Fresh & Hot from Japan, 18 to 22 July 2016

Please enjoy fresh & hot news from Japan with comments by Europe-Japan Dynamics.

18 Jul. Two grass boats arrived in Iriomotejima, sailing for 75 km in the way it was 30,000 years ago

Two grass boats arrived in Iriomotejima (an island of Okinawa-ken), on 18 July. This is an experiment to do the same as our ancestors did to come to Okinawa by boat 30,000 years ago, organised by a team of researchers of the National Science Museum. The boats left Yonagunijima (another island) which is approximately 75 km away from Iriomotejima in the early morning on the 17th. On the way, they had to stop night navigation due to a fast drift of the tide, and an accompanying boat moved the grass boats to the south to place them on the right way.

Comments: Congratulations of the success of the adventure!

20 Jul. Softbank of Japan to acquire ARM of the UK by £24 billion, aiming at IoT for post-smartphone

Softbank Group ( a major Japanese mobile telecommunications operator) purchases a British ARM Holding, a global semiconductor design company, for approximately £24 billion (approximately 3,300 billion yen). This is the largest acquisition for a Japanese company to buy an overseas company. Stakes of the UK Government which wishes to invite foreign investment after Brexit, of ARM who wishes to get overseas investor and Softbank which wanted to obtain a new area of business agreed with each other.

Comments: A reduced value of the UK £ has brought a great opportunity to SoftBank to move on to acquire ARM as a strategic investment for the future of IoT.

20 Jul. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to set up an organisation which will be a control tower of developments of new medicines

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology decided a policy to set up an organisation which will function as a control tower in order to make use of results of research undertaken by universities and research organizations to create new medicine. A major purpose is to connect results of the research by separate institutions and groups in various domains with each other and thereby to discover and feed into research and development those research results which tend to be buried by huge volume of information.

Comments: A clue to success of “the control tower” would be to make the information search easy for researchers, given wide areas and a very large volume of research. It will be ideal if the research results from institutions overseas would be included.

21 Jul. “Robo Cat Yamato”?, YAMATO experimenting an automatic driving for delivery from the next year

IT major D N A (DeNA) and Yamato Transport Co. Ltd. announced that they are starting an experiment to develop a distribution service using an automatic driving car from March 2017. With a nickname of “Robo Cat Yamato”, the experiment will continue for one year.

Comments: Drones in the sky, automatic driving car on the road, the logistics sector is innovating delivery system.

22 Jul. Thanks gift of Hometown tax is sending someone who will talk to your parents, Ashiya-shi, Hyogo-Ken

Ashiya-shi (Hyogo-Ken)added a service to dispatch a person who will talk to parents of payers of the Hometown tax (a tax system in which one pays part of the tax for the city s/he lives to his/her home town) to return a favor of the payment. The service is presently delivered as a regular public service for the aged by a resource center of senior citizens operated by the city. Ashiya-shi added the service to those payers of the Hometown tax, who are worried about their parents who lives alone in the city.

Comments: The speed of aging in Japan is fastest in the world.

All the news items are picked up from “Asahi Digital”, and summarized and translated by Europe-Japan Dynamics. The articles are not an official translation by the Asahi Newspaper.

Personal gift for summer from “Moshi moshi, Japan?”

Started enjoying nice summer?

Wish to review your business with Japan from distance?

“Moshi moshi, Japan?” have prepared a personal gift for you for summer!

We will offer you a personal assessment of a culture gap between you and Japan, and your solutions. The offer is exclusively for members of “Moshi moshi, Japan?” and free of charge.

What will you get?

– Clear views of your possible pitfalls you may not notice in doing business with Japan.

– Personalized culture gap analysis and suggestions of actions to avoid the pitfalls, that meet with your own business context and requirements.

How does it work?

– You will take an online assessment, needing 15 minutes or so.

– You will receive a report of the results.

– We will deliver you debriefing of the report by phone or in a face to face meeting (will take 30 minutes).

Is the assessment valuable?

