By Antonia McLaughlin -- The Japanese housewife is an iconic and integral part of the Japanese populace. She holds much domestic power, often autonomously, while her husband is working all hours of the day and night. She also holds the purse strings of her husband’s salary which, according to some analysts, is an estimated ¥12.5 trillion in household savings. The Japanese housewife has recently taken on a whole new level of meaning, and is redefining the very concept of domestic housework in the form of online currency trading.

Skull HandbagBy Simon Shiida -- Kumiko Onuma’s road to becoming a top designer -- Unconventional work has always been a trademark of Onuma’s, one of them being a giant birdcage in the middle of a building which also functions as a convenience store. Her other piece of art, a 1 ton bronze suspended sculpture in the Fukuoka Diamond Building won the Fukuoka prefecture ‘Urban Beautification Award’ in 1995. Although her company was a relatively small operation (it only had five permanent staff), she had a network of 20 artists which she could pick and choose from depending on the project. This enabled her to work with a whole host of artists, from woodwork craftsmen in Calcutta to world-famous Japanese metalwork sculptor Empo Okajima.

By Willhemina Wahlin & Dr Kaoru Natsuda -- Japan’s rural entrepreneurial scheme goes abroad -- The One Village One Product scheme is a way of rethinking the possibilities for small, rural populations, introducing ways to re-brand what they do best. Founded in the Kyushu prefecture of Oita over 20 years ago, it’s now being exported to some of the world’s Least Developed Countries. Still riddled with challenges, its greatest potential is the entrepreneurial independence it encourages in many of the world’s poorest communities.

By Ken Worsley -- Back and Forward is a regular column that takes a slightly irreverent look at some of Japan’s biggest business stories.

Prices on the rise - Taxi Tax - Michelin sells out - Ratings agencies in trouble? - More junk for sale! - Media Watch