J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>The 'JIN' Japan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 453 Wednesday February 20, 2008, Tokyo<br><br>-------- Job Fair for International Students & Careers ---------<br>
<br>The JOBFAIR will be held on March 8th in AKIHABARA.<br>This JOBFAIR is the biggest event for international students <br>and foreigners who are thinking about a career change in Japan: <br>50+ companies will attend seeking internationally-minded people!<br>
<br>JOBFAIR participants will have an opportunity <br>to visit company booths and ask HR about careers. <br><br>Some companies may have interviews on the day. <br>The JOBFAIR provides a great chance to meet many companies and <br>
learn about them what they do and the people they need in a <br>short period of time. <br><br>DATE: March 8th /11:00 - 18:00<br>PLACE: at AKIHABARA<br><a href="http://www.jobfair.jp/jp/JB5001LG.php?j=12&banner_id=rfb00009" target="_blank">http://www.jobfair.jp/jp/JB5001LG.php?j=12&banner_id=rfb00009</a><br>
----------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Space Race Japan<br><br>Japanese perceptions of the universe, like other national <br>variations, offer some interesting surface level differences <br>
for the outsider: in Japan, trees and traffic lights are blue, <br>the sun is red and blood type is often believed to account for <br>different types of personality. When it comes to the solar <br>system, Japanese parents tell their kids not that the moon is <br>
made of cheese but that when you look up, you can see two <br>rabbits with mallets smashing rice into mochi (rice cakes). <br><br>Some of these on-the-surface differences are inexplicable, <br>others make sense in the context of Japanese history and <br>
culture. Many of the differences are also slowly disappearing, <br>smothered by the homogeneity that is a symptom of globalization.<br>Ancient Japanese perception of the galaxies for example differs <br>greatly from European nations, however, the modern Japanese <br>
attitude towards them is the same as any industrialized country<br> — the heavens are to be explored, mined and, potentially, <br>conquered. In recent years, Japanese involvement in the <br>exploration of space has increased dramatically compared with <br>
its marginal participation in the space race during the Cold War<br>era.<br><br>In 2005, new president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency<br>(JAXA), Keiji Tachikawa, former head of NTT DoCoMo, revamped <br>efforts to get Japan into space (see <br>
<a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1115727-1,00.html" target="_blank">www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1115727-1,00.html</a>). <br>Under Tachikawa, JAXA has achieved a higher profile and <br>
increased funding, often using the China threat theory and <br>
Chinese advances in the field of space exploration as a lever <br>for support. JAXA has had some difficulties in the past few <br>years, not least being a run of failed launches, but it now seems<br>to be making some real progress.<br>
<br>[Continued below...]<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>PBXL CASE STUDY: SMALL OFFICE SETUP<br><br>Rapid-growth consulting office needs a scalable phone system.<br>How does PBXL help this customer?<br>
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<br>[...Article continues]<br>
<br>This year, Tachikawa explained in an interview, 'There are two <br>key objectives to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2008. <br>First, we have two satellite launches scheduled by H-IIA rocket<br>[and]…the assembly and operation of the Japanese experimental <br>
module (JEM) Kibo. Kibo is Japan's first manned space facility, <br>and it will be installed on the International Space Station <br>(ISS) on three successive space shuttle missions. <br>(<a href="http://www.jaxa.jp/article/interview/vol36/p3_e.html%29" target="_blank">www.jaxa.jp/article/interview/vol36/p3_e.html)</a>' <br>
The three shuttle missions are also set to go ahead with the <br>first, with a crew including Japan's space walking pioneer Takao<br>Doi, taking place on March 11. <br><br>This is undoubtedly a big event for Japan in marking its <br>
involvement with the ISS and has arguably been a cause for a <br>renewed interest in the space project by both domestic and <br>foreign media. The latter seems to latch onto the more amusing <br>sides of Japan's new found interest such as reports on plans to <br>
throw paper planes (designed by the Origami Airplanes <br>Association) back to earth (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/38olq9" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/38olq9</a>), or to <br>test whether a boomerang works in space <br>
(<a href="http://tinyurl.com/2kvw42" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/2kvw42</a>). <br>
<br>Domestic media has been more focused on statements by senior <br>defense ministers concerning the existence of UFOs and the <br>former CEO of livedoor, Kozo Hiramitsu, who has recently left <br>the company intending to take a passenger flight into space on <br>
Virgin Galactic in the near future.<br><br>However, with Japan's launch of lunar explorer Kaguya last <br>September, and developments looking on track for this year, <br>behind the media froth lies very strong scientific, and <br>
potentially commercial, ambition from men such as Tachikawa <br>and even Shinichi Suzuki, the Tokyo University professor behind <br>the paper plane idea. After all, if his experiment works, the <br>implications for materials used in construction of spacecraft <br>