Yes. I will offer “Culture Compass”, a tool to scale the different sets of values, based on the 6 Dimension Model of national cultures developed by a well known scholar of international business management, Professor Geert Hofstede. It will help you visualize the impact of your own cultural value preferences and potential behavioral pitfalls when dealing with people from other countries. Please find out more information from the link –> http://itim.org/culture-compass

The assessment and debriefing are free, and must be completed by Friday 5 August.
This opportunity is offered for 5 people only, due to the workload needed for the assessment. First come, first served.

Interested?
Please write to –> yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com
(DO NOT use the “reply” button of this e-mail. Everyone will see your reply!)Wishing you a nice and fruitful summer!
Yoshiko

Inside a Japanese head — How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan, Zürich, 19 May

Workshop

Inside a Japanese head —

How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan

In cooperation with

sjcc_logo

Tokyo by FB_2016-2 — Tokyo is always dynamic. What is in a head of Japanese? (Photo: F. Behrouz)

What is going on inside the head of your Japanese business partner?

A unique workshop will take place enabling you to visit the inner workings of your Japanese business partners and clients.

The workshop will be interactive. You will be challenged by practical situations, which many Swiss people encounter. You will learn how to work better with your Japanese contacts and benefit more from your exposure to Japanese culture.

Please bring your specific problems and challenges with Japan to the workshop. A Japanese senior insider will examine the problems with you on site and help find solutions.

Potential problems

“The Japanese decision-making process is so mysterious!”
“I don’t know if I’m interacting well with my Japanese colleagues.”
“Why do the Japanese always do things in their own way?”
“How can I say ‘No’ to my Japanese customers without offending them?”
More …

Who should attend?

Executives and managers in charge of Japan for; Sales, Business Development, Global Operations, Project Management, Training, Human Resources, and more.
Representatives of public, commercial and cultural associations who interact with Japan.

Your benefits

To better understand the Japanese way of thinking
To feel at ease interacting with your Japanese business partners and employees
To discuss face to face with senior experts and clarify your pending issues with Japan

Program

Culture and management
Positioning of Japan in the world cultures
Background of Japanese way of thinking
Five clues to understand inside a Japanese head
How to use the knowledge in your own assignments

Practical information

Date

Thursday, 19 May 2016

18:30 Workshop

20:30 Aperitif and Networking

Location

Salon Rudolf, Au Premier

Bahnhofplatz 15, 8021 Zürich

Organisation

Europe-Japan Dynamics and

VDF Coaching & Cultures, in cooperation with SJCC Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce

Fees (Please pay at the door)

SJCC Members	CHF 100.-
Non-SJCC	CHF 150.-

“Come with three, pay for two” — If two persons participate from the same organisation, the third person will be free.

Registration for the workshop is kindly requested by 6 May 2016.

Registration Yoshiko KURISAKI, Founder, Europe-Japan Dynamics

e-mail yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com / Tel. 076 411 6076

<Attention!>

In case of cancellation, thank you for letting us know by 6 May latest. It will allow us to give a seat to someone who needs it.
We will be obliged to charge cancellation after 9 May or no-show to cover the costs of the workshop.

Who is Yoshiko KURISAKI?

Yoshiko, a Japanese national, is the founder and executive consultant of Europe-Japan Dynamics, a specialist of cross-cultural management between Switzerland, Europe and Japan. She has unique competence drawn upon over 20 years of business experience in Japan (NTT) and Europe (OECD and SITA). Member of SJCC. Customer testimonials –> http://http://en.geneva-kurisaki.net/values/

Who is Verónica De La Fuente?

Verónica De la Fuente, a Chile national, has been working as an intercultural trainer and consultant in the last 15 years. Veronica is a Professional Coach certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). In the workshop, she will introduce the positioning of Japan in the world cultures.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Workshop Flier –> Workshop_Inside a Japanese head_May_2016_v2

Inside a Japanese head — How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan, Zürich, 19 May 2016

Workshop

Inside a Japanese head —

How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan

in cooperation with Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce

Zurich, 19 May

sjcc_logo

What is going on inside the head of your Japanese business partner?

A unique workshop will take place enabling you to visit the inner workings of your Japanese business partners and clients.

