Japan - US Business News

Education is a Bubble that Never Bursts

The Japanese government is seeking to triple the number of foreign students in Japan by the year 2020.

As someone who started their Japanese business career as an exchange student at Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku in Osaka, I applaud this initiative. I only ask that the government try to reach that number much quicker. The Japanese government needs to add a sense of urgency to this campaign.

When people think of Japan, they think of it being inaccessible, the language is too difficult, and that it is too different to name a few. 

Cafe Success in Absinthe

This is an Osaka success story. I hope to write many, many more.

Café Absinthe is a new model for doing business in Japan today. Miho Irie and her husband, Dmitri Farberov saw a café space for rent one day several years ago and decided to take a chance. Naming it Absinthe also came by a chance thought and good timing. Absinthe had just become legal in Japan.

Chance. Tradition has its place but more and more Japanese are choosing to create new businesses and entering new fields like never before. Osaka is not what it used to be 10 years ago when I lived there and that is good. There are more people out there realizing that if they want success in business, they have to create that business themselves.

The Farberovs didn’t have much guidance or business 'know how' when they began. They started and grew their business by ‘trial and error’ as we call it in the states.  They worked hard and learned from their mistakes. Issues that came up were handled by hardwork and common sense. 

Ode to Osaka

I have a special place in my heart for Osaka, Japan. I simply love it.  I love the people, the glorious food, the night life and most of all the spirit of city and the region, Kansai. 

This is where my education of Japan began all those years ago at Kansai Gaidai. It is where I lived with the coolest Japanese family I have known. It is where I had more fun that anyone should be allowed and met some of the most wonderful people, both Japanese and foreign that I will ever know. It is such a large part of my life. Living in Osaka has given me so much.

When I started my business, I originally wanted to focus on helping only companies in Osaka do more internationally. I was tired of my city being thought of as a kind of back water town in terms of business on the international front—please do not take offense at this. It hurts me to say it. It hurt me to realize it when I lived there for all those years and it hurts me now still because I wonder what keeps a larger number of the companies in Osaka from being on the international front. 

A Journey to the Gardens of Japan

The following article is by Adrian Bennett,  a lover of Japanese Gardens. Although this is mainly a business blog, I have a Culture and Education category because sometimes in the midst of a stressful business day, it is nice to take a break and walk through a beautiful garden, literally or figuratively. 

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Little did I know that when I began volunteering a couple of days a week in the Japanese garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that ten years later I would be publishing articles -- in Japan itself --  about gardens in Japan. And so, for the first time, an article with my photos about a lovely garden in Tokyo’s Taito Ward, appeared in this year’s May 30th and June 27th editions of The Japan Times.

The article is about Asakura Choso Kan, the former home of sculptor Fumio Asakura (1883 - 1964), often referred to as the “Rodin of Japan.” You can see his works for yourself in a large room in the house, which is open to the public. The three-story building combines Western and traditional Japanese designs, and entirely enclosed within is a lovely garden open to the sky with water welling up into it from an underground spring.

Reinvention Series Recap

Smaller companies that want to survive in business today need to reinvent themselves in order to better compete both locally and internationally.

The Smaller Japanese and U.S. firms are in Need of a Reinvention lesson series is a set of guidelines for these companies to use in order to better compete both at home and globally in today's economy.

By closely examining their business and understanding their current state, these companies can devise strategic steps to take to get them where they need to be in order to remain competitive.  

By employing each lesson, smaller Japanese and U.S. companies can identify areas that are in need of improvement, identify changes that need to be made, discover possible new opportunities and revenue streams and devise a strategic plan of action to achieve greater success. 

Lesson 1:  Assessment
Lesson 2:  Utilizing Technology
Lesson 3:  New ways to Market your company
Lesson 4:  Developing New Markets for Products and Services
Lesson 5:  Making and Implementing Decisions
Lesson 6:  Troubleshooting Problems
Lesson 7:  Developing Employee Skills

Now more than ever, smaller companies need to employ new methods to improve their chances of staying in business and enjoying continued success. Take bold risks and be flexible.

Best wishes for your renewed success!

Reinvention: Developing Employee Skills

Without skilled workers, a company will not survive. Without developing the talent that you have, a company will not grow. This is especially true for smaller companies.

Companies should encourage workers to take courses in relevant new technologies, offer on the job training to help them better perform their job functions and help them develop new skills that will allow them to move up in the company.

By doing this a company can increase the chances of retaining good workers and keeping the company’s knowledge base intact. 

Workers have more opportunities these days. Job satisfaction is the buzz word and it is not only about money. If a worker is not happy in their job, they will leave. If there are not challenged and learning in their position, they will move on to another company. If they are not treated well, respected and valued, they will leave.  

