Message from the editor.

Dear Readers,

Last issue J@pan Inc ran an article on intellectual property in Japan by our writer Willhemina Wahlin. This was a small taster for this editon, our legal special and I'm pleased to see a continuation of our coverage of patent and trademark issues in Japan, including interviews with expert IP lawyers and a judge. We've also included articles on the jury system, arbitration and more, plus on the center pages you'll find our indispensable Legal Services Directory.

In addition to our legal feature, we are pleased to offer our article on women in the workplace, and in a break from recent tradition, we our proud to have a leading Japanese female lawyer on the cover. Tim Coghlan, an industry expert observer, has written on wireless shopping possibilities at fashion shows and Greg Lane's piece on Japanese market saints and sinners is sure to be a cause for debate. Elsewhere, we explore Japan's oldest hamburger restaurant and delve into issues of corporate social responsibility for companies leaving the market.

Finally, I'd like to direct readers attention to our all new final page where you can read some compelling nuggets of business information written by Ken Worsley of www.japaneconomynews.com and, attempt our Classic Crossword--for the first correctly filled out grid we receive we are offering two free tickets to see Tokyo Sinfonia, Japan's finest chamber orchestra conducted by Robert Ryker.

As our first issue as a bi-monthly publication I'm very keen that we pull up our quality as well as our frequency and for this we rely on the support of our readers. Please get in touch if you have any comments or suggestions. And, don't miss our next issue when we go back to our roots with an IT special feature.

We'll also be taking stock of the recent political turbulence in Japan and providing some diversionary reading on Okinawa.

I'd like to thank all our contributors and the J@pan Inc team for helping us produce what I'm confident is our best issue yet.

If you would like to make a comment on any of the content in this magazine, or have any suggestions, don't hesitate to send them to peter.harris@japaninc.com

Peter Harris MA (Oxon)

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Chief Editor