世論 What Japan Thinks

I saw this story on Japanese eager to get hands on iPhones, and whilst I am somewhat irked that USA Today did not choose to interview me on the subject, I did get a hearty laugh at this comment:

Culture. “The iPhone’s broad and easily accessible screen could actually be a liability in Japan,” says Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. Japanese are “accustomed to doing more in smaller spaces — and keeping things to themselves. The (pornographic comics) you download on the subway may be all too visible to your neighboring commuter” if you’re using an iPhone.

As anyone who regularly commutes on Japanese trains will tell you, everyone from youths to suited businessmen freely read manga of varying degrees of sauciness, and I’ve never seen anyone make any effort to hide the fact that they are studying the adult entertainment sections of the sports newspapers complete with not just topless women, but even the occassional pornographic image, although edited to hide any naughty bits.

Secondly, there is quite a large market in privacy screens, polarising filters for mobiles to stop people glancing sideways at your mobile, although with the iPhone being able to be viewed in both landscape and portrait orientation, there might be a slight technical issue here.

With all the survey companies keen to jump on the iPhone in Japan opinion bandwagon, here comes the latest offering from the company formally known as infoPLANT, Yahoo! Japan Value Insight with their take on Apple’s iPhone in Japan.

Demographics

Over the 25th and 26th of July 2007 400 members of Value Insight’s online monitor group were chosen to take part in a survey. They were split 50:50 male and female, and similarly the age distribution was 20.0% in each age group teens to the over fifties.

The report below is of the highlights of the survey; the full details of all 13 questions can be purchased for 50,000 yen, or 100,000 yen if you want the raw data too.

I find it interesting in Q5 that people want to spend not more than 22,655 yen, or under 200 US dollars, on the handset, well under half the price in the USA. Will we see a premium pricing plan for the iPhone in Japan?
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Although I started out as somewhat of a skeptic about the iPhone, mainly in reaction to the blanket news coverage it has been receiving, reflecting on the situation I now consider that the iPhone has what it takes to be big in Japan; indeed to become the very first foreign mobile phone (Sony-Ericsson doesn’t countas foreign!) to be a success in Japan’s rather insular market. There are, however, a small number of additions and modifications that I propose Apple must make to the hardware, software, and design before they can consider selling it in Japan.

iPhone: Japan’s carriers

Looking at the market image of the three big mobile phone carriers, namely NTT DoCoMo, au by KDDI, and SoftBank, the most natural fit would be au, as according to many surveys they have the strongest image for being on the leading edge and for supporting music playback on their phones. However, if a bidding war starts, SoftBank may be prepared to lay the most cash on the table as they are most desparate for customers, and with Cameron Diaz and Bradd Pitt pushing an American image of talking on the phone for SoftBank, SoftBank’s president Masayoshi Son may see the iPhone as a natural extension of his brand. Therefore, I predict there will be a SoftBank iPhone on the shelves early next year.
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Despite Japan Probe suggesting that all that is needed for the iPhone to succeed here in Japan is the ability to play back Gundam anime, I suspect there are perhaps a number of features missing that people expect as standard. To find out if there is any truth behind this suspicion, iShare performed a survey on views regarding the iPhone.

Demographics

Between the 26th of June and the 2nd of July 2007, iShare interviewed by means of a private internet-based questionnaire 1,341 members of its CLUB BBQ free mail forwarding service. Men outweighed females 7:3, 18.3% were in their twenties, 48.2% in their thirties, 24.9% in their forties, and the remaining 8.6% were either fifty or older or in their teens. This group is quite geek/otaku oriented, so there is perhaps a higher level of knowledge of technical matters on display here than in similar surveys with other groups. Note also that sample sizes for each question were not explicitly mentioned so my figures might be wrong.

This is a great survey for me: in Q3, why do people expect SoftBank to carry it? Does it fit their image? Do they imagine they will outbid everyone in desperation? For me, au by KDDI seems a better fit, but I also feel SoftBank would pay anything to get the reseller rights. In Q5, the seemingly odd choice of One Seg (digital terrestrial) television support seems to be the feature most people want to see, and almost a third want the browser downgraded to standard mobile site support, both ahead of what I might have predicted, namely electronic cash support and ring tones. Finally, only Sony and Sharp are seen as being able to top the iPhone, whereas I think Nokia might be able to do something, but they don’t even feature in the list of companies!
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Despite some mediocre reviews Apple’s new iPhone has been apparently flying off the shelves in the USA, and judging by this survey, many in Japan are hoping for an early release in this country too. This was revealed in a survey recently reported on by japan.internet.com and conducted by JR Tokai Express Research Inc on the topic of Apple’s iPhone

Demographics

On the 6th of July 2007 331 members of the JR Tokai Express Research online monitor panel employed in private industry or local or national government successfully completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 76.1% were male, 11.5% in their twenties, 44.4% in their thirties, 32.3% in their forties, 8.5% in their fifties, and 3.3% in their sixties.

I think personally that the iPhone would not do well in its current state in Japan. First and foremost, the lack of 3G speed would be a major issue for many mobile web users. Second, given that most people are used to the designed-to-fit experience of mobile-targeted sites, a full browser is perhaps not all that necessary. Third, Japanese on the whole do not use nor perhaps want SmartPhones; there is no significant Palm or Blackberry-using demographic that need the business-like features. Fourth, and perhaps the biggest deal-breaker, there is no hook to hang your dangly thingies off!
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