February 2003 Issue

On the cover: Goro Tatsumi, president of the Osaka Stock Exchange Photograph by Kyodo News

February 2003
No. 40

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February 2003 Issue

Upfront
	From the Editor Tatsumi's struggle to rebuild the OSE is one of many recent examples of change percolating in Japan. The odds may be against him, but I wouldn't count him out.

	More Than Meets the Eye Why are the banks reacting so strongly to the supposedly watered down Financial Revival Program?

	Ready to Rock KDDI's song clip download service could be the next hot item in mobile content.

	Keitai Cartoon Antics Get Personal The latest craze is turning yourself into an animated character.

	Home is Where the Car Ads Are New Zealand's pristine countryside is dotted with camera crews.

	Turning the Criminally Absurb into Art Issey Ogata and Kaori Momoi look at the dark side of life in Japan and laugh about it.

	Pulse 2 The Best of J@pan Inc's Newsletters: Gadget Watch, Wireless Watch and Music Media Watch

	Goodbye to the Glory Days Trading houses shift from being all-around elites to focused middlemen.

	Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Eyes Stake in Aozora Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking is thinking of buying all of the approximately 49 percent stake that finacially troubled Softbank holds in Aozora Bank.

	Can Japan Come Back? The Pacific Council Thinks So "We believe that the fashionable notion of a Japan in inexorable decline is misleading," the council's task force says.

	Ghosn, Other Business Leaders Call For More Foreign Investment Increase in foreign direct investment on the cards? Lets see if Koizumi can translate his words into action.

	Ishihara's Tokyo Revival Bonds Start Strong Tokyo Govenor Shintaro Ishihara is not alone in trying to diversify the source of local government's revenue, but he has a special way of getting public attention.

	Coming Next Month in J@pan Inc The Bare Knuckle Success Story of K1, Investing in Tokyo Real Estate and more...

	To the Editor When, oh when, will the myth of "lifetime" employment be laid to rest?

	The Story of J@pan Inc In 1999, while trying to come up with a name for our new technology magazine, we hit upon J@pan Inc.

	Contributors Michael Thuresson, Jon Metzler, Sohbi Iida

Features
	The OSE Is Not Dead Yet Goro Tatsumi's ambitious plan to revive the Osaka Stock Exchange post-Nasdaq may just work. Alex Stewart reports.

	Love in the Age of Spam Online dating sites prove that looking for love is a recession-proof industry.

	The Art of Killing Time Online Transpacific alliances are all the rage in the booming business of wireless gaming.

	'Gamemaking God' Turns to the Small Screen But will his sports games make it in Japan? People like to play games, move and communicate. And this all points to a potentially large market for interactive gaming on mobile phones.

Research
	Cable TV: Lots of Viewers, Little Profit The cable TV audience grows, but profit is hard to come by.

	Blowfish What the right-wingers are singing, talking on your keitai, and the cost of picking up garbage.