Japanese speculators, says Mr Koike with a flick of his nose, smelt easy money.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Mr Koike had become particularly interested in the work of Bill Gross, whose west coast Internet incubator, idealab!

ECONOMIST: Face value

With his friend Kiyoshi Nishikawa, whose company, NetAge, was also setting up shop as an incubator, Mr Koike dreamed up the Bit Valley Association.

ECONOMIST: Face value

In April Ryuichi Koike, Japan's best-known sokaiya, was sentenced to nine months in prison and he might have got several years more if he had been prosecuted under new laws.

ECONOMIST: Question time in Japan | The

Mr Koike's interest in Japan's Internet prospects was fuelled in February 1999, when a friend invited him to a new-business conference in Tokyo organised by Japan's trade and industry ministry.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Mr Koike resolved to help.

ECONOMIST: Face value