For India and Japan, a freedom fighter's legacy endures

Things are really changing at Japan under Abe-san - seems to be a revival of sorts of nationalistic pride. Although bothersome to its close neighbors, many a Japanophiles believe that it's all part of Japan retaking its rightful position in the world. Nationalism need not equate to militarism and I think that this current trend is quite benign.

It surely is a great gesture by Abe-san to visit Kolkata and meet with Netaji Subhash Chander Bose's grandchildren. Once forgotten under the Nehru-Gandhi scheme of things, Netaji's legend has continued to grow in the recent years and many would argue that he was perhaps the most daring of the Indian nationalists who really upset British to the point of abandoning their imperial ambitions in India.

Not All Is Well In Japan

The Japanese industrial juggernaut seems to have done much better in the recent years than the Americans. But things are not going too well for some of the earlier success stories. Sony is the one name that just can't seem to regain its lost glory. On peak of consumer electronics industry worldwide in the 90s, it lost the gaming market first to Microsoft XBox in the high end, to Nintendo DS in the handheld and now to Nintendo Wii in the mass market consoles. Its Walkman franchise is all but dead in face of the onslaught from Apple iPod.

It comes as no surprise then that Nintendo's market capitalization exceeded Sony's for the first time. What comes as a surprise though is that Sony seems to be in deep slumber - all this is yet to awaken it. Here's an article from Forbes that talks about Sony's options and how it seems to be taking the path of least resistance.

In the automobile industry, while Toyota seems to have fulfilled its promise of being the global number one, the 90s success story of Nissan with its Gaijin leader seems to be getting derailed. Profits have taken a hit for the first time under Ghosn. See this article from Forbes.