Please bring your specific problems and challenges with Japan to the workshop. A Japanese senior insider will examine the problems with you on site and help find solutions.

Potential problems

“The Japanese decision-making process is so mysterious!”
“I don’t know if I’m interacting well with my Japanese colleagues.”
“Why do the Japanese always do things in their own way?”
“How can I say ‘No’ to my Japanese customers without offending them?”
More …

Who should attend?

Executives and managers in charge of Japan for; Sales, Business Development, Global Operations, Project Management, Training, Human Resources, Communications, and more.
Representatives of public, commercial and cultural associations who interact with Japan.

Your benefits

To better understand the Japanese way of thinking
To feel at ease interacting with your Japanese business partners and employees
To discuss face to face with senior experts and clarify your pending issues with Japan

Date 18:30 – 21:30 Thursday, 19 May 2016

Location Salon Rudolf, Au Premier, Bahnhofplatz 15, 8021 Zürich (In the building of the Zurich railway station)

Program 18:30 – 20:30 Workshop, 20:30 – Aperitif and Networking

Organisation Europe-Japan Dynamics and VDF Coaching & Cultures

In cooperation with Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce (SJCC)

Fees (To be paid at the door)

SJCC Members	CHF 100.-
Non-SJCC	CHF 150.-

“Come with three, pay for two” — If two persons participate from the same organisation, the third person will be free.

Registration : Please call or write to Yoshiko KURISAKI, Founder, Europe-Japan Dynamics, e-mail yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com / Tel. 076 411 6076

Registration for the workshop is kindly requested by 6 May 2016.

<Attention!>

In case of cancellation, thank you for letting us know by 6 May latest. It will allow us to give a seat to someone who needs it.
We will be obliged to charge cancellation after 9 May or no-show to cover the costs of the workshop.

Who is Yoshiko KURISAKI?

Who is Verónica De la Fuente?

Registration by 6 May 2016 Yoshiko KURISAKI, Founder, Europe-Japan Dynamics,

e-mail yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com / Tel. 076 411 6076

Please find a workshop flier here –> Workshop_Inside a Japanese head_May_2016_v2

What are clues for Western Professional women doing business in Japan?

Here are seven clues for you! Please enjoy.

These are highlights of the Intercultural Training Channel organised by Mr. Matthew Hill, intercultural author, trainer & coach.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Clues for the western professional women visiting Japan, “Moshi moshi, Japan?”, Geneva, Friday, 23 October

Moshi moshi, Japan?, Geneva, Friday, 23 October (Speaker is changed.)

“Moshi moshi, Japan?” is an informal meet-up with people doing business with Japan.

Theme “Clues for the western professional women visiting Japan”

What is the status of working women in Japan?
What is an appropriate business attire?
How to carry on negotiation with Japanese businessmen?
And more

Presenter Yoshiko KURISAKI, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Date and time: From 18h00 to 19h15, Friday, 23 October
Place: McDonald (find us at a table on the 1st Floor), 22, rue du Mont-Blanc, 1201 Geneva (1 min from Cornavin station)
Languages: French and English
Fee: CHF 10.- for Organisation and your own coffee

Registration: By e-mail or phone to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics
Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076

Next meeting ————————————————-

Friday, 20 November, 2015

Theme “Helping Switzerland and Japan for 28 years”
Presenter to be confirmed. Mr. Kiyoshi IMAI, Trade and Investment Adviser, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Geneva

“Uchi – Soto”, the Japanese glass wall. — Highlights of “Moshi moshi, Japan”, 8 May 2015

Though many people like Japan, some of them notice that there may be a glass wall in the Japanese mind beyond which a non-Japanese may not go. Many people felt, “The Japanese are kind, but it looks like there is a limit in becoming friends with them.” Why? What is this feeling?

I presented a set of notions that helps to look at the Japanese mindset, “Uchi and Soto” and “Ura and Omote“.

