From PC to Mobile Internet—Overcoming the Digital Divide in Japan

In: Asian journal of social science, Band 30, Heft 2, S. 239-247

Abstract

This paper examines the social and cultural sources of the digital divide in Japan. In comparison with other communication devices such as the
pokeberu
and
ketai
, personal computers are not that popular in Japan. The sociocultural and economic factors for this situation are examined. Whether the Japanese people will switch from the mobile Internet accessible from a keypad to a standardized keyboard connected to a personal computer is an open question. These issues are deliberated in the context of the existing digital divide or rather 'trivide' in Japanese society.