Japan

Hugh Jackman shreds the cover of EW this week in more ways than one. Jackman's cover shot came along with a brand new trailer for the anticipated Wolverine film, coming July 26, in which Jackman's character seeks treatment in Japan to make him mortal. The Silver Samurai (Will Yun Lee) also makes his debut. Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

An interesting collection of Japanese's shops and stores in the 19th century Read more Read MoreBlog: clever titles are so last summerRelated: Shops and Stores in Japan in The 19th CenturyTransport of Wales in The 19th CenturyTransport of Wales in The 19th CenturyEarly Fashion Photographs by Clementina, Lady Hawarden in The 19th CenturyEarly Fashion Photographs by Clementina, Lady Hawarden in The 19th Century

Lenovo Group Ltd's bold acquisitions in its flagship PC business, a foray into mobile gadgets, and a relatively light debt load are setting it apart from PC rivals as industry shipments take their steepest fall in decades. Lenovo, a sliver away from unseating Hewlett-Packard Co as the world's top PC maker by shipments, posted on Thursday an estimate-beating 90 percent rise in quarterly profit, its fastest in seven quarters. "They have been aggressive in acquiring several distributors in different regions such as Brazil, Europe and Japan over the past few years, so that basically gave them better distribution, as well as gains in market share," said Warren Lau, an analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Securities in Hong Kong. The Chinese PC maker posted net profit of $126.9 million in the quarter ended in March, up from $66.8 million a year earlier, based on Reuters calculations using full-year and nine-month financial data. That beat expectations of a $110 million net profit and was the fastest pace since the first quarter of the 2011/2012 fiscal year, when growth doubled. Research firm IDC said global PC shipments fell 13.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013, the biggest decline since it began tracking the market on a quarterly basis in 1994, as consumers switched to mobile computing and Windows 8 sales fell short of expectations. With shipments unchanged in the first quarter, Lenovo is outstripping other vendors. PC shipments from HP, Dell Inc, Acer Inc and Asustek Computer Inc fell by 11-33 percent during the same period, IDC said. The latest IDC data showed that Lenovo's market share was 15.3 percent, just 0.4 percentage points lower than HP. Lenovo shares far outperformed those of its rivals last year. This year Lenovo, up 3 percent, is still beating Acer. Dell and HP have staged strong recoveries, but Lenovo's quarterly net profit has risen consistently over the past few years. By contrast, HP's net profit was down 32 percent and Dell's was down 79.5 percent year-on-year, according to the companies' latest quarterly financial results. For the full year, Lenovo's net profit rose by a third to $635.1 million, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, beating an estimate of $618.2 million in a poll of 31 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. STRATEGIC BUYS Lenovo has spent heavily over the past few years to strengthen its PC business, with purchases such as Brazilian electronics maker CCE last year, Germany's Medion in 2011 and IBM's PC business in 2005. Its slew of acquisitions has also sparked market talk that it might be interested in IBM Corp's server business, as well as handset makers Research In Motion Ltd and Nokia Oyj. Lenovo has declined to comment on the rumors. Lenovo has cash totaling $4.5 billion, vastly outweighing debt of $423 million, and giving it the muscle for more buyouts. HP and Dell have total debt of $28.2 billion and $7.2 billion respectively, compared with their cash balances of $12.6 billion and $10.9 billion. "We expect Lenovo to remain acquisitive as it is hungry for growth and so despite high cash balances they will not hike the dividend," said Jefferies technology analyst Ken Hui. The Beijing-based company has shed its staid image as the maker of all-business ThinkPads, and now churns out multi-colored IdeaPad Yoga convertible ultrabooks which have helped build its brand in China and beyond. Though newer to smartphones than to its core PC business, Lenovo is the No.2 smartphone and media tablet vendor in China, a success it hopes to duplicate in other emerging markets such asRussia and India, where competition from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Apple Inc and others is fierce. "They are in the right niche markets and hitting the right segments at the right price points. But this is not sustainable in the long run unless the mobility business steps up," said a Hong Kong-based technology banker. (Additional reporting by Tripti Kalro in BANGALORE and Twinnie Siu in HONG KONG; Editin

