Japan challenging Google and Yahoo with own search engine?

[cyberryo]

Anyone has more info about this?

I understand that MITI has organized a study group of major Japanese companies to study a search tool just for Japan`s internet users. According to The Times, just over $100 million has already been earmarked for the plan, which could start in early 2007.
Ken

 

[pipokun]

Anyone has more info about this?

I understand that MITI has organized a study group of major Japanese companies to study a search tool just for Japan`s internet users. According to The Times, just over $100 million has already been earmarked for the plan, which could start in early 2007.
Ken

Just minor correction...
over $tens of million expects to be earmarked for the plan.

I need an affiliate-free search engine...

 

[cyberryo]

Wow! it seems that the Times make a translation mistake somewhere. But it is interesting that the Japanese government wants a new Japanese search engine? I thought that there are quite a few Japanese search engines around already. I am just wondering if this new exercise isn`t just another waste of tax payers` money? What kind of features do they want to put in?
Pipokun, you mention affiliate-free search engine. Does it mean that the new search engine will filter out all the FFA, spam email sites etc. which have been plaguing most web users?
Ken

 

[goatz]

for Japanese users only eh? >.>;; i wonder what the true intention behind all this is... by the fact that they're throwing in so much money, they must be really really serious about this intention...

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

I am glad when it comes to be able to perform search by the picture or sound.

 

[cyberryo]

Yeap, maybe we will have more Japanese content in terms of picture and sound. That can really export create-in-Japan culture to the rest of the world.

But it defeats the purpose if it is only for Japanese users only, right?
Somehow, I feel that it is linked to the coming digital broadcast system. Maybe, another new Japanese technology strategy like the Technopolis strategy by MITI twenty years back...

 

[Doc]

That wouldn't surprise me if that was the true intent behind the new system. Still it will be interesting to see how it will work.

Doc

 

[cyberryo]

Agree.

I went into webmasterworld forum this morning and there is a thread on this topic at http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum32/1092.htm too. Interesting read.
(P.S. thought I should emphasize I am not trying to pull people away from this forum whatsoever as I have just joined that forum for webmaster too.)

While most of the news sites I surfed stick closely to Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper report, I find Timesonline.co.uk`s take on the issue very interesting. The initial report on 19 Dec hinted that Japan is following the way of the French government which is pushing for a European search engine through "Project Quaero". It also mentioned SoftBank`s push into TV on the internet. The next day, there was another article which alleged that according to insider info, the project is "tipped to cost about 500 million pound and will probably take about three years to complete" and also mentioned about its possession of an internal MITI report on the matter. Juicy indeed at
The Times & The Sunday Times

Ken