The Value of Partnerships

For entrepreneurs looking to build a new business or expand an existing one, a strong partner can be key. For a company such as a consumer product business seeking to launch products into a new industry sector, partnering with a company already integrated into that sector’s channels of distribution can make market entry easier and more realistic to achieve.

In the late 1990s, a colleague of mine developed an idea for a new business he wanted to launch. He had experienced failure in a prior startup and felt I had the right complement of skills to fill in where he had gaps. We worked together for several months, developing and refining the business concept and crafting the business plan. But we were not yet partners; we were simply working together.

Over time, we saw how well we worked together and confirmed that our skills complemented each other’s well. And we came to see how each of us made specific contributions toward getting the business idea funded. Over time, we continued to refine how we defined our respective roles, and through mutual agreement, my role grew to be that of chief operating officer. We had become partners, and as partners we were successful in raising venture capital to launch the business. We built it up to a 36-person company with offices in four cities over three years.

As you work with others who may be able to help you build your business, consider these questions before inking any partnership deals:

1. Are your skill sets truly complementary? Do you support each other’s weaknesses well?

2. Are your working styles compatible? Importantly, do you enjoy working together?

3. Are your business and personal philosophies similar? Do you both want the same things out of your venture?

Resources: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2010/06/the_value_of_partnerships.html

Apple works to keep up with new iPhone demand

SEATTLE —

The iPhone 4 has arrived, but for some people the wait continues as Apple sprints to keep up with fierce demand for its latest gadget.

From Tokyo to San Francisco, some stores started selling out of Apple Inc’s newest iPhone just hours after it went on sale Thursday. Some would-be buyers walked away disappointed; tensions grew at Apple stores that hadn’t run out.

In Aventura, Fla, Loren and Veronica McHenry held out hope, even after miscommunications landed them at the back of the line. They were told Wednesday that no one was allowed on mall property overnight, but returned the next day to learn 120 people had camped out at a nearby parking lot.

As the crowd pushed closer to the store, Apple employees started yelling that the fire marshal was going to shut the store down unless people moved back. The McHenrys were shoved out of place and behind a large group of people who refused to budge from their spots. Loren McHenry, 42, said two men in front of them threatened to fight each other rather than move, and guards sent a handful of people home for cutting in line.

After 11 hours, the couple finally had iPhones, but Veronica McHenry vowed to pre-order to avoid such a scene in the future. At other stores, even people who reserved a phone waited in line for eight hours or more.

Outside New York’s Fifth Avenue store, Jasmine Cordova, 25, said that given the hype and advertisements surrounding the launch, “they should make sure to stock enough.”

It seems even Apple was surprised by the number of people who wanted to snap up the fourth version of the iPhone. More than 600,000 had rushed to pre-order iPhones on the first day they were available, prompting Apple and its exclusive wireless partner in the U.S., AT&T Inc, to stop taking orders for pickup or shipment by Thursday’s launch. On Apple’s website, new orders weren’t promised for delivery until July 14.

Those who didn’t order in advance lined up outside Apple stores in the hopes of snagging one on a first-come, first-served basis.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said demand was “off the charts,” and that the company was working hard to get phones into customers’ hands as quickly as possible.

Some stores sold out completely within hours. Brian Marshall, an analyst for Gleacher & Co, said certain Apple stores likely had enough iPhones to last into Friday before selling out. A new shipment could be in stores as early as Saturday, he said, but more likely won’t arrive until early next week.

Apple is having a hard time getting enough of the new custom parts for the iPhone 4, such as its new higher-resolution screen, Marshall said. Apple has said the white iPhone it plans to produce has been more challenging than expected, and won’t be available until late July. Only black models went on sale Thursday.

It may also be the case that Apple correctly anticipated opening-day demand but sent too many phones to some of its 200-plus U.S. stores and not enough to others, said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu.

Despite heightened concerns about a short supply, the scenes at Apple stores as the phone went on sale in Japan, Germany, France, the UK and the U.S. were familiar ones.

As was the case with last year’s iPhone 3GS launch, the eager throngs seemed unfazed by ongoing economic uncertainty.

Apple employees continued the tradition of providing bottled water, coffee, bagels and even cupcakes to people in line. In downtown Chicago, the store handed out black umbrellas with white Apple logos for customers who waited overnight through severe thunderstorms and even defied tornado sirens that wailed around the city.

In Tokyo’s swanky Ginza shopping district, a man dressed as a giant iPhone danced and waived his arms as he made it to the front of the line. As always, people traveled long distances to get an iPhone before their countrymen. Alex Lee, 27, flew from Dubai to join the 500-person-long line along London’s Regent Street.

Enterprising people with time on their hands found ways to make a buck. Jordan Richardson, who waited outside the Chicago store since 7 a.m. Wednesday, sold his spot early Thursday for $500, then paid another customer $200 to get back in line. His profit of $300 was enough to cover the cost of the higher-capacity model (A lower-capacity version sold for $100 less; both require a two-year contract).

Some people were drawn by the new iPhone’s thinness, its better-resolution screen and longer battery life than prior versions. The iPhone 4 also has cameras on both sides for face-to-face video calls.

Others were simply desperate.

“I have the 3GS,” said Julia Glanternik, 28, a medical student in New York, “but my friend dropped it in a pitcher of beer last week.”

Resources:

http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/apple-works-to-keep-up-with-new-iphone-demand

Number of Chinese visitors to Japan soars 86% in May

TOKYO —

The number of visitors to Japan from China has continued increasing sharply and is likely to mark a new high this year, according to data released by the government.

Around 110,000 Chinese visited Japan for business or tourism purposes in May, up 86% from a year earlier, raising the number of visitors in the first five months of this year by 36% to about 600,000, the Japan National Tourism Organization said in a preliminary report.

As Japan will relax visa conditions for individual Chinese tourists from next month, the number of visitors from China is expected to reach an all-time high of 1.5 million this year, topping the current record of 1.01 million set in 2009, according to Japanese tourism industry officials.

The number of Chinese visitors, which totaled around 350,000 in 2000, has continued increasing since Japan began accepting group tours from China in September the same year, topping 1 million in 2008, due to rising incomes in China.

The number of tourists who visited Japan from other Asian countries, such as India, Singapore and Thailand, in the January-May period also increased by double digits, the government agency said.

While foreign visitors in the five-month period totaled approximately 3.5 million, Chinese accounted for 17%, Americans 8% and Britons 2%.
==Kyodo

Resources:

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/number-of-chinese-visitors-to-japan-soars-86-in-may

Green golf ball

Golf equipment supplier Tour Stage has released the fifth in a series of multicolored golf balls. Tour Stage says green may help particularly meditative golfers fine-tune their game.

The new color is part of the V10 series of balls that Tour Stage says feature improved aerodynamics and spin. Additionally, the glossed dimples are reportedly easier to see compared to a standard ball.

Resources:

http://www.japantoday.com/category/new-products/view/green-golf-ball

Internet Addiction – A Growing Problem

The New York Times has reported on a problem that many of us have but are not aware of – Internet addiction. According to reporter Tara Parker-Pope, millions of us are addicted to being online. She says this is a growing problem that is making us more forgetful and impatient. Ms Parker-Pope writes about various reports highlighting how technology is changing people. In one, she quotes cyber-psychologist Dr. Elias Aboujaode who says: “More and more, life is resembling the chat room.” He said we are living in “virtual lifestyles” which is negatively affecting our real-life relationships. Nicki Dowling, a clinical psychologist from Melbourne University in Australia, concluded in a recent study that ten per cent of young people had what she called “Internet dependence”.

Tara Parker-Pope quizzed experts in this field on what the signs are of being overly absorbed in technology. She came up with seven indicators of “tech overload”. The first is whether you check your e-mail before doing other things. Another telltale sign is if you always anticipate and look forward to your next online visit – a sure sign of dependence and addiction. The third point is if you say, "just a few more minutes" when someone wants you. Parker-Pope found your interaction with others also says a lot about how important the Internet is compared with family and friends; do you lie about how much time you spend online or choose to surf the Net instead of go out with others? Other giveaways include the “online lift” that stops you being unhappy, and when others complain about you always being online.

Resources:
http://breakingnewsenglish.com/1006/100610-internet_addiction.html

Climate Change is Real and Man-Made, Say Scientists Who Actually Know What They´re Talking About

Though climate change skeptics like to argue that the scientific jury is out on whether human activity contributes to climate change, a new study finds that the experts in climate science share a "striking agreement" with the IPCC´s conclusions.

