The social and cultural issues surrounding the use of mobile phones in Japan are explored in this study. It offers a methodical outlook that may be valuable to anyone interested in learning about the evolution and present-day status of mobile technology and its impact on Japanese society. This book may be especially interesting to someone who has recently visited or is planning to visit Japan, and who would like to compare his or her own observations with those of Japanese experts.

The book is composed of 15 related chapters, written by different “‘native’ [Japanese] intellectuals,” that provide a “multifaceted and sustained” outlook on the social and cultural issues of keitai use in Japan. The word “keitai,” referring to “something that you carry with you,” is used throughout the book, and it has been intentionally chosen by the authors and editors over a translated term, to reflect the truly Japanese techno-sociological phenomenon of using mobile technology to support many aspects of everyday communications.

It may be impossible to fully understand why Japanese society embraced mobile technology without considering the historical view presented in “The Social and Cultural Construction of Technological Systems,” the first part of the book. The three chapters of this part help readers understand the meaning of the term keitai, changing attitudes in Japanese society towards keitai, and the evolution of keitai from purely business-related uses, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to its current status of a ubiquitous youth communication medium.

“Cultures and Imaginaries,” the second part of the book, emphasizes the role that keitai plays in the life of Japanese youth. Interviews with Japanese students offer an interesting glimpse of how they imagine their life without keitai. At the same time, the reader will better understand the emergence of a “new cultural paradigm”: the use of mobile gadgets by Japanese youth, who hijacked a business-oriented mobile communication technology and turned it into an indispensable element of the popular street culture. The essence of this culture is nagara keitai, that is, using keitai while doing something else.

When people mention an Internet social life, they may imply having little or no real-world social life at all; keitai, on the other hand, according to the authors of the book, may serve as a kind of “lightweight refreshment” that nicely complements and fits well into a rich social life. The four chapters of the third part of the book, “Social Networks and Relationships,” explain how keitai helps reinforce close relationships between friends and family members, which is a definite trend, not only in Japan, but also among many people throughout the world. Here, the book offers an ethnographic outlook on the use of keitai throughout many slices of Japanese society (by age, gender, profession, and so on). The authors also discuss an interesting concept, that of an “intimate stranger,” a new type of anonymous social relationship sought after by a small percentage of Japanese youth.

Following customs and rules is a very important part of Japanese culture. There are certain rules and etiquette about using keitai as well, which are discussed in the fourth part of the book, “Practice and Place.” Here, the authors talk about the use of keitai in public places, such as on public transportation and in restaurants, at home, and at work. For example, the authors of the book mention that the Japanese usually follow the common consensus that it is acceptable to use only nonvoice applications of keitai in public trains. I can definitely agree that Japanese users of keitai follow this consensus much more than their North American counterparts.

The two chapters in the last part of the book, “Emergent Developments,” discuss the trends of keitai use among elementary and middle school students in Japan, as well as new trends in the uses of digital cameras built into the keitai devices.

Overall, this book provides an interesting view of many aspects of the mobile communications of a single nation. As a computer scientist interested in pervasive computing, reading this book reinforced the idea that one need not only focus on technological advances in smart appliances, sensors, and wireless networks; one can also focus on the social and technical practices of using this technology in a pervasive and lightweight manner. In this way, this book focuses not on technology, but rather on the experiences with this technology that enhance and alter the everyday life of Japanese people. Written by Japanese authors, the book does a terrific job of helping a gaijin (a non-Japanese person) understand what makes keitai a truly Japanese phenomenon. Unfortunately, even after reading the book, I still had a hard time on a rainy day in Kyoto, trying to dodge the numerous bicyclists who were holding umbrellas in one hand and using their keitai at the sa!me time.