Its greatest exponent is Yasuki Hiramatsu, born into a family of metalsmiths, who, through an annealing process, can twist a single length of gold or silver into a ring or necklace enchantingly resembling a minimalist bird's-nest.

ECONOMIST: Contemporary jewellery

Hoya has huge world demand for its patented process for melting and annealing optical glass, which shrinks production times from 26 days to three days.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s growth companies