November 2003 Issue

On the cover: Straight into the eyes of the world's fastest supercomputer. Photograph courtesy of the Earth Simulator Center. "The arrival of the Japanese supercomputer evokes the type of alarm raised by the Soviet Union's Sputnik satellite in 1957. In some sense, we have a Computenik on our hands."

November 2003
No. 49

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November 2003 Issue

Upfront
	From the Editors Read all about ... the new fad.

	A Kerama Kind of Day A generous glimpse at a Japan you only thought you knew.

	IT + AC/DC = TNT! At home in Hyogo with Japan's hardest rocking IT whiz.

	Behold the Gray Panthers Japan's "new" seniors drive consumption. Here's how and why.

	Japan's Coffee Kings and the Starbucks Effect How domestic roaster Doutor basks in Starbucks' success.

	Touring Sakhalin's Japanese Past Oil and a shared history bring Japanese tourists to Russia's Siberian isle.

	The Pulse 2 Technology And Finance News.

	The Pulse 1 The Word on the Street from the Heart of Tokyo.

	To the Editor The Editor's page

	Contributors The Editor's page

Features
	And Justice for All... Nick Baker sits in a Japanese prison. He was charged with smuggling drugs into the country -- a charge he vehemently denies. Now his mother is speaking out, collecting signatures and trying to raise money. Will Nick ever go home?

	Heavy Weather A visit to the world's No. 1 supercomputer, in Yokohama. The Earth Simulator studies the planet for clues about the ways of weather and the potential for enormous natural disasters. Writer Tim Hornyak shows us how.

	Farewell Dear Isle The Cost of Demilitarizing Okinawa. Military Analyst Michael E. Stanley examines the imminent plausibility and economic consequences of a US troop pullout from Okinawa. The question is not if, writes Stanley, but when.

News & Info
	Dating Goes Global Tokyo dating agency Destina straddles the seas to link up the lonely.

	Are the Expats Back? Is the volume of foreign customers entering Japan is really starting to recover?

	Helping the Little Guys Survive BB Net B2B Portal Ambitions Showing Results

Blowfish
	Blowfish Blowfish bemoans beheading as a sign of the times.