RIETI Update

Koshogatsu, literally, "Little New Year's Day" is celebrated in Japan on January 15, two weeks after Oshogatsu, the better-known "Big New Year's Day." At the end of Koshogatsu, Tondoyaki ritual bonfires are lighted at shrines and schools in which people burn New Year's decorations and old talismans. Possibly due to the growing concern over dioxin pollution, some local communities have decided not to hold such events this year. But Tondoyaki, in which people say goodbye to the New Year's holiday and pray for health and safety in the new year, is one of Japan's oldest traditional rituals, dating back to the Heian era (794 - 1185). In 2004, Japan was hit by the Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, while the fourth-largest earthquake since 1900 occurred off the west coast of northern Sumatra and the subsequent tsunami devastated southern and Southeast Asia, leaving tens of thousands dead and injured. On the occasion of Tondoyaki this year, let us pray that stability will be quickly restored to all the victims of these disasters.

****Brown Bag Lunch Seminars

Coming Soon
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All BBLs run 12:15 - 13:45, unless otherwise stated.

1/17 12:15-13:30 UEYAMA Shinichi (Professor, Keio University)
"Regional Revitalization and Local Government Management Reform: Structural Reform of 'People,' 'Things' and 'Money'" (in Japanese, off the record)

1/19 HASEGAWA Eiichi (Deputy Director-General for International Trade Policy, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)
"Future Prospects for Japanese Trade Policy" (in Japanese, off the record)

1/25 ENDO Yasuo (Director, Liaison Office in Japan, FAO)
"A Historical Analysis of International Agricultural Negotiations: Suggestions for Japanese Strategies on Trade and Development Assistance" (in Japanese)

2/25 YASHIRO Masamoto (Chairman, President and CEO, Shinsei Bank, Limited)
Title: TBA (in Japanese)

BBL Report
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"World Energy Outlook 2004"
Featuring a transcript of the speech delivered by Noe van HULST, Director, Long-Term Co-operation and Policy Analysis Office, IEA on December 16 2004 and the Q&A session that followed.
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/events/bbl/04121601.html

For a complete list of past and upcoming BBL Seminars, see http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/events/bbl/index.html

Featured
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"Digital Convergence Forum" by Andrei HAGIU
This new webpage is dedicated to discussing the fascinating economic, strategic and industrial policy issues raised by the ongoing convergence of the digital and home electronics industries. What are the implications of digital convergence? What will be its impact on competition and who will compete against whom? Who are the industrial players most likely to succeed? Where does competitive advantage lie in a converged digital world? Through columns, papers and reader feedback, RIETI Fellow Andrei Hagiu seeks to enhance understanding of this emerging trend.
http://www.rieti.go.jp/users/andrei-hagiu/forum/index.html

Columns
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"Post-Election U.S. Congress: Implications of the Lame Duck Session" by NAKABAYASHI Mieko
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0151.html

"Daiei's Rehabilitation - IRCJ's Support Must Be Based on Strict Asset Assessment and Market Mechanisms" by TSURU Kotaro
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0148.html

"Encouraging Greater Government-Academia Collaboration" by YASUDA Takehiko
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0146.html

Discussion Papers
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"Market Dynamics and Productivity in Japanese Retail Industry in the late 1990's" by MATSUURA Toshiyuki and MOTOHASHI Kazuyuki
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/summary/05010001.html

"Payment Uncertainty, the Division of Labor, and Productivity Declines in Great Depressions" by KOBAYASHI Keiichiro
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/summary/04120009.html

HOT ISSUES
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Now featuring three new topics: "energy" and "global and regional imbalances," and "regulatory reform".
http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/special/hot-issues/index.html

Fellow titles and links in the text are as of the date of publication.

For questions or comments regarding RIETI Report, please contact the editors.

RIETI Report is published monthly.