Google zooms in on Japanese market

Google Inc., the U.S.-based Internet search engine company, is adding new free services for Japanese users, aiming to outdo rival Yahoo Japan Corp. in the world's second-largest advertising market.

A phonetic search engine for mobile phones that Google Japan introduced Monday is the latest aimed at attracting Japanese users. It works on cellphones equipped with Google's Android operating system and on Apple Computer's iPhone.

When a user speaks a Japanese phrase--for example, "Good izakaya pubs in Shibuya"--into a cellphone, Google searches the Internet based on the key words. The screen then displays a list of Japanese pubs in the popular Tokyo district.

In November, Google Japan began airing its first TV commercials in Japan.

And on Dec. 3, Google introduced free software that enables computer users to type input in Japanese more easily.

While Google boasts a 60-percent share of search engine market in the United States, in Japan it has lagged behind Yahoo, which entered the country in 1996 ahead of Google.

According to a research company, Yahoo Japan Corp.'s strength has been its "custom-made" services for Japan, such as its Internet auction site, which the U.S. Yahoo does not provide.

On Dec. 3, Google invited major advertisers and other business associates to a Tokyo promotional event.

Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer in the United States, told participants the company intends to expand offerings for Japanese users, which it considers an important market.

As of October, the number of Google users from Japan-based home computers had grown to nearly 70 percent of the number of Yahoo users.

A Yahoo Japan official acknowledged that competition from Google is intense.(IHT/Asahi: December 9,2009)