* * * * * * * * * 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, October 30, 2011, Issue No. 636<br>
<br>+++ INDEX<br><br>- What's New -- New Unskilled Worker Immigration?<br>- News -- Despite tsunami, nuclear power still much cheaper<br>- Candidate Roundup/Vacancies<br>- Upcoming Events<br>- Corrections/Feedback -- Michael Woodford praise<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>
<a href="http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/">http://mailman.japaninc.com/pipermail/terrie/</a><br><br><br>-------------- PBXL SUPPORTS SMALL BUSINESS ---------------<br><br>MOVING TO A NEW OFFICE? DON'T BUY A PBX! At PBXL, we <br>
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e-mail us at <a href="mailto:info@pbxl.jp">info@pbxl.jp</a> or call us at 03-4550-2557<br><br>------------- PBXL is BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS -------------<br><br>+++ WHAT'S NEW<br><br>Interesting news out on Friday that the Japanese government<br>
is telling major manufacturers hit by the floods in <br>Thailand that they can bring their Thai workforces to Japan<br>for up to 6 months. According to the Nikkei, the chief <br>cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, is saying that they will<br>
give permission to around 30 companies to bring in <br>"thousands" of people. There are no deeper details at this <br>stage as to which companies will be allowed to bring people<br>in, nor which visa mechanism the government will use. A <br>
training visa perhaps? Or maybe some kind of special <br>purpose visa that automatically expires after 6 months?<br><br>This program is a surprisingly dynamic and pragmatic <br>response from the government, and it's also filled with <br>
challenging points of risk. For example, what about the <br>risk of Thai workers suddenly doing a "runner" and trying <br>to get work from some other company here in Japan? The <br>constitution guarantees the right of employment to all, <br>
and once someone is legally working here, we assume it <br>will cover these temporary workers as well.<br><br>We can just see workers unions picking up on some of these <br>Thai workers and pointing out that they are being <br>
underpaid, overworked, disadvantaged, or whatever -- which <br>we imagine they will be... Companies are hardly likely to <br>be bringing these Thai workers in at Japanese rates. <br>Probably they will given free housing and air fares, then <br>
paid the same salary as they have been getting back in <br>Thailand. Given the cost of food here, there won't be much <br>left over.<br><br>[Continued below...]<br><br>-- NAGAMINE & MISHIMA - Securing Your Success in Japan ---<br>
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Our services help customers improve their operations and <br>bottom line results. <br><br>To find out more about our services and how we can help <br>your business in Japan succeed, please visit our website <br><a href="http://www.nagamine-mishima.com">www.nagamine-mishima.com</a> or reach us directly by telephone<br>
at 03-3581-1975 or by email at <a href="mailto:info@nagamine-mishima.com">info@nagamine-mishima.com</a>.<br><br>---------- YOUR BOTTOM LINE IS OUR TOP PRIORITY------------<br><br>[...Article continues]<br><br>Then what about health support issues? Thousands of people <br>
from a developing country are bound to mean thousands of <br>sickness cases that have to be medically seen to by someone<br>who can communicate with them, and that's not counting <br>potential issues with health insurance. OK, maybe the <br>
companies will be made to cover the health costs, but it only <br>takes one bad appendicitis case where the Thai worker dies, <br>to make this program and the country to look really bad. <br><br>When bureaucrats think out of the box and take a risk like <br>
this, they are probably not just doing it to help 30 companies <br>over a difficult 6 months. No, rather, we suspect that this is a <br>trial run for a larger program to be implemented at some <br>point. That is, Japan may be gearing up for a new form of <br>
low-cost labor -- bringing in groups of people for short <br>periods and ensuring that they have to go home afterwards. <br>This is essentially what the "training" visas have been up <br>until now, but those visas required long-term commitment on <br>
both sides and due to suicides, trainee detentions and <br>abuse, have been thoroughly discredited.<br><br>So how do we tell if this is a deeper move? The clue will <br>be in just how detailed the visa arrangements are. If highly<br>
