Google gets aggressive in Japanese market

With Japan being probably the most aggressive society on the planet in terms of mobile Internet usage (read: Google on the cellphone), the Internet search giant said it wants to expand its operations in Japan in order to serve the customer base better there. In a not-too-unusual cultural difference between U.S. users of Google and Japanese users, Google search customers in Japan use their mobile devices much more than personal computers to access the Internet.

With 3G high-speed cellular networks being the norm in Japan (and have been for years), this is the preferred mode of Internet access in a land with tight real estate -- on the ground and in homes/apartments. Japanese consumers literally use email and web browsing services over mobiles more than large and clunky PCs, and laptops are the norm computer in the land of the rising sun as well.

So although Google has a very well-developed Internet presence on the mobile web (www.google.com/xhtml), the search giant -- in my opinion -- must figure out how to monetize its mobile search using the cellphone as the interface. This is no small order, although Google did recently release its AdWords program for use with mobile-based advertising -- a move that was overdue but very welcome.