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Day 3: May 24
Japan-America Societye-commerce Delegation Report
Also view our slide presentation:
10:00-11:00am
Customer Service and SupportThe Day in Tokyo - May 24. Link after daily report below. 
The third day of the mission began with a subway ride on the Marunouchi Line past Shinjuku Station to the Interserve offices in Harmony Square. Delegates were treated to a spirited briefing at Interserve by Akira Honda, COO of Interserve, a Japanese ASP and e-retail service provider.
After profiling his B2A (Business-to-All) company and its mission and philosophy, Honda described in detail the current (and future) Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) markets in Japan and the numbers of individuals in several e-retailing audiences. In addition, he compared U.S. and Japanese e-retailing strategies. After a look at the major B2C companies, Honda spoke about current consumer issues for Japanese companies.
For more information on Interserve, please visit: www.interserve.co.jp. Additional information on Interserve companies: Chaos Mart and i-Trade.
12:00-1:00pm Cell Phone Technology Report 
Tim Clark, President of TKAI and Strategy Director for Web Connection, briefed the delegation on the latest cell phone technology in Japan at a luncheon program hosted by Allen Miner and SunBridge Venture Habitat in Shibuya, in the heart of Tokyo's "Bit Valley."
Clark's theme was that the cell phone presents us all -- consumers and businesses alike -- with new online opportunities. Clark outlined how the cell phone in Japan has become the way most individuals connect with the internet and the reasons that this is so. Because of NTT domination of the market, aa single standard prevails. It is a reasonable alternative to land lines. It provides the user with the convenience of functionality. And, Japan is a nation prone to pervasive trends. Clark ended his presentation with a look at the emerging online shopping platform.
For more information, visit the TKAI website at www.tkai.com
and the Web Connection website at www.twc-jp.com. Clark also publishes the widely-respected Japan Internet Report.
1:00-2:00pm The New SunBridge Venture Habitat 
Allen Miner, formerly the representative of Oracle Japan for 10 years, gave a presentation for the delegates about his new SunBridge Venture Habitat. Miner described SunBridge as an environment where new companies could learn from each other and from companies at SunBridge that are further along the line of development. He also described how his venture is different from incubators.
Miner concluded his talk by answering questions from the delegates on the venture capital environment in Japan. After his presentation, Miner led the delegates on a tour of SunBridge, located in the new Mark City Building in Shibuya.
For additional information, please visit the SunBridge website: www.sunbridge.com.
5:30-7:30pm Reception at U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley's Residence 
The final program of the three-day e-commerce mission was a reception at the residence of U.S. Ambassador and Mrs. Thomas S. Foley for over 100 attendees -- delegation members, briefing presenters and speakers, and representatives from the leading e-commerce and internet companies in Japan.
In his remarks to the assembled guests, Ambassador Foley welcomed the Japan-America Society delegation and commented on the importance of the Washington State-Japan relationship. Jeff Demetrescu, Executive Director of the Japan-America Society, pointed out how Washington State leads the nation in the creation of new high technology companies on a per capita basis and how the state ranks near the top for so-called "gazelle companies" -- rapidly-growing companies that can more quickly expand the state's economy. He concluded by thanking the briefing presenters, the reception attendees, and Ambassador and Mrs. Foley for their hospitality.
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A Slide Presentation May 22 Report May 23 Report
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Japan-America Society of the State of Washington
Offices in the World Trade Center West
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