Japan - US Business News

Necessity is knocking down the door...Its time to be inventive

This is a  time of unprecedented opportunities in Japan-US business. Many would look at what is happening in the markets today and see only what is on the surface. That is a mistake.

In complex and difficulty times like these, the innovative will see that there are ways to create new products and services that will take into consideration these challenging times and offer both companies and customers new options and new solutions.

I listen to the news and the continued hashing of the troubles the world economic meltdown is causing and feel that although it is necessary to report on that, it is even more necessary to view it from a different standpoint. I think it is how we look at this that will make the difference.

I choose to see opportunities and not to just talk about what is wrong all day long. In my business, I have to not only keep up with what is happening but to figure out a way to make it work for me. The conditions have certainly changed so I have to come up with new solutions. 

Lucky for me, I don't focus on the muck the large financial institutions and banks have made of things, but the opportunities that I can create to assist clients in dealing with, getting out of, or around the muck.

Money is tight...figure out new ways to sell products/services and their benefits in this tight market.

Can't find a job... Create one for yourself or start your own small business.

No opportunities in the domestic market...try selling overseas.

Don't let whatever stops everyone else stop you. Don't think the way everyone else thinks.

If necessity is the mother of invention, with all that is going wrong in the business world today, the time has never been better (or more urgent) to be inventive.

Japanese Customer Relations: A Cultural Explanation - Part 4 - Consistency

This week's guest contributor, Julia Mushalko, concludes her Japanese Customer Relations series with a focus on the importance of a consistent effort.  _________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, lets take a look at the importance of Consistency.  My sister and I were at a drug store and she was overcharged for her medicine.  She noticed immediately and asked the clerk to correct the mistake, which he nonchalantly did without offering an apology or explanation. 

My sister asked me how the situation would be played out in Japan.  My answer was that this situation was much less likely to occur in Japan, but if it did there would be many apologies on both ends regardless of who made the mistake. 

I also imagine that the customer may be too shy to speak up about a small mistake or wish to avoid an awkward situation with the store clerk.  In the one month I've been back in the USA I can recall being overcharged twice, but in my two years in Japan I can't remember being incorrectly charged ever.  I also never had a problem with my Internet connection, cell phone or phone bill, or any other modern convenience or appliance that tend to be a source of headaches in the USA.  Taking this into consideration, it may be wise for a Japan bound company to take extra efforts to test their product for quality and reliability. 

Being aware of not only correct Japanese business practices, but their cultural origins as well will leave less room for misunderstandings and potential mistakes.  To me, the essence of doing business is selling a product to a customer. 

No matter what the product is, the way the customer is treated will have an important effect on whether or not he or she decides to purchase something. Understand and following the culturally accepted way of treating potential customers is the first step for success in the Japanese marketplace. 

Part 1 - Japanese Customer Relations -  A Cultural Explanation
Part 2 - Japanese Customer Relations - Communication
Part 3 - Japanese Customer Relations - Product Presentation

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Julia's blog, "watashi wa julia desu" highlights her experience in Japan and is located at www.juliamushalko.wordpress.com.  Contact her at: jmushalko@gmail.com.

Japanese Customer Relations: A Cultural Explanation - Part 3 - Production Presentation

Our guest contributor, Julia Mushalko, takes a look at the product. 
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Generally, Japanese consumers have much higher expectations for Product Presentation and quality than do American consumers.  This can point can be easily illustrated by looking at the differences between Japanese and American second hand stores.   In the US thrift store carry decades old unwanted clothing and household items that may be stained, ripped or broken and sells them for as little as one dollar.  However, the recycle shops in Japan only sell like new products that are still in style and detect no signs of previous use.  Rather than 1 dollar, 10 dollars is a good deal.

It is necessary to understand the expectations of the Japanese consumer when presenting, selling, or packaging a product for Japan.  A Japanese friend of mine, Hiromi, who had spent several years living and working in the United States decided to begin a small Internet based enterprise of selling Japanese dishware to American customers and Western style dishware to Japanese customers.  Hiromi often spoke of how running the Japanese side of the enterprise took twice the effort.  She needed to provide more details and well taken photographs of the products, more frequent and thorough contact with customers, and attractively wrap the products in addition to packing them carefully.

I think one of the main reasons product perfection is so important in Japan is because Japanese people tend to feel a large degree of personal responsibility and embarrassment for mistakes.   Apologies and expressions of shame are very important to the harmony of relationships in Japan. 