could be wide-reaching; the planes have been developed using <br>sophisticated silicon treatment to give them a high heat <br>resistance capacity. <br><br>Ultimately, Japan's small steps in the international space race <br>
could prove to be great leaps in terms of its profile as an <br>astronomical explorer.<br><br>Peter Harris<br>Editor-in-Chief<br><br>----------- Java Training Course in English -------------<br><br>You don't have to leave Japan in order to enjoy<br>
high-quality, advanced IT training in English!<br><br>Learn Java at our downtown Tokyo training center:<br><br>'Core Java and Web App Development using Servlets/JSPs'<br>March 3-7 (5 days - total of 40 hours of training)<br>
<br>Other courses to be offered this Spring include:<br><br>4-day Intensive Project Management Professional(PMP)<br>Certification Prep Course<br><br>1-2 day Intensive Courses on Building Secure Web<br>Applications (Microsoft .NET and Java tracks available)<br>
<br>InnoSoft Japan K.K<br>For more information visit <a href="http://www.innosoft.co.jp" target="_blank">www.innosoft.co.jp</a><br>or contact us at 03-6868-3000<br><br>---------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br><br>
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<br>------------------- Financial Times------------------------<br><br>Established in 1888 and published in 23 major cities, the<br>Financial Times is essential reading for the global business<br>community, providing news in print and online around the<br>
clock to more than 1.3 million readers worldwide.<br><br>In both its print and online versions, the FT has a reputation<br>for authority, balance and depth of coverage.<br>With 400 specialist journalists in 70 offices around the<br>
world, and unrivaled access to global business and government<br>leaders, the FT 's global business intelligence and insight<br>will help you start the day fully briefed on significant<br>events in business, politics and finance.<br>
<br>FT newspaper and FT.com (one year subscription - 310 issues)<br><br>Normal retail price:<br>JPY219,647<br>You pay:<br>JPY90,720 ( Saving you 54%.)<br><br>If you would like to subscribe please call our dedicated<br>customer service team on 0120-341-468 or<br>
visit <a href="http://www.ftasia.net/japaninc" target="_blank">www.ftasia.net/japaninc</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>++EVENTS<br><br>--------------- ICA Event - Feb 21 -----------------------<br>
<br>Event: Round Table Discussion - Successful Growth<br>through Planned Execution<br><br>Speakers: D. Forncrook, J. Glasser and J. Gabriella<br><br>Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/" target="_blank">http://www.icajapan.jp/</a><br>
(RSVP Required)<br>Date: Thursday, Feb 21, 2008<br>Time: 6:30 Doors open includes open bar (sponsored by Skillhouse)<br>and light buffet<br>Cost: 3,500 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members)<br>Open to all - venue is The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan<br>
<br><a href="http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map" target="_blank">http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Start a Company in Japan<br><br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 1st of March, 2008<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/" target="_blank">http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/</a><br><br>----------- Java Training Course in English -------------<br><br>You don't have to leave Japan in order to enjoy<br>
high-quality, advanced IT training in English!<br><br>Learn Java at our downtown Tokyo training center:<br><br>'Core Java and Web App Development using Servlets/JSPs'<br>March 3-7 (5 days - total of 40 hours of training)<br>
<br>Other courses to be offered this Spring include:<br><br>4-day Intensive Project Management Professional(PMP)<br>Certification Prep Course<br><br>1-2 day Intensive Courses on Building Secure Web<br>Applications (Microsoft .NET and Java tracks available)<br>
<br>InnoSoft Japan K.K<br>For more information visit <a href="http://www.innosoft.co.jp" target="_blank">www.innosoft.co.jp</a><br>or contact us at 03-6868-3000<br><br>---------------------------------------------------------<br>
Marcus Evans Events - Supported by J@pan Inc<br>
<br>-Customer Relationship Excellence<br>15th - 16th April 2008, Hilton Tokyo<br><a href="http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13548" target="_blank">http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13548</a><br>
This event features leading speakers from Daihatsu Motor,<br>Daimler Japan, General Motors, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor,<br>Mitsubishi Motors, Toyota Motor and Johnson Controls<br>Automotive Systems Corporation. Don't miss this out!<br>
<br>-Compensation and Benefits<br>27th - 28th May, Tokyo<br>This event provides Japanese firms the understanding and<br>'how-to' of investing in their employees for the purpose<br>of sustaining their businesses Corporations nowadays need<br>
to formulate a business-driven compensation policy that<br>leverages human capital to drive corporate growth.<br><br>'J@pan Inc readers are entitled to a 10% discount upon<br>registration with Ms. Esther Wong.'<br>
<br>For further details and brochures, please contact:<br>Ms. Esther Wong<br>Tel No: +603 2723 6736<br>Fax No: +603 2723 6699<br>Email add: <a href="mailto:estherw@marcusevanskl.com" target="_blank">estherw@marcusevanskl.com</a><br>
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