New 3G cellphones expose Japanese generation gap
by Kirstin Ridley and Reed Stevenson
From trendy teens to pensioners, everyone in Tokyo's throbbing Shibuya shopping district has a cellphone, but even the coolest of the cool in this fashion mecca haven't heard that it will soon be time to upgrade handsets. "Oh really? I didn't know," said 21-year-old Keisuke Miyazawa, running a hand through his henna-dyed, roughly cropped hair and adjusting designer sunglasses. "But I'd use it."
Miyazawa, hanging out on a street corner with a group of six identically dressed male friends, says his monthly cellphone bill can climb to 60,000 yen ($500) per month. But it's a handy gadget for chatting up girls.
In a country in which old-style business is languishing, Japan's conformist youth culture has fuelled an explosive growth in mobile phones.
Around 50,000 mobiles with Internet access are sold every day by Japanese cellphone giant NTT DoCoMo Inc alone, and gadget-crazy teenagers tend to upgrade handsets every six months.
But their indulgent parents and grandparents seem better informed about a new generation of sophisticated handsets that are due to come to market in Tokyo on October 1 - possibly because they tend to pick up the tab.
So it seems plans by DoCoMo to underplay the launch of the world's first offering of third-generation (3G) mobile phone services in October - delayed on Tuesday from May - have paid off. Japan's biggest company only wants 150,000 customers to sign up to the new services in the first year.
DoCoMo is concerned that avid demand for the sophisticated new phones, which will offer services such as high-speed Internet access, music clips, sports channels and video capabilities, could bring its network to its knees.
However, the size of the average phone bill could come to its rescue.
"I already spend 30,000-40,000 yen per month," says 20-year-old Ayumi Chinoda, one of Japan's growing class of youngsters who work part-time in shops and restaurants around the city. "I spend so much on this phone, I can't afford a new one."
A retired 60-year-old man was taking a breather in Hachiko square, Tokyo's favourite meeting place. He only spends 8,000 yen per month - much nearer the average. But then he also pays for his four children, who run up mobile bills of 40,000-50,000 yen.
"I'm having a tough time right now, especially since I retired this month," said Tsutomu Hara. "I've told the kids to keep the price down."
His children, aged between 16 and 25, spend most of their time e-mailing over their cellphones, and Hara is glad he lives in the countryside, where he won't need sophisticated 3G services. Asked whether he was proud that Japan was leading the world with new-generation mobile phone services, he laughed: "Not really. I don't think it's anything special.
"But the kids will want it".