The study, which was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that the expertise of scientists who are convinced by climate change evidence "vastly overshadows" the expertise of climate change skeptics.

The report also says that media coverage of climate change has created confusion among the public, as media outlets falsely portray skeptics as being just as qualified and credible as experts who conclude that mankind is harming the climate.

The Apple that fell far from the tree

The often used idiom, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” does not apply to Apple Computer co-founder Ronald Wayne.

Ronald Wayne (pictured), one of the three co-founders of Apple Computer, sold out early for hundreds rather than millions yet refuses to submit to regrets.

The 76-year-old Wayne is two decades older than Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

Photo above shows Ron Wayne walking near his Nevada home.

Mr. Wayne lives in remote Pahrump, Nevada. It is a place so near the middle of nowhere that it didn’t get telephones until the 1960s.

He was 42 and chief draftsman at Atari when he first encountered 21-year-old Steve Jobs. It was Wayne who designed the original Apple logo and wrote the original manual.

http://caveviews.blogs.com/cave_news/2010/06/the-apple-that-fell-far-from-the-tree.html

American Airlines to charge for early boarding

Just when we thought airlines had run out of new ways to charge passenger, American Airlines discovered another.

The new assault on travelers wallets is a service American Airlines calls a “Boarding and Flexibility Package” that charges $9 and up each way for earlier boarding, the right to stand by for an earlier flight and a discount on change fees.

http://caveviews.blogs.com/cave_news/2010/06/american-airlines-now-charging-for-early-boarding.html

Latest airline fee? Early boarding

(CNN) -- Do you like to be one of the first people to board a plane, avoiding crowded aisles and getting your pick of overhead bin space? There's a fee for that.

American Airlines has introduced the "Boarding and Flexibility Package," which allows passengers who buy tickets on the carrier's website also to purchase perks that include being among the first to board a flight.

The "introductory price" for the package ranges from $9 to $19 one way and varies based on the market and routing.

The package also includes a $75 discount off the regular $150 fee charged on many fares if you need to change your itinerary and allows you to be on standby for an earlier flight for free.

This summer, American will offer early boarding as a stand-alone option for a flat fee of $10 each way. Air travelers will be able to buy the perk at self-service check-in kiosks up to one hour before their flight is scheduled to leave.

The airline is emphasizing the package gives air travelers the flexibility to customize their trip based on their needs.

"If customers feel confident they will not have to or likely will not wish to make any changes to their low-fare itinerary, they will likely decide not to purchase this particular offering," said American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith in an e-mail.

But at least one consumer travel expert wasn't impressed, especially by the discounts offered by the "Boarding and Flexibility Package."

"American is allowing you to pay a fee to avoid paying a fee," wrote Christopher Elliott, a travel columnist and National Geographic Traveler magazine's reader advocate. "This is as bizarre a move as charging for the first bag, which American Airlines pioneered."

Passengers who pay the early boarding fee won't be the very first on the plane. That privilege will still be reserved for American's elite status members. And as always, passengers with special needs will be allowed to board early without paying anything extra, Smith said.

Other airlines have introduced similar fees.

United Airlines offers a "Premier Line" service starting at $19, which gives passengers priority boarding. Southwest Airlines charges $10 for its "Early Bird Check-in," which promises air travelers "a better boarding position." Europe's Ryanair, which is famous for its low prices and variety of fees, charges 4 euro (about $5) for priority boarding.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/06/17/american.airlines.boarding.fee/

Supermarket store sales down 5.3% in May

TOKYO —

Japan’s supermarket store sales in May declined 5.3% from a year earlier on a same-store basis, extending their losing streak to 18 months, an industry body said Tuesday. Sales for all three major product categories suffered declines on weak consumption in the month, the Japan Chain Stores Association said.

Sales of foods, accounting for more than 60% of supermarket sales, decreased 5.8%. Household product sales fell 4.7% and clothing sales 3%.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/supermarket-store-sales-down-53-in-may

Japan finding out who gets big pay under new rule

YOKOHAMA —

Japan is finally finding out who is getting the big paychecks, thanks to a new rule requiring disclosure of pay for executives receiving 100 million yen ($1 million) or more.

But the list of millionaire bosses is surprisingly short and many of them it turns out are foreigners—like Nissan Motor Co Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, who raised the ire of a few shareholders when he announced Wednesday his whopping compensation of $9.5 million for the fiscal year ended March.

The disclosures mark a dramatic shift for Japan’s corporate culture, which has previously not fostered professional management based on risk-taking by a decisive executive with the hefty paycheck to back it, analysts say.

Instead, companies have made decisions by building consensus among a group of managers—all getting a fraction of the pay of their Western counterparts.

The Brazilian-born Ghosn, who also has French citizenship, told shareholders that Nissan is a global company with a diverse group of executives. Some 44% of its board directors are non-Japanese.

He also pointed out his pay as chief executive was lower than what other chiefs were getting at comparable companies on average, which he said was $12.6 million.

Still, he was heckled by a couple of shareholders, who shouted, “Get out, Ghosn,” and another who stood up to question the pay, demanding that he share it with his workers.

They were a clear minority, and company’s pay proposals won shareholders’ approval without any trouble.

Unlike the U.S. and parts of Europe, Japan has not required companies to disclose executive pay until this year. And the move toward greater transparency in corporate governance has barely begun.

Some companies had reported executive pay voluntarily, but they were rare. More common was the practice of reporting just the combined amount of money that board members received, leaving much to mathematical guesswork.

Studies by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers Co estimate that top Japanese executives earn on average 50 million yen ($500,000), or a quarter of what their American counterparts earn at about 200 million yen ($2 million).

Only about 1.4% of the board of directors in Japan receive 100 million yen or more, which likely translates to about 100 people whose earnings will be disclosed under the new rule, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Last week, Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. made headlines when it disclosed at a shareholders’ meeting that Chief Executive Howard Stringer got 800 million yen ($8.8 million) in annual pay, although the electronics maker has racked up red ink for two straight years.

Nearly half of Welsh-born Stringer’s pay came from stock options.

At a luncheon following the Nissan shareholder meeting, some said they were shocked by the amount Ghosn was making. But they also said he deserved it. Baseball players made as much, one said.

“It’s reasonable by global standards,” said Hiroaki Kawaguchi, an auditor, who owns 1,000 Nissan shares.

The 10 highest-paid CEOs for 2009 at Standard & Poor’s 500 companies earned between $24.4 million and $47.2 million, based on calculations by The Associated Press.

Officials at Nissan, Japan’s No. 3 automaker that is allied with Renault SA of France, say Ghosn has been offered other high-paying jobs, and it takes money to keep him at his job.

Masato Shirai, a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, expects a gradual trend toward Japanese executives getting better pay.

“You cannot expect to attract international investment if you don’t have global standards in transparency,” he said. “Investors want to know what management is doing, and for what kind of money.”

Up to now, Japan has been not only underpaying executives but has also been secretive, hiding under a myth that everyone is equal, and no one should stand out, Shirai said.

Japanese companies have been so insular that standards of corporate transparency lag far behind the West and some Asian nations.

Sometimes a Japanese company will buy out a foreign company and find out executives at its new subsidiary are getting more pay than their own president.

All that has to change, but Japanese management will also have to own up to failures, says Yuzo Fujishima, a corporate governance expert at Tokyo think-tank Daiwa Institute of Research.

“Otherwise, Japanese companies aren’t going to be able to compete against global companies,” he said. “A board made up of salarymen simply can’t deliver on the speed needed for decisions on mergers and acquisitions and other risk-taking.”

The new rule is designed to encourage a new generation of executives to proudly accept big pay, Fujishima says.

“Right now, personnel decisions are being made rather irresponsibly. It’s almost as though anyone can be president,” he said.

Even Ghosn acknowledged Japanese executives should be getting more.

“We are a Japanese company but we have global management,” he said. “There is a problem today about this discrepancy.”

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/japan-finding-out-who-gets-big-pay-under-new-rule

JAL to encourage early retirement of 3,300 more employees

TOKYO —

Japan Airlines Corp plans to encourage around 3,300 more group employees to take early retirement during the current fiscal year through next March, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. JAL, which is undergoing a state-backed rehabilitation process, is expected to start soliciting the bulk of the additional early retirement applications in autumn or later, the sources said.

The move is part of the deficit-ridden airline’s program to eliminate about 16,000 jobs in fiscal 2010 as part of efforts to turn itself around after filing for bankruptcy protection in January. As of early this month, around 4,000 employees had applied for early retirement, and the company has determined that the additional number is necessary to reach its payroll reduction target for the current business year, the sources said.