Reinvention: Troubleshooting Problems

The quicker a company can resolve problems that arise the better off they will be. 

Companies have to be smart in dealing with problems and issues. Often times, they go for the quick fix or the short term solution which leaves them vulnerable in the long run because the problem returns or persists.

This is comparable to coming into the office each day and seeing a puddle on the ground and just mopping it up, time and time again instead of fixing the leak in the ceiling that is causing the puddle.

If a software solution needs too many ‘work-arounds’ (added temporary fixes) to complete its functions, then it’s time to throw it out and come up with a new solution that works more efficiently and effectively. 

Problem solving is not always an easy process but if companies follow these steps, it gets easier: 

1. Identify the problem
2. Investigate the cause of the problem
3. Devise a solution that will eradicate problem
4. Implement the complete solution
5. Perform checks to make sure that the solution is working

Reinvention: Making and Implementing Decisions

ACT! Taking action is key. I once heard it said that making a bad decision and acting on it is better than making a good decision and not acting on it. I agree. With the bad decision, you can then act accordingly to correct it.

Through my observations over the years, smaller companies spend a lot of time trying to make the ‘perfect’ decision and therefore oftentimes leave things too late when needing to make a change. Make a decision and act on it. If it doesn’t work out, then take action again and correct it. If company stays undecided and doesn’t do anything, that is the worst thing for their business.

Once a course of action is decided on, whether it is the use of a new technology, a marketing strategy or deciding to enter into a market, begin at once. Put ideas, plans and programs into actions steps.

Management in smaller companies must also involve their employees in decision making and implementation. Utilize employee input in the process. Let each employee know why certain decisions are being made. Let them know that with the changes taking place, it is not being done with lack of care or concern for them and how they will be affected. Also, if a decided course of action is not working, it is often an employee who is first to see it. Their input and feedback can be extremely valuable.

By their nature, smaller businesses have inherent strengths that help them when it comes to making and implementing decisions. They can take action quicker, adjust to changing conditions faster, and are more flexible.

Making good decisions is key and implementation of those decisions is the most important use of the key.

Lesson 6 of our Reinvention series will appear on Wednesday: Troubleshooting Problems 

Previous articles in this series:

Introduction: Smaller Japanese and U.S. firms are in Need of a Reinvention

Lesson 1: Assessment
Lesson 2: Utilizing Technology
Lesson 3: New ways to Market your company
Lesson 4: Developing New Markets for Products and Services

 

Reinvention: Developing new markets for products and services

Branch out into new areas of opportunity both domestically and internationally. 

I will use the example of a Japanese printing company that targeted mainly the Japanese business market here in the U.S.  In its heyday, due to the large number of Japanese firms in the U.S. and the number of employees requiring Japanese/English business cards, this firm was very successful.

Then with the long Japanese recession, lesser number of Japanese business people being sent to the states, closures of offices of Japanese companies and the advent of technology that allows anyone to create their own bilingual business cards at an office supply store or at home, business decreased.

In order to survive, this company needed to expand their target audience to include non-Japanese companies, any company requiring business cards and expand their services offerings and develop themselves into a comprehensive printing solutions company utilizing printing software and other technologies available.

The objective of a business is to grow. If your current market is static or shrinking, then it is time to find new revenue streams and new markets.

Reinvention: New Ways to Market your Company

The Internet has provided companies with new ways to market their businesses. A small Japanese or U.S. company can now put themselves in front of millions of potential customers with the click of a button as I did for my company. 

As the fight to obtain and retain market share gets more and more difficult, companies need to seek new ways of getting their products and services in front of their targeted audience and on a much smaller budget. In addition to traditional marketing venues, smaller businesses can use the following:

1. Buy banners and buttons to advertise yourself on any relevant sites that pertain to your business and industry
2. Send ad messages to targeted demographic via e-mail campaigns
3. Set up profiles on Online Business Networks for yourself and your business
4. Create a Web log about your products and service offerings. In creating a business blog, you can utilize one of the best and newer tools out there to market yourself. Large companies like Nissan have done it to advertise new products with great results. As a small company, I am using it with great results. 
5. Alternative media marketing – look for alternatives in off-line marketing as well. Some Japanese companies place ads in the hands of end users by using inserts in tissue packets. The user is exposed to the ad for as long as the tissue pack lasts. Some U.S. firms advertise on coffee cup sleeves and distribute sleeves in certain locations to target certain demographics.

Expand your marketing reach by incorporating new marketing tools in addition to traditional ones and increase visibility for your product and services.

Lesson 4 of our Reinvention series will appear on Friday: Developing New Markets for your Products and Services.

Previous articles in this series:

Introduction: Smaller Japanese and U.S. firms are in Need of a Reinvention

Lesson 1: Assessment
Lesson 2: Utilizing Technology