JAPAN: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, looking to emphasise his company's commitment to Japan, meets star-struck Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda

Record ID: 466179

  • Title: JAPAN: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, looking to emphasise his company's commitment to Japan, meets star-struck Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda
  • Date: 30th March 2012
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 14th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Communications,International Relations,Politics,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA2Y2H4T0KPCKDXWS2G0PJ4ZG4S
  • Story Text: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Thursday (March 29), looking to strengthen his company's commitment in Japan.
    After a long day of politics and foreign affairs, the unlikely dignitary met a star-struck Noda.
    "It's a funny feeling to see you here because I watched the film," Noda said, referring to the movie "The Social Network".
    "Very different," said Zuckerberg, dressed smartly for the occasion in a gray suit and blue tie.
    Noda thanked Zuckerberg for social media's contribution in facilitating communication between people after last year's earthquake and tsunami.
    Zuckerberg emphasised Facebook's commitment to Japan, where the company has seen a recent surge in users.
    "Recently we've just crossed 10 million people (in Japan), it's doubled in last six months. Japan is the only country in the world outside of the U.S. we have an engineering office, because we're really committed to creating a really good product that serves Japanese users," Zuckerberg said.
    Facebook got off to a slow start after it founded its Japanese-language service nearly four years ago, lagging domestic rivals where users in privacy-minded Japan operate under an alias.
    But it doubled its Japan users following last year's earthquake and tsunami, appealing to people looking to keep in touch more easily with their loved-ones.
    Despite that growth, however, just 8 percent of Japan's population are on Facebook, compared to some 50 percent in the United States.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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