Product Code Database
group=lower-alpha (also known as MSKK) is a Japanese subsidiary of Microsoft headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. It develops both hardware and software technologies for consumers and business partners.
Microsoft Japan was founded in February 1986 as extra= by Susumu Furukawa and Bill Gates after partnership between ASCII Corporation and Microsoft ended, with the remaining ASCII Microsoft operations being merged into ASCII.
However, Microsoft founded its own Japan subsidiary, Maikurosofuto Kabushiki Gaisha often shortened to MSKK, and dissolved partnership with ASCII in 1986. It was because Gates wanted Microsoft to go public in the New York Stock Exchange, and also he opposed Nishi and ASCII's diversification. 古川 享, who was also a member of ASCII, officially became the first president of Microsoft Kabushiki Gaisha. ASCII kept rights of MSX.
In October 1986, Microsoft Japan announced the AX architecture project that was a Japanese computing initiative to allow to handle Japanese text. The AX couldn't break into the Japanese PC market due to its cost and lack of available software.
In October 1990, IBM Japan announced the DOS/V. Furukawa made an appointment with IBM Japan to share the source code of DOS/V. Microsoft Japan supplied the OEM adaptation kit (OAK) of DOS/V for PC manufacturers.
For the Japanese adaptation of Windows 3.1, Microsoft Japan and Ricoh co-developed two Japanese TrueType fonts, MS Gothic and MS Mincho. It took two years, and delayed the release of Japanese Windows 3.1. However, it became the first successful version of Windows in Japan.
In 1998, the Japan Fair Trade Commission informed Microsoft of an unfair trade that Microsoft forced personal computer manufacturers to bundle with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word against the request of a bundle with Excel and Ichitaro. The company faced another JFTC scrutiny (in midst of European Union actions against Microsoft) when the company was accused of having clauses that hurt the ability of Japanese computer manufacturers to obtain an OEM Windows license in 2004.
In 2011, the company changed its name to Nihon Maikurosofuto Kabushiki Gaisha.
Microsoft Japan conducted a trial 4-day work week in summer 2019, granting workers paid leave on Fridays. At the same time it cut the length of most meetings from a full hour to half an hour, and capped attendance at five employees. For the duration of the trial, the company reported a 40% increase in productivity and 23% reduction in electricity costs. 4-Day Workweek Boosted Workers' Productivity By 40%, Microsoft Japan Says
|
|
