Japan
e-Commerce
- Fifteen firms, including Sony Corp. and publisher Shinchosha Co., have jointly established an e-book publishing company that will start offering its services next spring. Sony has a 41% stake in the venture, Shinchosha holds 15%, while Dai Nippon Printing Co. and Toppan Printing Co. each have 10% stakes. The venture will offer e-book rentals to readers who pay monthly membership fees. The books, which will be distributed over the Internet, can be read for two months on a special Sony device under development or a personal computer. But after the two-month period elapses, the content will be erased and access to it will thus be prevented. The operations...
