April 2003 Issue

On the cover: Smaller funds steal the action in the crowded buyout world. Advantage Partners' Richard Folsom tells us how.

April 2003
No. 42

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April 2003 Issue

Upfront
	To the Editor We received this letter from the author of A Japanese Visa Handbook in response to a column by our publisher, Terrie Lloyd, on WorkinJapan.com

	?????.com Plenty of Japanese-language domain names may be up for grabs this spring.

	Blast from the Past Chakugoe give the dead a new voice.

	Birthday 'Bot Japan's most famous superhero is back in a big way.

	Development of Non-karaoke Mobile Music Is Slow but Under Way We all know that karaoke applications are big in Japan, but what about non-karaoke mobile music software?

	All Aboard! Next Stop: Digital Print Station Next-Generation Digital Photo Vending Machines

	The Pulse 2 The best of J@pan Inc's newsletters

	In Brief Sotec Teams with PC Depot -- ADSL Price War Hits New Low

	Boozing Japan -- Government to Deregulate Licensing JAPAN IS ONE OF the few countries where you can buy booze 24 hours a day -- and it is about to become boozier.

	New International School Breaks from Mold Lower tuition, financial aid for families paying their own way and a more flexible approach toward students having troubles in the classroom.

	Is Japan A Promised Land for Korean Java Engineers? More Java-savvy Korean engineers are viewing Japan as a place for future employment.

	Contributors Lauren Sarti -- Michael E. Stanley -- Steve Myers

	From the Editor Japan's Hippest Export: Art -- The SDF's Identity Crisis -- Atom's Birthday Bash

Features
	Make Deals or Die Buyouts Claw Their Way through a Crowded Marketplace

	Small But Steady Advantage Partners cofounder Richard Folsom talks with J@pan Inc's Sumie Kawakami about the buyout business in Japan.

	Japan's Hippest Export Japanese art is embraced in the West with anime and manga leading the way.

	In Defense of the Realm Just where are the Self-Defense Forces headed in these dark times?

Investor Insight
	The Debate Over Corporate Governance The top-down debate rages on about just what the government and the Bank of Japan can do to revitalize Japan's economy, eradicate deflation and liquidate the growing mountain of nonperforming loans.

Blowfish
	Blowfish Hot mail-order products, the most popular key words in search engines, and living your life over again.