Yasuo Fukuda, the new Japanese PM, is grey, sober, unexciting. But what does this mean for the world? This week we look at some of the key international relationships that he will have to engage with. Read Now

In the last week of August, a private equity firm that few had heard of, MBK Partners, won an auction to buy the accounting software firm Yayoi from Livedoor Holdings for an estimated JPY71bn (US$617m). Was this figure worth it? What does this say about M&A culture in Japan? Read Terrie's Take Now

The future is upon us as we move forward with using vein and fingerprint recognition, saying good-bye to the old days of using passwords and keycards.
Robots are also coming into play with the Rolly - a robot music player which you shake and twist to control and you let roll around on the floor to reverberate as speakers.
And finally, a Bluetooth compatible Yamaha speaker to connect to music players, phones and PCs. Read Now

This week’s newsletter looks at the problems faced by foreign financial institutions in Japan and questions whether the much-hyped arrival of new laws (J-SOX) to prevent the occurrence of scandals such as Livedoor and Murakami, will stand any chance of making an impact. Read Now