The Japan Business Insider Newsletter is the only English newsletter concentrating on success strategies and niche business opportunities in Japan. Stay informed and know where and how money is being spent and made in Japan.

 All You Need To Succeed in Japan ... For Free!

Published by
Richard Posner

Website
http://www.successinjapan.com 

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newsletter@successinjapan.com 

Thoughts From Above And Below

Desperation Robs Us Of Clear Thinking

"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go the grave with the song still in them."
~ Henry David Thoreau~

Intending to get things done does nothing of the sort.  Quite to the contrary, it leaves you stuck in the starting gate of life and, as the years flicker by, more bitter than a chaw of ginseng root.

What action could you take or should you have taken to better your life?  Could it have been to leave a broken marriage that has no hope of healing?  Could it be stepping away from a high-paying job or business that leaves you outlandishly tired and totally dissatisfied?  Could it be going back to school to get the training which would could give you the business or professional edge for success?  Could it be taking the time or the time off to get to know your children again or for the first time?

Whatever the regrets you continue to harbor and the dreams you hold on the backburner for that perfect moment, you alone can decide your divine moment to finally step out of the false safety of inaction and experience the cleansing air of possibility.

Aging is supposed to be the culmination of a full life -- a life of challenge, defeat, victory, ecstasy, and ultimately acceptance of all that was, is. and will be in your life.

So get off your butt and, as Jim Rohn says, "Work more on yourself than you do on your job."  The latter will pay the bills, if you are lucky.  The former will bring you unbridled wealth in all aspects of that word.

Desperation and regret are killers.  Living your life by your own design is the the only antidote to bitter mediocrity and half-baked achievement.  You do have a treasure wrapped up inside of you.  

Japan Niche Opportunities of the Week

1) One man's wine is another man's poison.  With the fate of combustion engine car manufacturers in jeopardy in the United States and elsewhere, there is a distinct possibility that India and China will step in and fill the gap with environmentally-friendly hybrids and minicars.  Tata, a car producer in India, has already committed to to minicars because they fit the roads and reality of Asia.  GM, Ford and Chrysler threw their energy-wasteful workforce behind Hummers and tank-size cars.  The big three are sinking, but will not disappear from the landscape altogether.   

An Opportunity:   Big, gas-guzzling cars will still have a market for a while.  They will, however, be discontinued in less than a decade with the impetus being provided by the pragmatic President-elect Obama in consultation with Al Gore and other fellow travelers.  Now is the time to start buying up small lots of the Big Three's auto parts for their lunker cars.  Five years hence, they will retrieve a hefty price on online auctions.  One should also gradually store up Japanese parts for the road-hogging vehicles being produced domestically.

2)  A big chasm exists in Tokyo and Japan.  Although Japan is wired.  Seventy-five percent of the entire population (93 million citizens) are connected in some fashion to the Internet.  Yet, the work-at-home entrepreneur concept is slow to catch on.  According to the Mozilla.com site, "Mobile and PC Internet usage is about equal in Japan. It will tip towards mobile I am sure. The rest of this is pretty obvious stuff. As non-PC Internet usage grows everywhere in the world, we’ll be going back to the walled gardens of the AOL-era PC Internet. Not a good trend."  An excellent starting point to understand the Internet usage trends in Japan can be found by CLICKING HERE. 

Internet and broadband usage rates by annual household income Source: Communications Usage Trend Survey, 2006 (households), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications “FY 2007 Whitepaper on Information and Communications in Japan”)

An Opportunity:  Call me crazy, but I believe Japan will quickly develop virtual office-friendly shop environments.  This will include wireless connections and compact workstations.  The cost of membership to use such franchised systems will be moderate.  With the high cost of office, restaurant and store space in urban areas, this will give businesses a chance to maximize profits on inefficiently utilized office and store spaces.  This new trend will lead to a new nation of telecommunicating employees and an emerging class of serial entrepreneurs able to operate easily on the fly.  Japan always follows America in useful ways, with a ten-year lag.  Now is the time to pounce.    

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Want to Introduce Your Product or Service to Japan?  Looking for partners?  CLICK HERE.

Empowering Japan Resources

Gunma Prefecture

Hokokukan Manza Onsen

Gunma's textile industry, known as the Sericulture Kingdom, exerted considerable influence on the modernization of Japan. After the Second World War, as Japan's economy began to develop, Gunma Prefecture also experienced remarkable economic growth, centered around industry and commerce.  Agriculture in Gunma Prefecture has continued to prosper due to the area's close proximity to the huge consumer market of the Tokyo Metropolitan area.

Heads Up

I encourage everyone to look at Japan as a place for business, commerce and opportunity in the Twenty-First Century.  It is a not only a strong launching ground for enterprise, but the last, great hope for the survival of this planet.  Please fill out the form below and join our Japan prosperity circle:

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Avoiding Blubber

I discovered an authority directory on Fitness in Japan.  Articles on health, event calendar and forums for likeminded people.  Visit it now by CLICKING HERE. And while you're at it, take a peak at the SIJ Fitness Directory by CLICKING HERE.

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Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund

Provides assistance for nature conservation efforts implemented by NGO/NPO in developing countries, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.  Provides assistance for nature conservation efforts and sustainable use of nature resources in JapanThe applicant organization or group should:
(1) be able to make appropriate reports and explanations on the progress and circumstances of the project, such as related budgetary appropriations, settlement of accounts and other matters concerning the organization or group itself;
(2) be a non-governmental and non-profit organization;
(3) for more than 3 years, have a good record of implementing nature conservation projects in developing countries and be highly regarded both internationally and domestically (The financial statement for the most recent fiscal year is required).

For details, CLICK HERE.

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Hiring Grandma, Grandpa and the Disabled

The Levy and Grant System for Employing Persons with disabilities could bite you from behind, if you don't know the rules.  Employers with more than 300 regular workers are required to file a persons with disabilities employment levy form.  Of these employers, those who fail to meet the legally required employment quota (which is the equivalent of 1.8% of the employer's total workforce) must pay a levy for each person below the quota. The levy is ¥50,000 per month per person below the quota.  To get the nitty-gritty, CLICK HERE.

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This Week's Challenge

That's Just The Way I Am

When we hear this, someone is usually telling us, "Get off my back" or "Accept me as I am." Often it's a response to criticism. It could be about chronic lateness, thoughtlessness, broken promises, physical or verbal abuse, or infidelity. Whatever it is, we're asked to let it go.

In the end, this is a ploy to get us to lower our expectations based on the dubious idea that certain bad habits are an intrinsic part of character and therefore beyond our control. We're expected to believe it's foolish and futile to expect a person to change.

There are, of course, lots of things that are beyond our control: short stature, big bones, receding hairline. Fortunately, character is different. That's completely within our control. The poor and the rich, the slow and the smart, the plain and the pretty all have an equal opportunity to become people of character.

Sure, character can be influenced by heredity and environment, but it's determined by choice. No disposition, circumstance, or experience is so powerful that it forever fixes our character. That is never finished. It's constantly shaped and sculpted by the choices we make to nurture or ignore our more noble instincts and to surrender to or overcome negative impulses and corrupting temptations.

When it comes to what we demand of ourselves or others, we should never lower our standards. Character is a function of choice. Weaknesses and bad habits are not excuses not to get better.

Michael Josephson,  Character Counts