In a dark alleyway not far from the bustle and glare of Tokyo’s Shibuya district, smoke smelling of scorched starch spirals from a wood-burning stove set in the bed of a small truck. A sonorous ditty coming from a horn on the roof announces the arrival of something that seems oddly ancient in a city that often feels futuristic: the sweet-potato vendor.

Until the late 1970s, vendors of all stripes tramped Tokyo’s streets, armed with goods and a gimmick. The caramel-candy man told tales; the frog-oil man rapped; the herb seller dressed like a hermit. Most are now gone, replaced by 24-hour convenience stores and complex vending machines, but Table-Mono, a company that peddles healthy tofu products, has revitalized the once fading industry. Table-Mono sellers blow a catchy tune on toy trumpets and cater to both a housebound and nostalgic elderly population and a younger group who are health-conscious and in a hurry. (See “What the World Eats, Part I.”)

“People today want good food, but they want it on their terms,” says Elizabeth Andoh, an American who moved to Japan in the mid-1960s and has authored several books on Japanese cuisine. “These mobile shopkeepers have found a very good match with the customer base.”

Street vendors first appeared in Japan four centuries ago, when the Edo shogunate issued special vending passes to merchants who could not afford a storefront. The practice was briefly suspended during World War II when food was rationed, but in the decades that followed, street vending, catering to a new generation of housewives who embraced eating fresh local foods, blossomed. Then, in 1970, an international food expo held in Osaka introduced Japan to coffee and hamburgers. Chain restaurants and all-night supermarkets opened in step with the nation’s booming economy and food vendors fell by the wayside. (See pictures of Japan in the 1980s and today.)

The ones that survived offer something no store can. “The sweet-potato vendor conveys the feeling of winter,” says Seiko Yamazaki, who researches consumption trends at the Dentsu Institute, part of the Tokyo-based ad agency. “You hear his song and it makes you feel warm. You imagine eating this piping hot potato.” (See the best pictures of 2009.)

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NEW YORK – Barnes & Noble changed CEOs Thursday, elevating the president of its Web site to lead the company, a surprise move that highlights the importance of digital books to the bookseller’s future.

The company said former CEO Steve Riggio will stay on as vice chairman and be actively involved with the company.

New CEO William Lynch helped launch the company’s electronic book store and oversaw the introduction of its electronic book reader, the Nook. The company is counting on the technology on to boost sales and ward off intense competition from online retailers, discount stores and rival e-readers such as Amazon.com’s Kindle.

The impending launch of Apple’s Ipad tablet computer is also crowding the e-reader field. Barnes & Noble, which offers its e-reader software across a host of platforms including laptops and most mobile devices, said last week it will also make it compatible with the Ipad.

Lynch, 39, has served as president of Barnes & Noble’s Web site since February 2009.

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In a dark alleyway not far from the bustle and glare of Tokyo’s Shibuya district, smoke smelling of scorched starch spirals from a wood burning stove set in the bed of a small truck. A sonorous ditty coming from a horn on the roof announces the arrival of something that seems oddly ancient in a city that often feels futuristic: the sweet potato vendor.

Until the late 1970s, vendors of all stripes tramped Tokyo’s streets, armed with goods and a gimmick. The caramel candy man told tales; the frog oil man rapped; the herb seller dressed like a hermit. Most are now gone, replaced by 24-hour convenient stores and complex vending machines, but Table-mono, a company that peddles healthy tofu products, has revitalized the once fading industry. Table-mono sellers blow a catchy tune on toy trumpets and cater to both a housebound and nostalgic elderly population and a younger group who are health-conscious and in a hurry.

“People today want good food but they want it on their terms,” says Elizabeth Andoh, an American who moved to Japan in the mid-1960s and has authored several books on Japanese cuisine. “These mobile shop keepers have found a very good match with the customer base.”

Street vendors first appeared in Japan four centuries ago, when the Edo Shogunate issued special vending passes to merchants who could not afford a storefront. The practice was briefly suspended during World War II when food being rationed, but in the decades that followed, street vending, catering to a new generation of housewives who embraced eating fresh local foods, blossomed. Then, in 1970, an international food expo held in Osaka introduced Japan to coffee and hamburgers. Chain restaurants and all-night supermarkets opened in step with the nation’s booming economy, and food vendors fell by the wayside. (See pictures of Japan in the 1980s and today.)

The ones that survived offer something no store can. “The sweet potato vendor conveys the feeling of winter,” says Seiko Yamazaki, who researches consumption trends at the Dentsu Institute, part of the Tokyo-based ad agency. “You hear his song and it makes you feel warm. You imagine eating this piping hot potato.”

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BEIJING – China without Google — a prospect that looks increasingly likely — could mean no more maps on mobile phones. A free music service that has helped to fight piracy might be in jeopardy. China’s fledgling Web outfits would face less pressure to improve, eroding their ability to one day compete abroad.

The extent of a possible Google Inc. pullout from China in its dispute with the communist government over censorship and hacking is unclear. But on top of a local search site that Google says it may close, services that might be affected range from advertising support for Chinese companies to online entertainment.

“If Google leaves, it’s a lose-lose scenario, instead of Google loses and others gain,” said Edward Yu, president of Analysys International, a Beijing research firm.

Chinese news reports say Google is on the verge of shutting its China site, Google.cn, and has stopped censoring results. A Google spokesman, Scott Rubin, denied censorship had stopped and would not confirm whether Google.cn might close.

“We have not changed our operations in China,” Rubin said by phone from Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. CEO Eric Schmidt said last week something would happen soon, and Rubin said he had no further details.

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NEW YORK – Getting people to pay for news online at this point would be “like trying to force butterflies back into their cocoons,” a new consumer survey suggests.

That was one of several bleak headlines in the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s annual assessment of the state of the news industry, released Sunday.

The project’s report contained an extensive look at habits of the estimated six in 10 Americans who say they get at least some news online during a typical day. On average, each person spends three minutes and four seconds per visit to a news site.

About 35 percent of online news consumers said they have a favorite site that they check each day. The others are essentially free agents, the project said. Even among those who have their favorites, only 19 percent said they would be willing to pay for news online — including those who already do.

There’s little brand loyalty: 82 percent of people with preferred news sites said they’d look elsewhere if their favorites start demanding payment.

“If we move to some pay system, that shift is going to have to surmount significant consumer resistance,” said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the project, part of the Pew Research Center.

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