Japan and the Internet Revolution challenges the portrait of Japan as a technologically slow-moving nation, lacking in creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Overcoming the substantial barriers erected by the Japanese government to the introduction of the Internet, promoters and entrepreneurs managed to create a flexible and dynamic Internet society. From a slow start, Japan has emerged as the global leader in the mobile internet, the host of arguably the strongest nation-specific web-presence in the world, and a country determined to remain near the forefront of the digital revolution.
'This is a book with a mission: to educate people outside Japan in the intricacies of Internet implementation within that country by providing an overview of recent developments...Japan and the Internet Revolution is an interesting read which provides a fascinating and informative discussion of the ways in which the Internet has emerged and then flourished in Japan. I recommend it to anyone interested in the intersections of society, culture and technology, or in developments in contemporary Japan generally. As someone conducting research on the Internet in Japanmyself, I found it a valuable addition to the growing literature on the subject and one which I found engrossing reading.' - Nanette Gottlieb, University of Queensland, Japanese Studies