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To: Mohan Marette who wrote (93879)	2/2/1999 9:10:00 AM
From: Yamakita	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 176387

Hi Mohan, Japanese individuals were able to purchase US securities last year in April. I'm not sure about Japanese mutual funds and official institutions, though I imagine they were able to do so even earlier. As it happens, I have a book coming out in two weeks on exactly the topic you mention: getting savings out of the post office (which pays an astounding 0.35 percent) and into US equities. The English can be translated as "Japan is Rich. You Are Poor. Why?: How Ordinary Japanese Can Safely and Profitably Invest Outside Japan," if you will allow me one quick plug. Wish me luck! As for recovery here, it sort of cuts both ways. It's not at all unusual to see department stores maddeningly full of hypershoppers. Teenage and 20-something girls casually whip out brand-name wallets from designer Italian handbags and fork over 10,000 yen (about $85) for a couple of cheap sundries at a drug store, take cabs everywhere, and fill up high-end restaurants. On one level I see nothing BUT spending. But on another level, the retail level, it's not encouraging. That same department store employees literally dozens of "greeters" and "elevator girls"--absolutely wild ineffieciencies abound. Hide-bound companies are utterly clueless about the "new" economy. Fewer than five percent of homes are wired to the Net. Most middle-age people have never touched a computer, and aren't planning on starting now. In a society based on age seniority for almost everything, prospects for radical change do not look good. BUT, I do remain hopeful; these people are not stupid, and they will pull through somehow. Don't count Japan out quite yet!