Nokia to pull out of Japan

Nokia has announced it will stop manufacturing cell phones for NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Mobile.

Nokia executive vice president Timo Ihamuotila said in a statement that his outfit will continue producing its luxury Vertu brand, for now. But the current global economic climate, means that chucking money around investing in Japan-specific localised products is no longer a good idea.

While Nokia has 40 per cent of the worldwide market, Japan is tougher because its consumers want different things from the rest of the world. A nation which wants vending machines to dispense girls knickers installed in its hotels is always going to be a little tricky for company from Finland to understand.

Japan rejected Apple's Iphone 3G for not having enough gimmicks so you know a more serious technology company like Nokia is going to have trouble.

The market is saturated and the Japanese want third-generation networks that have TV broadcasting and electronic payment functions.

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