* * * * * * * * * T E R R I E 'S T A K E * * * * * * *<br>A weekly roundup of news & information from Terrie Lloyd.<br>(<a href="http://www.terrie.com">http://www.terrie.com</a>)<br><br>General Edition Sunday, March 13, 2011, Issue No. 605<br>
<br>+++ INDEX<br><br>- What's New -- The Long Walk Home on Friday<br>- News -- Power cuts for Tokyo on Monday March 13th?<br>- Candidate Roundup/Vacancies<br>- Upcoming Events<br>- Corrections/Feedback<br>- News Credits<br>
<br>SUBSCRIBE to, UNSUBSCRIBE from Terrie's Take at:<br><a href="http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie">http://mailman.japaninc.com/mailman/listinfo/terrie</a><br><br>BACK ISSUES<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/terries_take">http://www.japaninc.com/terries_take</a>, or,<br>
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<br>----------- PBXL is BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS ------------<br><br><br>+++ WHAT'S NEW<br><br>We were on a train at Takadanobaba on the JR Yamanote <br>loop line when the Sendai earthquake struck on Friday. At <br>first we thought the shaking was turbulence from a passing <br>
train, but when it kept growing in intensity it became <br>obvious that it was an earthquake. We quickly got off the <br>train and standing on the platform watched a surreal scene <br>start to unfold in the main street leading to the station. <br>
Buildings swayed, some remarkably so, windows flexed in and<br>out making you wonder why they didn't burst, and office <br>workers were pouring out of their buildings to the street, <br>confused and concerned.<br><br>
Luckily Tokyo was largely spared quake damage, and despite <br>the heavy motion, we didn't see any buildings break. <br>Further east in Chiba and south in Yokohama, there were <br>isolated instances of falling masonry, collapsing walls, <br>
and an exploded LNG fuel depot.<br><br>The quake went on for several minutes, a rolling and <br>shaking motion that made you think that some poor bas***ds <br>somewhere else must be getting it much worse. Here in Tokyo<br>
we all think the next big one is going to come from <br>Shizuoka, roaring north up Tokyo Bay and into the <br>metropolis. But as we found out later, the epicenter was in<br>Sendai, 350km to the north. What a difference a mere 350km <br>
makes... and thank god for that.<br><br>After the quake, the station master announced that the JR <br>lines were stopped indefinitely, along with all Tokyo's <br>subway lines. Takadanobaba is some distance from Roppongi <br>
where the office is, and we started wondering how we would <br>get back. Down in front of the station, people were <br>standing around, many not allowed into their buildings <br>until the aftershocks moderated, and others like us <br>
haphazardly stuck somewhere in transit. <br><br>This traffic chaos is the real challenge of living in a big<br>city like Tokyo. We, like 12m or so others, depend on the <br>trains to get us efficiently from one place to the other. <br>
When things run smoothly commuting can be wonderful -- with<br>journeys across town guaranteed to take no more than 20-45 <br>minutes, and fares costing just JPY120-JPY350. 102 subway <br>and overground train lines crisscross Tokyo and make for the <br>
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------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>[...Article continues]<br><br>But when the system is shut down for hours as it was with <br>this earthquake, the convenience we take for granted is <br>transformed into the hard reality of how to get back to the<br>
office or get home. Such was the case on Friday afternoon <br>and evening, when many city workers had to make the <br>decision of whether to queue for 3-4 hours for one of the <br>few packed buses, stay at the office or in a warm train <br>
station entrance (it was 2-3 degrees on Friday evening) for<br>the night, or walk home. Anyone within a 10-15 kilometer <br>radius of downtown chose to walk. Some took cars (sharing <br>rides or renting a car) but soon regretted it as roads <br>
across town were gridlocked for hours.<br><br>Actually we covered this exact traffic scenario in the Japan<br>Inc. magazine back in 2008. See here for details:<br><br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/node/3096">http://www.japaninc.com/node/3096</a><br>
<br>What a remarkable scene Friday night was. Heading out to <br>the suburbs at ten pm, we saw crowds of people on the <br>sidewalks, as if they were out for some Sunday shopping. <br>Office colleagues chatting as the strode; people crowded <br>
around designated smoking spaces and taking a nicotine <br>charge; young women waiting up in street cafes that were <br>open late; crowds lining up at convenience stores getting <br>food and drink for the 3-4 hour power walk ahead. The <br>
