Takafumi Horie, the former Livedoor president arrested in January on charges of breaking securities laws, was one of the last men to "pay the price" for the excesses of Japan's bubble economy (1987-90). I cannot help but feel a certain amount of sympathy for him, for there are still many others who have yet to pay the price.

Industriousness, diligence, earnestness, sincerity -- some of Japan's traditional virtues -- were thrown to the wind during the stock and property bubble, which burst in 1991, and the "lost decade" that followed.

How times have changed. Project X, NHK's popular documentary, comes to mind. Early in the series, engineers from a technical high school are shown devoting themselves to developing new products, sparing little time even to eat and sleep. Presumably they expected no monetary rewards for their efforts and contributions. What motivated them was intellectual curiosity and the joy of challenging new technologies.