In line with its plan to scrap 45 international and domestic routes from late September through March next year to swiftly restore the carrier to profitability, JAL is seeking applications from about 670 pilots, around 570 cabin crew members and an estimated 560 aircraft maintenance service mechanics.

JAL will also aim to cut down on expenses through the planned sale of its group’s hotel operations to Hotel Okura Tokyo Co, with which it is currently in the final stages of negotiations, the sources said.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/jal-to-encourage-early-retirement-of-3300-more-employees

Sharp to boost local output overseas

OSAKA —

Sharp Corp said Wednesday it will step up local production for consumption in China and other overseas markets to challenge the growing presence of South Korean rivals. The plan was revealed by Sharp President Mikio Katayama at the major Japanese electronics maker’s general shareholders meeting in Osaka.

Sharp is facing an uphill battle with Samsung Electronics Co and other South Korean manufacturers in liquid crystal television and other sectors due to the yen’s appreciation against the won, Katayama said. ‘‘We can fight without gloves’’ if Sharp reduces foreign exchange risks by increasing local production, he added.

The Osaka-based company booked a group net profit of 4.3 billion yen in the year ended in March, a turnaround from a loss of 125.8 billion yen the previous year, due in part to the strong performance of its photovoltaic cell business.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/sharp-to-boost-local-output-overseas

Toyota president apologizes to shareholders

TOYOTA —

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda bowed deeply and apologized to shareholders Thursday for the troubles caused by massive global recalls of the company’s vehicles.

Toyoda was facing shareholders for the first time since the Japanese automaker’s reputation for quality was damaged by the quality crisis that started last October.

Again bowing deeply after the remark, Toyoda also said the company was doing its utmost to improve quality control and thanked shareholders for their support.

“I apologize deeply for the concerns we have caused,” he said. “We believe our most important task is to regain customers’ trust.”

The shareholders’ meeting was closed to the media, but the proceedings could be seen in a TV monitor in another room at Toyota headquarters in the city named after the automaker.

Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, has been working to patch up its reputation after more than 8 million vehicles were recalled worldwide over reports of unintended acceleration and other defects.

U.S. authorities slapped Toyota with a record $16.4 million fine for acting too slowly on the recalls. Toyota dealers have repaired millions of vehicles, but the automaker still faces more than 200 lawsuits tied to accidents, the lower resale value of Toyota vehicles and the drop in the company’s stock.

Although the recall debacle hung over the shareholders’ meeting, the statements from Toyoda and other officials were met with polite applause. A handful of shareholders shouted their anger.

The region where the automaker is headquartered is packed with Toyota plants, suppliers and other businesses like hotels and restaurants that are heavily reliant on Toyota and fiercely loyal.

“The company stumbled badly over the recalls, and it became a big problem,” said one shareholder, who identified himself only by his surname Nishikawa.

He also expressed hopes Toyoda as the “face of the company” will handle the recall problem bravely, without breaking into tears, referring to a widely reported meeting that a tearful Toyoda had with dealers in the U.S. where the recalls were concentrated.

Others asked about Toyota’s strategy for green vehicles and how it planned to expand in emerging markets, including dealing with labor strife that has temporarily shut down production n China.

Toyota Executive Vice President Satoshi Ozawa said recall-related costs for the fiscal year ended March totaled 380 billion yen ($4 billion).

Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki acknowledged that Toyota had failed to fully understand the feelings of customers about safety.

But he said the company was working harder to beef up quality controls, including appointing outsiders to assess the company’s transparency, and finding out more how drivers were using Toyota vehicles.

“We want to make Toyota No. 1 in quality from the customers’ viewpoint,” he told shareolders.

Toyoda said directors on the board will forego their bonus payments for the second year in a row. Directors didn’t get bonsues the previous year after Toyota reported the worst losses in its history as the financial crisis sent auto sales plunging.

That won the approval of at least one shareholder, who pointed out the contrast with Japanese rival Nissan Motor Co which disclosed at its shareholders’ meeting Wednesday that Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn had received $9.5 million in compensation.

Toyoda pointed to his striking a deal last month with Tesla Motors Inc, a U.S. electric car manufacturer, to open an electric car plant at the site of Toyota’s former venture with General Motors Co. as an example of how Toyota will start anew.

In April, Toyota closed the California plant, called New United Motor Manufacturing Inc, or NUMMI.

He promised Toyota will continue to grow, but without pursuing size for size’s sake.

“Our company is about doing the right thing in the right way,” he told the meeting. “And I like to think we are the kind of company that cares about people’s feelings.”

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/toyota-president-apologizes-to-shareholders

Let the Cloud Come to You

Cloud computing—making use of excess server capacity—is often portrayed as an all or nothing gamble that involves offloading your IT resources and your own data to a third party. It’s hardly surprising, given this view of the world, that many chief information officers are fearful of losing the control and integration they have spent years cultivating inside their own IT organizations and question the security capabilities of cloud vendors.

The reality is that the cloud is, or should be, a pragmatic business decision just like any other. If you look at some of the businesses that have embraced the cloud—law firms, insurance companies, financial service organizations—few would describe themselves as early adopters or risk-takers. They have looked at areas of their IT operations where costs are spiraling or complexity is hampering agility and have evaluated the cloud services available to make choices.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for adopting cloud technology; the conversation varies widely, depending on whether the discussion centers on software, platforms, or infrastructure. The cloud is fundamentally about agility—the agility to scale up seamlessly and to scale down, to adapt to an ever-changing business environment, and to empower IT to be a business enabler rather than just a cost. For most businesses, cloud is not a rip-and-replace project. It is about leveraging existing assets and applying cloud technology to address specific pain points with the aim of saving money and liberating the potential of IT to serve the business where it matters most.

Mary Kay Roberto
Senior Vice-President and General Manager, North America
Mimecast
Waltham, Mass.

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2010/06/let_the_cloud_come_to_you.html

Conference Success Requires Careful

Before you decide to attend any conference or expo, think about what you expect to come back with—be it contact names, research, or partnership opportunities. Use this goal to determine if the outcome justifies the cost and time involved with the conference. If it doesn’t, don’t bother attending.

Assuming that you’ve outlined some critical goals that seem achievable, now ensure you’ve got enough time to prepare the items you will need for success. This includes presentations, surveys, handouts, and even a networking plan so you don’t arrive at the show unprepared. Make sure you know who’s going to be exhibiting at the show—if you are able to, get a list of VIPs, media, or folks whom you want to meet, and set up these meetings in advance. Don’t get to the show and simply scout out the floor, hoping somebody will be there who will make your trip worthwhile. Plan a route for networking so you’re not simply racing up and down the aisles. Finally, remain flexible throughout the conference. Perhaps you’ll learn about a new prospect or partnership opportunity. Don’t book yourself so solid that you don’t have the ability to seize these opportunities.

Beth Goldstein
President
Marketing Edge Consulting Group
Boston

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2010/06/conference_success_requires_careful_planning.html

Seeding New Farm Businesses

By many measures, the iconic family-owned farm seems endangered, at least as a sustainable business. The average farmer was 57 years old in 2007, and half of all current farmers are expected to retire in the next 10 years, according to the Department of Agriculture. Less than half of the nation’s 2.2 million farms turn a profit. Most farm operators (1.2 million) have another occupation and use other income to cover farm expenses.

At the same time, Americans are rethinking how and what we eat. The number of farmers’ markets has grown by 42 percent from 2004 to 2009. There is growing demand, coming from restaurants and home cooks, for food from small, local farms.

The question is how to create farm businesses that can profitably meet that demand. Tanya Mohn at Daily Finance reports on an effort in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh County to incubate new farm businesses by teaching aspiring farmers both agricultural and business skills. From Mohn’s story:

The incubator gives prospective farmers the opportunity to see whether they want to pursue farming full-time without making a huge investment in land and equipment. Among the apprentices there are mid-career switchers looking for new opportunities, people who have always dreamed of farming, and immigrants who farmed in their native countries but don’t have the resources to start farms here.

…

First-year apprentices, who attend the program for free (they do have to pay a $40 application fee), commit to 20 hours a week of class time and hands-on experience from February though November. The training covers technical topics like what crops to grow, disease and pest management, and what tools and equipment to use, and visits to local farms. Classroom instruction on the business of farming — with a strong focus on marketing and management — is provided by the local extension branch of Penn State University.

These aren’t hobbyists or back-to-the-land types starting communes; they’re entrepreneurs learning how to run businesses. Incubators in the technology industry and others give first-time entrepreneurs technical assistance, shared resources, and mentoring—all of which improve their odds of success. Farms that want to be sustainable businesses need similar support.

