By Timothy Coghlan -- The economic bubble may have burst long ago in Japan, but bubbles of a different kind still persist in many venues across Tokyo. Synonymous with celebration, celebrities, good time and good taste, champagne is the drink of choice for many occasions. Demand for champagne worldwide is on the rise and recently experts in the wine industry have been talking about the current ‘wine revolution,’ with prices expected to rise in the coming months.

By Louise Calvert -- In terms of national costume and dress, there can be nothing so quintessentially Japanese as the kimono. These often beautiful and elaborate garments became widespread during the Edo period (1603- 1867) and the craft of creating them tended to be passed down from mothers to daughters in the home. However, during the Meiji era, many Japanese reformers adopted Western style clothing, much to the disgust of the Confucian rulers of China. As Western dress was thus a ‘top-down’ phenomenon, it created within Japan a growing demand for domestically produced garments in the new fashion and by the early twentieth century, it was clear that this emerging industry would need well-trained craftsmen, designers, tailors and machine workers.

Brief biographies of who's coming and going in the foreign business community. -- In collaboration with Santa Fe Relocation Services Japan KK, the J@pan Inc Arrivals & departures column takes a look at some of the key figures of Japan's expatriate business community who are either just landing in Japan or flying off to new places. -- Warwick Wright -- Roman Buechler -- Jimmy Cho -- Brian Smoyer -- Carlos Olmos -- Arnaud van den Bossche -- Mark Devadason -- Ivo Brasil

By Ken Worsley -- Back and Forward is a regular column that takes a slightly irreverent look at some of Japan’s biggest business stories. -- Tough first month... -- ...and tougher translators -- Oops! -- Not Oops? -- Re-branding of the year... -- Blindness might set in before on-demand content finally gets here...

Compiler: Burnaby -- J@pan Inc is offering a 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. Please send answers to: J@pan Inc Communications, Minami Aoyama First Building, 7-8-1 Minami Aoyama, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 107-0062