Japan Inc. articles from September 2006

Japan Inc. archives from September 2006

Sudoku's beautiful symmetry: Kaji Maki gives the "Number Place" puzzle a new name.
September 22, 2006... Sudoku number puzzles are booming. Major dailies and in-flight magazines carry them. Kiosks and bookshops purvey a bewildering array of titles. Don't know how to do Sudoku? Now you can pick up Sudoku for Dummies. Sudoku are published in over 70...

Power sourcing: Japan's race for resources.
September 22, 2006... It's only natural that in light of the high level of consumption in the developed world in the last 100 years, something was going to have to give. Now, in an increasingly unstable world, where developing nations are quickly developing and...

Japan's digital Camera Industry: not a rosy picture.
September 22, 2006... The Japanese domestic market for the digital still camera (DSC) will soon reach saturation. Market growth is slowing down and the drop in prices is changing the landscape of digital photography. This presents a challenge for many Japanese...

Envisioning the face of the customer: So Fast creates products that satisfy end users.
September 22, 2006... Visit So Fast and you realize you have arrived at no ordinary logistics company. The place bursts with animation as staff in white polo shirts rush about the outer office. The beaming receptionist sounds his sonorous greeting and presents you...

Q-Games: a Kyoto-based game developer successfully serves two masters.
September 22, 2006... I still have vague Kodachrome memories of playing my first video game. The "game" was one of those early refrigerator-sized Space Invader machines, which probably dates the event to the mid-70s. The beast suddenly appeared in a corner of the...

Is [yen]1 really all you need? Not quite, says the author of Andrew's Ax. What you truly need is sufficient capital and an inspiring business plan.
September 22, 2006... You've read the story "How to Incorporate in Japan" and perhaps attended the JETRO presentation in July. The word is out: whereas in years past you needed [yen]10 million in capital to start a Japanese corporation, now all you need is "ONE...

Adobe--ubiquity gets redefined: the platform for what's cool in Japan.
September 22, 2006... Quick, what is the most widely used software product in the world today? Hint: it's not from Microsoft [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The answer: Adobe's Flash Player, which is on 97.7% of all PCs globally. Ever since Adobe acquired Macromedia...

How to incorporate in Japan: new rules mean new opportunities.
September 22, 2006... On May 1st, 2006, one of the biggest revisions in the last 50 years of the Japanese commercial code, the "Sho-ho," was enacted. The new code not only significantly reduces the investment needed to set up a company, but also completely revamps...

Hot air: Japanese consumers swallowing oxygenated water.
September 22, 2006... The first time I saw the phrase "drinkable oxygen" on a bottle next to Volvic in Lawson's, I laughed. I racked my brain to remember what I learned in Physiology 101. What benefit could drinking oxygen have on my cardio or neurological function?...

Patent litigation in the United States: preparing for future discovery.
September 22, 2006... The year 2006 has been a busy one for patent protection and litigation in the United States. In February 2006, the United States Patent Office issued its seven millionth patent, and continues to issue hundreds of thousands of patents per year....

J-REITs to the rescue! Japan's real estate investment trusts invigorate the market.(Company overview)
September 22, 2006... After a devastating collapse in the 1990s, Japan's real estate market is back on investor's radars. J-REITs, the Japanese versions of the real estate investment trusts already popular in the US and elsewhere, are largely to thank for it. ...

Business directory.(Directory)
September 22, 2006... Business Concierge Service Landmark Tower Business Concierge www.businessconcierge.jp/index.html Japan Concierge Service www.japanconcierge.com/index.html Consulting LINC Media, Inc. 10F Odakyu Minami-Aoyama...

J@pan Inc newsletters: six years of news between the lines.
September 22, 2006... Nearly six years ago, one of the first issues of the J@pan Inc Newsletter (JIN) posed a question: Is the Japanese economy really in such dire straits? While many major headlines bemoaned the recession, the newsletter's take went against the...

An invitation to ride: launching Japan Automotive News (JAN).
September 22, 2006... Surprisingly, not many foreigners in Japan drive, or even entertain the idea of car ownership. Regardless of the great rates for financing, it seems impossible to obtain a car. For one thing, how could you fill out paperwork written in kanji?...