Probably the biggest burden that any new company owner can take on is the act of hiring and supporting their first couple of staff members. For a start, it requires quite a change in mindset. One minute you are looking after yourself: devoting all of your attention to your customer's needs and having the satisfaction of giving them 100% effort and effectiveness. Then, as you hire in another person or two, you find yourself having to provide training, execution support, personnel management, as well as salary and legal administration.

This week's Gadget Watch takes a look at the new Aquos P line LCD televisions, Sony Cibershots' new 4GB digital camera, and Hitachi's Wooo UT home entertainment system that blurs the line between a usual LCD television and display.

Both the Godo Kaisha and Kabushiki Kaisha entities I mentioned last week are independent companies and are the most common forms of incorporation in Japan. But what if you are helping a foreign firm get set up here? Well, there are other choices, but before I go into them, I'll just say that I prefer establishing an independent company like a KK because it provides you with "firewalling" of the Japan operation, by limiting the liability of management to the laws and actions made here to the Japanese market. It is for this reason that most foreign firms like to use the KK instead of other options.

Mac OS X Leopard,wooden IT paraphenalia from Marubeni and 'MUSIC PRJECT' from Sony and AU make up these weeks Gadget Watch. Don't miss out on the chance to find out the future of gizmos and gadgets in Japan. Read Now