This post is also available in: JapaneseI occasionally buy objects in local antiques shops which are a hybrid of Japanese and British design and manufacturing. Most of these date from the late 19th or early 20th century when Japonaiserie was at its peak in Europe. Last year I bought a milk jug decorated with a…

This post is also available in: JapaneseMany Japanese companies such as Hitachi and Fujitsu are introducing a “job-type” (job-kei in Japanese) system. The term “job-type” will not be familiar to Europeans, so we will draw on a series in the Nikkei Business  to explain the background to this change. It’s common practice in Japan to…

This post is also available in: JapaneseI was recently asked what Japanese company’s mission statement I most admired and I said Horiba’s “Omoshiro okashiku” which is translated into English as “Joy and Fun” (but the fun also means quirky, or as Horiba says “interesting” which is what I think many Japanese companies are to Western…

This post is also available in: JapaneseApart from my books and other books and articles by Japan Intercultural Consulting consultants, I recommend: The classics of foreigners writing about Japan The Chrysanthemum and the Sword – Ruth Benedict, 1946 Empire of Signs – Roland Barthes, 1970 The Roads to Sata – Alan Booth, 1985 The Enigma…

This post is also available in: JapaneseI spoke to a group of Japanese managers in London last year on the topic of my last article “I love Japan but I don’t want to work in a Japanese company” – an attitude I have heard from young Europeans who have studied Japanese at university, or worked…

This post is also available in: JapaneseThe wave of Japanese investment into UK after NSK’s first step in 1974, feared by many in the UK, did not happen immediately. Under the Labour government of 1974-79, there was double digit inflation, unemployment of over 1 million, the IMF bail out in 1976 and the Winter of…