Detailed Q&A provided by Yahoo! Japan (provisional translation ver. 2 by wasabi)

Read a summary of the press release.

Q1 Which areas of the service are covered?
Search engine and PPC platform technologies for the following 4 areas: web, image, video, and mobile.

Q2 How will this partnership affect the competition between Yahoo! Japan and Google?

Google technology will be on the backend, so users will not notice the difference on the search results page.　　
(Please refer to the search results page images below. Note that only organic results (blue) and PPC ads (red) will be replaced by those using Google technology.)

Q3. How long is the contract for? Is it renewable?
The contract is for 2 years, renewable every 2 years thereafter based upon mutual consent. This applies to both search engine/PPC and data provision contracts.

Q4. What difference will it make when Yahoo! Japan provides content data to Google?
Google currently collects data only from crawlers. However, if Yahoo! Japan directly provides their data to Google, updated pages will be reflected in the search results more quickly, improving the freshness and increase the relevancy of the search results and enhancing the search experience for the user.

Q5. Will the agreement change Yahoo! Japan's relationship with Yahoo! Inc. (U.S.A.)?
This change is limited to the provision of search engine and PPC data. Yahoo! Inc. will remain Yahoo! Japan's strategic partner for search and other services. There will be no change in the capital structure or relationship.

Q6. Are there any implications for Yahoo's business in the future?
Not in the short-term. In the mid to long term, this is expected to Improve Yahoo! Japan's search and PPC services and maximize advertising revenue.

Q7. When will the transfer take place?
As soon as possible.

Q8. Once Yahoo! Inc. (U.S.A.) completes the switch for YST and YSM, will they discontinue support for Yahoo! Japan immediately?
No. The development and support for YST and YSM will be continued until Yahoo! Japan completes the transition of search engine and PPC platform to those of Google.

Q9. Will there be changes to the usability of the search services?
The current interface will be maintained, so there will be no changes to the usability for users.

Q10. Have you consulted with Japan Fair Trade Commission on this partnership?
Yes. We have confirmed with them that this partnership does not pose any legal issues.

Q11. How will this partnership effect the competition among search services in Japan?
Even when Yahoo! Japan and Google use the same technology to provide search results, Yahoo! Japan will be customize the technology to their services. Similarly, the user interface of Yahoo! Japan will remain unchanged. Therefore no changes in the competitive landscape are forseen, including the status of competition with Google (Japan).

Q12. Has Yahoo! Japan used other search engine technology before apart from that of Yahoo! Inc.?
Yes. From May 1998 to March 2001 the technology was provided by Goo, and between April 2001 and May 2004 it was provided by Google.

Q13. Yahoo! Japan currently provides Softbank Mobile (SBM) with their mobile search technology. Will this be affected?
No. Yahoo! Japan will continue to provide SBM with mobile search technology and the mobile ad platform.

Q14 Are there any financial implications?
There will be no major impact or changes to the profit structure.

Q15. Will there be any effect on ad sales?
During previous ad platform transitions the effect was small.