By Kevin Mcgue -- Giant department store Isetan and its service to help foreign customers find a better suit -- It can be hard for a man of any size or stature to find a properly fitting suit. For those who are big or tall in Japan and find themselves behind a language barrier, this difficult task can seem nearly impossible.

Nicolas Serres
This month Arrivals & Departures takes a different approach from its usual format to focus on Weber Shandwick’s new Olympic bid specialist, Nicolas Serres.

By Ken Worsley -- Nuggets of economic wisdom -- Looking for new customers... -- ...and new gamblers -- Trains for iPhones... -- ...and greater sales for foreign firms in Japan -- Privatization meets musicians... -- ...and oil money meets China

J@pan Inc is offering the prize of two free tickets to see Tokyo Sinfonia—Japan’s finest chamber orchestra conducted by Robert Ryker. All correctly completed entries will be entered into our prize draw.

Terrie LloydThe surprise for most foreign businesspeople is that most laws in Japan are not clearly defined and thus the emphasis on doing lawful business is to meet the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law. This means one’s actions speak louder in a conflict resolution than one’s intelligence—a great way to level the playing field.

Not having clear rules to play by can be very disconcerting for foreign managers arriving in Japan. The frequent refrain is, “How do we know what we’re allowed to do when it isn’t clear what the limits are?”

Peter Harris Dear Readers -- I hope you are enjoying receiving the magazine more regularly. This issue is our legal special and we are excited to cover what seems to be a thriving industry, in spite of the credit crunch. In June this year, London’s ‘Magic Circle’ top law firms announced record turnovers with Clifford Chance reporting a leading revenue figure of £1.3 billion, up 13% from last year. In Japan, the industry can also be said to be experiencing something of a boom and our cover story features three firms that have recently opened Tokyo offices; we spoke to them about the growing need for their services and consider how their arrival might change the dynamics of the industry.

Dear Editor -- It is widely known that Dentsu is a corporate giant with the lion’s share of business; its presence and contacts in the marketplace are unmatched. But surely, its success is not born entirely out of ignorance, bullying and grey practices as the article seems to suggest.

By Gavin Blair -- Is freedom of expression in Japan under threat? -- In February, the director of the “Yasukuni” documentary and staff at his production company received death threats, and in March a number of cinemas pulled the film after pressure from politicians and nationalist groups. April saw a freelance journalist ordered to pay compensation for libel over an article he didn’t write but was quoted in. In May, 38 demonstrating students were arrested for trespass on their campus at Tokyo’s prestigious Hosei University and detained without charge for three weeks.

By Peter Harris -- With three new foreign law firms entering the market, J@pan Inc looks at the changing dynamics of the legal industry in Japan. -- On April 1 1987, the Japanese government started to allow foreign lawyers to practice in Japan, provided that their business was limited to advising on law from different jurisdictions and international law. Immediately, major firms such as Morrison Forrester and White & Case opened Tokyo offices and by 1994, 48 foreign firms had opened in Japan. As the economy went through more turbulent times, some of the firms left the market, for example, Brown & Platt in 1995 and Macfarlanes in 1997. Recently however, the number of new openings appears to be on the up with three firms, Quinn Emanuel, Norton Rose and Ropes & Gray having been granted licenses by the Ministry of Justice within the last 12 months. Off the record, some other firms have also told us that they have plans to open a Tokyo office in the near future.

By Jiri Mestecky, Registered Foreign Attorney, Kitahama Partners -- A legal expert writes on protecting trade secrets and personal information in Japan -- There is no doubt that one of the most important aspects of doing business in any country is protecting company trade secrets as well as individuals’ personal information. Nonetheless, trade secrets and personal information are not necessarily the same, and where different, are protected by different laws. This is true under the laws of Japan as well as those of other countries. The purpose of this article is to briefly explain the legal framework for the protection of these two types of extremely important proprietary and confidential information under Japanese law.