Transplanting Italian café culture to Japan is a big challenge, but it’s one that Gen Saito relishes. Saito, director of marketing & planning and new business development for Pronto Corporation, took on the job two years ago and in a market dominated by big chains such as Starbucks, Tully’s and traditional Japanese “kissaten,” he and his team have managed to create a niche for the relatively new brand of espressamente illy.

From Hello Kitty backpacks to girlfriend simulators, it's safe to say that priorities in Japan are slightly different than that of those in America. Obviously, millennia of distinctive cultures, religions, and development will produce two juxtaposed countries with unique tastes and traditions, no matter how connected they presently are via the web and social networks some US companies just seemed doomed to fail.

Japan has decided to abandon its plan to introduce an environment tax in the forthcoming fiscal year starting in April, taking into account strong opposition from the business community and ruling party lawmakers who are preparing for an upper house election next summer, government sources said on Monday.

When it comes to men and fashion, well up to about two decades ago, most men would wear anything given to them. But the 2000s brought along a stronger consciousness for men, no matter what age, about what t wear. It is more important today to look good. Today, comfort is important, but more important is fashion and style.

Most business magazines try to look forward while Nikkei Trendy, one of the most popular monthly business magazines in Japan, just released their backwards-looking top 30 products of 2009. The selection is based on 4 major categories, sales, ingenuity, market-creation and influence, and is a good barometer for some of the major trends seen in Japan throughout the year. See the illustrated top 10 below.

Next to water, tea is undeniably the most popular beverage on earth. A favourite in Asia for over 5,000 years, this ubiquitous product is now encroaching upon consumer markets perpetually dominated by coffee soft drinks and even food. Meet the newly defined tea market of Japan.

Anyone who’s had their laptop or cellphone run out of juice at a crucial moment can attest to the limitations that present power storage methods have on technology, but a product from Aqua Power Systems Japan may indicate an amazing new advancement: the water-powered battery.