structured, then our take is that this is a dead give away<br>that there is longer-term thinking at work.<br><br>If so, then who in Japan needs a group of unskilled workers<br>with short-term visas? Clearly the big manufacturers do. As<br>
the floods in Thailand have amply revealed. Japan may have <br>diversified its manufacturing base, but it is still very <br>vulnerable to localized events like the floods. The same <br>thing would apply to manufacturers in China. A sweeping <br>
anti-Japanese political movement would quickly disable key <br>manufacturing plants around that country.<br><br>But the group that we think most needs these visas is the <br>agricultural sector. Farms don't need intensive care all year<br>
round. The main time of need is harvesting, followed by <br>sowing or spring-time preparation. Up in Hokkaido last <br>week, we were told of a major blueberry farm which is <br>allowing tons of its valuable crop to rot on the ground <br>
due to a lack of labor to pick and pack. Because of the <br>aging population in the farming sector, this scenario is<br>being repeated around the nation's many apple, peach, pear,<br>corn, onion, cabbage, and other fruit and vegetable <br>
farms.<br><br>There are a number of other countries which have the same <br>agricultural labor shortage problems and which have <br>confronted these with viable solutions -- Germany, <br>Australia, and NZ to name a few. But the country that seems <br>
most advanced in recognizing the need for seasonal migrant <br>workers and structuring for that need is Canada, which has <br>its Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). About <br>16,000 seasonal migrant workers travel from Mexico, the <br>
Caribbean, and some other countries to work in apple and <br>other fruit harvesting; canning/food processing; bee and <br>flower production; and ginseng, sod, tobacco, and <br>greenhouse and field vegetable harvesting every year.<br>
<br>Importantly, SAWP protects those temporary workers in terms<br>of pay, health, and other support. The average hourly wage <br>in 2006 was CA$8.58. Workers are able to stay in Canada for<br>up to 8 months, earning "good worker credits" from the <br>
farms, and with these credit ratings they can then go to the <br>top of the applicant list for the following year. Here is a <br>good story on the Canadian program: <a href="http://bit.ly/uQuqhJ">http://bit.ly/uQuqhJ</a>.<br>
<br>This could work in Japan. <br><br>The current program for bringing Thai workers to Japan is a<br>good idea, but the devil will be in the details. If the <br>planned temporary migration is part of a bigger experiment,<br>
then we just hope that the Japanese look further afield <br>for an immigration model and introduce a transparent and <br>properly structured program that works better to protect <br>the rights and conditions of foreign temporary workers than<br>
the previous training visa program did.<br><br><br>...The information janitors/<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br><br>--------- BIOS - Bilingual IT Systems and Support ---------<br><br>
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<br>+++ NEWS<br><br>- Despite tsunami, nuclear power still much cheaper<br>- Baird Brewing back in the news<br>- Vacation Veranda wins Silver<br>- Thai floods may knock out Honda for 6 months<br>- Trawler lands bag of cash off Iwate-ken<br>
<br><br>-> Despite tsunami, nuclear power still much cheaper<br><br>The Japan Atomic Energy Commission has released figures <br>estimating that the cost of Japan's nuclear power has risen<br>about 20% due to the Fukushima accident, and now costs <br>
consumers around JPY1.1kW/hr. This compares to the cost of <br>coal-fueled power which is around JPY5.7kW/hr, and hydro <br>which is around JPY11.9kW/hr. The JAEC went on to estimate <br>that the likelihood of another Fukushima-style accident is <br>
once every 500 operating years. ***Ed: Of course, with more<br>than 50 reactors, this means even the JAEC thinks there <br>will be an accident every 10 years. We're certainly not <br>impressed by those odds...** (Source: TT commentary from <br>
<a href="http://yomiuri.co.jp">yomiuri.co.jp</a>, Oct 26, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111025005767.htm">http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111025005767.htm</a><br><br>-> Baird Brewing back in the news<br>
