Published by
Richard Posner
Website
http://www.successinjapan.com
Contact
Us
newsletter@successinjapan.com
Thoughts From Above And Below
Taking Things Personally
"Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach it " ~Rene Descartes~
When dealing across cultures, language and intent often come front and center. The misuse of a word can lead to a tidal wave of misunderstanding and breakdown in important relationships.
Japan - just like many countries of the world - has some extremely talented second-language speakers of English. In many cases such individuals studied abroad to gain such mastery.
Because of the grammar-intensive nature of Japanese education in English, the local bilingual may have more intellectual mastery of my language than than does the off-the-cuff American steelworker chatting around the coffee maker on break.
Let it be known that I have had countless numbers of such misunderstandings in my 28 years here. The English native has learned to associate certain words or phrases with specific intention, whereas the Japanese speaker is speaking English directly from the literal meaning taught in textbooks.
Just this past week, I had a serious falling out (and making up) with a business associate whom is quite confident he understands and communicates in English efficiently. Without going into the gory details, I thought he had relegated my talent and future to the dustbin of time, but upon careful probing I realized that he was just fumbling my language.
Hey, we all make mistakes and then take things too personally. As my drill sergeant in Air Force Reserve training some 38 years ago said: "Never assume. When you assume, you make an ass out of you or me."
A final note: Japanese and Americans see the world through a different prism. If you assume that there are more similarities than differences, you will be sadly mistaken. An American sun is yellow and a Japanese sun is red. Could there be any more fundamental difference?
Japan Niche Opportunities of the Week
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1)The creativity of entrepreneurs is something to behold. A new company called Maneo Inc. has opened their doors to a new concept in Japan, social lending. With this concept, a person-to-person loan system is arranged through Maneo to match life event financial needs (i.e. weddings, birth ceremonies) of people in their 20s to 40s by people in their 40s and 50s (not banks) willing and able to make such small loans of a maximum of up to 200,000 yen per donor and a maximum of 2 million yen per recipient. This concept comes from England and Maneo is the first company offering such a service in Japan. An Opportunity: There are already competitor services in the making. U.K.-based social lending service Zopa and U.S.-based Prosper are now preparing to launch their services in Japan, though preparation time and licensing take time to set up. Maneo itself is a partnership of a Japanese ex-banker and one of his American customers who suggested the social lending plan. These non-collateralized loans do have inherent risks, but because Japanese are more stable in job and residency than Americans and other others, the risk of non-payment is far lower. This type of business could even be set up online, through such a social site as Mixi. In fact, Maneo said they are considering that possibility. If you bring that expertise to the table, you could a) form your own social lending company, b) sell your system to either Zopa or Prosper, or c) approach the only player in Japan at present, Maneo. 2) The Japanese government may have made the idea of looking in Internet cafes a no-brainer. The government plans to grant a subsidy of up to 1 million yen per person to companies hiring non-student part-timers in their 20s to 30s, as full-time employees. An Opportunity: For small foreign startups, this new initiative can be a godsend to getting a foothold into the Japanese market. True, some of these freeters may be dissocial or inept, but with due diligence it can mean in effect that a startup can get an unexpected subsidy by taking advantage of this new program. |
Want to Introduce Your Product or Service to Japan? Looking for partners? CLICK HERE.
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Empowering Japan Resources
Saitama Prefecture
The second youngest population of all prefectures in Japan, Saitama cultivates a wide range of agricultural produce, such as vegetables, rice, cattle, plants and flowers. Saitama's vegetable production ranks 6th out of the 47 prefectures. One-third of Saitama's land is made up of forests, which do not only provide timber, but also help water resources and absorb carbon-dioxide.
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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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Coming UpThe 43rd Japan Philatelic Exhibition on 11/1/08~11/2/08 Traditional Philately, Postal Stationery, Postal History, Marco-Phily, Thematic Philately, Philatelic Literature, Commemorative Exhibits. For details, CLICK HERE Enviro-Shiga 2008 from 11/5/08~11/7/08 Enviro-Shiga showcases the latest technology, products, services, and research developments in the field of environmental business. For details, CLICK HERE |
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I found a government site that gives detailed information about
every regulation and guideline you need to know to set up a radio
station in Japan. For full details, **********
Japanese Obsession With Good Design |
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Every year the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization announces the Good Design Awards. The "Good Design Award" is Japan's only comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system. This system itself has its origins in the "Good Design Selection System" (generally known as the "G-Mark System") instituted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1957. Looking at the award winning designs can help you gain the pulse of what Japanese buy and like. To see the 2008 award winners, CLICK HERE |
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A Comparison of Career Guidance Information in the US and Japan
A fascinating report by a visiting researcher at the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training was recently released. This information is a great reference point for understanding how both countries are changing in respect to training, employment, mid-career redundancy, etc. Take a look at it by CLICKING HERE
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Pristine Rural Japan
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has an annual award for photographs of the most beautiful rural villages. This is a good chance to see what the affordable, outlying areas of Japan offer to inspired businesspeople unable to afford the high-cost urban areas. This site may fuel your imagination. View it by CLICKING HERE.
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If you find this newsletter to be a useful and inspiring resource, please introduce a friend to it and to the website. Help keep this resource FREE. |
This Week's Challenge
Fresh Fish
~by Kayal~
The Japanese have always
loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish
for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got
bigger and went farther than ever.
The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish.
If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh.
The Japanese did not like the taste.
To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their
boats.
They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the
boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste
the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen
fish.
The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed
fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin
to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They
were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still
taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost
their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh
fish, not sluggish fish.
So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they
get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were consulting the fish
industry, what would you recommend?
How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh:
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put
the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The
shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively
state. The fish are challenged.
Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of
the time tired & dull, so we need a Shark in our life to keep us
awake and moving? Basically in our lives Sharks are new challenges to
keep us active and taste better...
The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you
enjoy a challenge.
If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily
conquering those challenges, you are Conqueror. You think of your
challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions.
Enjoy working & challenges.
