In Japan's front offices, a new fusion of East and West

TOKYO: Now that Japan is emerging from years of sluggish growth, its corporations appear to have produced something few executives or analysts expected even a few years ago: a management method that incorporates lessons from American companies while preserving the practices that once made Japanese companies famous.Until very recently, it was widely expected that recession and the mounting pressures of global competition would force corporate Japan to surrender traditions like loyalty to employees and suppliers and responsibility to shareholders. Prominent analysts in the Tokyo offices of firms like Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch were among the most enthusiastic exponents of this view.But a funny thing happened on the way to the Japanese recovery. What was almost universally written off as Japan's "lost decade" has left this nation's leading companies stunningly competitive.........

Evening Sky at Mt. Fuji

As the sun is setting, the majestic mountain looms large against the glowing evening sky. A white cloudbank approaches from the left, reaching into the red sky, its lively form contrasting with the firm outline of Mt.Fuji; gold reflections of light at the base of the mighty mountain complete this glowing, remarkable image.

Unbind Japan's Military

By George F. Will
Sunday, August 27, 2006

TOKYO -- Ever since Commodore Perry's black ships entered the harbor here in 1853, the Japanese have wondered whether their nation could modernize without becoming thoroughly westernized. Today they wonder whether their nation can provide for their defense and play a proper role in the international security system without jettisoning a national identity imposed in 1947 by the nation that had sent the black ships.

Are you a collector?

Don't leave home without it!

40 years of Corolla history

The history of Toyota Motor Corp.'s most popular car, the Corolla, is the focus of an exhibition in Tokyo's Odaiba district to mark the 40th anniversary of one of Japan's best-selling autos.

The Legacy of Japan's 'Lion Heart'

TOKYO -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's tenure, which ends next month, has been more remarkable than perhaps most Japanese comprehend. The third-longest serving prime minister since 1945, his five years have echoed aspects of the careers of four Western leaders -- Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Rudy Giuliani and Andrew Jackson.

Furnished apartments in Tokyo

Are you planning to visit Tokyo and are looking for an apartment for a short trip or an extended stay?

Why not rent an apartment for a week, month or year for your next business or vacationvisit?

Scientists Offer Proof of 'Dark Matter'

Analysis of Galactic Collision Said to Reveal Mysterious Substance
This composite image depicts the "bullet cluster" formed by galactic collision,
with hot gas in a bullet shape shown in red and areas of dense matter in blue.
Most of the matter in blue area is "dark," according to the astronomers' analysis.

(NASA/AFP/Getty Images)

An Answer in a Galactic Collision Astronomers say the aftermath of a collision between two galactic clusters provides the strongest evidence yet of the existence of "dark matter" - matter that doesn't emit or reflect anything that can be detected, but whose presence can be inferred from its gravitational effects on visible matter.

This article is courtesy of Dave Lautz's alert this morning.

Fresh off the press....

Two lovers in Texas

Bob & Jennifer (Plesman) Jackson

Your Brain Boots Up Like a Computer

As we yawn and open our eyes in the morning, the brain stem sends little puffs of nitric oxide to another part of the brain, the thalamus, which then directs it elsewhere.Like a computer booting up its operating system before running more complicated programs, the nitric oxide triggers certain functions that set the stage for more complex...

Photographer dies

Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for this image of World War II Marines raising an American flag over Iwo Jima, died Sunday.

“irezumi” or “horimono”

Japanese tattoos are called “irezumi” or “horimono”. These days tattoos are becoming more common again with the young set, although for years it was considered as something used only by the lower dredges of society, or worse –the Yakuza or Japanese mafia.In fact, many public bathing houses around the country wont let you in if you’re an “illustrated man”.
Irezumi, are tattoos which cover large areas of the body, like the back. Historically, the tattoo has been around Japan for a while.
The Ainu people, Japan’s early settlers used facial tattoos. And more reports around 1700 years back talk about the Japanese having whole bodies covered in tattoos.
When Buddhism was brought from China to Japan and with it a strong influence of the Chinese culture, tattooing got negative connotations. Criminals were marked with tattoos to punish and identify them in society as the higher developed Chinese culture saw tattooing as a barbaric act.
From around 1603 to1868, known as the Edo period when Japan closed its doors to the world, Japanese tattoo art became a part of “ukiyo-e” also known as “the floating world culture”. Prostitutes or “ yujos” used tattoos to increase their attractiveness for customers.
In 1827 the ukiyo-e artist Kuniyoshi published the first 6 designs of the 108 Heroes of the Suikoden. The Suikoden were honorable bandits. The richness and fantasy of the Japanese tattoo prints designs shown by Kuniyoshi are used by some tattoo artists up to this time.
The Imperial Meiji government banned tattooing as something considered a barbaric relict of the past. During the first half of the twentieth century, horimono remained a forbidden art form until 1948, when the prohibition was officially lifted.

How to Taste Dark Chocolate

The actual flavour compounds found in dark chocolate exceed that of red wine, and detecting all these notes can be an extremely fun and educational endeavor. The following will serve as a guideline so that you can extract the fullest flavor potential from dark chocolate.

Yes, Ken has a wife.....

but he forgot to upack her in Toronto. I Googled Linda Guzzo and this what I came up with so now you know I am not alone in life even though you couldn't tell it by our names.

Hope for Ruth, Roger & Gaynor?

commercial

The words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart.....

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Who do people say you are?

The Expert Mind

Studies of the mental processes of chess grandmasters have revealed clues to how people become experts in other fields as well.

Tension Enshrined!

Visitors to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo Tuesday

August 15th, 2006, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.

DIG STARTS AT WTC SHRINE

Despite still needing to raise more than $170 million to complete the project, construction workers finally began building the World Trade Center memorial yesterday.

300G IN SCAR BUCKS SUIT BURNS JAVA GIANT

No wonder their drinks cost so much — Starbucks has to pay $300,000 for spilling hot coffee on a Manhattan woman's foot.

Roger the planter....

left click on each object to enlarge

Drinks featuring medicinal herbs gaining popularity

Drinks containing Korean ginseng, chameleon plant -- or "dokudami" -- and other substances used in herbal medicine are rapidly gaining acceptance, not only with health-conscious consumers but also with their pets.

How much is that rice in the window?

CAJ Class of 2007?

Shoko Hasegawa, 17, text-messages a friend near the
Jingubashi Bridge in the Harajuku district in Tokyo.

Gimme shelter

Architect Kyohei Sakaguchi jumps off from a home built by a homeless man named Shoji under a bridge spanning over Tokyo's Tama River. "I have a sturdy house and I'm free to do what I like," Shoji said of his hand-erected, cubic home, perched on 1.5-meter (4.9-foot) high stilts to prevent flooding. A multitude of tools and other belongings hang from the ceiling to his home. "It's much better than going to a shelter," he said. (AP)

U.S. beef returns to Japan after import ban ends

TOKYO-- Japan imported its first shipment of American beef since January on Monday, resuming a once-booming business that has been crippled for nearly three years over fears of mad cow disease.

Burendo ikaga desuka?

an image that impresses

The Way We Were

What year is this picture from?

font was enlarged to try and get an answer; hint!

(left click to enlarge the picture and right click to save it)

Heisei

From:

Windows for the Crown Prince by Elizabeth Gray Vining

J. B. Lippincott Company 1952

The True Tokyo