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With\xa0Andy Serwer, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Finance, Former Managing Director of Fortune

Just when the real world got comfortable with the idea of virtual reality, along comes this thing called augmented reality.
Besides the Bento box and karaoke, many aspects of Japanese culture have seeped into the American lifestyle. But perhaps nothing can equal the impact of Pokemon Go, a by-product of the Nintendo game Pokemon. If someone walks into you on the street these days and he doesn\u2019t have a walking stick and a guide dog, chances are he\u2019s playing Pokemon Go, the craze that has captivated millions and is lifting the Japanese economy up from the doldrums.
Andrew Serwer, Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo Finance and former Managing Director of Fortune, has written a thing or two about Japan in his career as a journalist. He recalls that before it began to unravel in the early \u201890s, the Japanese stock market, real estate market, the economy, in general, was booming. Now, after several stagnant decades, Japan is coming back, to a large degree because of the popularity of Pokemon Go and to LINE, a giant messaging app.
Although both are products belonging to the tech world, Pokemon Go is the one causing bodily bruises and mishaps as well as initiating the world into augmented reality, the combination of virtual reality and the real world. In such a short time, a game that\u2019s obviously fun for millions has become a boon to some enterprising businesses who have capitalized on it as a lure to attract customers. A character just might be located in a pizza parlor or coffee shop where\u2014Surprise, Surprise!\u2014a discount could be offered.
Andrew says this is the first of many applications of augmented reality and that CEOs of major corporations are already thinking of how it can be used in their lines of business. The potential and possibilities are enormous and most certainly will be popping up in areas beyond games, such as dating apps, exercise apps, and for educational purposes.
In the meantime, as walkers and drivers addicted to Pokemon Go struggle to pay attention to the sidewalk and the road, Japan is experiencing a much-needed boost in the stock market, which is a good dose of reality for the once-wobbly economy.
Read The Entire Transcript HereCollapse Transcript
Steve Pomeranz: My guest is Andy Serwer.\xa0 He is the editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance, and he's best known for serving as a managing director of Fortune from 2006 to 2014.\xa0 He's based in New York City where he\u2019s on the line with me today.\xa0 Andy Serwer, welcome to the show.
Andrew Serwer: Thanks, Steve.
Steve Pomeranz: You wrote an article where you mentioned Pokemon\u2014 and, of course, in the last week or so, Pokemon has exploded onto the scene\u2014but you also mentioned that coming out of Japan (and some other things coming out of Japan) the Japanese stock market rose dramatically, it's almost like the '80s again in Japan.\xa0 Just quickly tell us about that.
Andrew Serwer: Well, if you remember, Steve, back in the 1980s, it seemed like Japan was taking over the world economically.\xa0 Remember, they came in and bought Rockefeller Center in the United States and Pebble Beach, the golf course.\xa0 Their stock market was booming, real estate values there boomed, and then, in 1990, it all began to come apart, and the economy crashed, and it's been a zombie economy for all those years and years.\xa0 Never really true because it's still been an awfully big market, but kind of a backwater until maybe this week.
Steve Pomeranz: What happened?
Andrew Serwer: Well, a bunch of things happened.\xa0 First of all, you mentioned Pokemon Go, and we can talk about that a little bit.\xa0 There was also a giant IPO this week, Line, l-i-n-e, which is a giant Japanese messaging app, not unlike Wii Chat and Snapchat and all of those.