Vol.37 - Welcome to Japan! & Venture Company File Number Three: Quazer System

**CONTENTS**

-Feature - Welcome to Japan!
-From the Editor
-Forex Weekly
-Yen Watch
-Events
-Job Watch
*Please scroll down below to read the disclaimer*

FEATURE

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Welcome to Japan!
(By Jesse Chadwick, Gaijin Inc. | December 16, 2005 | Comment on this Article)

Unpack your bags, examine your new office, and realize how snug yet expensive your new accommodations will be now that you're living in Tokyo. You have arrived safe and ready to ignite in a whole new culture. The next course of action would be to search out a mode of transportation. The train is cumbersome due to the lack of freedom and inability to transport your groceries home and your mother from the airport. So you search for the right automobile to fit your needs. That is when you realize the problematic system involved in achieving one. Some of us have been left in astonishment with headaches after contemplating 'Why is getting a car here such a difficult process?"

Click here to read more....

FROM THE EDITOR

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Venture Company File Number Three:
Quazer System(http://www.quasar.co.jp/jp/index_jp.htm#)

A company which specializes in making a small range of specialized connectors doesn’t sound very sexy. It also sounds like a business that is very vulnerable to competition from China. But in this age of high-power portable computers, electronic entertainment devices, and mobile or exterior-use portable security equipment, connectors that are ultra reliable and miniaturized are still very much in demand and still very difficult to make, thus offering an opportunity for a Japanese specialist to stay ahead of the game. Just such a company is Quazer System, a manufacturer and consulting firm based in Kanagawa Prefecture, to the south of Tokyo.

Quazer System specialises with the development, manufacturing and sales of hybrid connectors for a range of devices, and in particular, the expanded memory slots of notebook PCs. The driving force behind the firm’s successful growth in this competitive field is CEO Shoji Yamada. Mr. Yamada has a long history in the field of high-performance connectors, having worked for more than 30 years at AMP, the leading US connector manufacturing firm. Prior to AMP, Yamada graduated from Tokyo University with a PhD in Electrical Engineering then went on to work in a prominent research institute in the USA. Yamada’s achieved a significant milestone at AMP, the development of his own technology, the DUAL DIMM memory device connector, which is today used in many of the world’s PCs.

When Yamada decided to start his own company, Quazer System, in 1997, he realized that manufacturing would require a significant investment, and so he chose to enter the field as a consultant. This turned out to be an excellent choice, and within a short period he was providing designs and expertise to a number of Japanese and Taiwanese firms. This strategy also protected him from the gyrations of the electronics industry in general.

Three years ago, in 2002, Quazer System did in fact decide to create its own manufacturing facility. But rather than try to compete in the overall connector market, the factory’s output is reserved for niche products that require either a high level of technology to produce or small lots of specialized connectors. Thus, the consulting business continues to be a mainstay for the company, along with various tools designed to help consulting customers become more efficient and effective. Such tools include design software and design IP.

Quazer’s manufacturing strength is to be found in its strict control of design and manufacturing parameters. As an example, Quazer’s memory connector has a higher data recall speed than any other in the market, due to the fact that connector wire are precisely the same length. This lets manufacturers such as IBM, Hitachi, Furukawa Electric, NEC, Sotec, Twinhesd, Hannstar, LG, Compal, FIC, ASUSTeK, JAE, TycoAMP, and Uniwill drive their circuits at higher speeds without concern about data loss or corruption.

Despite the unglamorous nature of the business, in fact, the connector industry is still growing at a healthy clip. It was worth $284 billion in 2003, up a full 10% over the previous year, and a large percentage of this business was done in North Asia. Quazer System see their main growth opportunities in continuing development for notebook PCs, particularly in memory expansion, graphic cards, and in-line CPUs, and of course the broad new digital devices hitting the market, which require high-precision, robust connectors.

Terrie Lloyd
・・・Investor in Training/

FOREX WEEKLY

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Team Tokyo Forex Weekly
December 15, 2005

During the christmas break all sorts of things can happen. The US dollar is in robust condition which is going to turn in the next few months. So get in while it is hot. A great equalizer is on it's way. It is certainly not attractive for folks travelling to the U.S from Japan but for those travelling out of the U.S there will be hearty Christmas cheer all round.

