NTT Docomo language being adopted around the world was first created by NTT DoCoMo. The first emoji was created in 1998 or 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita, who was part of the team working on NTT DoCoMo's i-mode mobile Internet platform. The first set of 176 12×12 pixel emoji was created as part of i-mode's messaging features to help facilitate electronic communication, and to serve as a distinguishing feature from other services. NTT Docomo has a wide range of foreign investments. However, NTT Docomo was not successful in investing in foreign carriers. Docomo had invested very large multibillion-dollar amounts in KPN, KT Freetel,
Wireless Application Protocol handsets. WAP saw major success in Japan. While the largest operator NTT DoCoMo did not use WAP in favor of its in-house system i-mode, rival operators KDDI (au) and SoftBank Mobile (previously Vodafone Japan) both successfully deployed WAP technology. In particular, J-Phone's Sha-Mail picture mail and Java (JSCL) services, as well as (au)'s chakuuta/chakumovie (ringtone song/ringtone movie) services were based on WAP. Like in Europe, WAP and i-mode usage declined in the 2010s as HTML-capable smartphones became popular in Japan. The adoption of WAP in the US suffered because many cell phone providers required separate activation and additional fees for