Unfortunately, this could be the last time in November that we view the Japan Times website, because we were greeted with a notice that the newspaper now has a pay wall with two rather unhappy requirements.

When we researched the Kickstarter site we ran across Jed Henry and his Ukiyo-e Heroes project launched in August 2012, which was 3,013% funded. What was Jed promoting to be so successful?

One of the nice things with hydrogen is that it needs massive investment and infrastructure to make it successful, just like the oil economy, so it's better suited to the revenue hopes of Japan's major players.

Ehime has a spectacular series of bridges connecting Honshu to Shikoku. A cycling lane allows you to experience the thrill of a major suspension bridge over deep blue waters without having to rush over it in an automobile.

We think that METI and others should be looking to Singapore and its government-owned Spring corporation. Singapore appears to have figured out how to bring entrepreneurs to their country and how to provide access to capital.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) announced that their officials will be visiting companies and asking them (read, arm-twisting) to increase wages, a part of PM Shinzo Abe's stimulus package.

Lats week groups of up to 200 right-wingers have been gathering in the Korean area, spouting hate slogans enough to incense any right-minded person to want to slap their faces.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government considers aging buildings and the risk of fire more threatening than parts of Tokyo built on newly reclaimed land (such as Odaiba).

The successful launch of Japan's Epsilon rocket and the SPRINT-A satellite aboard this week has a lot of people excited. Does that mean the Epsilon is a breakthrough launch system?

Based on before-and-after cost estimates for Olympic cities since 2002 it appears that none of them came in on budget. Thus we see no reason to think that the Japanese will be any more competent in managing costs.