Founded Tsutaya, one of Japan's leading movie-, music- and game-rental chains.

FORBES: Magazine Article

After making big plays in North America and Western Europe, former P2P piracy powerhouse and current legitimate download service Napster has finally set up shop in Asia, bringing its war with iTunes to the world's second-largest music market: Japan.

ENGADGET: Napster Japan goes live

The UK remains the third biggest market for music behind the US and Japan - and the number of new albums sent to retailers in July, August and September 2003 reached an all-time high of 230 million.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Darkness top Brit award shortlist

But along the way Maezawa took note of a business that hadn't arrived yet in Japan: music merchandising at festivals and outside of big-venue concerts.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Jobs surely hasn't forgotten that before the introduction of the iPhone, Sony seemed poised (briefly) to derail Apple's iPod when it slapped the Walkman brand on a line of music-friendly Sony Ericsson handsets that have sold well in Japan.

FORBES: Magazine Article

TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A mobile phone is no longer just a phone -- it is also a music player, video camera and personal organizer.

CNN: Search for better phone power