Social Networking Services (SNS) have been one of the most distinctive phenomena of web 2.0, and their popularity seems to be on the rise; MySpace’s 140 million user base is just an example to prove that this rampage won’t be stopping any time soon.
As for Japan, competition seems to be a whole fiercer than the US and the rest of the world, since MySpace decided to take the 6 million users local Mixi head on.

MySpace Japan has to take into consideration several factors specific to the Japanese market: copyright issues as a threat and mobile phone support as an opportunity.

According to a Yomiuri Daily article, MySpace Japan think that the Japanese market is promising, and has yet to be explored, as Mixi only has 10% of the market share. While Mixi says it’s too early to judge whether MySpace Japan will actually be one of its main competitors among the 1,200-1,500 SNSs in Japan. The article cites as well the strengths and weaknesses of each of the two:

Part of the attraction of MySpace lies in being able to upload video and up to four mp3 music files in addition to profile and tour information. Like other SNSs, users can write blogs and build a community of “friends,” but MySpace offers extra freedom to customize the look of pages, too.

In comparison, the content available on Mixi is for the most part much simpler text-based material. But Mixi has introduced weather and news sections, as commonly seen on Internet portal sites, and is working on adding rich content to its service, with the introduction of video an aim for the spring. The SNS already offers links for listening to samples of music at Apple’s iTunes Music Store and Label Gate’s Mora Win.
Mixi’s main strength seems to lie in its ease of use for creating communities with very close interests or connections.

In order to succeed, MySpace has to promote the service among Japanese artists, as cited above, one of the most attractive features of MySpace. But it seems like some copyright issues will be harder to deal with.

“The copyright issue is very difficult in Japan, or should I say different from what it’s like in the United States,” Ando concedes. “Artists do not necessarily have the right to put up whatever they want.”
This means that while users in Japan can access some sound files on MySpace Japan, they still cannot access video, which means the SNS cannot make use of one of its principal attractions.

[...]In the case of MySpace Japan, though, Watanabe says JASRAC has already reached an agreement with the SNS about the use of music that involves a screening process by MySpace Japan and a percentage share of the relevant advertising revenues for JASRAC.

So agreement is possible. But it’s not just a case of reaching agreement with JASRAC, Watanabe points out. A video file of a TV program showing an artist performing involves not just the publishing rights of the songwriter, but the performing rights of the artist and the broadcasting rights of the TV company, he explains.

In my opinion, no matter which SNS will prevail in the upcoming years, the real winner is the Japanese netizen who will benefit from a wide range of free features to choose from. Then, this is the obvious conclusion of every situation of competition…