Banking on the technology's in-country popularity, Japan will now start an aggressive push to market its mobile technology, especially the popular 'wallet phone,' in other countries, an Associated Press report said.
Quoting Ministry of Internet Affairs official Masayuki Ito, the report said the latest initiative spearheaded by the Japanese government with an industry group of Japanese carriers and manufacturers was an effort to help Japan catch up in attracting global users.
Among the wireless innovations Japan hopes to sell is the wallet phone, which relies on a tiny computer chip called FeliCa, the report stated.
The chip, embedded in each cell phone, communicates with a reader-device at stores, train stations and vending machines for cashless payments.
FeliCa was developed by Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. While the technology is more common in smart cards, popular in Singapore and parts of Europe, Japan hopes to market it overseas for cell phones, the Associated Press report said.
Although Japan boasts some of the most sophisticated cell phones in the world, delivering high-speed internet connections, digital TV broadcasts and video downloads, the country has failed to make its handsets, wireless technology and mobile services hits outside of Japan.