Miki Tanikawa reports in International Herald Tribune on Keichu, a Japanese term for cellphone addiction:

"A growing contingent of young cellphone users is described as having fallen into "Keichu," or cellphone addiction, acquiring an unstoppable habit of e-mailing or "texting" friends, playing games, and downloading pictures and music.

Chikara Kato, professor of linguistics and communications at Sugiyama Jogakuen University, in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, said such addicts typically become restless and irritated when deprived of their handsets.

"Some college students going into the work force cannot kick the habit of e-mailing while at work," Kato said.

There are reports that some new workers, unable to quit phone e-mailing while at work, have lost their jobs, he said, adding, "This is serious."

Use of Internet-ready phones is challenging social customs, human relationships and even powerful modern pastimes such as comic books and television as people shift more of their attention and resources to the cellphone. NTT DoCoMo's 40 million i-mode subscribers, for example, send and receive 800 million e-mails a day. That compares to about 60 million short messages a day in a recent month in Britain.

Japanese on average spend over ¥6,300 a month [note: this is over around $55] on their cellphone bills, according to recent household spending data released by the government."