atmosphere on the streets was congenial and relaxed. It was<br>Friday night, after all, and everyone was in it together.<br><br>On the way back, an old man called out, "Hey, which way to<br>Shinjuku?" On the train system you don't need to know which<br>
direction is North, and he was trying to orientate himself <br>in the darkness and tall buildings. We walked with him a <br>ways, chatting about how terrible it was in Sendai and did <br>he have any family up there. We got the impression that it <br>
was the first time he'd been thrown in to chat with <br>foreigners. We bid him goodbye and hoped he'd get to <br>Ikebukuro, his final destination and surely another 2-3 <br>hours walk.<br><br>Further along the road, an old couple passed with Dad <br>
pedaling and the wife perched on the back carrier, just <br>like a couple of school kids. They were chatting animatedly<br>and obviously she'd ridden from their distant home to pick <br>up Dad who was stranded in Shibuya and take him home. <br>
Elsewhere, we saw salarymen on rickety old fashioned <br>bicycles that had obviously been borrowed from the company <br>and which are usually used to take mail down to the post <br>office by the juniors. Elsewhere, newspapers reported this<br>
morning that hundreds simply bought a bike at the local<br>Don Quijote or supermarket and rode it home.<br><br>Passing a train station, there was not a single train in <br>sight and the platforms were eerily deserted. It looked for<br>
all intents and purposes like a film set. But then we hurried<br>along as the surrounding buildings suddenly started <br>swaying again, from one of the hundreds of aftershocks that <br>we are experiencing, even now on Sunday, two days later.<br>
<br>We decided to visit the local supermarket to get some <br>veges because it is likely that food will be in short <br>supply over the next few days due to transport congestion <br>and the need to send supplies further north. Fresh bread <br>
was completely sold out, as were milk, eggs, and other <br>essentials. A friend of ours over in Chiba, which was <br>harder hit, told us that yesterday Ito Yokado was sold out <br>of all fresh food and basics. Then this morning we went to <br>
another local supermarket and all fresh meat, fish, bread, <br>tofu, and other consumables are sold out, with more <br>deliveries unlikely before tomorrow or Tuesday. I seems <br>that people maybe fearing another quake might hit closer to<br>
Tokyo. <br><br>Actually, speaking of Chiba, although the quake itself <br>wasn't so bad, those people living on reclaimed land out <br>there, such as Disneyland and surrounding areas, are still <br>without water 48 hours after the quake. This is because <br>
while the buildings themselves are well made and <br>foundations extend deep into the earth, the basic <br>infrastructure of gas and water is just a bunch of pipes <br>stuck into the ground. They had some severe liquifaction in<br>
the area on Friday and we saw a photo of a manhole pipe <br>that was squeezed 2 meters up out of the ground just as if <br>someone had squished the seeds out of a lemon. <br><br>Here in the west side of Tokyo all services are working, <br>
but we're being told of upcoming water and power cuts as <br>the authorities struggle to rebalance the utilities <br>infrastructure to cover the loss of 7 nuclear power <br>stations from Fukushima northwards. We imagine that we may<br>
have to deal with many such inconveniences over the coming <br>days as our contribution to the recovery from what has been<br>Japan's worst earthquake since records started.<br><br>Life goes on, and the earthquake is having all kinds of <br>
side effects you would never think about. However, mostly <br>we are all just thankful that Tokyo was spared, and we <br>watch the TV reports with great sorrow at the devastation <br>experienced in Sendai. Speculation is that the death toll <br>
may rise as high as 10,000 people.<br><br>For those of you wanting to donate or make contact with <br>loved ones here in Japan, this link gives some services <br>that may be of assistance:<br><br><a href="http://metropolis.co.jp/">http://metropolis.co.jp/</a><br>
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management of the employee.<br><br>Also, if you're thinking of Cloud office solutions, take a <br>look at Microsoft's new Business Productivity Online <br>Standard Suite. Terrie mentions Exchange Online in TT602, <br>
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Web: <a href="http://www.biosjp.com">www.biosjp.com</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>+++ NEWS<br><br>- Power cuts possible from Monday March 13th<br>- Keidanren urges quick increase in consumption tax<br>
- More Chinese condo buyers<br>- Tomy to buy RC2 of USA<br>- Bain to buy out Skylark<br><br><br>-> Power cuts possible from Monday March 13th<br><br>After Friday's devastating earthquake and now with two and <br>possibly three reactors in serious trouble and risk of <br>
