Japan mobile phone makers need to rethink strategies to get out of the rut

Hit by a recession and a graying economy, Japan's mobile phone industry is shrinking fast. The industry remains fragmented, with seven mobile phone makers vying for part of a market that will be less than 30 million units in 2009. As such, the country’s mobile phone carriers are beginning to set their sights overseas. However, despite years of dabbling in overseas markets and being years ahead in any mobile hardware innovation, Japan’s handset makers have little presence beyond its own shores.

In fact, being ahead in innovation has ironically increased the country’s isolation from the global market which either rejects these advance innovations or is too slow to adopt them. Drawing from the global success of Apple iPhone and App Store, Japan’s handset makers are beginning to realise that instead of focusing on hardware, software development may be the key. Coupled with hiring of foreign talents and venturing overseas, Japan's mobile phone industry may still see the light at the end of the tunnel.