Top StoriesIn Japan: Gravity. Isaac Newton paid Japan's equity markets a visit Thursday and it turns out that even Japanese stocks are subject to the law of gravity (who knew?). A confluence of factors sent the Nikkei (EWJ, DXJ) plunging 7.3% in a wild session where the swing from intraday high to low was ~9%. Yields on JGB 10s (JGBL) spiked above 1% at one point, as an already skittish and volatile market was further rattled by what have generally been perceived as hawkish comments out of Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials on Wednesday. Yields pulled back in late trading. Compounding the problem for Japanese stocks was the yen (FXY), which was strong against the dollar throughout (the USD/JPY pair traded down to 101.8 during the Asian session), and a weak read on Chinese manufacturing courtesy of the HSBC flash PMI, which printed in contraction territory

Microsoft will boost its Azure cloud offering in Japan, adding two domestic data centers to speed response times and improve reliability in the face of natural disasters.The software giant said Thursday that it would add cloud-based hosting services in two regions, one near Tokyo and one in the Kansai region further south. Redundancy is a priority in earthquake-prone Japan, where the use of online services usually skyrockets after natural disasters."By using two sub-regions, customers will be able build configurations with domestic disaster recovery, and performance will be improved," said Yasuyuki Higuchi, President of Microsoft Japan.Azure competes in Japan with offerings like Amazon's EC2 infrastructure and local cloud providers such as Sakura. Microsoft is a trusted name in corporate Japan but Azure has a reputation for being slower than rival offerings.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

2013 is approaching the halfway point and this year, we've already seen several heavy-hitting game releases. Oftentimes it's difficult to choose a single game to buy out of several when you have a limited budget. The biggest and most influential factor in making a choice is usually other players' opinions. Gamer recommendations will trump the flashiest, most expensive-looking trailers any day. This week, Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu published a collection of ten Japanese gamer-recommended games that were released in Japan this year, along with categorical scores for each game. The list is as follows (Scores are rated from 1 to 5): DMC: Devil May Cry . Scores: System: 5 Story: 2 Character: 4 Graphics: 4 Sound: 2 Other: 1 Impressions: "It may look different, but the exhilaration is unmistakable. The title does not lie!" (Male, 21) "I like how the music changes with the combat. The music fits well with the visuals." (Male, 30) "The graphic design is unique and is enjoyable just to watch." (Male, 29) "I was worried that the developer changed but the gameplay exceeded my expectations and I was very satisfied." (Male, 37) "I was moved by Dante's motivation to save his friends." (Male, 31) Demon Gaze . Scores: System: 5 Story: 3 Character: 4 Graphics: 2 Sound: 4 Other: 3 Impressions: "The gameplay is superbly designed with the player in mind!" (Male, 28) "I like the design quality throughout the game." (Male, 17) "If you're to play one RPG on the PS Vita, this is it!" (Male, 31) "I get engrossed in how fun gathering equipment is." (Male, 24) "The 'Demons' are so cute, I desperately try to keep them from going berserk." (Male, 34) "It's very easy to play and I'd recommend it to any novice dungeon RPG player." (Female, 23) The Guided Fate Paradox . Scores: System: 5 Story: 4 Character:4 Graphics: 2 Sound: 3 Other: 2 Impressions: "Before I realized it, I was hooked on the story and not just the battle system." (Male, 17) "Exploring the depths of dungeons is so engrossing that I find myself losing track of time." (Male, 31) "The angel sprites are adorable!" (Female, 27) "I love the opening music as well as the multitude of background music pieces for the fairy empire." (Male, 34) "The sheer multitude of customizable/progressive elements of is the staple of a good Nippon Ichi Software game." (Female, 19) "The game has tons of enjoyable elements to keep you playing even after you've cleared the story." (Male, 22) Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus: The Girls' Proof . Scores: System: 4 Story: 3 Character: 5 Graphics: 5 Sound: 3 Other: 3 Impressions: "Tons of breasts! Of course I love it!!" (Male, 20) "The DLC costumes are quite… provocative." (Male, 18) "I also love the individual character background music." (Male, 38) "Scenario writer Yukinori Kitajima's story is very engaging." (Male, 24) "The game was hard to find after its initial release. I remember searching all over the place for it." (Female, 24) "I enjoy trying to collect all the characters' costumes and accessories." (Male, 32) Macross 30 . Scores: System: 5 Story: 4 Character: 4 Graphics: 3 Sound: 2 Other: 2 Impressions: "Even if you're not a fan, you'll find yourself yelling, 'Here I come, cutie! Yeeha!!'" (Male, 36) "I love that it's a complete original story!" (Male, 16) "I appreciate how it felt like a celebration of the series' 30th anniversary." (Male, 36) "It feels great to obtain new unit blueprints, I find myself getting obsessed." (Male, 21) "The original animated sequences were good." (Male, 18) "The original characters were uniquely appealing." (Male, 29) Soul Sacrifice . Scores: System: 5 Story: 4 Character: 2 Graphics: 3 Sound: 4 Other: 3 Impressions: "It's a waste to own a PS Vita and not play this game!" (Male, 32) "The unique world and story seem like they should have shown up in a game sooner. I was able to enjoy the game as an entirely ne

