Terrie LloydAn interesting trend in IP -- Several weeks ago, two representatives of a major Japanese financial group came to see me with an unusual request: If we could start channeling the Intellectual Property (IP) into their group of investee companies so as to help those firms do better commercially. Their problem is that they have made thousands (literally) of investments and about a third of those investee companies wind up running out of gas and ideas.

I enjoyed reading the wide-ranging subject matter of the last J@pan Inc, particularly the article on Vietnam: a country which has fascinated me for the past two decades. For me, it is one of the most interesting countries in the Asian region, in terms of its history, culture and significant market potential.

I was interested to read your article on Japanese healthcare services in the January/February issue. While I have heard similar stories of difficulty to those interviewed in the article, my own experiences have been very good. I lived in Japan six years ago when my husband was working there. Our first child was born in a hospital in Tokyo and we were treated extremely well; I was impressed at the cleanliness of the hospital