Japan Inc. articles from January 2006

Japan Inc. archives from January 2006

Virtual wallet services: the end of the cash era?
January 1, 2006... Despite the efforts of credit card companies, the majority of payments in Japan are still made in cash. Japanese love cash. Major players like Sony, Japan Railways East (JR East), the am/pm convenience store chain, and mobile carriers have...

Liquid gold: is LNG the next oil?
January 1, 2006... "There's a joke from the early days of the oil business," write Daniel Yergin and Michael Stoppard, in "The Next Prize," an article in Foreign Affairs in 2003. "A geologist reporting back on drilling a wildcat exploratory well says, 'the bad...

Preservation perfected: CAS benefits.
January 1, 2006... The two managers from one of Tsukiji fish market's largest wholesalers looked on skeptically as we pitched ABI Japan's Cells Alive System (CAS) freezing. We were there to present our proposal for a frozen sea urchin product. One of the managers...

Piping hot business: Rakuya Onsen and Aqua Japan Tokyo redesign a tradition.
January 1, 2006... Ask a foreign tourist the one place they enjoyed the most during their stay in Japan, and they will likely respond an onsen (Japanese natural hot spring). The steamy bath, beautiful scenery, communal sharing of the tub with strangers, and...

Intelligence in design: robots as blank slates for study.
January 1, 2006... Intelligence and stupidity are delicate topics. They reflect assessments of character that can scar or heal us. Yet, what it means to be intelligent or stupid is, well, confusing. Worse yet, use of intelligence and stupidity as labels are far...

Sano-san--a man with a vision.
January 1, 2006... Our map leads us to an unassuming residential apartment building, tucked away in a quiet side street in Takadanobaba. Unsure of ourselves, Endo-san, our photographer, finds a small sign on a rusted mailbox and we hesitantly knock on the door....

Buying a home in Japan.
January 1, 2006... Are you thinking of buying a home in Japan, but don't know where to start? J@panInc., over the course of the last few months, has been testing the waters and thanks largely to publisher Terrie Lloyd's exploits at finding a property himself,...

Does your office work for you? Transforming your workplace into a profit center.
January 1, 2006... In Tokyo, as elsewhere, satisfied workers are the most generous with their knowledge and expertise. People who love what they are doing and enjoy sharing their knowledge are the people who create the most economic value and, as a result, move...

Medical maverick Tsuneo Kobayashi: a forerunner of cancer treatment and prevention.
January 1, 2006... Your doctor examines the test results, gives you a serious look, and says, "You may have cancer." Perhaps no other words strike greater fear in a patient. Suddenly all your daily worries and professional and personal goals pale with the...

Mobile shake up.
January 1, 2006... For foreigners living in Japan, calling home is an important aspect of life. However it is something that has always been an expensive undertaking. Even now, on a standard plan from any one of the major mobile companies, a quick call to home of...