NetSTAR

TOKYO April 24th, 2008

NetSTAR Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Noboru Ogahara; hereinafter “NetSTAR”) and Yahoo Japan Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Masahiro Inoue; hereinafter “Yahoo! JAPAN”) will together launch a research panel on juvenile use of the Internet. Findings by the panel will be used to improve the filtering services and other technologies offered by the two companies, as well as to benefit the public on a broader scale, for example by providing information to parents.

With the rapid prevalence of the Internet into the homes, combined with the dramatic increase of interactive websites such as BBS (bulletin board service) and SNS (social network service) sites, many users are now using the Internet and mobile phones on a daily basis, but without sufficient information literacy, thus becoming a victim or a perpetrator in various Internet-related problems.

At the same time, in contrast to the younger generations who have been familiarized with the Internet from an early stage of their lives, their parents use the Internet for much shorter durations, and in very different ways, making it difficult to teach and guide their children based on their own experiences. To complicate things further, there has not been enough research on juvenile Internet use to make sound judgments on which websites are appropriate at various stages of child development.

As providers of Internet filtering services and technologies, NetSTAR and Yahoo! JAPAN believe that, in order to remedy such a situation, there is a need to facilitate widespread provisions of information on Internet use appropriate for the age level, as determined by extensive professional research and expert opinions. Under this belief, the two companies have agreed to collaboratively launch a research panel of researchers and practitioners from the relevant fields.
The research panel will investigate and evaluate juvenile Internet use from various perspectives. During the first term, scheduled for approximately 6 months starting this May, a study will be conducted on “Awareness of Users’ Literacy Levels in Operation of Interactive Websites”, with cooperation from several website operators.

The findings by the research panel will be used to improve services by NetSTAR and Yahoo! JAPAN, and will also be publicized to parents and website operators. We are also considering provision of information to Internet Association Japan’s Rating and Filtering Council that reviews the “SafetyOnline” rating standards for Internet contents.

Through such efforts, NetSTAR and Yahoo! JAPAN will continue to contribute to the society by promoting safe and secure use of the Internet.

■ About the Research Panel
▼ Members (for the first term, in alphabetical order)
Nanami, Yoh (Lecturer, Children's Health, Hamamatsu University. Specialties: juvenile media, juvenile culture, information ethics, etc.)
Sakamoto, Akira (Professor, Graduate Program, Ochanomizu University. Specialties: media psychology, social psychology, educational technology)
Urushi, Shihoko (Principal, Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin Middle/High School)
+ Members from fields such as education, psychiatry, and information (Max. 8 members)

▼ Cooperating Website Operators (for the first term, in alphabetical order)
E-Guardian Inc. (support and monitoring of various community sites, etc.)
Bandai Networks Co., Ltd. (operation of the “Circle Link” community site for children, etc.)
+ Various operators of websites for PCs and mobile phones (Planned)

■ About NetSTAR, Inc.
NetSTAR specializes in the development of URL filtering engine, and in the collection, categorization, and delivery of URL lists.
Its URL lists boast the largest market share in Japan for corporate filtering products, at well over 40%, and are also used widely by home filtering services provided by ISPs and broadband routers.
In the mobile industry, in which the significance of filtering services for juvenile protection is quickly being recognized, NetSTAR’s services are adopted by all mobile phone operators in Japan.

■ About Yahoo Japan Corporation
Yahoo Japan Corporation operates “Yahoo! JAPAN”, a comprehensive online portal that provides a multitude of services, including a search engine, information contents, online community, e-commerce,

and mobile contents. As a part of its social action program, Yahoo Japan offers a free “Yahoo! Safe Net” filtering service for home users.

Translation provided by NetSTAR