Japanese Tech Stock Weekly Summary

The following is excerpted from IRG's weekly stock report:

Internet

• Internet mall operator Rakuten Inc disclosed its planning to increase pressure on Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc by increasing its equity stake in the broadcaster above the 20 percent level even as their business alliance talks are still stalled. Industry sources indicated that if Rakuten were to increase its stake in TBS beyond 20 percent, the tensions between the two companies would escalate.

• Fuji Television Network Inc announced that it has filed a damages suit estimated at 34.5 billion yen (US$292.7 million) against Livedoor Co, claiming that the company's securities fraud sharply cut the value of the TV broadcaster's shareholdings in Livedoor. Fuji TV, one of Japan's largest private broadcasters, said in a statement that it had obtained Livedoor shares for 44 billion yen (US$373.3 million) before selling them to Yasuhide Uno, the president of cable broadcaster Usen Corp, for only 9.5 billion yen (US$80.6 million). Fuji bought a 12.7 percent stake in Livedoor to end a high-profile battle with the Internet company to gain control over radio broadcaster Nippon Broadcasting System Inc in 2005, but the sharp fall in Livedoor shares and the company's delisting last year prompted Fuji to sell the stake at a loss.

• Sega Corp. and Nintendo Co. (NTDOY.PK), two former rivals, announced teaming up to put their two popular mascots — Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario the plumber — against each other in a game called Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. The game, to be released in time for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, will include table tennis, swimming and running, among other events. The game to be released for Nintendo's Wii console and DS handheld system by the end of the year will also include other popular characters such as Luigi and Yoshi (from Nintendo's Mario games), as well as Knuckles and Tails (from the Sonic games), all competing in sports found in the summer Olympics.

Mobile/Wireless

• NTT DoCoMo Inc (DCM) revealed the termination of its pager services, which has been running for almost forty years, a decision the company ascribed to a rapid flight of subscribers to cell phones, leaving only two regional beeper service operators in business in Japan. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corp (NTT), predecessor of NTT DoCoMo, began pager services in 1968, an offering that created demand from hospitals, fire departments, businesses and central and local government offices especially because of a function to page a large number of people simultaneously.

Software

• NTT Comware announced that it has initiated marketing PHISHCUT, a solution method for preventing phishing, a term used to refer to illegal acquiring of one's login ID and password from web sites. The company said the solution has already been put in place at Hokkaido Bank. The PHISHCUT service assesses whether a website is credible and gives an alarm if it detects something irregular. The digital watermarks in PHISHCUT prevents embedding in-perceived information on graphics, movies, and sound bits on a webpage and works in conjunction with special user software and ID authentication systems. According to NTT Comware, the PHISHCUT will be used for financial, Internet banking, and shopping sites.

• Aplix Corporation and Ecrio Inc. announced entering into an agreement to form a business and capital alliance in order to co-develop software solutions for next generation mobile terminals. With the deal, Aplix also agreed to make an equity investment of US$3 million in Ecrio. Ecrio, as a market leader in providing IP-based communication software for mobile phones, is well known for its real-time communication software products like Video Sharing, VoIP, IMPS (Instant Messaging and Presence Services), and PoC (Push to Talk over Cellular). Aplix Corporation is the global leader in deploying Java technology in mobile phones. Publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Mothers) in 2003, Aplix maintains headquarters in Tokyo. The California-based Ecrio is the leading vendor of real time communications and commerce software for mobile phones.

Hardware

• Konica Minolta Holdings and General Electric Co (GE) announced entering into a strategic alliance agreement to accelerate the development and commercialization of OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) devices for lighting applications. The company said their aim is to bring OLED lighting to market within the next three years. The company considered saving such unprecedented attractive features as flexible, thin, light weight, and sheet form, OLED lighting is considered one of the most promising new business opportunities, given its thin and flexible features. The company described OLED as a revolutionary new lighting technology.

• Hitachi (HIT) announced that it would soon release its Wooo series, 8 types of digital HDD TV with a built-in iV pocket which allows attaching an Information Versatile Disk for Removable usage (iVDR) for expanding its memory storage. The iVDR enables users to easily record and save the user’s favorite programs. The device comes in two types – 80 GB and 160 GB, which can record 8 HDD movies of 2 hours each. The LCD line-up also features the world's first smooth movie that allows smoothness on the screen by adding extra frames between each frame, which enhances the frame rate from 24 frames per second to 60 frames per second.

Information Technology

• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (MC) announced its move to initiate a telecommuting system next month for some 30,000 white-collar workers. The company said it looks to the strategy as providing a more flexible working environment, one that will enhance worker motivation and productivity. The employees will be allowed to work at home one or two days a week on average, using personal computers equipped with high-speed Internet connection and teleconferencing cameras loaned out by the company. The approach is also seen as enabling people to remain employed even if they have to stay at home longer to take care of their family.

Disclaimer: IRG is not responsible for the accuracy of the news compiled within this article, which is based on publicly available information.