their final accounting statement for the 2006 fiscal year, which ended 31 March 2007, at a press conference here yesterday afternoon. As reported in several other media channels the company reported a slightly lower net income, down 2%, on the year despite higher operating income thanks to the “au” mobile unit performance, which was up 11%, with net profit from the wireless operations increasing 44%. The company also revealed that they gained a net subscriber addition of 853,000 customers since mobile number portability took effect here in October last year. The full presentation webcast – in English – runs 1:45 and is available in Windows Media player Here.

DoCoMo to Offer New Mobile Credit Card

DoCoMo has also introduced their new premium DCMX GOLD credit card at the 904i-series presser here this afternoon. This latest offering in their mobile credit card service joins the DCMX mini and the standard DCMX, which were announced in April 2006 [video here]. Like the DCMX mini and standard DCMX cards, this new gold card is compatible with iD, DoCoMo’s branded platform for mobile credit cards. Members will be issued a standard Visa or MasterCard magnetic card for use when making purchases overseas or at shops in Japan that do not have FeliCa enabled readers/writers.