EMOBILE Limited

Infobox_Company
company_name = EMOBILE Ltd
イー・モバイル株式会社
company_type = Public KK
foundation = January 5, 2005
location = Tokyo, Japan
homepage = [http://www.emobile.jp/ emobile.jp]

E Mobile is a cell phone operator in Japan offering data services. Because they only offered data service, they were not well know, but now after teaming up with NTT DoCoMo to offer voice service, they are becoming more popular.

E Mobile was ranked third for June's number of registration with 47700 people, beating au by KDDI. [citeweb|url=http://www.asahi.com/business/update/0707/TKY200807070272.html|title=携帯契約増加数、auが4位に転落 6月|accessdate=2008-07-07|publisher=Asahi Shimbun|language=Japanese]

EMobile's corporate mascot is Japanese Macaque. The company run promotional TV campaign depicting, Japanese Macaque that mimics people then shed tear for unbelievable offer from Emobile, accompanied by a background music singing "Arienai!" (lit: improbable) In 2008, the company broadcasted a commercial parodying Barack Obama, who is hugely popular in Japan. In the commercial, a monkey, subtitled "new mobile candidate", clearly a depiction of Obama, is surrounded by supporters carrying placards with the word "Change". The ad was accompanied with catch phrase "E Mobile ni chenge!" (Change to EMobile!). After the criticism from a small African American communities in Japan, the ad was immediately pulled.

"We had no bad intentions, but this is a cross-cultural gap issue and we have to accept it," eMobile's chief executive, Sachio Semmoto, told Reuters. one commentator stated that "“I doubt that most Japanese people would even understand how a pink-faced grey monkey native to Japan could be equated to African people.” [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2179484/Barack-Obama-%27monkey%27-phone-advert-row.html] Monkey are native to Japan including colder northern climate. Consequently unlike in the West, monkey is not associated with tropic or Africa. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/27/uselections2008.japan]

References

External links

* [http://www.emobile.jp/ E Mobile] ja icon