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_business/archives/2010/06/seeding_new_farm_businesses.html

China Youths Flee Internet Boot Camp

A group of teenagers and twenty-somethings staged an elaborate break-out of an Internet boot camp in China’s Jiangsu province earlier this month.

The 14 young people covered their counselor in a blanket and hog-tied him to a chair before making their escape from the “jie-wang” (quit the internet) camp at Huai’an Internet Addiction Treatment Center on June 3. When the counselor screamed, they hit him while apologizing at the same time. They had been practicing the feat with a rope for days.

For the escapees – who cited mean staff and bad food as well as “monotonous work and intensive training” as reasons for their breakout – the taste of freedom lasted just a few hours. Some took cabs to nearby Xuyi County, home of the group’s ringleader. Here their plan fell apart at that point as they had no money to pay for the ride.

Tipped off by the cab driver, police picked up the penniless youths wandering the streets, still dressed in the camp’s military-style fatigues.

The 14 young people – aged 15 to 22 – were all returned to the camp, with some facing tearful and ashamed parents. Families had paid some 18,000 RMB (US$2,600) for their child to spend six months at the rehab camp, of which more than three months remained.

“I don’t think there is any problem with the training methods at the center. They are for my child’s own good,” one mother said at the scene.

The case highlights the growing “Internet addiction” issue in China and the camps that have sprung up to treat the so-called syndrome.

While some of China’s internet addiction programs are run in hospitals by healthcare professionals, many others are fly-by-night operations that employ questionable methods. This is thought to include electric shock treatments, even though Beijing’s Health Ministry banned the practice in 2009.

China had 384 million Internet users by the end of last year, with the Internet reaching about 29 percent of the population, according to figures from Beijing.

The Ministry of Health says “Internet addicts” are those who spend at least six hours each day online and demonstrate symptoms like loss of sleep and anxiety.

While lots of Chinese young people spend many hours each day playing video games online, psychiatrists differ on whether internet addiction should be accepted as a medical condition.

http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/06/23/china-youths-flee-internet-boot-camp/

Home helper Takanori Kato

Takanori Kato, at age 68, is in his first year as a home helper in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. Last December, he graduated from a 4-month nursing course and immediately got a job at a nursing home. Since then, he's been learning the ropes of lifting the spirits of bedridden patients while taking care of their physical needs. Kato loves working: From age 19 to 60, he was a printing engineer for a newspaper; from 60 to 65, a quality controller at an ink company; and from 65 to 67, a database administrator. It was while working at this last job that Kato suddenly realized that he wanted to help the elderly. It was a calling that changed his life: Kato has never been happier and he wants to serve others for as long as he lives, which we hope will be for a few more decades.

Home helper Takanori Kato JUDIT KAWAGUCHI PHOTO

When you admire people, it's easy to work for them. I respect the elderly because they worked so hard and went through so much. I see every old lady as my own mom and every old guy as my dad. I also look up to the staff here and want to help them.

If adults keep their eyes on the present and their hearts connected to the past, it gives young people more space to venture into the future. Hayabusa, the Japanese unmanned spacecraft, has just returned to Earth after a 7-year journey. This is the kind of fantastic project that young people should focus on. We the elderly must take care of ourselves.

We must aim high or we won't achieve much. Japan must be No. 1 in technology and industry. We must also be leaders in welfare, since we are the world's first rapidly aging society.

The time to prepare for old age is when one is young and healthy. One fourth of our patients are fed via gastric tubes. It's too late to ask them what they want.

Roro kaigo, meaning one elderly person taking care of another, is the best welfare solution. It keeps us caregivers in great shape and our patients receive the love and care they deserve. This way, society's burden is lighter.

Answer fear with calm. People get scared when they feel vulnerable. To relax them, when we have to touch them, we explain why and where, so they know that it won't hurt.

When you get a "help me please!" call, answer it. My old teacher's wife has Alzheimer's and my friend's wife is also very sick. On my days off I visit their homes and take care of them.

If you accept and love people as they are, nothing can faze you. My mother suffered from dementia, and for seven years my wife and I took care of her at our home. She couldn't control her bowel movements and was often smearing feces on the bed and walls. I didn't mind. I just cleaned it up. I accepted her as she was at that stage. At the same time, my father developed lung cancer and was also at home, sick, for five years. After they died, my wife's mother got dementia, and now her uncle has Alzheimer's. No matter what happens, we take care of each other's families. It's no big deal, just part of life.

Family comes first. My wife's father is very sick now. She and her sister share the task of caring for him, so she is at his house half of each week.

I see elderly people as treasures, and I am humbled to be near them. It's not because I don't mind cleaning up after them, even their backsides; I genuinely appreciate the chance to serve them. They are living history and I get courage and love from them. When we clean our patients, we always thank them for letting us take care of them. We get more than we can ever give.

We're all interconnected. The older we get the more we realize that we can't survive alone. We depend on others' kindness and work.

If there is a way to prevent aging, it is work. My friends who don't do much, age rapidly. A lazy lifestyle doesn't suit the human DNA.

No matter what condition you are in, you can improve. Our whole body is full of muscles. If we train, we get stronger. I began working out seriously at age 65 because I noticed that running up the stairs was becoming an effort. Also, I was told that I was on the border of developing diabetes. I joined the gym and began both cardiovascular exercise and muscle training. I do two hours a day, five days a week. I work out so I stay healthy and can work.

Age discrimination is so much part of our lives today that we rarely question it. We accept antiquated concepts such as a specific retirement age and upper-age limits for school and job applications, even though they make no sense. We are staying healthier for longer than any generation before us. I would probably still be at my first job in the printing shop if "retirement age" had not forced me to leave. Ageism is old so it should retire!

Passion is the most important ingredient of life. I always had plenty of it but it was channeled for other things. Now I am focused on helping others and I am more energetic than ever.

The more I study the past, the more I want to shape the present and change the future. I was 65 when I began working on a history database. While I was inputting events from the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras, I realized how tough life was back then, with wars and natural disasters. I also realized that, incredibly, many of the people born in those periods are still alive today. I wanted to do something for those whose lives were less peaceful than mine.

Being a home helper is the most wonderful job. The days go by so fast and I never feel tired.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100624jk.html

For when raindrops keep falling on our heads

Rainy season officially hit Tokyo last week, turning the bright, modern, clean city into a fetid stew of steaming heat. This year has seen temperatures soar above 30 degrees and humidity levels of over 80 percent, making for a decidedly muggy atmosphere. As we do battle with mold, bad hair and body odor, Japan Pulse takes a look at some ingenious products that can help us get through tsuyu (rainy season).

First up is the Eco Spray, which was released on the market this month. When you start to feel the heat, simply squirt yourself with this “magical” spray to cool down. It’s eco friendly because you can simply refill it with water… Er, so what makes this different from a spray you can buy in the 100 yen store? Well, the magical part is that the water is always kept cool. While this spray might provide quick relief, in the long run, it’s only going to add to your personal pong, as anyone who’s been stuck on the Yamanote line recently will attest: Damp sweaty clothes give off a rather unpleasant stench. This is where aroma sprays come in handy. Designed to mask sweaty stench, you can quite literally come up smelling of roses.

How about not getting wet in the first place? While raincoats are a popular option, even for dogs, they can get hot and sticky inside. Fashionable rain ponchos are a more breathable option and we’re loving these rain stoles from Corazon that come printed in super-cute designs.

Not Converses but Cream Puff War rain boots

The humble umbrella is still a firm favorite during the rainy season and a few twists on the conventional design have come out on the market recently. We like the Samurai umbrella, whose handle resembles the hilt of a noble warrior’s sword and the asymmetric design (made for withstanding high winds) of Senz umbrellas from the Netherlands. The Senz brollies are even available to rent for free at Shibuya Parco from this month as part of the Shibukasa campaign. Aimed at decreasing the amount of brollies that get needlessly discarded every year, Shibukasa is a project allowing customers at Shibuya stores to borrow umbrellas for free when there’s a sudden downpour. When you return an umbrella at a participating store you get a ¥50 discount voucher for your honesty. Nice.

Stylish and pricey rainwear abounds, but we really dig the rain boots from Cream Puff Wars, which are a far cry from dorky galoshes. They come in purple, green, polka-dots and your basic black. And you can’t beat the price: ¥2,900.

