Japan Inc. articles from November 2004

Japan Inc. archives from November 2004

The Aston Martin DB9.(BUZZ)
November 1, 2004... DB9 delivers the richest driving experience in a sports GT class. The purr of the engine reassures; the performance and agility astound; the blend of fluent steering and linear controls pamper; the perfect balance of front-to-rear weight...

Sony HDR-FX1.(G-SPOT)
November 1, 2004... The Sony "HDR-FX1" is the world's first consumer-level camera that supports Full HD 1080i (meaning 1080 horizontal lines of resolution). The 400,000 yen price may not be considered "consumer-level" to some, but I believe they've dubbed it so...

Sony DSC-M1.(G-SPOT)
November 1, 2004... Sony introduces the 5.1MP "DSC-M1" digital camera. As you will discover, however, it's not your typical camera. It may resemble a normally shaped digital camera when closed, but when open, it looks more like a cellular phone. The screen...

Logitec LAT-CARMP3.(G-SPOT)
November 1, 2004... Logitec's new "LAT-CARMP3" is an MP3 player that gets power from your car's cigarette lighter, plays files from USB memory devices and transmits audio via FM radio. If that process didn't quite make sense to you the first time you read it,...

JVC XM-C31.(G-SPOT)
November 1, 2004... As recent sales statistics reflect, MiniDisc players are fighting quite a battle with other digital audio players. That's why JVC's newest MiniDisc offering has taken the meaning of "battery life" to a whole new level. The XM-C31 player has an...

Rio Carbon.(G-SPOT)
November 1, 2004... The Rio Carbon for Japan is the world's first player to contain Seagate's 5GB one-inch hard drive, apparently giving Rio liberty to call the player the "lightest in its class." MP3, WMA (with DRM, too) and Audible files can all be played back,...

NEC VersaPro VY11F/GL-R.(G-SPOT)
November 1, 2004... NEC took the wraps off a Tablet PC that should breathe some new life into an industry that hasn't been performing so well. NEC has unveiled a new machine in the "VersaPro" line, with a weight of about 899 grams and a maximum thickness of only...

Golf guru sees greens in Japan: a media entrepreneur tees off.(UPFRONT)
November 1, 2004... MANY individuals only dream about quitting their jobs, moving abroad, and indulging full-time in a favorite hobby. Gordon Simmonds actually made a living out of it. ********** SIMMONDS HAS LOVED the game of golf since he was a small...

White light makes right: will LEDs replace the light bulb?(UPFRONT)
November 1, 2004... IN the US, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) now account for 30 to 40 percent of all new signage. In Japan, that figure has hovered at less than 5 percent. But at Tokyo's annual Sign and Display Show this past September, there was ample evidence to...

Corporate takeovers in Japan: embracing grafting; Japan looks to adopt Western practices again.(INVESTOR INSIGHT)
November 1, 2004... DESPITE the substantial amount of lip service being paid to the potential revitalizing role of mergers and acquisitions (M & A), the fact is that Japan remains a significantly underdeveloped market for public M & A activity. Year-on-year change...

Don't get caught sleeping: why physical security still matters.(VOICE)
November 1, 2004... WE'VE been inundated with issues of technological security. Open up an information technology or business magazine and you will be hard pressed not to find an article that talks about viruses worms, trojan horses, software vulnerabilities, et...

Diary of a monopoly: why NTT cries wolf--and why it works.(INDEPTH)
November 1, 2004... IN mid-May of this year, nearly 100 journalists and seven or eight television crews gathered at NTT's press conference facility, one of the largest in Tokyo, for the telecom giant's profit announcement for the 2003 financial year. Almost...

Autumn reflections.(LOOK!)
November 1, 2004... I WAS ASKED years ago to participate in a commercial project involving the photography of an old and famous inn in Fukushima Prefecture. The Showa Emperor (Emperor Hirohito) had once stayed there. The inn's owners--particularly on the distaff...

Tokyo style.
November 1, 2004... WDI'S gourmet restaurants, Century Court, Spago Tokyo and Il Mulino NEW YORK offer the Tokyo dining experience par excellence. Century Court AN EXCLUSIVE INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP CLUB IN TOKYO Roi Bldg., 10F, 5-5-1 Roppongi,...

Meet the new paradigm: network marketing in Japan; Can American-style marketing work in Japan?(FEATURE)
November 1, 2004... ONE NIGHT IN EARLY June, over 20 curious Japanese and foreign audience members gathered in the second-story meeting room of Nikken Japan's Akasaka headquarters in downtown Tokyo. The videoconference receiver beeped with an incoming call from...

Foods for thought.(LAST WORD)
November 1, 2004... "FOOD" IS A WORD open to liberal interpretation, and very few carbon-based items fail to fit the bill. Who knew so much edible material lurked in so many unlikely places? How mortified the kawaii Jimminy Cricket would be to see a bowl...