BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JANUARY 10, 2000 ISSUE
COVER STORY Casting Japan's Net KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS Turned "i-mode" Net access service for wireless phones into smash hit in Japan Since Oct. '98, IPO shares are up 290%, to about $37,000 A 60-year-old engineer with a mobile phone company hardly seems like an apt candidate to lead an Internet revolution. But that's exactly what KEIJI TACHIKAWA is doing. He took over as president and chief executive of NTT DoCoMo, the wireless unit of Japan's former phone monopoly, in June, 1998. Since then, Tachikawa has introduced a new wireless Net access service that promises to catapult Japan to the front ranks of the mobile Internet. Tachikawa has forged a reputation as a nimble, open-minded manager who isn't afraid to hire experienced outsiders. He joined Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. in 1962, straight out of the University of Tokyo's engineering program. Tachikawa says it was in New York during the late '80s, where he set up NTT America, that he adopted a more entrepreneurial style: ''I learned that it's very easy to form a company in America. All you need is a manager, a secretary, and $200, and you're in business.'' By the time he arrived at DoCoMo, it was clear the carrier needed an Internet access service. The result was i-mode, an easy-to-use mobile Net service that has taken Japan by storm since its February launch. Users purchase an i-mode handset and pay DoCoMo $3 a month for e-mail service and to display Web text. With 3 million i-mode users already, DoCoMo can expect to ring up even more profits. Since Tachikawa took it public in late '98, the stock has soared. Now he's pushing to deploy technology for even higher-capacity wireless. This is one ex-bureaucrat who isn't sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS INTRODUCTION MANAGERS TO WATCH THE TOP ENTREPRENEURS THE TOP 25 MANAGERS Minuro Arakawa Bernard Arnault Arthur Blank Peter Bijur Gordon Binder Steve Case John Chambers James Curvey Thierry Desmarest Bernie Ebbers Tom Engibous Chris Gent Irwin Jacobs Steve Jobs Mel Karmazin James Kelly Timothy Koogle Ken Lay Jenny Ming Thomas Siebel Masayoshi Son Martha Stewart Keiji Tachikawa Jack Welch Yun Jong Yong ONLINE EXTRAS TO BUSINESS WEEK INVESTOR INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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