Half Of Tokyoites Use E-Money For Shopping

TOKYO (Nikkei)--At least one of every two people in the Tokyo metropolitan region regularly shops with electronic money, using products such as East Japan Railway Co.'s (9020) Suica card and the Edy card from Sony Corp. (6758) affiliate bitWallet Inc.

Some 52% of people in the capital use e-money for shopping, up 10 percentage points on the year as of June, according to a survey by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.

Usage is high in all five of Japan's major regions. For instance, 39% of consumers use e-money for shopping in Fukuoka, a jump of 9 points. While 36% do so in the Kinki region, a gain of 10 points.

With over 130 million e-money cards issued, there are more than enough for Japan's estimated population of 127 million citizens. Usage of e-money has grown because of a rise in terminals accepting various standards.

The online survey, which was conducted in mid-June, polled 2,250 shoppers.

(The Nikkei Sept. 2 morning edition)