Reasons for Visiting Fukushima Prefecture: Fukushima is SAFE!
Despite Fukushima Prefecture’s abundant nature, mineral hot springs, tasty foods and other “sightseeing resources,” the number of visitors has declined drastically due to rumors that circulated following the March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant accident. In defiance of this trend, travel agency Club Tourism International has energetically promoted travel to northeast Japan. The […]
Japan’s National Sports Festival: Kokutai --- the World’s Largest?
This year of 2021 marks 109 years since the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, the first games in which a team from Japan participated. With the ending of the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Japan’s own sports season begins. Autumn is the season most closely associated with sports in Japan, to the extent that it is referred to as […]
Japanese Common Business Practice: "Nemawashi"
By P. Pringle A CEO’s Complaint A couple of years ago, I met the promising new American CEO of a Japan-related company. He is a talented, fast-track executive who is successful in the industry. When I met him, he was very frustrated. He complained about all this “noise” coming from Japan. He said that various […]
Japanese Kisetsukan: A Sense of Season Among Japanese People
Japanese Kisetsukan: A Sense of Season By K. Merks As an American living in Japan, one of the first things I noticed about Japanese culture is the attention paid to seasons and seasonal change. I come from central Texas, where the joke is the only seasons are Hot and Less Hot ― hardly inspirational. But […]
The Changing Scope of Japan’s Book Industry
By Ryoji Shimada Japan’s Biggest Book Fair The 23rd Tokyo International Book Fair was held the first week of July, 2016. This four-day exhibition with three other parallel activities --- e-Book Expo Tokyo, Licensing Japan and Creator Expo --- attracted an estimated total of 66,000 people, according to the organizer. While it is not certain […]
Japan's Senior Business: The Arrival of Senior Business in Japan
The companies shifting toward senior business and new product development In 2020, the average life expectancy in Japan was 85.9 years for women and 79.44 years for men. In addition, the fertility rate was 1.3 children per woman. Based on these figures, the general population of Japan is expected to fall by around 33m to […]
The Techniques of Becoming a 100-year-old Company in Japan
There are many long-lived companies in Japan. The number of them is the highest in the world! The number of companies that have been in business for more than 100 years was surveyed by country. Japan has the highest number of 100-year old companies in the world, with 33,076 companies. This accounted for 41.3% of […]
About Japanese Millennials Behaviors
What is "F1 stratum" (F1層) in Japan? In Japan, many companies and the mass media focus on females between the ages of 20 and 34 years who are said to be most enthusiastic toward consumption and sensitive toward new trends. They like overseas travel and famous brand goods, and spare no expense toward investing in […]
No Kidding on Business in Japan: Japanese Businesspeople don't accept jokes
By P. Pringle A couple of years ago, I worked with a Japanese company that manufactured high-tech devices. The products were designed by Americans with support from Japan. Towards the end of each project, the head office sent a team of highly skilled Japanese test engineers for a final check. Invariably, the American engineers complained […]