The discussion went on based on experience of working with the Japanese in Japan or Switzerlans. Highlights are;

I was a president of a Japanese company and only foreigner. I had to be accepted and must understand various codes. For example, I had to be present on the first working day of the new year. I had to be aware of the feeling of employees by knowing the level of politeness (“Keigo”) in the language they talked to me.
I had to know the level of politeness in the language (“Keigo“). It was difficult for me but people didn’t talk to me in plain Japanese. Beer helped our communication.
I didn’t have a problem in communication in English with the Japanese business partners.
I was also the only non-Japanese in my ex-company. I felt I didn’t have to follow the invisible rules in the office. So I left the company at 7 PM everyday, instead of much later as my Japanese colleagues were doing. –> It is another side of “being outside (Soto)“. You were allowed to leave the office earlier because you were accepted as someone who was not a member of their community (Uchi).
It was important to have non-Japanese friends, when I worked for a Japanese company in Japan. In addition, I did Aikido to clean up the stress.
I didn’t feel a non-Japanese friends but didn’t have a problem. I became frieda with the Japanese people who were newly hired as I was.
In the Japanese office, all must behave in the same way. Being a manager and an only foreigner, I leaned that I had to manage in a Japanese way.
If you are the only foreigner in your company, it is important to take things as it is. That said, you may lose your sense of judging the people if you are too open-minded. You must keep your own value and make decision on your own, while accepting all around you.

Forthcoming meetings —

Date: Friday 19 June, 18:00 – , “What is it like for a French man to be a president of a company in Japan?”
Place: McDonald (1st Floor), 22, rue du Mont-Blanc, 1201 Geneva, 1 min from Cornavin station (New Place!)

Keys to success in cross-cultural marketing — Nestlé in Asia, Oceania and Africa

I had an opportunity to interview with Mr. Anthony LOW, VP, Asia, Oceania and Africa Region of Nestlé.

I was particularly interested in discovering the keys to success in marketing in the regions that have diversified consumer markets, including Japan. Japan is known to be a unique market for its consumer taste and preferences in the food business.

I found there was no miracle. Keys to success were but the very basics of marketing, i.e. the trust, quality, customer insights and long-term interests.

So what’s new?

Yes, there is the reason why Nestlé excels and that lead the company to a remarkable success, the thoroughness. The company’s “Can do” attitude, supported by the thoroughness led to breakthrough in its marketing.

I was happy to be assured that one may succeed in challenging markets by pursuing without compromise to the basic values of marketing, i.e. trust, quality, customer insights and long-term interests. It is not a coincidence that these values are common to the underlying principles of the corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Here is my note:

Keys to success

Customer first, “Can do” attitude = Never say, “No”.

To meet customer requirements in Japan, Nescafé, we changed the product. Changed its recipe from “Instant coffee” to “Regular coffee”.
Barista Ambassador – To facilitate access to Nescafé in offices (where tea and coffee is served less and less, due to limited budget, economic recession, etc.), offered Barista machine free of charge, including service. The customers buy the coffee products or refill from Nestlé.
- Test market – Hokkaido. Market size is appropriate.
Shrinking population how do you grow business where the population is shrinking? Aging Elder people’s market.
- Visited and listened to the elderly people. Found that loneliness is their major problem. Created “Nestlé wellness club”. With a small membership fee, send a doctor and dietitian to home.
- Test market – Hokkaido. Market size is appropriate.
Trust, quality and market insights
To find a new market in a country where you are for more than 100 years. Creativity. Never say, “No”.

Build the trust with consumers

Marketing strategy is different in each country in the AOA Region. cf. Europe – one common market
There are 115 countries in the AOA Region.
There are over 450 different Nescafé’s worldwide.

Long-term strategy

E.g. In India, Nestlé supports WHO to promote the breast feeding. It is not for an immediate benefit. If some mothers could not continue breast feeding, they buy Nestlé’s milk product. Nestlé infant formulae is close to mother’s milk.

“Romance the product”. Nestlé’s marketing strategy

Market test — Nestlé requires 60:40 preferences of Nestlé products over competition

“Then, we ‘romance’ the product to the truth.”
i.e. to make the truth to come to the life.

To find an answer to the question, “Why is this product perceived to be better than competition?”
If consumers says “this chocolate tastes fresh”, to find why is “fresh” important?

