Haig OghigianBy Peter Harris

J@pan Inc interviewed Haig Oghigian, one of Japan’s leading arbitration lawyers from Baker & Mckenzie GJBJ Tokyo Aoyama Aoki Koma Law Office, about the growing trend towards using arbitration to resolve commercial disputes.

Yukio NagasawaBy Louise Calvert
J@pan Inc talks to a former intellectual property judge about IP in China, the US and Japan.

Yukio Nagasawa has a phenomenal resume. Among his glittering array of judicial appointments, professorships and qualifications from top global institutions, two features stand out. Firstly, he has a persistent interest in foreign legal systems: having worked and studied across Asia, Europe and the US, he has a wholly global legal perspective. Secondly, with a total of 20 years experience of work as a judge, including five years at the Supreme Court and four years at the Tokyo District Court, he has a unique inside view of the system.

VodafoneBy Greg Lane
A study of how different companies have failed, and tips on how to succeed, in the Japanese market

With the Japanese government’s push to encourage foreign firms to set up in Japan, along with the enormous success of foreign companies from Goldman Sachs in financial services to LVMH in luxury brands, through to vacuum cleaner maker Dyson, it has become somewhat unfashionable to talk about their not so successful counterparts.

Kazuaki MoriBy Peter Harris
The Value of Responsible Withdrawal from the Market

In a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan in August, Brackett Denniston III, General Counsel for GE spoke about how he has tried to bring “society into strategy.” Denniston, a firm believer that companies can provide social values and benefits, as well as employment and income, sees Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a moral obligation as well as having a positive financial outcome for the company. In particular the “reputational capital” gained by behaving in a way that treats human beings and the environment with respect is highly valuable for the company’s brand image.

DJ 1921-1935By Chris Cleary
How would you like to invest into the crash of ’29?

Investing in hindsight is easy, a maxim most investors assent to— except when applied to their own recent hard-won successes, which are the rewards of foresight, and the willingness to embrace risk.

Kenneth ArbourBy Kenneth Arbour

Kenneth Arbour, President of Century 21 SKY Realty, has spent over 20 years in the real estate and relocation business in Tokyo. This is the second of four articles, in which Ken covers trends in the real estate market in Tokyo and Japan.

China KnowledgeBy Tiger Tong
J@pan Inc’s column concerning investment outside of Japan takes a look at China’s city ranking.

Rising costs and intensified competition in Beijing, Shanghai and other coastal cities have caused many investors to shift their attention to other parts of China. Though China is big, savvy investors who scrutinize the map of China might find their options limited as they plan their next step.

Females and FashionBy Timothy Coghlan

On a Saturday afternoon earlier this year the biggest fashion show ever staged in Japan, and quite possibly the world, took place in Yokohama Arena. This was by far no ordinary fashion show, it was more like a pop concert with its thousands of screaming fans, incredible visual effects and, to top it all off, simultaneous interactive shopping. This is the new cutting edge fashion show: TOKYO GIRLS COLLECTION (TGC).

Teruhisa OikawaBy Joseph Greenberg
Tokyo’s oldest hamburger restaurant is set to capitalize on the gourmet hamburger trend.

The real story of Japan’s first hamburger restaurant is in many ways the story of postwar Japan. It was set up by an American named Johnny Wetzstein in 1950 and throughout the ’50s it was frequented primarily by US soldiers and diplomats who went there to puff on Lucky Strikes and listen to rock‘n’roll. The old menu, under the title ‘No.1 Tokyo Hamburger’ offered a taste of home for the almost 100% foreign crowd, although without access to buns, the meat was cut square so as to fit the sliced bread.

Hiroko TatebeBy Willhemina Wahlin
Profiles of professionals

In Japan, the ‘concrete ceiling’ as it’s commonly known, is still a major stumbling block in the career trajectories of many women. Still a predominantly male-dominated society, it’s not surprising that Japan, which rates seventh in the United Nations Human Development Index, only made it to 69th in the same report’s Gender-related Development Index, and 42nd in the Gender Empowerment Index for 2006.