Looking at Japan from a different angle

Usually I do not make any recommendation on books in regard to Japan, but it is time to make an exception. What impressed me most about both books I am going to recommend is that they have been written quite a while ago, but are still so true in 2012. Although I hear daily in the media about Japanese society changing, becoming more transparent and open, Japanese companies embracing global business styles…at the end I wonder how much has really changed. Based on my personal experience for more than 10 years living and working here, apart from the March 11 event with the Fukushima disaster, it is difficult to see noteworthy changes, which is good from my perspective. Otherwise if Japan had become globalized and easily understood from the outside, there would be no reason for me to continue this blog Japan is still a mystery for a big part of the world.
The first book I would like to focus on is “Freakonomics”, which was first published in the U.S. in 2005 and based on the Freakonomics website went on to sell more than 4 million copies around the world, in 35 languages. The authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner bring interesting moral and economic issues to the light. Most likely it will redefine the way you view the modern world, or at least it did for me. One of the covered topics is in regard to sumo wrestlers and yaocho (yaocho is the Japanese word for match-fixing). For those who have not read the book or not seen the movie, have a look at this link:

The Numbers in Sumo Cheating: Freakonomics Movie

The second book worth reading is “Beating Japan” from Francis McInerney, Sean White. The book was written 1993 during the time when the US feared that Japan might take over a big part of the global business. The essence of the book is that the world has not to be so worried, unless Japan starts to radically change and overcome some economic limitations. Quote from the book:

“The Japanese are in a tough spot: they need the loyalty of foreign customers, but have firm hold on them. To get closer to their customer, they must overcome significant cultural differences. At the same time, the Japanese economic engine is running out of steam: the industries that powered its postwar recovery are mature or in decline. New competition is emerging elsewhere in Asia eager to imitate the Japanese and gobble up the markets they fought so hard to win. A breakthrough source of export energy is needed to keep the engine in high gear. Japan has not found that source.”

In my daily life I come across many Japanese, who yearn for change, but at the same time are looking for someone who can create a path for them and guide them. Only in very few cases I have come across people here, who bravely dash forward into the unknown. I guess the fear of the unknown is still much higher than the pain of the present. Personally I see this behavior as positive, because for me the mystery of Japan is still ongoing. Maybe one day I understand Japan a bit better

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

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Did it get so bad that we have to rely on a mayor stopping alcohol consumption?

Although business culture in Europe is known for alcohol consumption during work hours – for example at business lunches or dinners – I have seen and experienced some heavy alcohol consumption in Asia. Japan might not be the top on the list in Asia with a consumption according to Wikipedia of 7.83 liter per head (Korea: 11.80 liter, Thailand: 6.36, China: 4.21 liter, Singapore: 0.55 liter, or then in comparison Switzerland 10.56 liter, USA 8.44 liter), but still the custom of having alcoholic beverages together with business partners and co-workers is quite common. Due to the economic downturn and the decrease of the pocket-money of the “average salaryman”, for sure less alcohol is consumed now than in the past.
Surprisingly this week according to Mainichi Shimbun the mayor of Fukuoka (Soichiro Takashima) ordered a month-long ban on alcohol drinking for all city officials outside their homes. Recently there has been an increase of alcohol-related incidents involving a city firefighter and a vice principal of an elementary school. Based on the Mainichi Shimbun article a member of the Fukuoka City Fire Department was arrested on suspicion of stealing a vehicle in February after drinking alcohol, plus then in April, the vice principal of a municipal elementary school was busted for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. The goal of this rather unusual strict action is to force city officials to undergo a “shock therapy” so that citizens’ trust can be restored by changing the bad climate of drinking over the years. Based on the comments on local Asahi TV the “problem age range” of the city employees, who had caused annoyance to others under high alcohol influence seem to be in their 50s.
Based on my personal experience in a professional setting I have seen Japanese men or women, getting so drunk that they passed out on the floor of the restaurant as the worst example or end up drinking so much that they were unable to finish a Japanese sentence on their own. Of course this did not happen a lot, but definitely much more in Japan than in any country I have worked or visited on business. Personally I have seen employees in any age range or position getting so drunk that they barely knew anymore what they said. While higher alcohol consumption was so far culturally commonly accepted, it seems to me changes are seen now with the local governments.
Another example of toughening up local governmental officials: The mayor of Osaka (Toru Hashimoto) ordered recently a survey of tattoo ownership among the 30,000 employees, after complaints that a welfare officer had intimidated children by showing off his ink work. Based on the article in the Guardian the government is even now considering whether to ask these employees – most work in waste disposal and public transport – to have their tattoos erased, or even to find another job.
While I see people under the influence of alcohol not being able to function professionally, I wonder though whether having a hidden tattoo will actually influence job performance.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

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Do you know a friendlier country than Japan?

