Analysis of the obstruction Japanese online shoppers encounter on their shopping on overseas web sites

When Japanese online shoppers visit overseas web sites, they encounter various uneasiness and problems as follows.

Language problem: Japanese people who have enough language skill to completely understand the whole contents on foreign website are far less than 1 percent of the whole Japanese population.
Even for the ones who understand, it takes considerably more time for them to read than native speakers do and they tend to skip the website when they encounter the descriptions difficult for them to understand. Japanese high connection charges push them to skip.
Currently increasing Japanese online population means shoppers with limited or non-existent knowledge of foreign language and customs.

Because of their unfamiliarity with foreign customs and the name value of the shop etc., they tend to skip when they encounter something they feel unfamillier. Credit card is less popular than in the U.S. and they hesitate to tell their personal data to foreign website as they are not familiar with the name of the shop even if it is very popular and regarded reliable in home country. Also they tend to hesitate to buy because they don't know about the shop of their response when a claim for a defect occurs.
Their consciousness of insufficient language skill for successful claiming for a defect boosts their hesitation.
Consequently, they tend to concentrate on domestic online shops for more safe shopping for them.

Japanese online shoppers tend to forget the fact that shopping on overseas online shop is to import a product. Many people tend to go shopping without the knowledge about and the import regulations concerning to custom clearance and import tax etc. In the process of our consultation for overseas online shoppers, we heard many problems the shoppers have encountered. One told that she found a handbag with attractive price and design and ordered it. She waited its delivery with joyful expectation but when it arrived, her satisfaction was completely crushed by high import tax on a leather product. Another told that she found fantastic soaps in various designs and bought hundreds for her private use and the gifts for her friends. When they arrived, most of them were disposed according to the regulation of excess of quantity. They told that "It is more safe to shop at domestic shops after all." On hearing these stories, we thought that if they could have someone to suggest them and they had succeedingly bought and satisfied with the results, they may be encouraged for their next shopping book-marking this web site.

Japan is No.1 mobile phone country and it is forecasted that the mobile internet population is drastically increasing. It was reported that internet connection contracts from mobile phones have reached to 31.4 million (about 1/4 of the whole Japanese population) as of the end of February, 2001.
Past record shows that it took more than 1 year to pass 10 million mark, and after that, 5 months to pass 20 million and 4 months to pass 30 million accelerating its speed.

It means online shop should have pages designed for the access from mobile phone shoppers.