<span class="gmail_quote"></span>J@pan Inc magazine presents:<br>The 'JIN' Japan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 417 Wednesday June 6, 2007 TOKYO
<br><br>Japan: Insights From The Academy<br><br>For the past three Wednesday nights I have been skipping out of<br>the office a few minutes earlier than normal. The reason? No, not<br>a new found love interest or midweek alcohol addiction - I've
<br>been going to a series of lectures. Never one for lectures at<br>university, where I was only required to go to 6 hours a week<br>anyway, it took me by surprise when I read in a local pamphlet,<br>issued by Minato-ku city hall in Tokyo, that Dr. Phil Deans of
<br>Temple University would be giving a course of three lectures on<br>Japan, and I found myself wanting to attend. I recognised the<br>name because for anyone interested in the study of East Asian<br>identity Deans is well known and made a name for himself during
<br>his time at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in<br>London.<br><br>It turned out that my curiosity paid off and after the first<br>lecture I knew I'd be back for more. Having been in Japan for<br>a respectable period of time I was somewhat unsure as to how much
<br>I could 'learn' about the place from any other sources than my<br>own experience; a misguided approach at the best times I know<br>but perhaps not uncommon among hardened gaijin (foreigners)<br>here. However, I learned so much that it seems only appropriate
<br>to share some of the most interesting nuggets with this<br>Japan-interested audience.<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>Start a Company in Japan<br><br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 9th of June, 2007
<br><br>If you have been considering setting up your own company,<br>find out what it takes to make it successful.<br>Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan,<br>will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on
<br>starting up a company in Japan.<br>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,<br>and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered<br>in business books.<br>All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.
<br><br>For more details: <a href="http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/">http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>As Dr. Deans made clear, writers on international relations often
<br>overlook the importance of perception. For example, in the<br>Japan-China relationship it interesting how the 'facts' tell<br>two very different stories. Deans was able to characterise the<br>paradox in the relationship as 'economically hot versus
<br>politically cold'. The facts show that if you include third party<br>investment via Hong Kong and Taiwan, between 50-70% of all<br>investment in China is linked back to Japan. On the other hand,<br>research findings show that Japanese attitudes towards China have
<br>grown increasingly negative over the past few years. At a more<br>complex level, incompatible nationalism between the two nations<br>lead to a different reading of other statistics. It is true that<br>China's spending on defense has grown massively in terms of
<br>dollars spent but it is also true that China's defense spending<br>has declined as a proportion of GDP. While Japanese look at the<br>first figure, China looks at the second.<br><br>In its relations with Korea Dr. Deans also perceives a confusion
<br>that arises largely from political identity. Despite strong<br>economic, cultural and political interlinkages the history issue<br>and perception of the past makes for conflictual moments and<br>pressure points. One of these is the sovereignty dispute over
<br>a small bit of rock in the Sea of Japan, Dokdo in Korean,<br>Takeshima, in Japanese. Deans thought he had come up<br>with a perfect solution to the problem in 2002— he<br>suggested that the World Cup final be played there. Sadly,
<br>his recommendation fell on deaf ears.<br><br>On the Japanese economy Deans also managed to add a fresh<br>perspective. As he pointed out, The Economist, since the 1970s<br>have run an article every 5 years on how Japanese youth don't
<br>work as hard as their elders. More critically perhaps Deans notes<br>what he terms a shift from effectiveness to efficiency. By the<br>former he refers to such phenomenon in Japan as ladies in<br>elevators who are employed just to press buttons or the five or
<br>six staff manning small convenience stores: the extra mile that<br>guarantees satisfaction. By 'efficiency' however he refers to the<br>recent cuts and reforms that have minimized costs, cut red tape<br>and also led to an emphasis on materialism over harmony. While
<br>agreeing that reform may be necessary Deans sees the tension<br>between effectiveness and efficiency as a challenge for existing<br>social and economic structures in the years ahead.<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------
<br>Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo:<br>4 Year Anniversary Seminar - June 11<br><br>Speaker: Yoshito Hori, Chairman and CEO of Globis Group<br><br>Join us in celebrating our 4 year anniversary at the Globis<br>Head Office in Kojimachi with Yoshito Hori of Globis Group.
<br>Founded in 1992 the Globis Group has five lines of business;<br>Globis Management School (GMS), Globis Organization Learning<br>(GOL), Globis Management Institute (GMI), Globis Management<br>Bank (GMB), and Globis Capital Partners (GCP) which manages
<br>3 funds with commitment exceeding JPY38bil. (US$360mil.).<br><br>Date/Time: Monday, June 11, 7:00 pm<br>Location: Globis Head Office<br>Language: English<br><br>Website: <a href="http://www.ea-tokyo.com">http://www.ea-tokyo.com
</a><br>Email: <a href="mailto:info@ea-tokyo.com">info@ea-tokyo.com</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Finally, I'd like to throw up the notion of 'gendered<br>nationalism'. As the lecture explained, looking at the
<br>gender dimension to Japan's society and economy is illuminating.<br>As many young Japanese women are not getting married, putting<br>careers and Cartier over cradles and cooking, there is a growing<br>reaction. Conservative politicians have not only made outrageous
<br>statements about women being "babymaking machines" but also<br>tried to push forward a traditional image of women as 'dutiful<br>daughters and suitable wives'. Such developments are of course<br>directly related to Japan's number one storm on the horizon—
<br>the top heavy population that are starting to retire. Deans<br>hinted that in a sense women are going on a kind of 'strike' in<br>terms of childbirth, forcing society to respond to their evolving<br>expectations and needs.
<br><br>An interesting parallel development has been the number of<br>Japanese-foreigner mixed marriages. Most visibly, large numbers<br>of Japanese women are taking foreign husbands but a stat that<br>Deans offered up that is not so well known is that 70% of mixed
<br>marriages in Japan are in fact between Japanese men and foreign<br>women. With a population shortage, particularly of young women<br>in the countryside, large numbers of Japanese men are taking<br>'imported brides'. Often from Southeast Asia these women are
<br>taking traditional female roles but, as Deans mentioned, it will<br>be intriguing to see how the racial difference will effect<br>Japanese society and what consequences it will have on national<br>identity here.<br><br>
So, as you can probably tell, I greatly enjoyed Dr. Deans'<br>lectures and hope that some of this was news to JIN readers<br>too. Here endeth the lecture.<br><br>By Peter Harris<br>Chief Editor, J@pan Inc magazine<br>
<br>J@pan Inc invites all comments and suggestions on the content<br>of its newsletters, online and print media. Please visit our<br>website at <a href="http://www.japaninc.com">www.japaninc.com</a> or, if you have a comment directly
<br>related to this article, email it to <a href="mailto:peter.harris@japaninc.com">peter.harris@japaninc.com</a><br><br>DON'T MISS JAPAN INC MAGAZINE'S SUMMER ISSUE:<br>Featuring our Real Estate Special, Web 2.0 Marketing and more!
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