Compaq Computer Corp president Eckhard Pfeiffer called on Japan to clarify the government’s bidding process in procurement of personal computers during a visit to the country. He said the company wanted to bid in a fair way, and pointed to the low penetration of US-made personal computers in Japan’s public sector, between 3% and 8% as opposed to 30% in the Japanese market as a whole. The Japanese government has boosted purchases of personal computers since the cabinet decided on a plan to step up computerization of governmental agencies in December 1994. It distributed 20,000 computers to officials in 1995-96 alone, and plans to complete wide area networks connecting major governmental agencies in Tokyo by next January, it said.
