By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge


Japan is like a supertanker laden with oil.

It's very valuable but its contribution is often underappreciated or even unappreciated.

It's slow to turn, hard to maneuver but it's buoyant and true.

And once it gets moving and its course is set you better get out of its way. :)

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge


That Japan like any country, be it developing or developed, has her share of problems is not in the least bit surprising or at least it shouldn't be.

However, what has surprised me over the years is how many foreign "Japan watchers" and "Japan pundits" always seem to miss the crux of what's really going on on the ground in Japan and more importantly what's going on in the mind of the Japanese.

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With that said,  there is another popular myth and meme that comes up regarding the lack of Japanese startups and that is the idea that the Japanese have an almost in-born fear of failure.

I'm not here to argue that Japanese don't have a fear of failure because they do. We all do. Just as most other peoples around the world do, including those in the US and even including those working in Silicon Valley.

People fear failure. 

But to hear the pundits tell it, "Japanese need to get over failure and embrace it". These pundits act like the fear of failure in Japan is simple a psychological construct* like it is in parts of the West like in the US.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Japan ranked toward the bottom of the list in an internationally recognized test of English for nonnative speakers.

Japanese test-takers ranked 40th of 48 countries in 2013 on their average score on the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), organized by Educational Testing Service, a private, nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization.

Japan scored an average of 512 points out of a possible 990, placing it between Mexico with 535, and Thailand with 493.

So does this matter? 

The answer is yes and no. Mostly no.

And that is because of the Tip of the Spear or the Tip of the Sword Theory.

The Sun Also Rises (陽はまた昇る), starring Ken Watanabe (Westerner's will know him from The Last Samurai and Inception) is a great movie showing Japanese Leadership & Innovation at its finest -- in this case concerning the development of the VHS tape standard and VHS Video Tape Recorder by Victor Japan (JVC).

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge


In recent years, much has been written about entrepreneurship and the "Silicon Valley" startup or new venture philosophy and framework.

In turn, many companies and countries have attempted to mimic or emulate this successful Valley model (although previously I've questioned the true success of the Valley model as it's a "Stacked Model" focusing on "Brute Force Human Wave Attacks" reminiscent of the Korean War). 

Regardless of the efficacy of the Valley model, it would still greatly behoove us to ask and investigate if there are perhaps any other viable or proven models, methodologies or frameworks available that we could borrow from and draw upon And if so,exactly what are they and how do they work?

One of the other highly vibrant and extremely dynamic startup centers, both in terms of raw numbers of startups and subsequent success stories, is not only in Israel, it is Israel -- which in turn has lead to Israel being dubbed the "Startup Nation".

What is most fascinating about the "Israeli model" is that it often takes a much different approach and has a very different flavor than the Valley model and yet it has produced dozens upon dozens of very successful startups in the high-tech space.

To tap into this wealth of knowledge and alternative startup methodology, Professor Kenneth Grossberg, Professor & Director of the Waseda Marketing Forum at Waseda University, has developed and lead the very innovative Startup Nation, Israel Study Tour which is now in its third year.

This study tour offers a unique and unparalleled opportunity to learn more about Israel’s extraordinary and arguably world-beating startup-nurturing environment.
 
Inspired by the NY Times bestseller Startup Nation, this trip open doors and pulls back the curtain to places not generally open to the general public as it teaches how a small country in a challenging environment has grown more companies listed on NASDAQ than any other nation in the world except the US. 

Through this unique opportunity to learn about Israel’s remarkable R&D and venture capital infrastructure you'll find ways that can then be applied back in one's own organization.

For more information, click on the button below:

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge


If it seems that we're under a constant barrage of the Western Media Myth (WMM) that (a) Japan is "failing" and that (b) this "failure" is primarily due to Japan's "talent problem" don't fret because we are.

Further, we are told that Japan's supposed "lack of talent" has manifested itself in such as way as to be responsible for Japan's supposed "lack of creativity" and "lack of innovation"".

