For Google, Japan is a country-sized laboratory in which it can develop the mobile technology of the future. The reason is that several factors have combined to make Japan the world's leader in both handheld technology and in the social adoption of handheld devices as a way of life. Sophisticated handheld devices have been in common use in Japan for several years, while the country's wireless network permits them to operate at broadband speeds--something that Japanese consumers have come to expect. The degree to which wireless is a way of life in Japan was recently illustrated when Google was hit with a sudden, brief traffic spike. It turned out that a broadcaster had made an offer for free ringtones, but only flashed the website for the offer briefly. Viewers sitting on their couches immediately picked up their mobile phones and started doing Google searches to find the site. Google had assumed that mobile demand would be primarily for local mapping information, but the Japanese use their mobile devices for everything, even when they are at home. Google in Japan is in the unusual position of upstart challenger, in areas from search to blogs where it dominates globally. This is likely to change in the near future, however, since Google has formed partnerships with the two largest Japanese wireless operators. Google's long term strategy is to borrow or develop concept for wireless services in Japan that it can then apply in the rest of the world.