CONSOLIDATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
The Japanese game software industry is currently undergoing a major reorganization. A typical example is the merger between Japan's fourth largest game publisher, Square Co., and the fifth largest, Enix Corp., which will take place in April 2003. Square is the producer of the Final Fantasy series, which has sold an estimated 30 million titles, while Enix produces the 24-million-selling Dragon Quest series.
(February 25, 2003)

SPACE RACE
With the successful launch of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 4 on December 14, 2002, Japan's rocket technology has taken a major step forward in establishing its reliability.
(February 21, 2003)

DOUBLE HONORS

The 2002 Nobel Prize for physics will be shared by Masatoshi Koshiba, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, and two other scientists. The Nobel Prize for chemistry, meanwhile, will go to Koichi Tanaka, a researcher at Shimadzu Corp.
(October 31, 2002)

ATTITUDES ON SCHOOL
An e-mail survey on attitudes toward education and images of the ideal school revealed few differences between the ideas of children and those of parents on such matters as the role school should play, the ideal teacher, and the ideal school.
(February 12, 2003)

AN EMERGING "THUMB CULTURE"
Mobile phones have become a major provider of entertainment on the train. These phones are extremely versatile multimedia tools that allow users to do everything from doing e-mail to playing online games, and even listening to music.
(January 10, 2003)

REIKA UTSUGI
Trends in Japan interviewed softball player Reika Utsugi, a Chinese-born naturalized Japanese citizen who helped the Japanese national team to the silver medal in the Sydney Olympics.
(December 16, 2002)