I need to share with you a cute short story of my daily work experience in Japan. Sometimes it is very difficult to explain what makes working in Japan truly interesting, from time to time challenging to overcome the cultural gaps or sometimes tiring due to the incompatibility to foreign business approaches. Today I came across a good example that shows Japanese professional earnestness to perfection. To my complete surprise I have received an email back from one of my business contacts in Japan in English. Actually so far I had never had any communication with him in English. The topic of the email: He had replied to my automatic out of office reply.

Dear Sibylle san

Thank you for your email. I know your schedule.
Already I have sent an email to your colleague about a product related question.

Regards,

Mister Veryfriendly

From time to time the Japanese approach to business efficiency really amazes me. From my perspective redundant activities like the above are quite common, but I guess some of my business counter partners have more time at their hand than I do. My goal is to cut my overtime hours short, but I guess some Japanese professionals have a different perspective on time and money.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

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How much do Japanese spend for the start of new life?

The start of April is a very special period in Japan. Every year by this time of the year newly graduates are entering working life or still at most universities new students start their studies from April. Therefore it is not surprising that many households are newly set up. A recent survey with Nikkei Shimbun (questioned 600 people, half male and half female) about their experienced cost, when they had to get their first household electronic goods and all the furniture. About 8% had not actually experienced the step of setting up their own home. Plus a rather high percentage with 18% had no idea how much they had actually spent.

Total amount spent less than JPY 10,000: 10%
More than JPY 10,001 – 30,000: 16%
More than JPY 30,001 – 50,000: 19%
More than JPY 50,001 – 100,000: 24%
More than JPY 100,001: 5%

To be honest, I wonder how those 10% of the respondents could organize a new home with less than JPY 10,000. I remember that when I had set up my own space in Tokyo, although I had tried to save some money by buying a lot of second-hand household goods, but I still ended up with a total amount close to JPY 100,000.
When I compare this sum to the costs I had as a student in Switzerland or then as a working adult in Los Angeles in the US, the amount of JPY 100,000 still seems unbelievably low. Although Tokyo is perceived as a very expensive city in global comparison, from my personal experience, I believe compared to larger cities in Switzerland or US the basic living costs are not so high in Tokyo. I would even argue the challenge lies in Japan that the salaries are rather low compared to the other places I have worked and lived.
In your case, do you remember how much you had spent on your first place that you called home? Looking forward to hearing from your experience,

Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

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What is missing for work-life-balance in Japan

While at first it might seem counter-intuitive, but creating work-life-balance at the work place would help Japanese companies to get out of the economic downturn. I had attended a seminar by Kamioka san from Mashr Consulting about the effects on the bottom line of a company, if they were to implement work-life-balance. At first the image might be solely on creating a work environment with low or no overtime, plus potentially a company that is attracting female workers. Based on the seminar from Kamioka san I understand now that at the end work-life-balance comes down to increasing motivation and productivity, which results in lower costs for the company: The same effect on the needed profit figure like an increase of sales turnover. Overall this seminar has been very helpful to make sense of several observations I have made in regard to working in Japan.
Many companies are struggling to increase their sales turnover due to many reasons, while forgetting that internal changes can be more effective at the moment. Allowing higher level of motivation of the employees can create wonders. Motivated employees have the best interests of the company at heart, because it comes naturally to continuously improve what you are happily doing. In an era of knowledge workers one should not forget the key lies in effective working employees. Having fun while doing what you love to do, isn’t this what a job is supposed to be?
In the last few years salaries in Japan have not be increasing, but decreasing. Looking at the decreasing headcount at many companies, more work has to be done with fewer workers. While I had never been exposed to overtime payment in Switzerland or in the US, in Japan it is quite often that an employee can ask for overtime work to finish up his task. Legally this means that the hourly wage is then bumped up by 25% (during the work week). Depending on the amount of work done, it can be a substantial aspect in cost accounting. Furthermore personally I have heard recently of many cases, when employees in order to increase their monthly income slow down their work speed during the 8 hours with “normal” pay in order to expand their total income with the overtime work. I believe for quite many companies it would make sense to review their salary structure in order to reduce unnecessary overtime cost. As a side effect wouldn’t it be nice to focus to get the job done quickly so that one can go home soon, instead of creating enough reasons to stay longer?
To be honest I am still amazed how little attention is given to change a company from within in Japan. Basic tools like flextime, working at home and cross training should be available, but are commonly unheard of at Japanese companies. Flextime is still very unusual in Japan. Although some few companies are considering in some cases partial work at home, these options came only into consideration after last year’s disaster and the increase of employees experiencing depression at work. Just imagine how many employees could take some time off from work, if cross training existed in Japan! It is rather common that each employee is focusing only on his job duties, knowing and understanding little of the actual work content of his co-workers. Therefore it is quite common, if someone takes a day off all his/her work gets piled up, as the co-workers have not been trained to take over. Not surprisingly a high amount of guilt is felt, when others have to deal with some additional load they don’t know the necessary details. I truly believe that cross training would improve customer service as well. Instead of “I am sorry, “Yasumi san” is not here today, but will reply tomorrow” could be replaced with “How can I help you while “Yasumi san” is out of the office.”
Making a long story short: The way I see it with work-life-balance a company would become more productive, increase their profit, while employees can enjoy guilt free vacations. Wouldn’t this be great for the Japanese economy?

