Public internet access in Japan

Elizabeth · 21 Oct 2005

Hi all,

I was surprised and dismayed to discover earlier this month it is only possible now to send free account mail (Yahoo, Hotmail, Earthlink, etc) from public access or internet cafe stations in Japan and to have my Outlook messages blocked. Anyone know the reasoning behind it ? There must be issues of industry competition or copyright at stake, but what those would be are difficult to fathom. In my case, Microsoft is hosted by a third party company site....there's no requirement that the stations themselves have it individually loaded on-site, so what's this (relatively new) law all about ? :?

Silverpoint · 22 Oct 2005

So you can't connect to your POP/IMAP server right? (Outlook is just client software - it has no bearing on what you can or can't do from other locations).

Elizabeth · 22 Oct 2005

Silverpoint said:
So you can't connect to your POP/IMAP server right? (Outlook is just client software - it has no bearing on what you can or can't do from other locations).

I was able to connect and receive mail, the only part of the system that is blocked is the sending. Of course I asked about it and the explanation was as I posted above -- due to the new regulations, there is a distinction between these two types of accounts.

Harvey · 22 Oct 2005

They're blocking SMTP, which is used to send. It's nothing really new, I have seen it before. They do it because spammers often look for free spots where they can send mass mails and then get out without ever being tracked down.

GaijinPunch · 22 Oct 2005

I didn't even know they'd let you connect with an external client... and I do computers for a living.

mr.sumo.snr · 24 Oct 2005

To access your POP3 mail from an internet cafe, or even the local denki-ya, just go to Email Hosting Services | Pick Up Your Email | mail2web.com and have your e-mail account details handy.

Elizabeth · 24 Oct 2005

Harvey said:
They're blocking SMTP, which is used to send. It's nothing really new, I have seen it before. They do it because spammers often look for free spots where they can send mass mails and then get out without ever being tracked down.

OK, thanks Harvey and everyone for the responses. I've also seen articles in the Japanese press lately about massive increases in spam mail so at least there seems to be some logic backing it up. I'll just have to figure out how to reconfigure the preferences on my Yahoo account or set up one under Yahoo Japan. As for the timing, sure about how new the blocking strategy is either -- just that it wasn't there in August or the 10-15 other times I visited before that.

Ewok85 · 25 Oct 2005

I work for an ISP and it wasn't until recently it dawned on me what happens

When you send an email out you dont "log in" anywhere, it just sends it out on good faith that you are a user and tags your name and email on it as you have put into the settings. The simplest way to secure your email server is to only let people who use your connection to send - ie. Only people who are connected to my ISP's internet can send emails, but they can receive from anywhere!

If your ISP does secure sending or SSL emailing you can 'login' to send emails in the same way you 'login' to receive emails, and you will be able to send from anywhere at all!

ArmandV · 26 Oct 2005

When I was in Japan last week, I was able to use my AOL account without any problem. I was able to send and receive email. All I had to do was to log into aol.com and they took it from there.

Elizabeth · 29 Oct 2005

And it isn't much better back in the states since I haven't been able to do anything with Outlook messages for over a week now, I keep getting the "Error on Page" or "Done, but with errors" message at the bottom of the screen. I've searched everywhere short of subscribing to a consulting site joining a computer group for dummies but to no avail. I suspect it is related to poor adaware or spyware protection, although some attachments that were sent right before the problem started might also need to be deleted.

But I'm desperate for a solution. Someone please help !!!

Silverpoint · 29 Oct 2005

Presumably if you're using any half-decent ISP, they provide a web-based front end for accessing your email. Then you're just using HTTP (SMTP doesn't come into play and so blocking it won't make any difference).

Your comment about "Error on Page" is a little more troubling as it sounds like you're already reading your email through a web-based front end (this would rule out the SMTP blocking theory). Can you just clarify whether you're actually using Microsoft Outlook to read your email, or whether you access it using a web browser?

The7thSamurai · 29 Oct 2005

What exactly is "public internet access" anyway? I'm picking up free wireless at my apartment, I always thought it was because the person whose internet it is doesn't know how to put in a password. Have I been using public internet this whole time?

Elizabeth · 30 Oct 2005

Silverpoint said:
Presumably if you're using any half-decent ISP, they provide a web-based front end for accessing your email. Then you're just using HTTP (SMTP doesn't come into play and so blocking it won't make any difference).

Your comment about "Error on Page" is a little more troubling as it sounds like you're already reading your email through a web-based front end (this would rule out the SMTP blocking theory). Can you just clarify whether you're actually using Microsoft Outlook to read your email, or whether you access it using a web browser?

Thanks for the reply, silverpoint.

I access the web client Outlook through an intranet site, and it appears to be something particular to my setup or computer. When I can get into work, I'll try deleting some of those attachments which came in simultaneously with the problem and see if that resolves anything. :?

"Internet Script Error" dialogue boxes have also started popping up with some frequency but seemingly at random, when I bring up a site or try to access my mail -- which began around the same time as the Outlook error messages.

Elizabeth · 1 Nov 2005

Elizabeth said:
Thanks for the reply, silverpoint.

I access the web client Outlook through an intranet site, and it appears to be something particular to my setup or computer.

No surprise -- it was the browser. Outlook works perfectly, even better than before, in Firefox. Thanks again for all the help !

Elizabeth · 2 Nov 2005

Bucko said:
What exactly is "public internet access" anyway? I'm picking up free wireless at my apartment, I always thought it was because the person whose internet it is doesn't know how to put in a password. Have I been using public internet this whole time?

I meant computers like you find at Kinkos or internet cafes that were already logged in with a system administration password. Publicly available access might be a better term for your situation -- or something less savory, depending on your perspective.

funybuny · 9 Nov 2005

use a web proxythis will by pass it if not pm me and figer out some thing

Public internet access in Japan

Elizabeth

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Silverpoint

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Elizabeth

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Harvey

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GaijinPunch

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Ewok85

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ArmandV

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