Continuing from my first article, this is the second in a series of columns about Japan Inc.’s ultimate global challenge: marketing. Following are the six reasons I believe Japanese companies struggle with marketing. 1. Language In the Japanese language, there is no direct translation for the word or concept of Marketing. It is spelled phonetically via five katakana characters (separate […]
How are things going with your project and job in Japan? Maybe you are like me; you may have too many meetings, you may sometimes not be clear about the true agenda, and often feel that you do not get quick or best results? Perhaps you think that maybe some things have already been covered prior to the meeting, but […]
This is the first in a series of columns about Japan Inc.’s ultimate global challenge: marketing. Japan is the world’s third largest economy; it is an influential country and will continue to be a valuable contributor to the global economy. In the 1950s, Japan competed largely on low prices, low wages and selling cheap imitations of western goods. Recognizing the […]
Salaries in Japan lag behind those in Asia and the country is losing in the global race for talent, said Marc Burrage, managing director for Japan of international recruitment firm Hays at the presentation of the company’s 2017 Asia Salary Guide. And on first sight, the situation appears dire: The World Economic Forum finds Japan falling from sixth to eighth […]
“I am sorry.” You will have experienced this at least once if you spend some time with Japanese people: The first word coming out of someone’s mouth is often a word of apology. This is not only the case on an individual level, but also in the business context. We often come across situations where the management of a Japanese […]
By Hiroyuki Arie, General Manager, Business Stream Systems at TÜV Rheinland Japan On Nov. 28, I was working on this article about cybersecurity in Japan, when shocking news spread quickly across the nation. Major news media, including Kyodo News, simultaneously reported that the Ministry of Defense (MOD) had suffered a cyberattack. Ministry sources announced that a hacker had penetrated […]
In my home country Germany, freedom of science is guaranteed by the Basic Law, as the constitution is called. When the Academic Freedom Act came into force in 2012, it increased self-governance of non-university research institutes in addition to universities. In contrast, the science sector in Japan has traditionally been strongly controlled by the ministries. Recently however, there is a […]
by Kazushi Arima, General Manager, Mobility at TÜV Rheinland Japan With their large output and long service life, lithium ion batteries power a broad variety of products from smartphones to electric vehicles. At the same time, there are frequent reports of safety problems that come with these batteries. Just recently, a South Korean smartphone manufacturer has garnered much unwanted […]
By Ramesh Nadarajah, Vice President Industrial Services Asia-Pacific at TÜV Rheinland Asia-Pacific Renewable energy is one of the most important factors in the transformation of Japan’s energy mix by 2030. This article provides a closer look into what has happened in the area of wind energy, one of the most promising renewable energy sources, and tries to identify some of […]
Government and ministries strongly guide Japan’s science sector. So let us look into the new Fifth Science and Technology Basic Plan that came into force this April, which should lead the path for the country’s Science and Technology (S&T) for the next five years. It places a strong emphasis on internationalization. The aim is to make Japan the “most innovation-friendly […]
When candidates tell you that they do not want to work overtime, or do not intend to commute to the working place for more than 40 minutes on one way, then one shall assume that the “work-life balance discussion” has also reached Japan. The general understanding is that the term means to find a suitable balance between a person’s professional […]
Critics disagree if the Japanese government’s Abenomics initiative has been successful so far, or will be in the future. Yet the number of bankruptcy cases filed with court has decreased steadily since 2010, showing a remarkable decline since the initiative’s launch three years ago. In fact, the number of cases filed in May this year was the lowest figure since […]
By Frank Piller, General Manager Products at TÜV Rheinland Japan Demand response and virtual power plants (VPP) are expected to play a crucial role in the future, as outlined in METI’s latest Innovative Energy Strategy whitepaper. This article continues our discussion started here. Communication Standards for Demand Response In May 2013, a METI-sponsored workshop established the “Demand Response Interface […]
By Frank Piller, General Manager Products at TÜV Rheinland Japan In recent years, the Japanese government has vigorously promoted energy conservation through various actions, including installing the feed-in tariff system for renewable energy, deregulating electricity and promoting the Smart House concept. For its part, in 2015 the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has formulated its Long-term Energy […]
Successful women serving as female role models are the most effective way to create a more diverse workplace in Japan, said Marc Burrage, managing director of Hays Japan, at the specialist recruitment firm’s recent presentation of its latest Gender Diversity Report in Tokyo. This marks a crucial difference to global trends that strongly focus on flexible working practices. Japanese organizations […]
