No need to feel sorry for E. Takashi Norris, working all alone at his desk in Azabudai. Because it's good news -- including having a very nice office all to himself. "All my staff are out on business," he explains. "Even the young woman I took on initially as my assistant is now operating her own right, property visiting, negotiating million dollar sales."

Norris always wanted to run his own company. He chose the name of his real estate firm, Platinum, because of an uncle who is a jeweler who once described platinum as one of the most precious metals on earth.

Being even more valuable than gold, it signifies something rare and exceptionally precious, and therefore by association, he believes, the very best in service and of the highest quality.