<br>Last year in TT-568 <br>(<a href="http://www.japaninc.com/tt568_worlds-best-beer">http://www.japaninc.com/tt568_worlds-best-beer</a>), we <br>covered the fact that a small Shizuoka brew house called <br>Baird Brewing, walked off with 3 gold medals in the World <br>
Beer Championships in Chicago. It has taken a year to get <br>the Japanese mainstream press to pay attention, but finally<br>it appears that Baird Brewing has "arrived", with the <br>Nikkei covering a recent visit by them and three other <br>
brewers to the Japan Society in New York. Although there <br>was no announcement of more gold medals, Baird apparently <br>did share some facts about the small but growing craft <br>brewing market in Japan, saying that there are 180 craft <br>
breweries which between them have just 1% of the overall <br>Japanese beer market. ***Ed: They have some ways to go <br>then, but at least they're getting recognized for their<br>efforts.** (Source: TT commentary from <a href="http://e.nikkei.com">e.nikkei.com</a>, Oct <br>
28, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20111028D28HH577.htm">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20111028D28HH577.htm</a><br><br>-> Vacation Veranda wins Silver<br><br>Another locally-based foreign entrepreneur who is winning <br>
medals is Teddy Jennings, who owns what is possibly the <br>most unique business in Japan. Vacation Verandas "dresses <br>up" dirty porches and verandas so that apartment dwellers <br>can feel like they are living somewhere a bit nicer. <br>
Teddy's talent was confirmed this last week when one of his<br>designs won Silver at the Hibiya Garden Show. Apparently he<br>was the only foreign designer competing and he beat out <br>many large garden and architectural firms in spite of this <br>
being the first year to compete. ***Ed: Vacation Veranda <br>really is unique. See more on the photo gallery at Teddy's <br>website.** (Source: TT commentary from <a href="http://vacationveranda.com">vacationveranda.com</a>,<br>
Oct 28, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://bit.ly/rFaPdK">http://bit.ly/rFaPdK</a><br><br>-> Thai floods may knock out Honda for 6 months<br><br>The Nikkei is reporting that flood damage to the Honda <br>Motor plants in Thailand may take up to 6 months to <br>
repair, thus reducing output by 100,000 units, or 3% of <br>global production. Honda is apparently the only Japanese <br>auto maker whose facility was directly damaged, although <br>all makers are reporting problems and delays. The flooding <br>
is 2-3 meters deep in the area of the Honda factory park <br>and will take another 2-3 weeks to recede so that damage <br>can be assessed. (Source: TT commentary from <a href="http://e.nikkei.com">e.nikkei.com</a>, <br>Oct 30, 2011)<br>
<br><a href="http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20111029D29JFF03.htm">http://e.nikkei.com/e/ac/tnks/Nni20111029D29JFF03.htm</a><br><br>-> Trawler lands bag of cash off Iwate-ken<br><br>A fishing boat trawling off the cost near Ofunato City in <br>
Iwate-ken has apparently hauled in more than it expected, <br>when it landed a bag containing more than JPY11m in ten <br>thousand yen bank notes. This is latest such cash catch <br>reported by fishermen. Apparently home savings swept out <br>
to sea are showing up on a regular basis. The money has <br>been turned in to the police, and if no one claims it <br>within 6 months, it will become property of the finders. <br>***Ed: With more than 20,000 people dead or missing, <br>
there's a strong chance there will be no claimant.** <br>(Source: TT commentary from <a href="http://ninemsn.com.au">ninemsn.com.au</a>, Oct 30, 2011)<br><br><a href="http://bit.ly/uAnzpp">http://bit.ly/uAnzpp</a><br>
<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>
<br>+++ CANDIDATE ROUND UP/VACANCIES<br><br>=> BiOS, a Division of the LINC Media group, is actively<br>marketing the following positions for customers setting up<br>or expanding in Japan, as well as other employers of<br>
bilinguals.<br><br>** HIGHLIGHTED POSITION<br><br>BiOS is urgently looking for a Bilingual Desktop Engineer <br>with experience to act as a single point of contact for any<br>incidents and inquires regarding infrastructure and <br>
application support, at our client’s office in the <br>Shinagawa area. The candidate will be responsible for end <br>user support, service desk management, project management, <br>and for managing both infrastructure and application issues<br>
