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</style><p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
The '<span class="il">JIN</span>' J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends in Japan.<br>
Issue No. 526 Wednesday, February 2, 2011, Tokyo</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">The Island Of Dr. Galapagos: Reframing
Japan's
isolation as a valuable business laboratory </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">In
recent months the term known as the "Galapagos Effect" has once again
been thrust into the spotlight in regards to describing Japan's separate and often rarified
manner of business, cultural and technological development. With China being hailed as the new hot spot in Asia, as well as the new number two economy, some
Japanese interests have decided that a cultural jujitsu approach may be in
order. Sharp defiantly released a tablet computer recently called the
Galapagos, and in January the Asahi Shimbun's editorial ranks optimistically
coined the phrase "Cool Galapagos" (i.e. Japan's differences born of
isolation are what make Japan cool, and thus still globally relevant). </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">In
truth, the isolation-fed "only in Japan" gadgets, cultural quirks,
and wholly unique approaches to all manner of areas are often the very things
that attract so many Westerners to the shores of Japan either as wide-eyed
visitors, or intrepid transplants hoping to experience what life on "another
planet" might be like. But in practice, these differences in execution and
expression often make it difficult for Japan to connect to the rest of the
business community and consumers around the world.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">But even in the face of such globalization crippling cultural
perspectives, for the local expat living in Japan, this Galapagos Effect actually
serves as an invaluable opportunity to witness a number of uncommon
sociological and business experiments that one would never have the chance to
witness anywhere else. One such Japan
business experiment that recently drew my attention was the Only Free Paper
store (<a href="http://www.onlyfreepaper.com">www.onlyfreepaper.com</a>) based in Shibuya, Tokyo. </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Located
on the edge of one of Tokyo's priciest shopping districts (Omotesando) the shop
lives up to its name by displaying a variety of print publications—all
available free of charge. You might expect that there is some other aspect that
frames this enterprise, such as a lucrative café business (drink expensive cappuccino
while reading your free publication), or ancillary merchandise for sale (a selection
of pricey book/magazine enthusiast ephemera, for instance), but you would be
wrong. Within the Only Free Paper shop exists…only free papers (about 400
different publications, according to the shop). </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Created
by former salaryman Kouta Ishizaki, the shop's website indicates that there will
be occasional events at the shop and guests can rent out a section of the tiny
store as a kind of gallery display space, but nothing indicates that this will
be the shop's primary source of revenue. Perhaps the most amazing thing about
the Only Free Paper shop is the fact that on its website the owner states that
the publications distributed at the shop are meant to primarily service the
teenager to 30-year-old demographic—a group seen by many as having already
passed print by for more tech-savvy content delivery options like iPads and smartphones.
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Fascinated
by the prospect of such a counterintuitive move in these days of "print is
dead" nay-saying by many tech pundits in the West, I had to visit the
store in-person to try to get a sense of what Ishizaki was trying to do with
this shop. Upon arrival, I opened the door and received none of the usual
enthusiastic <i>"<em>irashaimase!</em>" </i>greetings I've
come to expect when entering a Japanese shop. Instead, a young woman sat behind
a counter with her head buried in a magazine, while a man near the counter silently
unpacked the shop's latest supply of free magazines. Due to the small size of
the shop, my tour was brief, but informative. As the website states, most of
the free magazines seemed geared toward a younger demographic, there were no
flyers or racy publications on display, and most of the magazines I saw were in
Japanese. </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">While I
have no data to confirm what the shop's rent is, I know the area quite well and
even old, small retail spaces in that area typically run in the neighborhood of
150,000 to 250,000 yen a month (on the low end of the scale). Taking that into
consideration, and assuming the shop's workers are volunteers with at least a
transportation stipend, Ishizaki's road to profitability, much less sustainability,
is unclear. Nevertheless, the shop exists and, according to Ishizaki, has a
healthy stream of visitors since its opening about a month ago. </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Despite
the apparent lack of a revenue model, the shop has been largely greeted with
enthusiasm, which tells me two things that I had already suspected: 1. In
Japan, print is far from dead, and 2. Although it may not be readily apparent,
there is valuable business intel to glean from this experiment that may be
relevant to Japanese (and Western) publishers attempting make sense of the new
digitally disrupted publishing landscape. </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">In some
ways the Only Free Paper store reminds me of the startups in Silicon
Valley, a place where many services are launched with no revenue
model in place, as the founders bet their time and money that their unique
offering will somehow reveal its inherent value as it comes into heavy public use.
Immediate examples that come to mind are Twitter (currently valued at $4 billion)
and Facebook (currently valued at $50 billion), services that seemed to most
pundits, at least initially, to be interesting curio businesses with no real
future in the way of profitability. </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">The
difference with Only Free Paper is that the experiment involves a medium that
is so universally tagged as obsolete, one could be excused for using the
"only in Japan" trope to describe why this shop even exists. But
therein lies the value for the observant non-Japanese business person. Although
Japanese business may still suffer from the Galapagos Effect, as they watch their
Korean and Chinese neighbors more rapidly and effectively embrace Asia's new
status as a global business leader, the unique business offerings and
experiments present in Japan offer the local, open-minded non-Japanese business
person priceless data on new business models and approaches that might not be available
outside of the country. "Cool Japan" and "Cool Galapagos"
may be a hard sell for infrequent visitors attempting to pierce the business
culture of Japan, but for the experienced Japan observer, the isolated business
experiments buttressed by the country's so-called Galapagos Effect are probably
one of the most attractive aspects of doing business in Japan. <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"><br>
-Adario Strange</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;" align="left">
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<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Start a Company in Japan</span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 19th of February, 2011</span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">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
at The Executive Centre<br>
(Tokyo Bankers Club).</span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">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.</span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Date: Feb 19th, 2011 (SAT)<br>
Location: The Executive Centre (Tokyo
Bankers Club)</span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">For more details:<br>
<a href="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar" title="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar">http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar</a></span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">Contact information for The Executive Centre (Mr. Paul
Taylor)<br>
TEL: 090-9363-9605 / Email: <a href="mailto:Paul_Taylor@ExecutiveCentre.com">Paul_Taylor@ExecutiveCentre.com</a></span></font></p>
<p style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><font size="2"><span lang="EN-US">-----------------------------------------------------------</span></font></p>
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