I finally thumbled through my Japanese internet connection, not sure how I did it but here I am. So today I am going to let someone else take the credit :)
Here is the the world market this week from the good folks at Forex t.v.com

Weekly EUR/USD and USD/JPY forecasts

EUR/USD (1.1812) ・Weekly Forecast
Trading range: 1.1640 ・1.1905
Trend: Neutral
In spite the expecting positive news during the coming week for the US economy the market is on the way to make a consolidation at levels of 1.17-1.18. There are chances for recovery of the Euro to levels of 1.20. A break below 1.1638 will open a way for correction to levels of 1.1440/70. The most important events during the coming week are US Interest rates decision schedule for Tuesday where are expecting new raise to 4.25%. The next key event for the week is US Trade Balance data on Wednesday. All fundamental analysis will provide a good support for the dollar and there are chances for moving down below 1.1690 and even 1.1640.

USD/JPY (120.65) ・Weekly Forecast
Trading range: 119.55 ・121.40
The market today.Trend: Neutral
The coming week is positive for the dollar and there are good chances for gains of the dollar against the Yen above 121.40. But first it is expecting temporary consolidation at current levels.

Forex Weekly Review
USD/JPY

Even though rallied to fresh new high of 121.38 on Monday, USD/JPY failed to break higher after meeting resistance of a longer term falling trend line (from 147.68, 1998 year high to 135.20, 2002 year high) and turned into consolidative trading throughout the week. Retreat accelerated on Thursday and fell to as low as 119.97 but USD/JPY was still being supported by mentioned resistance turned support of 119.93.

As discussed before, USD/JPY is now facing an important resistance zone with 100% projection of 101.65 to 113.74 from 108.75 at 120.84, long term pattern resistance at 120.71 and long term falling trend line (from 147.68, 1998 year high to 135.20, 2002 year high) which is now sitting at 121.35. Hence, we should be seeing continuous loss of upside momentum and a major reversal could be around the corner. Daily MACD's possible bearish divergence is starting to support this case.

But still, even though the rally from 108.75 is clearly over extended, considering the uninterrupted strength of the rally from 108.75 (without any sizeable correction yet), more evidence is needed to indicate USD/JPY has topped. We'll only treat USD/JPY as in tight sideway trading as long as 119.93 holds and chances for another rise remains.

On the downside, firm break below 119.93 resistance turned support and sustained trading below the lower channel line (now at 119.85) will strongly suggest an important near term top is made at 121.38 and risk further decline towards resistance zone between 118.18 and 118.40 (with 23.6% retracement of 108.75 to 121.38 at 118.40). And touching of this support zone will indicate the rally from 108.75 has finally ended and USD/JPY will at least turn into consolidative trading with chances of a deeper sell off.

Merry Christmas.
The editor,
Jason Bainbridge
http://www.tokyo-forex-japan.com/

YEN WATCH

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Currency	12/5Mon	12/6 Tue	12/7 Wed	12/8 Thu	12/9 Fri
USD	122.07	122.03	121.78	121.85	121.73
GBP	212.37	213.47	212.84	212.39	214.05
EUR	143.36	144.25	143.87	143.34	143.94
CAD	105.73	106.11	105.88	105.73	105.84
HKD	16.02	16.02	15.98	15.99	15.98
SGD	72.50	72.62	72.53	72.58	72.55
AUD	92.30	92.76	92.40	92.51	92.52

(The above TTS Exchange Rates has been brought to you by the courtesy of GoLloyds TSB)
The above rates were posted at 10:09 on Friday, December 9, 2005 and are valid for funds received before 3:00 pm on Friday, December 9, 2005. All funds received after 3:00 pm are remitted the following day at the following day's exchange rates. The exchange rates provided are intended only as a guide. The Bank reserves the right to apply a different exchange rate if the market is particularly volatile.

EVENT

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No events this week.

JOB WATCH

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Brought to you by DaiJob, Inc – providing jobs for bilinguals.

- Trading System Application Support (Negotiable)
- VP Sales (JPY 13-17M)
- Sales Executive (Asset Management) (JPY 6-10M)
- Project Management Representative / Cards Operations (Negotiable)
- Analyst (Negotiable)

Check out these and other jobs like these here!

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Disclaimer: This commentary is designed to help foreigners living in Japan understand the financial and investment opportunities available to them. It is NOT intended to constitute professional financial advice or an inducement to purchase the services and products mentioned. A condition of subscribing to this newsletter or reading this web site is that any actions taken by readers as a consequence of reading this column shall be the sole responsibility of the reader and no liability, implied or otherwise shall be assumed by Lloyd, Japan Inc. Communications, or other business entities related to either person.

© Japan Inc. Communications, 2005

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