If you’re still suffering and want to escape the soupy air of Tokyo, try heading north to the cooler climate in Hokkaido. From the start of July JR Hokkaido are offering a seven-day rail pass for only ¥10,000. Hokkaido is the only area of Japan that escapes the rainy season altogether making it my favorite antidote to tsuyu.

http://blog.japantimes.co.jp/japan-pulse/for-when-raindrops-keep-falling-on-our-heads/

Gasoline price drops for fourth week

The average retail price of regular gasoline stood at ¥136.90 per liter as of Monday, down ¥0.60 from a week earlier and marking the fourth straight weekly decline, the Oil Information Center said Wednesday.

While wholesale prices remained flat amid steady crude oil prices, fierce competition at the pumps led to a fall in retail prices across the country, an official of the center said.

The average price of high-octane gasoline was down ¥0.70 at ¥147.60 and that for diesel oil was down ¥0.40 at ¥115.80, it said.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100624a7.html

JAL to tap 3,300 more for early retirement

Japan Airlines Corp. plans to encourage around 3,300 more group employees to take early retirement during the current fiscal year, according to sources.

Flying billboard: A Boeing 777 sporting the images of Fukuoka Softbank Hawks players sits on the apron at Haneda airport Wednesday. Japan Airlines Corp. has started flying the jet between Tokyo and Fukuoka in collaboration with Softbank Corp. KYODO PHOTO

JAL, which is undergoing state-backed rehabilitation, is expected to start soliciting the bulk of the additional early retirement applications in autumn or later, the sources said.

The move is part of the deficit-ridden airline's program to eliminate about 16,000 jobs in fiscal 2010, which ends next March, as part of efforts to turn itself around after filing for bankruptcy protection in January.

As of early this month, around 4,000 employees had applied for early retirement, and the company has determined that the additional number is necessary to reach its payroll reduction target for the current business year, the sources said.

In line with its plan to scrap 45 international and domestic routes from late September through next March to swiftly restore the carrier to profitability, JAL is seeking applications from about 670 pilots, around 570 cabin crew members and an estimated 560 aircraft maintenance service mechanics.

Applications were also sought from roughly 980 employees stationed at airports, the sources said.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100624a4.html

Design for staying cool

One of the most innovative releases over the past year in terms of electric fans has to be Dyson's bladeless Air Multiplier fan, which, despite its odd appearance, works just as advertised, pushing a surprisingly strong flow of air through a bladeless hoop. Balmuda, however, appears to be taking the opposite approach — they are offering a fan with not one but two sets of blades. The GreenFan is an eco-friendly fan with a low rotation speed that only uses 4W of power. It produces a "wall" of cool air by combining two concentrically placed fans — one with nine blades, the other with five — which together produce a pressure difference that creates a natural wind up to 8 meters in front of the fan. It sells for ¥33,800.

www.balmuda.com/jp/greenfan

Hanging out to dry

Now that the rainy season has come around (it officially kicked off last week) it's become a bit of a tradition here at On Design to recommend some sort of umbrella or stand solution to help brighten those cloudy weeks. We were a bit early this year, highlighting Yuen'to's handy Magic Umbrella last month (and we still highly recommend it), but let's now embrace the tsuyu season properly with the Till Umbrella Stand. Produced by up-and-coming unit Mute for the Duende brand, the Till is a well designed stand — or "hanger," really — that, topped with with a handy tray, will look good in any genkan or porch. Available in white or black, the Till Umbrella Stand sells for ¥7,000.

www.duende.jp

Shaking up table style

How groundbreaking can salt and pepper pots be? We're not saying that Ideaco's Salt & Pepper is revolutionary, but it does present a practical way of combining what is usually just a pair of uninteresting containers. Here, both containers can be stacked on top of each other, fitting nicely together for compact storage and making a pleasant table setting to match Ideaco's similarly shaped Sauce Pot and Cutlery Stand. A part of the company's Tableware series, the set is available in three colors (white, brown and yellow) and costs ¥840.

www.ideaco-web.com

Stationery that doesn't cut corners

Designer Yuji Baba returns to the humble eraser and produces one that you'll soon find yourself appreciating from a number of angles. A followup to Baba's award-winning Kadokeshi eraser — which even occupies a place in the MoMA's permanent collection — the Mirikeshi offers plenty of corners to make erasing more precise. Where the Kadokeshi used multiple adjacent cubes to increase the number of edges, the Mirikeshi sticks to just five. This time, each protruding part is a different size (from a pointy edge to 6 mm in width). Another smartly designed stationery release from Kokuyo, the Mirikeshi is only ¥189.

www.kokuyo-st.co.jp

For the perfect candlelit dinner

Most people, at some point, have recycled a fancy wine bottle into a candlestick, so it's surprising that no one has come up with this before: &design, a unit known for its fun minimal products such as the Icon Watch and Icon Clock, has created the Wine Candle for Idea International's stylish Takumi label. Wine Candle is simply a fragranced candle that fits into the top of an empty wine bottle. No more melting the sides of a candle to make it fit the neck of a bottle, Takumi's Wine Candle has a specially tapered end that slots perfectly into any bottle. Available in three colors and aromas (white/chocolate, red/rose, black/apple), a pack of four sells for ¥1,050.

idea-in.com/takumi/

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fs20100624a2.html

Resort to sheer pleasure on Ishigaki Island

Want to get away from it all? Then why not fly 2,000 km toward the Equator from Tokyo to Ishigaki, the main island of the southerly Yaeyama group in Okinawa Prefecture. And once there, then treat yourself to a stay at Club Med Kabira Beach, where you can do almost anything you want — or nothing at all.

From the airport, a hotel car makes a leisurely 40-minute drive along roads lined with palm trees and flowers to the resort in Kabira, which is known for its bay that's classed as one of the 100 most beautiful scenic spots in Japan.

Upon arrival, hotel staff offer welcoming jasmine tea known as sanpincha. Then, going through the lobby with its Asian-modern styling leads to a spacious pool bordered by loungers and white parasols. Beyond the pool, the eye is immediately drawn to the turquoise and cobalt-blue ocean fringed with gleaming white sandy beaches.

Due to the resort hotel's location on a cape, guests have exclusive use of the beautiful, peaceful beach, while taking one of the boats that goes a few hundred meters offshore opens up an undersea realm where, with a snorkel and face mask, you can watch schools of brightly colored fish swimming among gorgeous corals.

For scuba divers, too, Kabira's sea is "paradise" — according to Club Med — and that includes the sight of 3-meter manta rays flying through the crystal-clear ocean waters as a bonus for many.

Because Kabira has constant ocean breezes, the sea is also great for windsurfing, while there are kayaks for those with more easygoing inclinations.

Meanwhile, anyone interested in the ecology of Ishigakijima can join one of the resort's programs touring the shore with a local specialist between July 26 and Aug. 26 (at an extra charge of ¥9,800).

Indeed, Club Med — which is an international resort-hotel chain — selected the Kabira location on Ishigakijima Island because of its great natural environment, said Heidi Kunkel, Club Med's general manager for Japan and Korea.

"We chose this site because of the beautiful beach and the wonderful diving, because Club Med runs a large number of sports activities," said Kunkel, an Australian originally hailing from Sydney.

Top tub: In the resort hotel's spa named Ulu, guests can relax in a bath scented with freshly picked flowers and also have a variety of skincare treatments and massages, including ones with aromatherapy oils, for an extra charge.

In addition to the marine activities, the resort offers facilities for such terrestrial sports as archery, mountain biking, tennis and even trapeze-flying, Kunkel said.

With instruction by Club Med's G.O. (Gentle Organizer) staff, guests, including children, can enjoy any of these sports from beginner level up — and it's all (except scuba diving) included in the price of the package.

In fact, the price of a Club Med holiday package covers the return flight from the mainland, transportation to and from the airport, accommodation, dining, drinking and snacking at the bar, sports activities, entertainment and childcare. It's all aimed at offering guests a stress-free, fun-filled vacation at an affordable price, according to the staff. Specifically, a three-night package from Tokyo (departing July 18-20) costs ¥181,000 for an adult and ¥139,500 for children aged 3 to 11.

That all-inclusive pricing system is one of the unique characteristics of Paris-based Club Med, whose first resort opened in 1950 on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca. Now, the company founded by a Belgian named Gerard Blitz and a Frenchman, Gilbert Trigano, boasts no fewer than 80 resorts in 25 countries, Kunkel said.

"Club Med started in the 1950s with the idea of bringing people together, especially single adults, to enjoy sports activities. Then, by the end of the '60s, we had people who'd been as singles but want to come back and bring their children," she said, explaining that the hotel chain launched its daycare service for children in 1967.

