1 Japanese companies have long been accused of sacrificing profit to boost sales.
2 But Fujitsu Ltd. has taken that practice to a new extreme.
3 Japan's biggest computer maker last week undercut seven competitors to win a contract to design a mapping system for the city of Hiroshima's waterworks.
4 Its bid: one yen, or less than a U.S. penny.
5 The bid created such a furor that Fujitsu said it is now offering to withdraw from the project. 'From a common-sense viewpoint, it was not socially acceptable,' a Fujitsu spokeswoman said yesterday.
6 Hiroshima city officials couldn't be reached to find out whether they would drop Fujitsu's bid.
7 Fujitsu said it issued the low bid because it wanted a foot in the door of a potentially lucrative market.
8 'We desperately wanted the contract because we want experience in the field,' the Fujitsu spokeswoman said. 'We expect a big market in the future, so in the long term it will be profitable.
9 It's a kind of an investment.'
10 Hiroshima's waterworks bureau said the municipal government had budgeted about 11 million yen ($77,500) for the project. 'I was flabbergasted,' Tatsuhara Yamane, head of the bureau, was quoted by Kyodo news service as saying. 'I understand the firm's enthusiasm in getting the deal, but such a large company would have been better off showing a little more discretion.'
11 Indeed, Fujitsu officials admitted they may have been a little overzealous.
12 The Fujitsu spokeswoman said headquarter officials didn't approve the bid in advance and will take measures so this kind of thing doesn't happen in the future. 'It's contrary to common sense,' she added.
13 Specifically, Fujitsu won the right to design the specifications for a computerized system that will show water lines throughout the city.
14 The system could be used in a fire or earthquake to locate problems, among other things.
15 A waterworks official said Fujitsu will have to design the system so it would be compatible with other makers' equipment.
16 But industry officials expressed concern that the initial project might give Fujitsu an edge in winning more lucrative contracts later.
17 Fujitsu said it hopes the Hiroshima contract will help it secure pacts with other municipalities.
18 Japanese local governments are expected to invest heavily in computer systems over the next few years, and many companies expect that field to provide substantial revenue. 'In the near future, it will be a big market, not just for waterworks, but for all mapping systems,' the Fujitsu spokeswoman said. 'We can expect a hundreds-of-billions-of-yen market.'
19 No foreign companies bid on the Hiroshima project, according to the bureau.
20 But the Japanese practice of deep discounting often is cited by Americans as a classic barrier to entry in Japan's market.
21 Earlier this year, the U.S. complained that Japan's supercomputer makers were effectively closing out foreign competitors by slashing prices as much as 90% for universities.
22 Fujitsu wasn't the only company willing to sacrifice profit on the project.
23 Three competitors bid between 300,000 yen and 500,000 yen, according to the Hiroshima government office.
24 Other bids ranged from about 10 million yen to 29 million yen.

The bid created such a furor that Fujitsu said it is now offering to withdraw from the project . " From a common - sense viewpoint , it was not socially acceptable , " a Fujitsu spokeswoman said yesterday .
common - sense
So did they not use common sense when making the bid?