Re. Japanese market

MUST know how to do business in the local market
- Perceived value is the key, e.g. Nescafé vs. Starbucks
- MUST build the perception on quality. No failure is allowed. Must constantly work on the quality.
Nestlé’s response to the local market, Special-T. A system for the Japanese tea lovers to enjoy good tea without following a procedure to prepare a good tea.
- An example of adapting to the taste of local market.
- Originally tried with black tea but failed. Found that The Japanese wanted to take the green tea that match individual taste.
You can’t do cheap business in Japan. Currency rate is not in our favour while price of imported materials are rising (e.g. Cacao).
- We can’t compete over the price. We create premium values.
- Japanese consumers pay for the premium.
- E.g. Kitkat – Those that use local materials cost less than others that use much Cacao.
Appeals to the emotion
- Pepper – a robot that reads 80% of your emotion. It selects the best coffee for you. Technology invented in France, produced in Taiwan and the license bought by Softbank (one of the leading mobile phone operators known to be vanguard market strategy in Japan.

Nestlé
10:30 – 13:00, Vevey, 18 March 2015

Moshi moshi, Japan? — Japanese market for Swiss innovative start-ups, Geneva, Friday, 13 March

You are cordially invited for “Moshi moshi, Japan?“, Geneva on Friday, 13 March.

“Moshi moshi, Japan?” is an informal meet-up with people who are doing business with Japan. Though Japan is a fascinating market, its business culture is nothing like others. In addition, handling the culture well is the key to success with Japan.

What are other people doing to work well with Japan?

What works and what doesn’t?

What breakthrough did other people make?

Let’s exchange experiences and discuss over coffee!

Mr. Shaban Shaame, CEO & Founder, EverdreamSoft

on “Japanese market for innovative startups“

Participants: Anyone interested in business with Japan.

Date and time: From 18h00 to 19h15, Friday,13 March

Place: Starbucks, Rive, Geneva central area

Languages: French and English

Organisation fee: CHF 10.-
Please register: By e-mail or phone call to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076

I look forward to seeing you!

Yoshiko

Check it out! Forthcoming meetings —

Friday 17 April, Uchi and Soto, the key concepts of the Japanese relationship building

Friday 26 June, Negotiations with Japanese companies (Tentative)

Moshi moshi, Japan? (2) — The Japanese mindset seen from a recruiter

“Moshi moshi, Japan?”, held in Geneva, 13 February 2015

Serge, who worked as a recruiter of the Japanese in Tokyo for two years, was the theme setter this time. We learned interesting insights on Japanese candidates and discussed their work mind-set.

Key words:

Foreign companies want to hire the Japanese, as the Westners are too aggressive for the Japanese culture.
The Japanese are very timid in speaking English. A non-Japanese recruiter must speak Japanese.
Three major challenges; 1) to convince a candidate to meet me for the first time, 2) fear of change, and 3) strong loyalty to the present company, even if he wants to change it.
“It is almost a babysitting” — Must accompany the candidate from A to Z; from listening to his fear of departure, his partner’s opinions, through to how to explain his departure to his boss.
Women candidates were more autonomous then men and less fearful.
“Responsibility ” for the Japanese: A killer word of his boss, “Do you leave your responsibility?”. The sense of “responsibility by the Japanese is much stronger than Europeans’. It’s a life commitment. Some candidates change their minds at the last moment, due to the sense of loyalty to the present company coupled with the sense of “responsibility”.
Japanese employers are much more submissive to their employers than Europeans.
A recruiter must establish the confidence with a candidate first. Empathy is important. Drink after works.

Thank you very much for all the people who participated in the meeting.

Forthcoming meetings —

Friday 13 March, Japanese market for innovative start-ups

Friday 17 April, Uchi and Soto, the key concepts of the Japanese relationship building

Friday 26 June, Negotiations with Japanese companies (To be confirmed)

Participants: Anyone interested in business with Japan.

Tme: From 18h00 to 19h15

Place: Starbucks, Rive, Geneva central area

Languages: French and English

Organisation fee: CHF 10.-

Registration: By e-mail or phone call to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076