Michael CondonBy Michael Condon

As the concrete and iron of Tokyo starts to melt into the summer haze it’s the bulls that are coming out of hibernation. They didn’t quite make spring, but we are starting to see some now. After six months of doomsday proclamations, the chief economists of some banks, and their brethren who watch from the relative safety of academia, are starting to hint that we may be able to see some improvement soon.

Cyber figure ARisBy Michael Kerferl, CScout Japan

Augmented reality (AR) is a marketer’s dream, and it is about to hit home.

As digital devices become a more integrated part of everyday life, we live much more of our social lives in digital spaces: writing blogs, sharing photos and generally linking to new information. What happens when we start to live our real-world lives through a digital filter?

Mark LoomisBy Chris Betros

Staying in for the long haul in one of the world’s most lucrative cosmetics markets.

Times may be tough for the economy in Japan, but women still want to look their best. One company helping them to do that is multibrand cosmetics powerhouse, Estée Lauder KK, which has had a presence in Japan for 42 years.

By Rob Churcher

Nagano-based server company JMF is using cloud computing to provide cheap, eco-friendly solutions to clients

It’s a simple and yet complex concept - a virtual server. The idea of pulling out the clunky piece of hardware that is at the heart of a business’ information processing system and surrendering it to the ether can be a difficult proposition for some business owners. “Cloud computing” is becoming more of a buzz word as Internet infrastructure rapidly improves around the globe and desktop and mobile devices increasingly piggyback processing power that exists elsewhere.