 In addition, it is significantly more difficult to gain trust back after admitting to wrongdoing in Japan than in the USA.   In my profession, staff who received speeding tickets needed to apologize to the principal and the rest of the staff for their behavior and staff who were caught driving with any amount of alcohol in their system would be terminated.  The best way to avoid these embarrassing and irreparable situations is to just be perfect all the time.

Part 1 - Japanese Customer Relations -  A Cultural Explanation
Part 2 - Japanese Customer Relations - Communication

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Julia's blog, "watashi wa julia desu" highlights her experience in Japan and is located at www.juliamushalko.wordpress.com.  Contact her at: jmushalko@gmail.com.

Japanese Customer Relations: A Cultural Explanation - Part 2 - Communication

Guest contributor, Julia Mushalko, continues to delve into Japanese Customer Relations. 

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Recently, I watched a US TV program where a shrewd businesswoman picks out suffering hair salons and turns them into successful businesses.  On this episode, she criticized the stylists of the salon for sticking to management written scripts when dealing with customers.   She tells the stylists to be more personable with the customers.  Get to know each customer individually to serve them better and make them feel comfortable.  In the USA, I think customers and service providers tend to have a friendly and equal level relationship. Communication is more open here.

In Japan, a society where social hierarchy plays a clearer role, the stylist would be very reluctant to talk about anything other than hair and the customer may feel very uncomfortable by being asked about his or her life. Therefore, the use of scripts and set expressions is the safest way to do business in Japan.  The service can be provided without offending anyone or making anyone uncomfortable. 

Early in my time in Japan I went out to eat at a restaurant and the waitress that showed up at my table happened to be my friend, Kyoko.  To my surprise, Kyoko only said a quick friendly hello and then spoke to me as if I were any other customer.  Although as friends we would normally speak friendly Japanese, as my server she only used the most polite expressions and did not side track from doing her job.   While I felt a bit uncomfortable because my friend was using honorable expressions with me, Kyoko understood that the status of our relationship had temporarily changed acted accordingly.

This example illustrates the importance of acknowledging hierarchy in Japan and how predetermined polite expressions help people act accordingly.  Relying on scripts allows service providers and customers to avoid embarrassment and awkward situations.

Part 1 - Japanese Customer Relations -  A Cultural Explanation

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Julia's blog, "watashi wa julia desu" highlights her experience in Japan and is located at www.juliamushalko.wordpress.com.  Contact her at: jmushalko@gmail.com.

Japanese Customer Relations: A Cultural Explanation - Part 1

In attending, the New York Mutual Restaurant and Food show and meeting a lot of the Japanese vendors, I saw in action the high level of Japanese service and the importance of relationships that are the hallmarks of doing business in and with Japan. 

The following article is by our new guest contributor, Julia Mushalko, an aspiring cross cultural consultant currently located in Philadelphia. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

I recently returned from living in the northwest countryside of Japan for two years.
Working in a Japanese high school, I did my best to immerse myself and build a life in Sakata, Japan.  I drank more green tea than coffee, ate more soba than spaghetti and often went for days without speaking to a native English speaker.  Needless to say,  I became extremely sensitive to way the human interaction differs in Japanese and Western societies. 

In any society there are unspoken rules generally understood by all members about how to interact with other people.  Whether it is the people you are close to, the people you want to sell things to, or the people you don't know sitting next to you on the train there are culturally prescribed appropriate behaviors that we tend to take for granted.  I think that being unaware of these behavioral differences is one of the main reasons for cross-cultural misunderstandings. 

In the case of the USA and Japan, there are many differences in the way people relate to each other that seem to be polar opposites.  In the USA we value openness, up front honesty, and do not hesitate to talk with strangers and treat shyness as something that needs to be overcome.  In Japan, opinions and thoughts are kept inside, others' needs are anticipated rather than asked about, just saying hello to a stranger is seen as a bit strange, and shyness is a respectable virtue.  

Why is this important for U.S. and Japanese businesses that want to do business abroad?  Well, I think that for any product to succeed there needs to be a good relationship between the service provider and the customer.  This relationship, just like all other human relationships, is tied up in culturally based subtleties and expectations.

I would like to illustrate these differences by discussing three aspects of customer relations:  Communication, Product Presentation and Consistency.

