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Article: National treasure: protecting Japan's intellectual property.(Company overview)
- Article from:
- Japan Inc.
- Article date:
- June 22, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Japan Inc. Communications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In April this year, Japan saw the first group of retirees put their feet up en masse. The ageing population poses more of a threat to Japan's economy, however, than merely the provision of pensions. A steep decline in the nation's available labour force, if left unchecked, could lead to the demise of Japan's international economic competitiveness. So what can a nation, faced with such a looming crisis, do? The government's answer is to turn Japan into an 'intellectual property based nation.' Although never short of an idea or two, the challenges lie beyond the proverbial light bulb above the head--the real issue is how to speed up the process of patent examinations, ...