LONDON—Financial markets around the world were roiled Thursday after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the country was hit by a devastating tsunami more than two years ago.Several reasons have been blamed for the 7.3 per cent fall in the Nikkei index to 14,483.98, including a spike in Japanese government bond yields and unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing figures.Mixed messages from the U.S. Federal Reserve about when it may start withdrawing some of its monetary stimulus have also contributed to Thursday’s retreat.While Wednesday’s written testimony to lawmakers in Congress from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke appeared to signal that the central bank was not yet ready to change its super-easy monetary policy, subsequent comments — and the minutes of the last rate-setting meeting — triggered speculation that the pace of asset purchases could slow down.Much of the recovery in global stock markets over the past few years has had its roots on the extra liquidity that’s flown through financial markets as a number of central banks, particularly the Fed, have pursued stimulus programs. The withdrawal of this new liquidity has, for some time, been viewed as the greatest threat to stocks in particular.“The mood has switched from greedy to fearful,” said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG.In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares, which was only around 75 points off its highest-ever close on Wednesday, was down 1.9 per cent at 6,710. Germany’s DAX, which has hit a series of all-time highs recently, tumbled 2.6 per cent to 8,306 while the CAC-40 in France was 2.3 per cent lower at 3,956.U.S. stocks, which fell sharply Wednesday, were poised for more declines at the open. Dow futures were 0.9 per cent lower while the broader S&P 500 futures fell 1.2 per cent.Those declines though are dwarfed by the scale of the reverse in Japan’s Nikkei, the biggest since March 2011. Some sort of decline in global indexes, especially in the Nikkei, had been anticipated following a run that’s seen many post historic highs.“The fact that the equity markets fell so hard on these headlines overnight indicates that perhaps investors have been guilty of too much exuberance in recent months,” said Jane Foley, an analyst at Rabobank International.The Nikkei has been the best-performing major index this year, having risen around 45 per cent — before Thursday’s loss — to five-year highs. The index has been buoyed by the announcement of an aggressive monetary stimulus from the Bank of Japan, which has piled the pressure on the yen. That development is a potential boon to the country’s exporters and therefore to growth — a favorable backdrop for stock investors.Many in the markets blamed the Nikkei’s fall on the spike in the interest rate charged on country’s benchmark 10-year bond to above 1 per cent for the first time in a year. That unnerved investors at a time when Japan’s already overburdened government finances are vulnerable to rises in interest rates. The interest rate, or yield, later slipped back to about 0.9 per cent.The sell-off is a reminder of Japan’s vulnerability as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tries to end two decades of stagnation with unprecedented monetary easing, increased government spending and reforms to make the world’s No. 3 economy more competitive.The level of Japan’s debt is higher, relative to its economy, than even some of the crisis-stricken European countries. But because it is mostly owned by domestic investors, especially huge banks and insurance companies, the country’s credit rating has remained steady. About a quarter of the national budget is interest payments on government debt.Markets elsewhere in Asia sank sharply after a survey showed China’s manufacturing contracted in May. HSBC said its preliminary Purchasing Manag