At the Kabira resort that opened in 1990, G.Os. take care of children from the age of 4 to 17 in either a Mini Club or a Junior Club — though for an extra ¥5,250 a day, children aged 2 to 3 can also be looked after.

As well as all this, though, what makes Club Med Kabira Beach so different from other resort hotels on Ishigakijima and in other parts of Japan is its multicultural environment. The unique blend of Okinawan, Japanese, other Asian and also Western cultures is there to see wherever you look, whether in Okinawa's traditional minsa fabric used for bed linens, the cocktails incorporating Okinawa's local awamori liquor and tropical fruit juices, or the sumptuous arrays of Okinawan, Japanese, Chinese and Western food — including fabulous desserts, freshly baked breads and pastries.

At the restaurant, the bar and everywhere else in the resort, G.Os. — who speak Japanese, English and often also French, Chinese or Korean — help guests have fun during their stay and encourage them to meet others to build a friendly atmosphere together.

Emphasizing how guests are able to enjoy an international experience at the Ishigakijima resort, Kunkel said, "It's a very attractive package for Japanese people, who can come and have a domestic holiday as well as a safe, friendly and wonderful experience . . . and we have Okinawan and international culture here."

Life's a beach: Ishigaki Island's subtropical climate makes it a great destination for holidays year-round. As well, due to the resort hotel's location on a cape, guests have exclusive use of this gleaming white sandy beach. ERIKO ARITA PHOTO

Every night, indeed, such attractions are in full flow at the resort as G.Os. lead entertainments including singing, dancing, acrobatics and juggling in its theater — and that's after their day jobs as bartenders, receptionists, sports instructors or whatever.

In fact, really rising to his role one evening, at the finale of a show titled "Fiesta Latina," the lead G.O. invited the audience on stage to join in the dancing to passionate music. That night, one of the performers in the show was Singapore-born Chief of Village Merlin Chelliah, who said, "I do the performance because it makes it easier for the guests to join the entertainment when they see me, the person representing Club Med, being part of it."

Whether it's to enjoy nature, sports, entertainment, gourmet meals or sheer subtropical pampering, there are undoubtedly many reasons to join Club Med's show on Ishigakijima Island.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20100620a1.html

Super Sonic Wave SP spikes

Mizuno’s Super Sonic Wave SP spikes were developed by scientifically analyzing the dribbles of the country’s top soccer stars. The shoes contain a special cushion in the instep of the shoes— where the ball is most likely to come in contact—that dull the impact of the ball up to 60% to make it easier to pull off all those essential moves.

The studs on the bottom of the shoes have been developed both to make the shoes easier to run in and to make it easier to control the ball.

The Super Sonic Wave SP will be available at sports stores nation wide from July 10 for 18,900 yen.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/new-products/view/super-sonic-wave-sp-spikes

Kan apologizes for base-hosting burden on Okinawa

NAHA —

Prime Minister Naoto Kan offered an apology to people in Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday for forcing them to host a large part of U.S. military bases in Japan, but suggested the bases are indispensable to peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kan made his first visit to the island prefecture since he took office earlier this month amid strong criticism from locals for an agreement reached between Japan and the United States in May to keep a key U.S. military base in Okinawa. ‘‘I offer an apology as a representative of all Japanese people,’’ Kan said at a ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, which killed over 200,000 soldiers and civilians in the closing days of World War II.

The government ‘‘will make a further serious commitment to easing the burden of hosting the bases and removing dangers’’ linked to their existence, Kan said. But he also expressed his ‘‘appreciation,’’ saying that Okinawa accepting the U.S. military presence has helped secure peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, who attended the ceremony, said the obligation of hosting the U.S. bases in Japan must be equally shared among Japanese people. ‘‘I would like the burden (on Okinawa) to be visibly reduced,’’ he said.

The premier said he will respect the Japan-U.S. accord announced May 28 to move the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station from a crowded residential area to a less populated coastal area in Okinawa, despite calls from locals to relocate the base outside the prefecture. At the same time, he emphasized government efforts to support Okinawa, which hosts over 70 percent of U.S. military facilities located in Japan.

Wednesday also marked the 50th anniversary of the bilateral security treaty—the reason behind the U.S. military presence in Japan—entering into force. Kan’s predecessor, Yukio Hatoyama, stepped down to take responsibility for the political confusion partly caused by the Futenma relocation issue. Hatoyama had pledged to move the base outside Okinawa or Japan but later admitted that it was a difficult goal to achieve, in a move that led to the departure of the Social Democratic Party from the ruling coalition led by his Democratic Party of Japan.

About 5,500 people attended the ceremony held at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman city. This year, the names of 80 people were newly added to the list of those who perished in the war engraved on the cenotaph at the park, bringing the total to 240,931. Some 94,000 civilians were killed in the three-month battle between Japanese and U.S. troops in 1945. Okinawa remained under U.S. occupation after the war until 1972.

Okinawa has called for reducing the heavy U.S. military presence on the island, saying they have been suffering from noise at military bases and criminal cases involving U.S. servicemen. While the island accounts for 0.6 percent of Japanese soil, about 75 percent of the land used exclusively by the U.S. military in the country is located in Okinawa.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/kan-visits-okinawa-amid-criticism-over-us-base-relocation

Go ahead, remake my day

TOKYO —

The other day I went to see the remake of “The Karate Kid.” I went with some trepidation because the original 1984 film is so iconic and one of my favorite films. Remakes of popular films and big-screen versions of hit TV series can be nostalgic for some, while for others, they interfere with cherished memories.

I was happy that the new “Karate Kid,” which stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in the Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita roles, didn’t ruin my memories of the original. In fact, after seeing it, I watched the original one again to see how the new one stacked up against it: In some parts, the new one was better; in others, it wasn’t.

Hollywood is bombarding us with remakes, sequels and movie versions of TV series (“The A-Team,” for one). According to the Hollywood Reporter, 11 sequels or franchise films will open or have already opened in the U.S. this summer. Among them are “Iron Man 2,” “Sex and the City 2,” “Shrek Forever,” Toy Story 3” and “The Twilight Saga.” As for movie remakes, we have already had “Clash of the Titans,” “The Wolfman,” Robin Hood” and “Sherlock Holmes.” Last year, there was “The Taking of Pelham 123” and “Star Trek,” among others. Before that, it was “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “The Pink Panther” and so on and so on.

Remakes of earlier films are nothing new. Hollywood has been doing it for 100 years, not only remaking its own films but also foreign movies, including countless Japanese horror and samurai films. But it seems to be happening with greater frequency recently. Is there such a creative drought in Hollywood? These days, the best writing is done on TV dramas and comedies and there are some brilliantly written shows. So why can’t we get brilliantly written movie screenplays?

What possesses producers to resurrect TV shows from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s (some of which weren’t that good to begin with – “Charlie’s Angels”) and hope that they will appeal to modern audiences? One reason is because they think that old TV shows already have built-in brand awareness. It’s a pity that they don’t make movie versions of popular TV series during their heyday, but tight weekly production schedules don’t allow for that. In some cases, they wait until after the series finishes, and then bring back the original cast for the big screen, such as with “Star Trek,” “The X-Files” and “Sex and the City,” for example. A film version of “24” is in the works after the drama ended its 8-season run this year.

What makes a memorable TV series is not just one episode. It is watching season after season – some good episodes, some bad – creating an emotional bond between the viewer and the characters. If you are a fan, then you have grown up on these shows; so many memories, often childhood ones, are associated with them. The characters are part of the family. Year after year, we invited them into our livingrooms and now that we are grown up, we still invite them into our homes on DVDs. The old actors are too associated with their characters to allow anyone else in.

That bond cannot be duplicated with one movie, a sequel or a big-screen version 20 years later. “The A-Team” movie is just a lot of noise to modern young audiences who get fidgety if there isn’t a car chase or explosion every 10 minutes. The cinematic graveyard is full of remakes of TV shows that disappeared into oblivion, among them, “Miami Vice,” “SWAT,” “Bewitched,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “I Spy,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Dennis the Menace,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Car 54, Where Are You?” and “The Mod Squad,” to name a few. The only ones that have been successful at the box office were Tom Cruise’s three “Mission: Impossible” films (though none of them captured the spirit of the vintage TV series), “Get Smart” (which wasn’t THE “Get Smart” to devotees like me), and Brian De Palma’s 1987 version of “The Untouchables.”

