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The Digital Face of Japan: National Dimensions of the Internet Revolution

In: Japan and the Internet Revolution

Author

Listed:
  • Ken Coates

    (University of Saskatchewan)

  • Carin Holroyd

    (University of Saskatchewan)

Abstract

For most Internet users, Japan’s digital face is a muddled mess. Without the proper character software downloaded onto the computer, Japanese web-sites appear on the screen as chaotic, illiterate gibberish. And, for most non-Japanese, even when they can receive the information in Japanese, they can make little sense of it. Only a tiny number of non-Japanese people can read the language well enough to make sense of a Japanese website. And despite the heavy promotion of translation software, there are still no widely accessible applications which make the content and services on Japanese web-sites available for general use. For some Japanese sites, there is an escape: many official web-pages have an ‘English’ button and a minuscule portion offer one or more other languages. The vast majority of e-visitors, having wandered through digital space to Japan, abandon all hope of making sense of the meaningless computer images and scurry back to linguistic safety. As a consequence, Japan’s digital face is largely exclusive to the Japanese, with only glimpses provided to non-Japanese readers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ken Coates & Carin Holroyd, 2003. "The Digital Face of Japan: National Dimensions of the Internet Revolution," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Japan and the Internet Revolution, chapter 5, pages 124-148, Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-4039-9007-5_6
    DOI: 10.1057/9781403990075_6
    as

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