Japan Inc. articles from December 2003

Japan Inc. archives from December 2003

From the editors.
December 1, 2003... This issue brings to mind the title of American writer Grace Paley's brilliant short story collection, Enormous Changes at the Last Minute. It's the end of another year, a time for travel and touching base with family and friends. But, at least...

To the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... Dear Mr. Kelts, I am writing to thank you and your reporters at J@pan Inc for helping me tell Nick's story ("And Justice For All," November 2003). Your kindness and support have helped Nick and me to continue our fight. As you know,...

The pension problem.(The Pulse 1)
December 1, 2003... WHILE MOST OF THE attention is focused on the poor state of affairs in Japan's pension system, there is a unique problem for foreigners working in Japan that also needs to be addressed. The way the pension system is structured at the moment,...

Too dangerous to document?(The Pulse 1)
December 1, 2003... FILMMAKER TATSUYA MORI MAY finally get the wide audience he has sought for his documentaries A and A2. It has been over eight years since the 1995 sarin nerve gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system killed 12 people and injured 5,000 others....

Pentax Optio S4.(The Pulse 2)
December 1, 2003... [right arrow] All right, all right, it may be another 4-megapixel digicam, but it's incredibly slim and stylish. That must count for something! Measuring 83 x 20 x 52mm and weighing 98g, it is exactly the same dimensions as the lesser Option S...

NHJ v@mp VP-308.(The Pulse 2)
December 1, 2003... [right arrow] Just what I always wanted--another MP3 audio player with a built-in FM tuner. Really! In fact, NHJ has announced two different models --the VP-208 (booo!) and the VP-308 (hurrah!). Both portable WMA and MP3 players, the silver...

Buffalo USB card readers.(The Pulse 2)
December 1, 2003... [right arrow] Buffalo has announced a couple of USB card readers for mini SD cards and Memory Sticks. Look, it may not seem terribly exciting, but these things are darned useful! The MCR-MINISD is the SD card version and the MCR-MSDUO is--on...

iRiver iFP-599T.(The Pulse 2)
December 1, 2003... [right arrow] iRiver has launched an iFP-500 "silicon audio player" series of portable music machines, with the flagship iFP-599T model touting an incredible ONE GIGABYTE of internal Flash RAM and a classy champagne gold finish. Capable of...

Matsushita SJ-MJ57.(The Pulse 2)
December 1, 2003... I guess the trend these days of making everything tiny, multifunctional and capable of storing information means we're going to see a whole lot more gadgets falling into the "portable audio" and "PC peripheral" categories. Appropriately, then,...

Frozen fish that tastes fresh--really! High-tech sushi from Hokkaido hits supermarket shelves worldwide.(Upfront)
December 1, 2003... SUSHI FROM THE FREEZER? The concept alone is such a recipe for doubletakes and skepticism that employees at a burgeoning Hokkaido-based firm have the very query, "Frozen Sushi?" printed on their business cards. Yet there it is, sitting in front...

Keitai care: James Nakagawa's mobile marvel: lifewatcher connects patients with doctors to help keep them healthy.(Upfront)
December 1, 2003... LIFEWATCHER IS A mobile "Disease Management Solution for Diabetes and Obesity" at the intersection of two important trends: software tools that empower individual lifestyles and a rise in "lifestyle diseases," whose treatment requires long-term...

Osaka revitalization amid plummeting prices: Osaka has long been Japan's "second city." Now is the time to change that.(In Depth)
December 1, 2003... WHAT MAKES OSAKA SPECIAL? A resident Japanese might reply: good okonomiyaki (a pizza-like dish), the origin of cup noodles, the headquarters of Matsushita, the unbreakable spirit of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team and... falling property...

Rallies in domestic markets are driven by surging overseas stats: improvements in the US send foreign capital to Japan.(Investor Insight)
December 1, 2003... HAVING SWALLOWED A GOOD deal of the US economic recovery story without a sizeable chunk of evidence, stock and bond investors were having some serious second thoughts. And with policy missteps aimed at getting China to devalue the yuan, the US...

Studio Ghibli: Japan's Anime Dream Factory: Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's magical kingdoms are very Japanese.(Upfront)
December 1, 2003... STUDIO GHIBLI IS DIRECTOR Hayao Miyazaki's world, the animation studio he established in 1985 with fellow filmmaker Isao Takahata. Now part of publishers Tokuma Shoten, Ghibli is one of a clutch of animation studios built along the Chuo line in...

Japanese FDI and the China challenge: Gordon Feller explains the where, when and how of Japan's investments in China.(Opinion)
December 1, 2003... JAPANESE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) inflows to China are both increasing and diversifying from manufacturing to other sectors, attracted by the availability not only of cheap but also qualified labor. At the same time, the new wave of FDI...

Kirin Plaza Osaka applies brains to beer: at this unsung Osaka landmark, slaking thirst is a historical journey.(Upfront)
December 1, 2003... ONE OF OSAKA'S most interesting, architecturally innovative and yet strangely unheralded institutions is named after a brand of beer. The Kirin Plaza Osaka, located in the heart of the city just north of the infamous Ebisubashi bridge (from...

Dances in the dark.(Look)
December 1, 2003... THIS NIGHT IS AN ancient one. It has slipped through centuries and appears before me in the chill of winter here in Nara. In the year 1135, starvation stalked Japan. Unseasonably heavy rain over several consecutive years had drowned the...

Digital December television's descent: satellite DTV signals are streaking to earth: terrestrial broadcasts of super-sharp television begin now--and the Japanese government wants all of us to tune in.(Feature)
December 1, 2003... THIS MONTH MARKS THE start of a government-orchestrated plan that in a few years' time will change the way we all watch TV. Japan's first-ever regular broadcasts of terrestrial digital TV (DTV) get under way in limited areas of Japan starting...

Real estate rags to riches: Coyo's Mizukami: king of factory leasing.(Sponsored Section)
December 1, 2003... YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD of Yoichi Mizukami, the unassuming 60-year-old shacho of Coyo Corporation (8866 on the Jasdaq). Certainly if you passed him on the street, nothing would tell you that he is the pioneer of partnership investments into...

A robopet revolution: the new breed of bots both bows and wows: just in time for Christmas, "comfort toys" promise comfort and jog. Cute, yes--but will consumers cuddle up?(Feature)
December 1, 2003... READERS LIVING IN TOKYO may have noticed a surprising number of Chihuahuas strutting down the sidewalks these days. According to the media here, Japan is in the throes of a "dog boom." The roots of the craze seem to go back to a series of...

The measure of one's worth: real estate: Japan has always been heavily populated and short of land. Only about 28 percent of Japan's land mass is inhabitable, so it's no surprise that one of Japan's most precious commodities today is real estate.(Relocations)
December 1, 2003... IT COMES AS SOMEWHAT of a surprise that such a precious resource could devalue so drastically in just 12 years. From a peak in 1990, property prices in Japan have plummeted over 60 percent on average, and have dropped almost 80 percent in...

Driving Ms. Denwa: the super-fast future of mobile phones: a new book analyzes the technologies and apps that will transform your telephone. Here, its author calls in to explain.(Feature)
December 1, 2003... Introduction The old adage about whether the glass is half empty or half full is as applicable as ever in the mobile industry. Although US and especially European markets are now experiencing strong growth in entertainment contents, the...

Fulsome figures.(Blow Fish)
December 1, 2003... WHO NEEDS EMAIL? WHEN Foval Corporation asked operators of small-and medium-sized businesses the ways and means of expanding their range of personal networking, 45.9 percent advised: Just try to meet as many people as you can. Other advice:...