Japan Inc. articles from February 2004

Japan Inc. archives from February 2004

From the editors.
February 1, 2004... Just the other day a nursing home resident here in New York leaned towards me and confided through the bedside gauze: "If I make it through February, I'll live another year." I knew exactly what she meant. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

To the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2004... Dear Mr. Kelts, As an Englishman, I am from a country that already has troops committed in Iraq. Therefore, it's good news that Japan has decided to commit its highly-skilled defense forces to the situation in Iraq. Japan should look...

Talkin' Tankan--Japan's year-end surprises.(The Pulse 1)
February 1, 2004... THE HEAVYWEIGHTS OF CORPORATE Japan ended 2003 with a forecast-busting vote of confidence in current business conditions. In the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey, a majority of the country's manufacturing titans declared their most...

Loan woes.
February 1, 2004... LATE LAST YEAR, the sudden arrest of Yasuo Takei, the former chairman of Japan's leading consumer credit group and one of Japan's wealthiest men, opened a major can of worms. The details of his alleged telephone-tapping scandal are bad...

Rio Nitrus.(The Pulse 2)
February 1, 2004... Just a quick note--because it's been out for a while both in the US and here--to say that Rio has been selling the Rio Nitrus and Eigen 1.5GB portable HDD audio players (it's a new category, archive fans!) for just [yen]26,800 via its online...

Nikon Coolpix3700.(The Pulse 2)
February 1, 2004... Check out what Nikon is calling a "stylish and compact" digital camera. Funny that, but then I suppose it's unlikely they'd describe a new product as "rubbish looking and about the same size as a dock-side warehouse." Nikon presents us with the...

Iyama ProLite L403W.(The Pulse 2)
February 1, 2004... Iyama's new babies are big-screen, progressive-scan LCD displays with built-in TV tuners and D4 connections that will make the TV you have right now in your living room look really, really ugly. Hang your head in shame. The WXGA (1,280 X...

Kyocera Finecam SL300R.(The Pulse 2)
February 1, 2004... This is a limited-edition model of the company's incredibly slimline rotating-lens digital camera. Nothing's changed in the specs: It still has a 3,170,000-pixel CCD and 3-times digital zoom and is a miniscule 15mm thick. So, what's special...

Evergreen EG-DVDP2000C.(The Pulse 2)
February 1, 2004... A truly great choice for a budget purchase for yourself or a very close pal is the EG-DVDP2000C. It's a progressive-scan-capable DVD player set to retail at an astonishing [yen]6,980! For such a low-priced model, the Evergreen machine has an...

Sony PSX.(The Pulse 2)
February 1, 2004... Sony has already updated the PSX. The PS2 in angel's clothing (incorporating the game machine, a DVD recorder and a hard disk) has been changed--and not for the better, from what we can tell. The changes were hastily made to meet last year's...

These bots were made for walking: Honda's bold new bots are headed into your home.(Upfront)
February 1, 2004... HONDA'S DEVELOPMENT OF ITS humanoid robot, Asimo, isn't the company's first step into unknown technological territory for the company. In the early 60s the motorcycle manufacturer surprised the automobile industry by rolling out its first...

Big "Riingo" bites the Big Apple: it's Japan meets Sweden in the newest venture from Manhattan's superstar chef, mark Samuelsson.(Upfront)
February 1, 2004... NEW RESTAURANTS IN NEW York have to fight hard to be noticed, or be touched by a special glitter, or have the right names attached--or just be damn good. There are over 51,000 restaurants in the state of New York, and each wants to penetrate...

An alchemy of surfaces: the shifting exteriors of Japanese cities: evolving industrial designs in urban Japan.(Upfront)
February 1, 2004... "The days when there was an immutable style are past... any work of architecture that, in a sense, internalizes the city and functions on its surfaces as a mechanism of transmission will symbolize today's image of the city." --Architect...

Patient profits: Meisei hospital bonds add another incentive to invest in the "silver society.".(Upfront)
February 1, 2004... A CRAMPED HEALTHCARE CLINIC for the aged in the suburban outskirts of Tokyo has made Japanese financial history by issuing the country's first ever "hospital bond." The innovative debt instrument (which exploits a previously unnoticed...

Socially responsible investment pays in Japan: the latest investment boom elsewhere finally gains traction in Japan.(Upfront)
February 1, 2004... SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT (SRI) is becoming a mainstream investing style around the world. A Thomson-Extel survey of European institutional investors showed that 45 percent of institutions surveyed have invested over 10 percent of their...

Whither the water? A UN forum in Kobe highlights the rising risks to a precious resource.(Upfront)
February 1, 2004... MUCH HAS BEEN MADE in recent years of the population problem the world faces, but until relatively recently, the more serious issue of the world's water supply has received scant attention outside of specialists' circles. Only 1 percent of the...

Not quite your last supper.(Look)
February 1, 2004... IF YOU STAY IN Japan long enough, you will get the chance to encounter all the timeworn cliches in one form or another. The alleged Japanese "fascination with death," as shown in the consumption of fugu, the legendary toxic pufferfish, is one...

$80 billion and nowhere to go frustration for a hamstrung IRCJ: why the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan, a government-sponsored savior, is still on the sidelines.(Feature)
February 1, 2004... "Remember the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan? When it was just getting started in early May 2003, there was interest in companies that could be chosen by the corporation for corporate revitalization. But we were skeptical...

An interview with IRCJ president Atsushi Saito.(In the Hot Seat)
February 1, 2004... WHEN ATSUSHI SAITO WAS tapped to become president of Japan's corporate "revitalization" fund, he was both surprised and honored. It isn't often that a private enterprise man gets asked to help in a project of national importance, and especially...

Ibaraki fertile ground for international business: Tokyo's neighbor boasts cutting-edge R & D, an international atmosphere, reasonable prices and a highly skilled work force.(Sponsored Section)
February 1, 2004... THERE HAS NEVER BEEN a better time than now for overseas companies looking to set up operations in Japan, especially for those looking beyond the major urban centers. Regional governments are devising new, more aggressive ways to attract...

The Blackmans return to a dangerous Japan: the killing and brutal dismemberment of a young English hostess in Japan shocked the world. As the trial begins, the shock deepens.(Red Light Reckoning)(Cover Story)
February 1, 2004... THE FATHER AND SISTER of Lucie Blackman, the ex-British Airways flight attendant who was abducted and slain in Tokyo three years ago, broke down in tears as they returned to the secluded beach where her mutilated body was found. ...

There's profit in junk: welcome to Eigo Nosaki's Treasure Factory.(Sponsored Section)
February 1, 2004... AS I WALK INTO the "recycle" shop, essentially a themed junk store, I am hit by the sensation of having walked into a messy version of Crate & Barrel. Lighting is good, the merchandise is laid out in categories and couples are browsing just...

Man of steel: an exclusive interview with Japan's steelmaking giant; JFE president Yoichi Shimogaichi on Chinese futures, US failures--and the secrets of his own sterling success.(Feature)
February 1, 2004... THE JAPANESE STEEL INDUSTRY has stormed into a period of major change. Two companies, JFE (Japan Fe [the chemical symbol for iron] Engineering) and Nippon Steel, have emerged from the thunderclouds as the clear leaders within Japan. And each...

Train in vain.(BlowFish)
February 1, 2004... WORK TILL YOU DROP. The weekly "Be Between" survey appearing in the Asahi Shimbun asked 3,544 working adults whether they thought the age for compulsory retirement should be raised. 74 percent said yes. They gave such reasons as: People in...