It's always interesting to see how foreign business models will do here in Japan, especially those based on the Internet, that have done well overseas by breaking new ground.

People are going "raw" and moving away from heavy fat and preservative-laden diets. A good measure of just how many people are doing this can be found from the sales of juicers and blenders in the market.

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.

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.