meltdown, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has <br>warned that it may have to institute power cuts from <br>tomorrow (Monday, March 13th). Apparently the nation has <br>lost about 5%-6% of its overall power generation capacity, <br>
around 20% of the nuclear power capacity. In all, ten <br>reactors have been taken off the grid, 7 by TEPCO and 3 by <br>other operators. ***Ed: How good is your power back up <br>system for your servers? This is another good reason to put<br>
your applications up in the cloud.** (Source: TT commentary<br>from <a href="http://nikkei.com">nikkei.com</a>, Mar 12, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110312D12JF553.htm">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110312D12JF553.htm</a><br>
<br>-> Keidanren urges quick increase in consumption tax<br><br>Just before the earthquake hit, the nation's leading <br>business group, the Japan Business Federation, otherwise <br>known as Keidanren, called for an urgent increase of the <br>
consumption tax from 5% to 10%. Their reasoning was quite <br>simply to cover pensions and other social spending. <br>HOWEVER, it is our guess that the government may seize the <br>earthquake as an opportunity to boost the consumption tax <br>
earlier, so as to help the Sendai recovery effort. ***Ed: <br>In addition, we'd say that Kan is doing a reasonable job <br>of leadership in this crisis. His prospects of staying in <br>power are looking a bit better than they did a week ago.** <br>
(Source: TT from <a href="http://nikkei.com">nikkei.com</a>, Mar 12, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110311D11JFN06.htm">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20110311D11JFN06.htm</a><br><br>-> More Chinese condo buyers<br>
<br>The Japan Times reports that more wealthy Chinese people <br>are buying condos in Japan, particularly in Tokyo and other<br>major cities at which their kids may be attending school. <br>The report says that Daikyo has sold about 50 Lion's <br>
Mansion apartments to Chinese and Taiwanese buyers since <br>July 2010. The company reckons it will hit 300 contracts <br>annually within the next couple of years. Especially <br>popular are condos in Bunkyo-ku, close to Tokyo University.<br>
***Ed: Not just Daikyo. We were over seeing a client in the<br>Sumitomo Fudosan Mita Building, where Sumitomo has a <br>high-end realty operation, and we came across a Chinese <br>tour group of 15 or so people there specifically to look at <br>
condo's. We expect a lot more of this type of activity, given<br>that the Chinese don't actually get to own their own land in <br>China, it belongs to the government. Here, they can buy <br>and hold on to it for generations if they want.** (Source: TT <br>
commentary from <a href="http://japantimes.co.jp">japantimes.co.jp</a>, Mar 12, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110312f1.html">http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110312f1.html</a><br>
<br>-> Tomy to buy RC2 of USA<br><br>M&A by cash flush Japanese companies continues apace, with <br>toymaker Tomy saying that it will buy out rival RC2 <br>Corporation of the USA for US$640m. Apparently Tomy is <br>
paying a premium of 27% on RC2's most recent stock price. <br>The transaction is expected to take place in the next <br>quarter. **Ed: Less kids being born in Japan, this deal <br>certainly makes a lot of sense.** (Source: TT commentary <br>
from <a href="http://businessweek.com">businessweek.com</a>, Mar 10, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9LSOLB80.htm">http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9LSOLB80.htm</a><br><br>
-> Bain to buy out Skylark<br><br>Another notable buyout is that of the Skylark restaurant <br>chain by Bain Capital from Nomura Holdings. Bain will <br>reportedly pay around JPY300bn in cash and debt to buy the <br>business. Skylark is a major chain in Japan, with 3,700 <br>
outlets around the country. It had sales of JPY242bn last <br>year and net profits of JPY7.9bn. (Source: TT commentary <br>from <a href="http://bloomberg.com">bloomberg.com</a>, Mar 11, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://bloom.bg/e4c4Dq">http://bloom.bg/e4c4Dq</a><br>
<br>NOTE: Broken links<br>Many online news sources remove their articles after just a<br>few days of posting them, thus breaking our links -- we<br>apologize for the inconvenience.<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br>
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<a href="http://www.cch-japan.jp">www.cch-japan.jp</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>+++ CANDIDATE ROUND UP/VACANCIES<br><br>=> BiOS, a Division of the LINC Media group, is actively <br>