The other day, I read that Russell Crowe will reprise Edward Woodward’s role as “The Equalizer” – a 1985-89 series. There is even talk of a film version of “I Dream of Jeannie” (the mind boggles), with Jessica Alba’s name rumored. Meanwhile, a pilot has been made for a contemporary “Hawaii 5-0.” I mean, come on, surely we’re not going to see the big wave, hear the famous soundtrack and watch someone else turn around on the balcony as Steve McGarrett for the opening credits. Jack Lord will turn over in his grave.

Getting back to movies, admittedly, there are some films that could do with a remake, or which can be improved upon technically because of the special effects wizardry available today. More often than not, though, the story and “the feel” that made the earlier film special are lost amid the effects. The abysmal 2008 film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” and Steven Spielberg’s disappointing “War of the Worlds” in 2005 are two examples of that.

‘Karate Kid’ part of pop culture

With “The Karate Kid,” the challenge is remaking a movie that has become part of pop culture. I remember chatting with the late Pat Morita when he came to Japan in the mid-1980s (to promote the second film in the series, I think). Before “The Karate Kid,” the only times I had seen Morita were as a servant in an episode of “Columbo,” in “M*A*S*H, and as Arnold in “Happy Days.” Yet, now, he was strongly identified with his character wherever he went. Morita, who spoke flawless English (unlike Mr Miyagi), said he couldn’t count the number of people who had come up to him, saying “Wax on, wax off” or “Always look eye.” He was also amused at how many people told him they had tried the crane kick technique. Yeah, we all did it.

Morita made an interesting point about “The Karate Kid.” Until then, most martial arts films had concentrated on the physical aspect. Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris made great action films and the martial arts scenes were fantastic but there were no signature training techniques like “Wax on, wax off, paint the fence,” etc, that stuck in audiences’ minds. Nor have there been since, really. The films of Steven Seagal and Jet Li are about mashing and bashing, while Jackie Chan’s films have tended to be more comedy.

Morita said that by focusing on the spiritual (not to be confused with religious) aspect of the discipline, he believed “The Karate Kid” had inspired who knows how many teenagers in the U.S. and probably other countries to learn karate. It crossed all borders and cultures, he said.

Trivia note: The title didn’t cross all borders. For Japan, both the original film, its three sequels and the remake are titled “Best Kid.” I asked the movie distributor about this way back then and the consensus was that “Karate Kid” sounded too cartoonish.

So will the new film become iconic? Not likely, but parts of it will be memorable and stand on their own. Perhaps director Harald Zwart, who was responsible for “The Pink Panther 2” remake, learned from his mistakes. There has been some initial lampooning of its title by critics who carp that it should be “The Kung Fu Kid,” since it is set in China where the Jaden Smith character learns kung fu from his mentor. But it’s a brand name. When “The Manchurian Candidate” was remade in 2004, they got away with that one by calling the rogue company Manchurian Global.

Anyway, remakes will always be money earners for studios. By the way, Japanese producers are getting into the act, too. Last year, there was a Japanese version of “Sideways,” and a Japanese version of the 1990 weepie “Ghost” is planned for next year, with Nanako Matsushima in the Demi Moore role.

The challenge is to stay faithful to the original while making the story fresh. It can be done successfully—Christopher Nolan did it with two Batman films, JJ Abrams did it last year with “Star Trek” (but no more please; it won’t work a second time) and Guy Richie breathed life into “Sherlock Holmes.” When he was in Japan promoting “Sherlock Holmes,” co-star Jude Law said the film was an attempt to introduce a generation of moviegoers to the famous detective, even though he has been around for more than 100 years in literature, films and TV.

Fair enough, but in some ways, that’s a shame. I know so many people who have seen very few movies made before 2000. They’ve never seen anything made by Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, Howard Hawks and company. Those who don’t download movies seldom make it past the New Releases shelf when they venture to their neighborhood DVD rental store. So the temptation is there for producers to dig back into the past and do some remakes. But some films shouldn’t be touched. Gus Van Sant learned that when he made a clone of Hitchcock’s “Psycho” in 1998.

As Mr Miyagi would say: “Wax off.”

“The Karate Kid” opens in Japan on Aug 14.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/go-ahead-remake-my-day

New iPhone goes on sale in Japan

TOKYO —

Apple Inc on Thursday released in Japan the iPhone 4, the latest version of its popular smartphone, with the phone’s exclusive sales agent, Softbank Mobile Corp, saying demand has been beyond expectation.

More than 300 people queued to buy the phone Thursday at Softbank’s flagship Omotesando store in Tokyo, with more than 100 having lined up in front of the store on the eve of the phone’s release.

The launch of the thinner version of the Internet-enabled iPhone handset here coincided with its release in four other countries—France, Britain, Germany, and the United States.

The phone, which features a sharper resolution display and mobile video chat capability, comes almost a month after the debut in Japan of Apple’s other hot-selling product, the iPad tablet computer which looks like a larger version of the iPhone.

Softbank President Masayoshi Son said at the outset of a ceremony at the Omotesando shop marking the launch of iPhone 4 in Japan that he was ‘‘electrified’’ by the latest iPhone, which felt like he was holding a ‘‘jewel,’’ since the front and back sides are glass.

He later told reporters that he was convinced that iPhone 4 will ‘‘greatly contribute’’ to Softbank’s net subscription gains.

Apple, which said it had received a record 600,000 orders in a single day for the new smartphone in the United States, is currently pressed with the production of more iPhone 4 handsets, as overwhelming demand caused glitches in the order system. On Wednesday, the U.S. firm announced that the release of white iPhones will be delayed until the second half of July due to difficulties in manufacturing, while the black version remains unaffected.

Softbank Mobile had started taking preorders for iPhone 4 on June 15 but suspended them on June 18, saying orders ‘‘far exceeded its projection and reached a record number of orders for a single handset of Softbank’’ without giving specific data.

Besides those who placed advance orders, a limited number of the smartphone models were placed on sale at Apple stores nationwide, a dozen electronics retailers and Softbank shops in Tokyo and elsewhere.

Noboru Takahashi, a musician in his 30s, was the first person in line, waiting since Monday afternoon. ‘‘I am mesmerized by the (design) style of iPhone 4,’’ he said.

An owner of the first-generation iPhone, Takahashi told reporters that he felt the resolution had been upgraded and there was faster execution of application such as when taking and storing pictures.

Tsubasa Shuki, a 21-year-old university student in Tokyo, lined up later than Takahashi but was nonetheless among those who stayed overnight. Without an advance order, Shuki said, ‘‘I lost my iPhone, so I had to buy a new one because it is simply part of my everyday life,’’ and added he regularly used the map and other built-in applications.

The iPhone 4 has a new camera system combining a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and flash along with a front-facing camera, compared with the simpler 3-megapixel camera for its predecessor iPhone 3GS.

The Japan launch attracted loyal iPhone fans, with more than 500 people also queuing at Apple’s flagship store in Ginza, another shopping district in the capital.

Ryoichi Hoshino, who was the first to purchase the iPhone 4 at Apple’s Ginza store, was jubilant at obtaining the phone and eager to use it. ‘‘This is my third iPhone, but the screen is beautiful and the design is becoming more and more awesome.’‘

Son said he believes iPhone 4’s launch will not be a ‘‘fad’’ but continue to be a ‘‘revolution’’ in the technology industry.

Competition in the smart phone market is expected to heat up as rivals such as Google Inc, with its smartphone using the Android operating system, try to catch up with Apple’s growing presence.

In Japan, the iPhone 4 is selling for 46,080 yen for a 16-gigabyte memory model and 57,600 yen for a 32-gigabyte model, Softbank said.

Despite the upgraded features of the new iPhone, like its predecessors, iPhone 4 does not support Flash technology, making it impossible to view Internet sites built on the widely used platform.

Softbank does not disclose the number of iPhone handsets it has sold since the first-generation model made its debut in Japan in 2008.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/apples-all-new-iphone-goes-on-sale-in-japan

Campaigning gets under way for July 11 upper house election

TOKYO —

Official campaigning got under way Thursday for the closely contested July 11 House of Councillors election, with representatives of political parties taking to the streets along with aspirants who filed their candidacies.

It will be the first full-fledged contest since the Democratic Party of Japan ousted the Liberal Democratic Party in a House of Representatives election last August, and also the first since Prime Minister Naoto Kan took office earlier this month.

A total of 437 people as of 10:45 a.m. have showed up at election boards across Japan as candidates for the triennial poll in which half of the upper chamber’s 242 seats will be up for grabs with the fate of the DPJ-led ruling camp’s majority at stake.

They include 187 candidates on the lists for the poll’s proportional representation section submitted by all the 12 political parties and groups poised to vie for 48 seats. The remaining 250 will run in 47 prefecture-based constituencies, to which 73 seats in total are allocated.