by following ITIL principles. They will also be responsible<br>for Data Center operation Support, including backing backup<br>monitoring as well as a daily system check. Lastly, they <br>will be responsible for conducting end user training on <br>
office IT products and environment.<br><br>Due to the technical nature and demanding work environment,<br>this position is suitable for someone with solid experience<br>as a desktop or user support engineer for at least 3 years.<br>
In addition, since this role requires supporting end users <br>in both English and Japanese, business-level communication <br>skills in English and native-level communication skills in <br>Japanese will be required.<br><br>
Remuneration is JPY5m – JPY8m depending on your experience <br>and skill level.<br><br>** POSITIONS VACANT<br><br>- Asset Refresh Project Engr, global bank, JPY4M – JPY4.5M<br>- Service Delivery Manager, Japanese IT co, JPY9M – JPY12M<br>
- Senior Netcare Engineer, BiOS, JPY4.5M – JPY5.5M<br>- Data Center Engineer, global ibank, JPY4M – JPY4.5M<br>- Bilingual Helpdesk Engineer, BiOS, JPY 3.5M – JPY4M<br><br>Interested individuals may e-mail resumes to:<br>
<a href="mailto:tomohiro.kimura@biosjp.com">tomohiro.kimura@biosjp.com</a><br><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>description and a direct link to the main entry on the BiOS<br>home page. Regardless of whether you are unemployed and<br>
searching, thinking about a career change, or just curious<br>to know if there is something out there that might suit you<br>better, the BiOS Job Mail newsletter is an easy and<br>convenient way for you to stay informed. If you would like<br>
to register for the BiOS Job Mail, or to find out more,<br>please email <a href="mailto:kenji.sakota@biosjp.com">kenji.sakota@biosjp.com</a>.<br><br>Interested individuals may e-mail resumes to:<br><a href="mailto:tomohiro.kimura@biosjp.com">tomohiro.kimura@biosjp.com</a><br>
<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>***------------------------****-------------------------***<br><br>+++ UPCOMING EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS<br><br>---------------- Start a Company in Japan -----------------<br>
<br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 3rd of December, 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 17 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.<br><br>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,<br>and to ask specific questions that are not normally <br>answered in business books. All materials are in English <br>
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>------------------ ICA Event - November 17 ----------------<br><br>Speaker: Marc Wesseling<br>Title: Japanese Social Media: Top Trends<br><br>Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/">http://www.icajapan.jp/</a><br>
(RSVP Required)<br><br>Date: Thursday, November 17, 2011<br>Time: 6:30 Doors open, Buffet Dinner included and cash bar<br>Cost: 3,500 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members) Open to<br>all venue is The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan<br>
<a href="http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map">http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map</a><br><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 TT-635 we told the story of whistleblower Michael<br>Woodford, who was fired from Olympus as its CEO after<br>challenging the board to step down and take responsibility<br>for 4 dubious M&A deals that cost the company hundreds of<br>
millions of dollars in excess fees.<br><br>=> Reader says: Michael Woodford has balls of steel, not <br>only for taking on a high level of personal responsibility <br>in taking on the CEO post (assuming he would have to <br>
understand the culture) but also for approaching the board <br>directly about it despite placing his own position at risk.<br>Good on him for making copies of the evidence.<br><br>I hope he has good personal security arrangements in <br>
place... there are going to be some very angry individuals <br>out there.<br><br>***********************************************************<br>END<br><br>SUBSCRIBERS: 8,359 members as of Oct 30, 2011<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>
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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>
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