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<br>** BiOS Job Mail<br><br>Every 2 weeks BiOS sends out a regular communication to its<br>job seeking candidates, called BiOS Job Mail. Every edition<br>carries a list of BiOS's current and most up-to-date<br>vacancies, with each entry featuring a short job<br>
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<br>Interested individuals may e-mail resumes to:<br><a href="mailto:kenji.sakota@biosjp.com">kenji.sakota@biosjp.com</a>.<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br>
<br>+++ UPCOMING EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS<br><br>------------- Entrepreneur Seminar in Tokyo ---------------<br><br>Start a Company in Japan<br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 23rd of April, 2011<br><br>If you have been considering setting up your own company,<br>
find out what it takes to make it successful. Terrie Lloyd,<br>founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan, will be <br>giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on starting <br>up a company in Japan. Over 450 people have taken this <br>
course so far.<br><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:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar">http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br>
<br>+++ CORRECTIONS/FEEDBACK<br><br>In this section we run comments and corrections submitted<br>by readers. We encourage you to spot our mistakes and<br>amplify our points, by email, to <a href="mailto:editors@terrie.com">editors@terrie.com</a>.<br>
<br>*** In TT602, we said that we had moved office and one <br>thing that made the move much easier was the fact that we <br>have put many of our software applications up in the cloud <br>and virtualized the servers they run on. This has both <br>
reduced costs tremendously, and in the event of the recent<br>earthquake, makes us able to support our business even if <br>the office is shut down, so long as employees can work from<br>their homes.<br><br>=> Our reader comments:<br>
<br>- Hosted Exchange is a great solution, but did you consider<br>IMAP for enabling Gmail offline? Google has offered IMAP <br>since pretty much day one meaning you can get Gmail offline<br>in Outlook, in most other email software, and on <br>
smartphones. For reference I used to used a hosted Exchange<br>solution for my private email around 5 years ago before <br>switching to GMail. I now use GMail completely in the cloud<br>and couldn't be happier. <br><br>
- If you are ever considering a hardware upgrade I'd be <br>interested to have you throw Apple hardware into the <br>comparison. I think there are still reasons why companies <br>would not or should not want to make such a switch, but <br>
it's still interesting to see the comparisons by companies <br>as experienced as LINC Media. One of the key factors in Mac<br>OS favor is that it offers Microsoft Exchange support out <br>of the box. <br><br>***********************************************************<br>
END<br><br>SUBSCRIBERS: 8,757 members as of March 13th, 2010<br>(We purge our list regularly.)<br><br>+++ ABOUT US<br><br>STAFF<br>Written by: Terrie Lloyd (<a href="mailto:terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com">terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com</a>)<br>
<br>HELP: E-mail <a href="mailto:Terrie-request@mailman.japaninc.com">Terrie-request@mailman.japaninc.com</a><br>with the word 'help' in the subject or body (don't include<br>the quotes), and you will get back a message with<br>
instructions.<br><br>FEEDBACK<br>Send letters (Feedback, Inquiries & Information) to the<br>editor to <a href="mailto:terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com">terrie.lloyd@japaninc.com</a>.<br><br>ADVERTISING INFORMATION<br>For more information on advertising in this newsletter,<br>
Contact <a href="mailto:ads@japaninc.com">ads@japaninc.com</a>.<br><br>SUBSCRIBE<br>Get Terrie's Take by giving your name and email address at<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up">http://www.japaninc.com/newsletters/free_sign_up</a>, or go<br>
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or, <a href="http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/">http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/</a><br><br>Copyright 2011 Japan Inc. Communications Inc.<br><br>----------------- Japan Inc opens up Japan ----------------<br>
<br>J@pan Inc is Japan's only independently published English-<br>language business website. Authoritatively chronicling <br>online the business trends in Japan, each posting brings <br>you in-depth analysis of business, people and technology in<br>
the world's second largest economy. <br><br>Visit <a href="http://www.japaninc.com">www.japaninc.com</a> for the best business insight on<br>Japan available.<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>
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