But not to worry according to the WMM as we're then told that these "problems" that Japan faces can simply solved by (a) increasing the number of English-speaking Japanese and (b) internationalizing "backwards" Japanese-only speaking Japanese and (c)  increasing the number of immigrants in Japan, preferably by engaging in a sort of US-Open Bordersfashion.
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The Western Media's argument or framing of the issues, especially in terms of Japan's supposed lack of  "English-speaking" talent becomes even more silly when we consider that it ignores what I have deemed the "tip of the spear" or "tip of the sword" strategy.
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Last week, FirstPoint Japan's Publisher, James Santagata, participated in the 2014 After JET Conference's Career Panel which was held at the Pacifico Yokohama (Yokohama, Japan) on February 21st.  Follow the links for full details and pictures.

What are the challenges and opportunities facing Japanese HR departments, whether the firms in question be domestic (国内) or foreign-capitalized (外資系)?

Today we'll talk with Jun Kabigting, a Tokyo-based Japan HR expert.

• Is Japan HR unique? 
  
• If so, what makes Japan HR unique?
  
• What makes it different or unique compared to the US and say Western practices?
  
• What about the ability to reduce a workforce or realign personnel, are there legal considerations?  
  
• How difficult is it to terminate an employee, even for "cause" or "performance issues"?
• What are the direct and indirect costs of a mishire in Japan?
• What are the biggest challenges now? -- For HR professionals and for organizations? 
  
• What challenges and also opportunities do you see on the horizon? -- For HR professionals and for organizations? 

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!

Dear James,

How can I gain employment in Japan, specifically in Tokyo? I have a Bachelor's degree, 30 grad hours earned and a TESOL certificate (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages). I am not a native English speaker and I am over the age of 35. I tried in 2012 to find a job while I was in Tokyo for 9 months and lost a lot of money that way.
What are the chances of teaching German there?

Kind Regards,

- TN

Skills Inventory:
1. Bachelor's Degree
2. Graduate School: 30 hours earned
3. TESOL Certification
4. Languages: 
     (a) German: Native speaker
     (b) English: Native Level Fluency
     (c) Japanese: Advanced Beginner

By Kirk Spitzer, Special for USA TODAY

Some top hotels and high-end department stores admitted serving cheaper alternatives instead of the pricey items ordered from menus.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Some restaurants admit mislabeling menu items
• Prized Shiba prawns from Tokyo Bay were just shrimp from India
• Some companies have received the ultimate penalty in Japan: public shaming

TOKYO — This is a city where people spend hours in line for the trendiest bowl of ramen, drop $100 on a gift box of fruit or entertain clients several nights a week at chic restaurants.

So the news that prestigious restaurants have been swapping cheap substitutes for pricey menu items has created a major scandal that threatens to taint Japan's coveted worldwide reputation for exquisite cuisine.

"This is a foodie nation," says Jeff Kingston, professor of Asian Studies at Temple University's campus in Tokyo.

"People are proud of all the Michelin stars, and they generally eat very well, so the scandal has provoked outrage," he says. "People believe that this is simply a scam to improve the bottom line by selling cheap food as expensive cuisine."

Some of Japan's top hotels and high-end department stores in Tokyo, Sapporo and elsewhere admitted to a shocking transgression of ethics. The bait-and-switch was accidental, malefactors say, but at some spots it's alleged to have gone on for years.

People who ordered prized Shiba prawns, a rare and expensive delicacy from Tokyo Bay, were sometimes served bulk shrimp caught off India.

Wagyu beef refers to a special breed of cattle in Japan that is sometimes massaged by hand and fed beer to give its meat a highly marbled look and fattier content.

Some who ordered it got Australian beef. Organic vegetables from small Japanese specialty farms were actually shipped in from China.

The scandal has riled Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency, which says it will prosecute any business that intentionally misled diners. The agency said it will head off damage to Japan's reputation by proposing tougher penalties for food labeling violations, perhaps even jail time.

Japan's luxury Okura hotel chain executives bow their heads at a news conference Nov. 7 in Tokyo to apologize after the hotel served meals made with ingredients falsely labeled as being of top-end quality, such as Pacific white shrimp advertised as the much pricier Shiba variety.(Photo: Getty Images)


Some have received the ultimate penalty in Japan: public shaming.
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