No Poke-o in Tokyo for Facebook

Image via CrunchBaseAlthough its worldwide membership recently surpassed 583 million, social network leviathan Facebook can still wend its way through the streets of Tokyo without being recognized, according to a story in today's New York Times.

The article claims less than 2 percent of Japan's Internet users, or roughly 2 million people, avail themselves of Facebook. In contrast, game portal/social networking sites Mixi boasts 21.6 million users, Gree, 22.5 million registrants; and Mobage-town, 21.7 million users.  The Times piece attributes Facebook's lukewarm reception to Japanese Internet users' being highly protective of their privacy.  Unlike Facebook, the other sites mentioned are more amenable to members using pseudonyms.