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

P.S. For those interested below is a a part of the flyer of the next event by Kamioka san with CCH Japan on April 17 (which I sadly cannot attend, because I will be abroad)

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Examples of Japan market entry

During this 10 years living in Japan I have seen foreign companies entering and leaving Japan. After a while it becomes really interesting to see how some companies plan their Japan market entry. Although I have seen companies fail that had researched the market in advance, done a lot of planning, but failed in the end; when at the same time some companies seem to jump into the market without much preparation and – promptly fail.
While I have seen Ikea becoming now truly successful, although there were not so promising steps done in the past, I have to say now Ikea seems to have gotten everything lined up perfectly for their success in Japan. They have set up model rooms when Japanese end users struggled to imagine how to create then the same style in the smaller sized Japanese homes. Additionally Ikea is quite frequently found on TV to explain the concept. Although market entry might not be easy, I believe with some preparation and decisions done locally, there is a real possibility to success.
Another recent example of a larger global company seemingly now in the process of planning their market entry into Japan: Best Buy. Have a look at their job description as published on LinkedIN.

Considering that LinkedIn is not yet popular at all in Japan and has so far only about 400,000 members, I wonder why the ad was set up using LinkedIn as a tool. Compare this figure then to the total Japanese working population of about 80 million (based on the date from the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication), then I wonder why Best Buy is focusing on LinkedIn. The job description says that they need a Japanese national speaking fluent English. Foreign languages are not really the strength of the average employee. I was not able to find exact figures, but I have heard many times the figure of 5% of the working population can speak fluent English (not considering now what actually fluent means). Calculated this means then a potential target size of about 4 million English-speaking Japanese. But still Best Buy seems to prefer to focus a minor share of the LinkedIn group members to look for the one of the most critical position for the future success: Starting member of the Japan site.
Let me add one question: Considering the strength of local companies like Big Camera, Yodobashi Camera, Yamada Denki and all the others, what competitive edge could Best Buy bring to the Japanese market? I was trying to find one argument, but gave up after 24 hours. I can only wonder if we ever see a Best Buy store actually open in Japan, because I truly cannot see any strategy in their approach.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

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What would you do as a young Japanese employee?

Younger Japanese face a more and more challenging local labor market. Although the unemployment in Japan is not comparable to other countries around the world, the shift from employee contract to time based contract employee with less job security is going on. Based on a recent article in Japan Times, the ratio of nonregular workers in the labor force in 2011 hit a record average high of 35.2 percent (excluding the affected March quake and tsunami regions), up 0.8 point from 2010. The rise appears to have stemmed from the growing tendency of firms to hire fewer young people as regular workers and rehire veteran workers on a contract basis after their retirement. To make matters worse, not only younger workers face a tougher environment: The ratio of nonregular workers came to a record 32.6 percent among people aged between 15 and 34, while that among workers aged 55 and over was 51.5 percent, also an all-time high.
Having the above in mind the last months overview of the top preferred companies to work for as young Japanese seems not surprising. It seems to me a list of safe companies, when all the trendy companies seem missing.

1. Nihon Seimei Insurance
2. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance
3. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
4. Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Corporation
5. Mitsui Sumitomo Fire Insurance
6. Songai Insurance Japan
7. Daiichi Seimei Insurance
8. Mizuho Financial Group
9. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank
10. Santory Holdings

How would you decide? Do you think you would prefer to play it safe and go for banks or insurances? Or even some established start-up companies? Or even a foreign-owned company? I am not sure if I had been brought up here whether I would be as a young adult brave enough to make a unique decision and stand out. Contrary in Switzerland the focus was less on the company, but then I sensed pressure to join the “right” job so that I could enjoy my time at work. At the end everything worked out for me fine. I can only hope the young Japanese can say the same about their career choice in a few years.

Brought to you by Sibylle Ito (伊藤シビル)

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