To be continued...Tune in the rest of this week as Julia provides details and examples of each aspect. 

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Julia's blog, "watashi wa julia desu" highlights her experience in Japan and is located at www.juliamushalko.wordpress.com.  Contact her at: jmushalko@gmail.com

Japanese Food & Restaurant Show

I attended the New York Mutual Trading 2008 Japanese Food & Restaurant Show recently. Japanese food companies put out their products for restaurants to sample and buy, buy, buy. The public was also invited as well to this free event to sample and learn more about Japanese food products and beverages.

During the course of the event, I attended two presentations on Japanese liquor. The first was a presentation on Shochu and the other on Sake. This included teaching attendees how they are made as well as how restaurant servers can present them to customers (as they do wine) and how diners can truly appreciate them. 

The event focused mainly on products and ingredients from small family owned businesses in the areas of Japanese food, tableware and cooking equipment. The tradition of making these ingredients and the artistry of crafting products such as knives and tableware were clearly demonstrated by artisans who came from Japan.  I hope to write about these small businesses in they coming months as they continue to bring their products to a larger international audience.

I hope the individual attendees were inspired to not only go to Japanese restaurants more but to also cook Japanese at home as well.

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New York Mutual Trading, Inc. is a Japanese food distributor founded in 1926.  They carry over 4000 products including authentic Japanese ingredients, premium Japanese sakes and restaurant supplies. Visit their website at http://www.nymtc.com.

Telecom Network Specialist

The Corporate Technology Management (CTM) department of a Fortune 500 company is expanding its current domestic infrastructure support to include their businesses in Japan.  This new expansion of international support will span four technology platforms: Network (voice and data), Mainframe, Wintel, and UNIX. They are seeking a Telecom Network Specialist.

Location:  Newark, NJ
Target Start Date:  ASAP
Experience:  2-3 years
Right to hire:  Yes within 3 months 
Salary Range:  Based on candidate’s experience

The selected candidate need to have hands-on telecom networking experience and some project management experience.   The work hours are typically 8:00am to 5:00pm except during implementation periods.  At those times, the hours would need to coincide with Japan and could have a starting time of 5:00am, but only during specific project deadlines. 

Primary job responsibilities:

• Consult with clients and development area management and staffs in the design and implementation of  new or modified telecommunications networks
• Develop systems specifications, technical implementation plans and coordinates complex
  installation projects with clients, development staff, network engineering and vendors
• Track projects and report status to appropriate management
• Perform quality acceptance testing
• Participate with vendors and common carriers and network engineering in the identification and resolution of complex network problems
• Perform related duties as assigned or requested

Job requirements:

• Cisco Routers, Switches, Wireless Access Points
• Visio Professional
• Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project)
• TCP/IP, SNMP, CDP Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Cisco certification a plus
• Bilingual – Fluent with English and Japanese (preferably Level 1 language proficiency certification)
• Knowledge of Japanese culture and business practices
• Ability to work overtime as required
• Travel to Japan may or may not be required (expenses will be covered)

If you are interested in this position and possess the required qualifications, please contact:  Yvonne@burtonconsulting.biz OR  Joe@Vypak.com .Use code: JUSNEWS9. Mention where you saw the ad.

Lets not go there... again

The world turns does it not? The past week or so has brought us many news stories of Japanese companies buying stake in flailing and failing U.S. financial institutions. A buying spree, some say, reminiscent of the 80s. Well, lets hope not.

This is a time of trouble and change. Going back to the 80s won't really help us, it will only lead to this again down the road. 

What is great is that Japanese companies are going to take (hopefully) a more prominent place in the world financial markets again. They have been maybe a little too quiet for the past decade or so, I think. That is why all you hear lately is China, China, China.

Sometimes, necessity is really the mother of invention. In times like these, everyone needs take chances. We might not know how it will play out in the long run, but we cannot afford to play it safe right now. These are radical times and as such, its a new game for all.

New conditions demand new solutions. Japan needs to play the new game and back up their buying into these crisis laden financial entities with new strategies and actions to better the field. I just read in the New York Times that the new Japanese Prime Minister wants to "stimulate the Japanese economy to pick up some of the slack in the global economy." Yes, please do. As the economic giant they are, they must. 

Although Japan has never really gone away, its back on the playing field and its time for them to be a  major player internationally once again.