I was interested in a company that had a combination of access points into a house or business. One day Kano-san came into my office while I was reading their rather perplexing brochure. “Do you have any company information to send to Itochu?” “Yes, I think this one looks interesting. It has multiple protocol access […]
Category: Japanese Business Culture & Society
Enigmatic ways of doing business; odd customs of everyday life; the pressures, frustrations, and challenges of a culture with overwhelming norms of behavior.
Japanese Tour
“Jim-san, I have a favor to ask for you,” said Fukuhara-san. “A business partner of Itochu, ANA, has asked us to make a presentation to some of their executives visiting the U.S. They will be in San Francisco in two weeks. We would like you to talk to them about recent events in Silicon Valley […]
Winter Escape
Having arranged for my favorite perch aloft, I looked out the airplane window to see the northern coastline of Honshu, Japan’s main island, as it curved to an end. Hokkaido surfaced only a few miles further on. I tried to locate cities and towns but my geographic knowledge was lacking. Soon we turned inland, landing […]
Radio Roppongi
I was determined this trip to find some local music. Yamaha saxophones, Keiko Matsui, Hiroshima — Tokyo must be abuzz with jazz. I found a club named STB 139, aka Sweet Basil. How could I go wrong with one of my favorite spices? I scheduled my day to end up near Roppongi. In spite of […]
Akasuka Stop
I had some time in the late afternoon and decided to visit the shrine at Akasuka. Emerging from the subway, I walked under an overcast sky toward the run-up to the temple. Ironically, this path — with merchant stalls on both sides — was more like a bazaar than a holy place of worship. Just […]
Trade Showing
I accompanied Ichihashi-san to a Tokyo trade show, scrambling along behind him as he navigated both metro and JR trains to arrive at a large pavilion. It was not well attended and we quickly found CTC’s booth — spartan by American standards. The information was there, but the presentation lacked the Las Vegas glitz. This […]
Paddling Along
The next few days were filled with meetings. I was finally feeling familiar — not just with my immediate associates at Itochu headquarters or CTC, but with the subsidiaries like CTC Financial engineering. We were all struggling to anticipate where these networked opportunities would take us. I felt some employees were clueless. Others, like Moriyama-san […]
Cruising the Coast
I finished my Monday afternoon meeting and called the trip a wrap. My plane didn’t leave until late Tuesday afternoon. In the morning, I went to T/CAT, checked in with the airline and left my baggage, feeling considerably freer. My train pass was still valid. Why wait at Narita? I may as well spend my […]
Business Card Briefcases
Returning to Tokyo, I spent the day popping in and out of stations, trying to get a feel both for the places and the means of transit. I purchased some speckled paper and ribbon with which to try my hand at wrapping presents. I had long been aware of the tradition of gift giving in […]
Status Car
“Jim-san, you should rent a bigger car.” I looked up from my desk at Fukuhara-san, who held my expense report in his hands. “Why? When I go to Las Vegas, I’m just driving myself from A to B. The taxi lines are so long, one has to drive to make good use of the time. […]