Japan is known as a manufacturing nation and rebuilt its country after the war and built its reputation on "hardware' so to speak. But what about the "software" of information technology and expertise in certain areas that the country possesses? That could be a major export as well.
In the Keizai Society event " High Speed Rail and the Future of Transportation in America", in the question and answer session, one panelist member mentioned an interesting point, that in terms of High Speed Rail, not only will Japan be invaluable in the technology of building the High Speed Rail trains and infrastructure in the U.S., but that their expertise in operating such a rail system is also very valuable and greatly needed.
Japan may focus on building machinery so to speak but they also have great "soft" expertise as well. In the case of High Speed Rail technology, they will be able to sell that softer expertise abroad also. The panelist mentioned that " although difficult, building the HSR is the easy part, operating it is the much more difficult challenge. Operating expertise is a must: scheduling, running it on time, running it safely, serving a market, keeping customers in mind always is."
These are things that Japan has great expertise due to the long history of the Shinkansen and operating it with a near perfect record. Contributing type of know how is must too.
To watch the video of High Speed Rail and the Future of Transportation in America event, click here.
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Keizai Society is a Silicon Valley based business and professional networking organization. Their primary purpose is to provide a venue of programs that showcase specialists with expertise on issues critical to the success of entrepreneurs and companies doing business with Japan and the U.S.
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