Japan Government Creates Search Engine Exploration Group
The Japanese tradition of finding the best products and services in the world, and then perfecting them, has been common practice in Japan for centuries. Such business practices have included the perfection of products or services like the automobile, video cassette recorders, beer, cameras, fast food, hair salons, and various musical instruments. Now, the Japanese goverment is organizing a study group which consists of 20 Japanese technology companies and universities which will explore the crearion of a search engine specifically built for Japanese web users.
“The group will look into issues including whether Japan will start its own search engine,” said Fumihiro Kajikawa, a ministry official in charge of information policies. CNET reports that Japan may be ready to spend up to $885 million on the plan, which would hopefully excel its influence in the online technology and search market.
Graeme Wearden of ZDNET adds “Several governments, particularly in countries where English is not the primary language, have shown concern about the dominance that the U.S. and other English-speaking countries have over the IT in general and over the Internet. French President Jacques Chirac, for instance, has called for a new European search service akin to Google Print. France has also teamed up with China to develop an open-source software product.”