Making his first stump speech for the race in Osaka, Kan said in front of an audience of more than 1,000 people, ‘‘What helped the economy to flounder is a wrong economic policy. I promise to rebuild the economy for sure and put Japan on a growth track.’‘

Kan also touched on the hot issue of a future consumption tax hike, saying, ‘‘I hate to talk about raising consumption and other taxes, but it could become like (debt crisis-hit) Greece in one or two years.’‘

‘‘Please understand that we will discuss the matter with other parties,’’ he said, but earned only scattered applause.

LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki said in Kofu, ‘‘This is an election in which whether the LDP can be entrusted again will be tested as well as the rating of the DPJ-led government.’‘

‘‘We will have to stop the dole-out policy of the DPJ government for the sake of the next generation,’’ he said, also citing the example of the Greek sovereign debt crisis.

Attention is focused on whether Kan’s government can hold public support despite his willingness to discuss the potentially contentious issue of a hike in the 5 percent consumption tax. Public approval of the Cabinet rebounded to over 60 percent after Kan took office on June 8 but fell somewhat after he clarified his stance on the tax issue.

Even if the ruling bloc fails to retain a majority, it would not immediately affect the DPJ’s grip on power as it holds a comfortable majority in the more powerful House of Representatives, but such a result could impact Kan’s party leadership and prompt the DPJ to seek a broader alliance or otherwise face a policy deadlock.

Along with its coalition partner, the People’s New Party, the ruling camp needs to secure at least 56 of the 121 seats to be contested to keep a majority in the upper house.

Kan is aiming to at least maintain his party’s current 54 such seats, while Tanigaki has staked his status as LDP leader on the opposition camp blocking the ruling coalition from retaining its upper house majority. The LDP and other opposition parties need 66 seats to do so.

The opposition camp is poised to continue confronting the ruling bloc over money scandals and the controversial government plan to relocate a key U.S. military base within Okinawa Prefecture that forced Kan’s predecessor Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa to resign abruptly in early June.

Some new parties also hope to offer a third choice for voters discontented with both major parties.

Among those parties, Your Party is aiming to win at least 20 seats and the Sunrise Party of Japan at least seven, while among existing minor parties, New Komeito hopes to win at least 11 seats and the Japanese Communist Party at least six.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/campaigning-gets-under-way-for-july-11-upper-house-election

Verizon: Droid X smart phone coming July 15

SAN FRANCISCO —

Verizon Wireless said Wednesday that it will begin selling the Droid X, the follow-up to Motorola Inc.‘s popular Droid smart phone, on July 15.

Verizon, which made its announcement the day before Apple is set to start selling its latest iPhone, said the phone will cost $200 with a rebate and two-year wireless service contract.

The Droid X runs Google Inc.‘s Android software and has a touch screen that is 4.3 inches diagonally and an 8-megapixel camera with a dual flash that can also record high-definition videos. It will also have an HDMI port so you can connect it to a TV and watch content stored on the phone on a bigger screen.

Verizon said that later this summer Droid X buyers will get the newest Android software, version 2.2. They will also get Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 for watching flash videos, something the iPhone cannot do.

Verizon added that the Droid will be the first of its smart phones to come with an application from movie chain Blockbuster Inc that lets users rent or purchase movies on their phones. Movies will cost $4 to rent and start at $10 and up to buy, Verizon said.

The Droid X is part of Motorola Inc’s cell phone comeback plan—the beleaguered handset maker had struggled for several years, failing to put out a successful follow-up to its popular Razr cell phone. More recently, the Schaumburg, Illinois, company has focused its turnaround efforts on phones that run the Android software.

Verizon’s announcement comes as Apple is preparing to start selling its newest iPhone, which has already seen a surge of interest, on Thursday. Apple and its partner companies started taking iPhone 4 orders on June 15, and the next day Apple said they received more than 600,000 orders in 24 hours—the highest number it has ever seen.

Demand was so high that the companies quickly stopped taking orders for shipment by June 24.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/verizon-droid-x-smart-phone-coming-july-15

Website provides info on ryokan

TOKYO —

If your idea of a perfect vacation involves extravagant accommodation with a helicopter shuttle service, The Ryokan Collection (www.ryokancollection.com) might just have the thing for you.

This recently launched website provides detailed information and reservations for a selection of luxury ryokan and hotels in the AAA category. Book the room of your dreams at Sankara, a new auberge-style hotel located amid the lush nature of Yakushima Island, or at Hokkaido’s Ginrinsou, where you can soak in a beautiful rotenburo bath while taking in panoramic views of Ishikari Bay.

The Ryokan Collection offers English-speaking guides, luxury transfers and an emergency interpretation hotline.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/website-provides-info-on-ryokan

Imperial Hotel offers getaway in Japan Alps

TOKYO —

The Imperial Hotel’s romantically secluded Kamikochi Imperial Hotel, a multi-gabled, red-roofed, timber-sided alpine style lodge designed in 1933, offers travelers of all ages and tastes an ideal Japan Alps destination for the summer season in Japan. The 74-room hotel is currently open for the season, through Nov 8.

Deep in a verdant, forested corner of the Chubu Sangaku National Park and surrounded by views of the majestic mountain scenery, the architecturally distinctive Kamikochi Imperial features well-equipped guestrooms and suites with all contemporary conveniences, a rustic cocktail lounge, dining room and fireplaced lobby.

The hotel is within walking distance of all of Kamikochi’s most beautiful spots, including the pristine Azuma River and Kappa Bridge, the picturesque Tashiro Pond and the magical and enchanting, boulder-studded Taisho Pond hidden among the trees. The Imperial also provides a convenient, comfortable base from which to explore the many levels of hiking trails winding throughout the glorious nearby peaks, all of which are in an area where further development has been strictly prohibited for many years.

Accommodations start at 28,350 yen per night for a double bedded room, tax included. Deluxe rooms with balconies starts from 40,950 yen. In progress now through July 16 and from Sept 1 to Oct 1 and Oct 24 to Nov 8, the Kamikochi Imperial is offering special, attractively priced packages that include a lavish French or Japanese “kaiseki” dinner (either of which normally 14,700 yen per person), breakfast, a complimentary welcome drink and tax and service charges at the rate of 32,000 yen per night for a standard twin room; 35,000 yen for a somewhat larger standard twin; or 38,000 yen for a standard twin accommodation with a private balcony. These special rates are per person based on double occupancy.

Advance reservations for peak dates are recommended, and may be made by calling the Kamikochi Imperial directly at 0263-95-2006. Nearby are the castle town of Matsumoto and the well-preserved folk village of Hida-Takayama.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/imperial-hotel-offers-getaway-in-japan-alps

Ritz-Carlton opens second hotel in Shanghai

SHANGHAI —

The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, opened this week, the luxury hotel brand’s second property in the city, and its seventh in China. The hotel is located in Shanghai ifc, the prime real estate in Lujiazui financial trade zone, the hotel and development is the work of architect Cesar Pelli.

The 285-room hotel occupies the top 18 floors of the Shanghai ifc South Tower. With interior designs by Richard Farnell, The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong guest rooms and suites range in size from 50 square meters (500 square feet) to 400 square meters (4,000 square feet), for the palatial Ritz-Carlton Suite and Chairman Suite. There are three floors of Club accommodation, and each club room enjoys access to the 24-hour Club Lounge on the 49th level.

The hotel offers a host of restaurants and a bar with sweeping views over The Bund and the Shanghai skyline. Restaurants include Aura Lounge and Jazz Bar, Jin Xuan, the fine dining Chinese Restaurant designed by Steve Leung; Scena Italian Restaurant and Flair Rooftop Restaurant and Bar, both designed by the world famous Super Potato. Flair is one of Shanghai’s highest al fresco dining and wining venues and is destined to be the unique new social center of Pudong and the city.

Featuring more than 2,500 square meters (25,000 square feet) of meeting and conference space on the third level, including a 1,135-square-metre (11,350 square feet) Grand Ballroom, the second largest ballroom among the city’s luxury hotels, The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong can accommodate large and small meetings. All meeting space offers floor-to-ceiling windows and natural daylight.

Located on the hotel’s 55th floor, and occupying an area of more than 1,500 square meters (15,000 square feet), The Ritz-Carlton Spa by ESPA features 10 treatment rooms, including nine multi-function treatment rooms and a Harmony Suite where two guests can relax and enjoy treatments together.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/ritz-carlton-opens-second-hotel-in-shanghai