<<<< Japan High-Tech Update>>>>
A monthly review of the latest developments in Japan’s IT, telecom, and life sciences sectors

March 2004 - Volume VII, Issue III

Triangle Technologies is the leading Japan Israel business development and investment advisory firm
www.triangletech.com

Dan's Desk

From Triangle's CEO

Dan's Japan compatibility inventory is finally GA-ed! After extensive beta-testing, clinical studies, and animal safety trials, we bring you the original, one and only way to determine in advance if you have a, well, yen for doing business in Japan. In 5 minutes we can determine in advance if you should go to Japan, or stay home and save your yen.

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Do you fit the Japanese market, or better to stay home? Please answer this simple yes/no exam and I will send you the scoring protocol next month with a summary of the results. Each item begins with “I believe that….

“…I need to decide which market to enter- Japan or China. Y/N

“…When Microsoft has bug-free products, so will we. Y/N

“…The Japanese business culture has Westernized. Y/N

“…Quality is a marketing issue. Y/N

“…Japanese lack creativity but are great at manufacturing. Y/N

“…All start ups’ first products are bad. Y/N

"…Being polite, friendly, gracious, quiet, self-effacing - these are all signs of weakness. Y/N

“…I will invest in product adaptation if the customer will commit to buy. Y/N

“…Are these guys crazy?!*&% Y/N

“…Having a good quality product will reduce my support costs. Y/N

“…I am more clever than most Japanese executives. Y/N

“…The most important thing in selling to Japanese companies is to clearly explain your value proposition. Y/N

“…The Japanese expect perfection. Y/N

“…Japanese companies can benefit from Israeli creativity and innovativeness. Y/N

“…The customer is always right.” Y/N

“…If I can sell in Germany and Switzerland, I can sell in Japan. Y/N

“…Shit! They are driving ME crazy. Y/N

And for extra credit (2 points) answer the following:

“…When Japanese visit Israel (without our main tourist attraction, Sheikh Yasin, who would want to visit here, anyway?) I like to take them to the great Japanese restaurants we have.” N/N

Dan

***TRIANGLE TECHNOLOGIES NEWS***

On January 8 Daniel Isenberg (CEO) and Yoshinori Oikawa (VP) of Triangle Technologies conducted a 3 hours briefing, along with legal experts from the renowned Boston law firm, Mintz Levin, on "Life Sciences Opportunities in Japan". Attendees were 35 Boston-based clients of Mintz Levin from the biotechnology, medical device, and pharmaceutical fields. The client briefing covered:

FACT - Japan is ranked #2 after the US in the number of best seller drugs developed, and has been producing blockbuster drugs (multi-billion $ in sales) in the recent 10 years. Watch out for the Japanese pharmas.

***MIDDLE EAST-JAPAN NEWS***

+JAPAN SENDS LAST BATCH OF GSDF CORE TROOPS FOR IRAQ

(Xinhuanet, March 21): The third and final group of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) core contingent left a military air base in Hokkaido for Kuwait, paving the way for full GSDF aid operations in Iraq. The 120-member team will be deployed in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah by the end of this month, completing the 550-member contingent tasked with supplying water, repairing local infrastructure and providing medical services.

***BUSINESS NEWS***

+TRENDS IN UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY COOPERATION

(Japan Inc. March 22): Universities renewed efforts to build and promote MBA schools, although there are still only about 10,000 MBA students in Japan. More recently, the commercialization of Intellectual Property is taking place. Todai (University of Tokyo) is running a Technology Licensing Organization for over 5 years now.

+TOURISM SET TO PICK UP

(UPI and The Sankei Shimbun, March 18): After a 3-year slump, the April Japanese overseas travel outlook is much better, with up to 50 to 90% more reservations than this time last year. The most popular destination is Hawaii.

+JR EAST SMART CARD CAN NOW BE USED FOR SHOPPING AND DINING

(Kyodo News, March 22): East Japan Railway Co (JR East) launched a service allowing holders of the latest version of its Suica electronic train fare cards to also use them for shopping and dining at JR stations.

+WORLD'S DSL SUBSCRIBERS REACH 63.8 MILLION

(DSL Forum March 5): DSL subscribers reached 63.8 million at the end of 2003 on a worldwide basis, up 28 million from a year earlier. China is the leader, with 10.95 million. It is followed by Japan, with 10,272,052 after adding 4.6 million DSL subscribers in 2003. After Japan are the United States, Korea, Germany, France, Taiwan, Italy, Canada, and the UK.

***GENERAL TECHNOLOGY NEWS***

+MUSIC IDENTIFICATION

(nikkei.co.jp, March 18): NTT has developed a database search technology which identifies with high accuracy music that is sent to the server. The technology is being offered on a cell phone. The user activates the application on their cell phone when listening to some music they don't know. The music data is passed on to the NTT server, parsed and returns the title and performers of the tracks.

+SLEEPING LEVEL MEASUREMENT

(Kyodo News March 23): The Research Institute of Human Engineering for Quality Life and Matsushita Electric Works Ltd have jointly developed a computerized device to measure how deeply a person is sleeping by electronically counting the pulse.

+PERSONAL ROBOTS BECOME MAINSTREAM AFTER SUBSTANTIAL R&D

(NE Asia, MArch 1): The Japan Robot Association (JARA) forecasts that personal robots will account for half of the entire robot market by 2010 and that the Japanese market for robots will be worth 8 trillion yen in 2025. The personal robots can be broadly classified into two groups; The "house-sitter robots" monitor the inside of homes through images taken by cameras and information detected by sensors. The other group consists of "communication robots" to entertain and relax people through conversations, body language and hand signals.

***LIFE SCIENCES AND ENVIRONMENT NEWS***

+GREEN TEA TO FIGHT CANCER

(betterhumans.com, March 17): A component of green tea has been found to bind a protein on tumor cells, supporting the drink's role in cancer prevention and suggesting that just two to three cups are enough to see benefits. Researchers in Kyushu University have shown why the Green Tea Antioxidant Epigallocatechin Gallate has protective effects against several types of cancer.

+ WORLD'S FIRST BIO PHOTOSENSOR BASED ON LIVING ORGANISMS

(JCNN, March 17): The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) announced that a joint research group consisted of researchers from AIST, the Tokyo University of Science, the University of Tokyo, Shizuoka University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology has succeeded in developing the world's first bio photosensor. Combining a living organism and a silicon chip, the new photosensor can convert light into electricity. Use of the photoelectric converting section of a blue-green bacterium, which can achieve near perfect quantum yields in photoelectric conversion, enables photoelectric conversion that produces a very low level of heat.

+BIRD FLU

(Yomiuri March 10):This disease is a big topic in all of East Asia this winter it influences economic and health practices. The Infectious Disease Surveillance Center of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases has said that you can kill the avian influenza virus by cooking the chicken meat at 75 degrees C for at least 1 minute. The Center also said that eggs sold in Japan are already sterilized externally by chlorine, so a simple wash under the tap should be sufficient precaution.