"We have the advantage as the first comer to the 3G market, " says Matsushita's Kawada.
He is also the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at Harvard Business School.
Potentially, all of Matsushita's suppliers can now adopt low-cost Internet technology, whatever their size.
Matsushita Electric China is now trying to get Chinese retailers to act as its branches.
Matsushita looks on such payments to its foreign partners as an investment for the future.
But then again, perhaps here at least Matsushita is racing too far ahead of Japanese society.
Until that changes, Matsushita's new individualists are likely to retain a decidedly collectivist bent.
Sony, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Hitachi and Fujitsu are all trying to crack the market.
With Matsushita on board, Symbian's parents now account for some 85% of the world's 175m-odd mobile phones.
"The market for mobile phone servers is going to be huge, " predicts Toshiro Iizuka of Matsushita Corp.
About 30 years ago, says Takayuki Tsuji, the company's president, Matsushita bought 90% of what it made.
Matsushita has also squeezed Sony out of the lucrative market for digital television-cameras and other studio gear.
Rather than wait for domestic sales to pick up, Toshiba and Matsushita have gone on the offensive.
Matsushita does not expect or even want them to do much, except smooth relations with central and local government.
Feverish competition among deep-pocketed corporations--especially Matsushita, NEC and Mitsubishi--has resulted in a plethora of tiny, innovative machines.
The main concern is his age, 72, which puts him in the same generation as the outgoing Matsushita.
The picks from Japan were led by globally-respected names such as Sony, Matsushita, Fuji Film, Nintendo and Toyota.
TV, for example but its brand is weaker than those of some Asian rivals, notably Matsushita (Panasonic) and Sony.
It may not have a broad consumer product range like Matsushita, but it is in the most profitable segments.
Companies such as Matsushita, Sanyo, NEC and Toshiba have also displayed 3-D televisions and mobiles at consumer electronics shows.
Matsushita Communication this year sold nearly 15 million handsets overseas, mostly in Europe.
So far, Matsushita has the biggest plasma market share and they should, they spend the most on the technology.
The examples of Toyota, Nissan, Sony, Matsushita and others suggest that they can.
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At the moment, says Koji Susa, head of purchasing, Matsushita's factories dispatch parts orders once or twice a month.
Matsushita points out that, for several years, the majority of its managers have voted in favour of performance-based bonuses.
Although Matsushita waxes lyrical about its joint-venture partners, the company clearly regards them as something of a necessary evil.
He is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School.
More significantly, however, it uses a phase-change method of recording developed by Matsushita.
As a result, Matsushita's profits have been a lot lower than it expected.
The small exposure will cushion Toshiba from problems that dogged Sony and Matsushita when they took control of Hollywood studios.
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