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Discusses the effect of the Internet on Japan's economy as of January 2000. Various signs of the increasing prevalence of the Internet, including the growth of subscribers to cellular Internet service; The Internet as forcing a restructuring of Japan's economy; Estimates as to the savings the Internet could provide for Japanese industry; Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) and its increase during 1999 in response to technology stocks; Various technology firms and their stock price increases during 1999, including Yahoo Japan.

Discusses the changing role of women in Japan. Role of Japanese men who are thought to be hierarchy-obsessed; How the new economy, which puts a premium on creativity and flexibility, is affecting women; Impact of the Internet on women's roles in the work force; Women's involvement in the stock market.

Describes how electronic business (e-business) is changing the face of commerce in Japan. Boost to e-business from the economic downturn; Explosion of online shopping sites; Sale of airline tickets over the Internet; Delivery of e-business services over online public kiosks.

Discusses the newfound popularity of electronic data interchange (EDI) in Japan as a result of the electronic commerce boom. Attention given to Internet EDI by small- to medium-sized enterprises; Internet EDI as alternative to legacy EDI; Sony Corp.'s experiment; NEC Corp.'s legacy EDI; NTT Data Corp.'s demonstration experiment using Extensible Markup Language (XML).

Reports that a growing number of users in Japan are taking advantage of cheaper telephone rates to surf the Internet around midnight. Factors behind the growing popularity of the Internet in Japan; Growth rate of Internet hosts in the country; Nippon Telephone & Telegraph's offer of flat rates for accessing the Internet between 11:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M..

Points out the benefits of the Internet to Japanese trading companies (JTC). Importance of JTC to Japan's economy; Examples of trading companies that use the Internet in its business transactions; Ways JTC can prevent disintermediation through the use of the Internet technology.

Talks about NTT Data's introduction of a Secure Electronic Transaction (SET)-based online shopping infrastructure in Japan. Launch of a SET-compliant credit card payment network; NTT's Credit And Finance Information System (CAFIS) online transaction network; CAFIS Internet Shopping Service scheme; SET-compliant application called Wallet.

Interviews Masayoshi Son, the billionaire chief executive officer of Japan's leading Internet firm, Softbank. His plans to start a broadband company in Japan; Plans to offer Internet access at cheaper rates than those offered by Japanese telephone monopoly NTT; His hopes to turn around Japan's failing Internet economy.

Focuses on the economic potential of Japanese Internet. Description of Japan's society; Democracy in Japan; Empowerment of the middle class; Significance of the Internet in achieving democracy.

Presents information on the barriers to Internet use in Japan and the possibilities for change in the late 1990s. How the Internet has provided opportunity for Australian businesses such as Linc Media to enter the otherwise difficult Japanese market; How high rates from Nippon Telegraph & Telephone prohibit Internet use; Structural factors that have slowed the growth of electronic commerce in Japan; Growing interest in e-commerce.

Reports on the use of Internet services by Japanese advertising agencies and marketers. Online service by the Hakuhodo firm for Nissan automobiles; Newswave from Sony Business Systems; Cyber Publishing Japan services; Mail-order marketing by Dai-Ichi Kikaku.