Yesterday afternoon, following the rout in the US stock market, we made a spurious preview of the true main event: So selloff in JGBs tonight? — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 22, 2013 We had no idea how right we would be because the second Japan opened, its bond futures market was halted on a circuit breaker as the 10 Year bond plunged to their lowest level since early 2012, hitting 1% and leading to massive Mark to Market losses for Japanese banks, as we also warned would happen. That was just the beginning, and suddenly the realization crept in that the plunging yen at this point is not only negative for banks, but for the entire stock market, leading to what until that point was a solid up session for the Nikkei to the first rumblings of a ris-off. Shortly thereafter we got the distraction of the Chinese Mfg PMI which dropped into contraction territory for the first time since late 2012, and which set the mood decidedly risk-offish, although the real catalyst may have been a report on copper from Goldman's Roger Yan (which we will cover in depth shortly) and whose implications may be stunning and devastating and may have just popped the Chinese credit bubble (oh, btw, short copper). And then all hell broke loose, with the Nikkei first rising solidly and then something snapping loud and clear, and sending the index crashing a massive 1,143 an intraday swing of 9% high to low, leading to an over 200 pips move lower in the USDJPY, and leading to a global risk off across the world. Looks like Mrs Watanabe's infatuation with the "get rich scheme" known as the stock market is once again over, and it is time to start from scratch for Kuroda and Goldman proxy company. Perhaps best summarizing things in the centrally-planned world is the chart of the overnight USDJPY: ... and offsetting this is our old friend, gold, which once again reminded that when the entire centrally-planned construct implodes, as it was on the edge of doing so in Japan last night, it will be the only thing standing: But don't worry: the short covering squeeze we warned about last night hasn't started yet. Not even close. All of this is hardly the ringing endorsement that central-planners have everything under control despite all time highs in stock markets around the world. Speaking of stock markets around the world, what goes up always comes down. This is just the start: Nikkei: -7.32% Hang Seng: -2.54% DAX: -2.64% FTSE 100: -1.9% CAC 40: -2.3% FTSE MIB: -2.56% And so on. And this excludes the plethora of secondary side-effects as US traders walk in and realize their positions have been devastated overnight, and that unless the PPT steps in, the world is facing a tsunami of index margin calls. A quick summary of what happened from DB's Jim Reid So at the closing bell, the S&P 500 was 32pts off the highs at 1655 and the UST 10-year yield was 15bps above the lows at 2.0395%. These are big intraday moves. Indeed we haven't seen such ranges for the S&P 500 and Treasuries since 7th November and 14th September last year, respectively. In other markets the US dollar clearly benefited from the hawkish interpretation of the Fed headlines with Dollar index up nearly 1.2% above the lows while Gold fell over 3% from theintraday highs to close at $1370/oz. The FOMC minutes that came later was also viewed to be less dovish than the Fed commentary we’ve seen recently as the minutes noted that “a number of participants expressed willingness to adjust the flow of purchases downward as early as the June meeting if the economic information received by that time showed evidence of sufficiently stronger and sustained growth”. Markets clearly seized upon the hawkish tone from yesterday’s Fed headlines even though the Chairman himself at the Q&A session made it clear that a step to reduce the flow of purchases will not be an automatic mechanistic process of ending the programbut rather that any change in the flow of purchases would depend on incoming data and Fed’s assessment

Tencent, the Chinese Internet giant behind the popular WeChat messaging service, today revealed that it plans to open a new branch office in Malaysia. Posheu Yung, Vice President of International Business at Tencent, told the Malay Mail in a local media roundtalk that the strong WeChat user base in the country made it a natural choice for expansion. “We feel that we don’t need to market the application as we have a foundation already,” said Yung. “However, we seek to further localize the products by collaborating with local firms and celebrities.” WeChat has been popular in Malaysia for quite some time, reportedly reaching the 1 million local user-mark last autumn. Yung added that since the app’s country-specific, localized launch six weeks ago, the app has reached 70% market penetration among smartphone users in Malaysia. “In Malaysia, most people use WeChat and WhatsApp, which is good for us as we see ourself more of (sic) a social communication platform whereas Whatsapp is more to messaging,” said Yung, pointing out a oft-cited difference between the two services. Tencent’s most recent expansions include a research office in the United States, as well as a partnership with Indonesian firm MNC Media. The move to establish a branch in Malaysia seems to confirm, that as WeChat sets its sights beyond China, Southeast Asia will remain a fertile territory for growth. WeChat is approaching a userbase of over 400 million, 50 million of which are located outside of China. Meanwhile, Tencent recently surpassed Facebook in Millward Brown’s Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013 list, a sign that the messenger has done a lot to enliven the Chinese company’s overall brand perception internationally. WeChat’s biggest rivals in Asia are Japan’s Line, which has a total of 150 million users (105 million of which are outside Japan), and Korea’s Kakao Talk, which has 90 million users worldwide, the large majority of which are in Japan. Image Credit: SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it. I don’t have a lot of information on what the woodworking community in Japan is like. Most of what I’ve seen is from running across Japanese woodworking websites that individual woodworkers have set up. From looking at those websites, those woodworkers have shops that would be recognizable to woodworkers in the U.S. — the usual assortment of machinery, with hand tools being used mainly for detail work like tweaking joints to fit. I have also seen websites of Japanese woodworkers that are involved in planing contests, and others that are involved in timber framing. And I’m sure there are Japanese woodworking forums where they argue endlessly about whether western woodworking tools are suitable for softwoods.