We don't need to explain what Social Networking Services are; Americans need o­nly think of MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal, and Japanese need o­nly think of mixi (who is by the way putting out their IPO).

Word o­n the street (if you want to call the Nihon Keizai Shimbun "the street") is that SoftBank plans o­n introducing a Social Networking Service intended, obviously, for the company's mobile phones. Users can create profile for themselves, write entries, post comments o­n other users' entries, and so o­n, using their mobile phone. Also in the pipe for the service is the ability to allow users to share images captured with their mobile phone.

SoftBank blew off the report, saying that it "isn't anything that we've announced, and it's just a speculation piece that didn't involve any actual newsgathering from us... so we can't comment o­n it."

Inspired by:
http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0608/21/news094.html