“So much of our time is preparation, so much is routine, and so much retrospect, that the path of each man's genius contracts itself to a very few hours.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Several years ago I met a British English teacher living in Japan (with an attitude) who said to me, "Japan is the most boring society in the world. Everything is easily predictable."

He was right and is right. Despite new fashions and the craze with cell phones, by and large many Japanese people follow the rules of society without question.

I can hear some of you living here protesting this blanket generalization, but the orange-haired college student with nose rings and over-sized jeans dropped to a point where boxer shorts take over will - to a man - recolor his hair when it is time to enter the workforce and put on the bland salariman's attire when push comes to shove. He will drink and smoke for acceptance and then out of habit. He will seldom believe himself capable of entrepreneurial endeavors unless downsized due to the fluidity of Japan's corporate culture today.

The lady will go to university with intent to become something, but predictably often drop the ball on a career once impregnated by the overworked hubby. Some women, also quite predictably, will refrain from having children so they can continue working at jobs which predictably have a glass ceiling but that allows them to have financial freedom and Gucci attire. That glass ceiling is predictably not challenged by most of these gals.

But this is not meant to be a jab at Japanese society. It is meant to point out that if you learn the rhythms of Japanese culture, you can accurately predict what the people want, how they want it, and the price they will be willing to pay for your product/service.

Criticize Japanese people and manners amongst the gaijin (foreigners') community in Japan if you must, but don't let that cultural bias of yours blind you to opportunity in this relatively rich island-nation.

Japan Niche Opportunity of the Week

English is undeniably the language of international communication. In Japan, however, this reality can be thrown to the wind. A large majority of the aging population have a strong allergy to speaking of or correspondence in the English language.

The government has launched program after program to internationalize Japan, and to a small degree has succeeded in major metropolitan areas. Street signs, stations and some maps in major cities are written in English. That's a vast improvement over 1980 when I first arrived.

But as one Japanese-fluent British diplomat recently wrote: "Japan is the pits when it comes to spoken communication in English." He cites a recent crash at Narita Airport which temporarily shut down the facility. A message came on in Japanese explaining the unfortunate circumstances, which was then followed by a message in English which made the British Diplomat apoplexic. It was so poorly worded and the accent was so heavy with Japanese, that all the foreign passengers in the terminal looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders in disgust and resignation.

Japan has an aging population and unless they can train their ever-smaller legion of youth to speak English well, they could become an international backwater.

What is needed are English school holiday boot camps for the young. Many parents and students think English is only for passing exams. Once those exams are passed (or failed), a large majority of people only learn English when it is essential for their jobs. In other words, most adults treat English as a hobby at best.

What is needed is a Draconian-style English boot camp that combines intensive language training in classrooms for half the day, and recreational activities (also conducted in English) for the rest of the day.

Unlike the majority of schools that have loosely attempted such a format without much success, this new boot camp should have verifiable standards, and a money-back guarantee if the results claimed by the school are not met. No schools or English camps dare attempt such a risky policy, but that is what will set a new school off from the rabble.

The graduates will get a "Degree of Functionality" at the end of the three-year, six-session English boot camp. The money-back guarantee will only be given to students successfully completing the first year's curriculum.

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

Empowering Japan Resources

University Clubs and Alumni Associations

An inexpensive source of raw talent for getting your venture off the ground in Japan can be university clubs. While these individuals are not licensed professionals, undoubtedly there are a few serious students looking to either make some spare cash or intern (paid/unpaid) while they are attending school.

University Student Photographers' Association

SIJ Education Directory

Kanazawa Institute of Technology Amateur Radio Club

Academic Society Home Village

Worldwide Japanese Alumni Associations

Asian Students Cultural Association

Japan Student Services Association

Global Daigaku

ISA

Japan Electronics College

JET Alumni Association International

PAY IT FORWARD

I'm sure that there is at least one person you know who might benefit from these little tid-bits. So, spread the love. Forward this newsletter to all your friends and encourage them to de-stress, too, and sign up for our newsletter!

Coming Up

International Food Ingredients and Additive Exposition and Conference

5/20/09~5/22/09

14th presentation of Asia's largest food ingredients and additives event. For details, CLICK HERE

Tent Cities in the Spotlight

The news isn't good for some 400,000 temporary and contract workers let go during the recent economic downturn. In fact, it is the most depressed state in the Japanese economy since the end of Pacific War.

It used to be proudly stated that all Japanese were middle class when I arrived here. No longer. While some bathe in luxury, many are teetering on bankruptcy or cutting expenses as bonuses are cut by 10~30 percent.

Tent city are cropping up, especially in labor-intensive factory areas. But this is actually a great time to get street licenses, hire the local unemployed who are devastated by this downturn, and promote your unique products which have never been seen or used in Japan. The factory workers in Japan are more honest and educated than in any other region of the world.

Flexing Its Intellectual Muscle

Did you know that Japan applicants comprise most of the patents for electric vehicles - about 70% of applications - and 80% of digital camera-related patent applications are by Japanese applicants in the United States? The full article about this issue can be read HERE.

Japanese Grant-Making Foundation

Common Misperceptions and Urban Legends About Japan Unearthed

I found an informative site that sets a lot of the racist or badly-misinformed images some people have of Japan and the Japanese straight. Unfortunately, as the years pass, some visitors and subscribers to my site have written blatantly racist and ungrounded messages to me that I finally decided needed to be addressed. One shameful Bugs Bunny cartoon made me want to speak out; this will also help us all to understand and eliminate the root causes of unwarranted and unjust racism and make us more able to respect as equals the Japanese. To get informed, CLICK HERE.

New Incentive for Firms Renting Office Space in Yokohama

The city of Yokohama has launched a new incentive scheme aimed at attracting business to the city. The scheme, which runs for three years starting this April, provides a subsidy of up to 100 million yen per year to firms renting facilities to set up a new office or R&D center in five designated business districts in Yokohama. The subsidy amount is on a progressive scale, with firms making larger profits entitled to a larger amount of subsidy. For more information, CLICK HERE.

This Week's Challenge

Wranglers and Stranglers

Years ago there was a group of brilliant young men at the University of Wisconsin, who seemed to have amazing creative literary talent. They were would-be poets, novelists, and essayists. They were extraordinary in their ability to put the English language to its best use. These promising young men met regularly to read and critique each other's work. And critique it they did!

These men were merciless with one another. They dissected the most minute literary expression into a hundred pieces. They were heartless, tough, even mean in their criticism. The sessions became such arenas of literary criticism that the members of this exclusive club called themselves the "Stranglers."

Not to be outdone, the women of literary talent in the university were determined to start a club of their own, one comparable to the Stranglers. They called themselves the "Wranglers." They, too, read their works to one another. But there was one great difference. The criticism was much softer, more positive, more encouraging. Sometimes, there was almost no criticism at all. Every effort, even the most feeble one, was encouraged.

Twenty years later an alumnus of the university was doing an exhaustive study of his classmates' careers when he noticed a vast difference in the literary accomplishments of the Stranglers as opposed to the Wranglers. Of all the bright young men in the Stranglers, not one had made a significant literary accomplishment of any kind. From the Wranglers had come six or more successful writers, some of national renown such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who wrote The Yearling.

Talent between the two? Probably the same. Level of education? Not much difference. But the Stranglers strangled, while the Wranglers were determined to give each other a lift. The Stranglers promoted an atmosphere of contention and self doubt. The Wranglers highlighted the best, not the worst.

Thoughts From Above And Below

There's Money in Predictable Societies