“Metabo Taisaku” (Anti-Metabolic syndrome measures) and “Metabo Yobou” (preventions of Metabolic Syndrome) are new buzzwords in diet, exercise, and marketing in Japan.
Anti-Metabolic Syndrome Boom Sparked by MHLW
May 31 2008 | Health Care and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
Earthquakes and Tsunamis are natural disasters that Japan has experienced. However, the global food crisis, or the so called ‘silent tsunami’, is a new type of crisis that the Japanese (especially the younger generations) have never experienced before.
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May 09 2008 | Clothing, Food and Housing and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
“It is NOT literally the later term care. It means that the government wants us to die sooner!”
This is what elderly people aged 75 or over think of ‘the Later Term Elderly Medical Treatment’: the new Japanese health care system for elderly people, which came into effect in April.
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May 03 2008 | Health Care and Weekly Articles | 1 Comment »
One Monday afternoon when I came back to the office from a business trip, I was trapped by my PC: “I cannot send any e-mails!” I restarted my PC several times, but the situation was the same. I kept receiving emails, but could not send any emails at all. I thought, Okay, maybe it’s a problem with Microsoft Outlook. Then I tried to send an email using another e-mailer, namely Thunderbird; but I could not send any emails using this either. Internet connections and webmail systems were functioning well, however. So, I called up the hosting company, our office manager, and an anti-virus software company to find out what had caused the problem. After spending almost a whole day investigating, I finally found out the cause of the problem:
April 30 2008 | Technology and Weekly Articles | 5 Comments »
“Listen, we do business with established companies. Please come back after 3 years and tell us which companies use your services.”
This is what early-stage entrepreneurs are normally told when they make a visit to large Japanese companies. No matter how great their services or products may be, large Japanese companies are generally not in favour of using start-up companies.
Becoming a John Doe
Not matter which large company you worked for or what high position you held, you become John Doe the moment you leave the company and start your own business. A female entrepreneur recalled the early days in her own business saying: “My previous colleagues treated me like a stranger when I contacted them about my new business. They did not even want to meet me.” A Japanese gentleman who had just started his own business said: “My friends have stayed away from me since I started my own business.” He continued: “They assume I may ask for their money, which is completely wrong.”
Unpopular John Doe
The John Doe is not popular among financial institutions. Large Japanese banks are not willing to lend money to start-ups until the business is proven to generate profits. National Life Finance Corporation offers business loans for stat-up companies, but its interest rate for start-up loans without collateral is a little higher (standard rate plus 1.2%) than those for small business loans. Likewise, Japanese venture capitals are inclined to invest in ventures after the business model is proved to be successful.
A John Doe company is not popular among job applicants either. Start-up companies require their employees to work very hard, but they cannot pay them very much. Especially in tight labour markets, large companies have the advantage of being able to offer higher salaries then start-up companies when trying to attract labour.
The Tipping Point Magic
However, the tipping point can change the situation completely. Successful Japanese entrepreneurs say that once they have even the smallest chance to demonstrate their products or services to customers, it is very easy to expand their business. The entrepreneur is not John Doe anymore. The entrepreneur’s name is everywhere; in newspapers, in magazines and on the web.
“I felt rewarded after going through such a hard period”, said a famous Japanese entrepreneur. “It is neither the fame nor the financial reward. It is the feeling of achievement after going through these hardships. You never experience this feeling unless you run your own business.”
April 16 2008 | Economy and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
On the morning of April 1st, trains bound for Tokyo were unusually crowded with young men and women wearing brand new business suits. They were new employees who were starting work with companies after graduating from school. They are supposed to be fresh, active, and individualistic. However, they were actually very quite and looked nervous.
Characteristics of New Employees – High Corporate Dependence with Low Corporate Loyalty
“New employees this year seem to need a great deal of care. Companies should take care of their new employees as if polishing the ice to slide a heavy stone towards the target in the game of curling.” This is how the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development characterized new employees in Japan this year.
Even if companies take a great deal of care, new employees are unlikely to respond with high corporate loyalty. “I will work for the company for a while. But I will change my job as soon as I find a better position outside”, a new employee said. “I do not plan to work just for this company for my entire life.”
More care than is needed?
Even if a company offers new employees a lot of training and benefits, the new employees may leave the company anyway when they find better working conditions elsewhere. So, why should companies take great care of new employees when they may just leave the company after receiving training? Well, Japanese companies may just stop offering new employees such training and benefits. As the old saying goes: “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
April 11 2008 | Culture and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
Blogging is relatively new to
Insights-out – What is Unique about Japanese Blogs?
1. Many free-of-charge blog providers
There are many blogging services that the Japanese can use. In addition to global blog providers such as Bloggers and Wordpress, there are domestic providers such as Livedoors, Nifty, and Biglobe, who offer free-of-charge blog services with easy-to-use guidelines for new bloggers.
2. Ranking the popularity of blogs
Most domestic blog providers show popular blog rankings in addition to blogging services, which is similar to what Technorati offers. They have a blog page on their website showing blog rankings in total, as well as by category, and the most popular articles, of which layouts are different depending on the provider. Japanese bloggers see the rankings as a measure of their blog’s popularity, in addition to providing details on the number of visitors they receive. Such ranking encourages the Japanese to write even more blogs. I have seen several Japanese bloggers who ask readers to frequently visit their blog, saying the likes of: “Thank you! My blog has received 10, 000 visitors in total! Please visit here again!”
3. Many private bloggers writing personal diaries
There are many Japanese bloggers who write about private matters in their daily life or about their own experiences. For instance, if you would like to get ideas about how to save money, you can just Google “Okaneno tamekata” (how to increase your saving money). By doing this you can get a lot of advice about how to save money from Japanese bloggers.
Reading Japanese blogs gives Japanese consumers a rich insight into markets. They may also be useful for international companies, as long as issues of language can be dealt with.
April 04 2008 | Culture and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
