"There is only so much you can do, " shrugs Maruyama Mie, a Tokyo nurse, who says she will prepare for the new millennium as she would for an earthquake, by purchasing a week's worth of necessities and getting copies of her financial records.

CNN: Page 4

Masayasu Kitagawa, the governor of Mie prefecture and a pioneer of the new confrontational style, won celebrity last year by opposing the construction of a nuclear power plant.

ECONOMIST: Japan

In Mie Mr Kitagawa has introduced a system to evaluate the cost- effectiveness of major items in the prefectural budget.

ECONOMIST: Japan

"Thick ones make your legs look lots slimmer, " says Rie Takahashi, a student in rural Mie prefecture.

CNN: A SOCK TO THE SYSTEM

Important characteristics of Kabuki theatre include its particular music, costumes, stage devices and props as well as specific plays, language and acting styles, such as the mie, in which the actor holds a characteristic pose to establish his character.

UNESCO: Intangible Cultural Heritage

Mie Kajikawa, CEO of Cheer Blossom, a consulting service to sports organizations.

FORBES: Japan is mad about innovation. Can it get crazy about entrepreneurship?

"It is a system of irresponsibility, " says Masayasu Kitagawa, Governor of Mie prefecture.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Japan: Japan's Governors Take Aim at Mighty Tokyo