April 2012

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E-BULLETIN EXCLUSIVE April 2012

Eccentric Britons Mark Diamond Jubilee

As the UK gears up for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations feting the queen’s amazing 60-year reign, the public—in true eccentric British style—will mark the June occasion in some creative ways, featuring whisky, airplanes, a miniature royal family . . . and, er, toast!
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E-BULLETIN EXCLUSIVE April 2012

Delegate or Die!

Managers and leaders already know that you have to get the right people on the bus and in the right seats. They also know that seat allocation and task alignment must be correctly balanced. High-cost resources should be doing high value tasks and vice versa.
Industry April 2012

Why Software Projects Fail

Information technology (IT) project implementations are complex anywhere, but even more so in Japan given its management style and project team structures.
Visiting Japan April 2012

High Tea—at 30,000 Feet

There is nothing more quintessentially English than afternoon tea—and Japanese people flying with Virgin Atlantic Airways are lapping up the new service.
Sport April 2012

Rugby Sevens Returns to Tokyo

World-class sevens returned to Tokyo on 31 March and 1 April, when the International Rugby Board (IRB) brought Round 7 of the Sevens World Series to Japan.
Interview April 2012

Donald Keene

An exclusive interview with Japanese literature expert, Donald Keene, since becoming citizen of Japan at age 89.
Arts & Culture April 2012

Arts Events

Arts events compiled by Shoko Nakamura
Travel April 2012

Wish you were here!

Volunteers tell world Japan is open again for tourism.
Creative April 2012

A Novel Idea

The only professional British manga writer based in Japan has launched Kickstarter campaign to drum up pledges for a new graphic novel that will tell the tale of US left-wing activist, economist, speaker and writer Michael Albert and have an introduction by Noam Chomsky.
Cover Story April 2012

Oldest Rocker in Town

As they stomp noisily into their fifth decade of making punk rock music, the U.K. Subs are also doing their part to assist the people of north-east Japan affected by last year’s disasters with the first date of their nationwide tour being staged in Sendai.
Motors April 2012

Safety First

For cars coming out of the Asia-Pacific region, the task of ensuring that they meet safety requirements falls to Michael Mulvaney and his team of 10 at the VCA offices in Nagoya.
Economy April 2012

Bets on for Legal Casinos

At a packed press conference in Miyazaki on 3 April, Hajime Satomi, chairman and president of Sega Sammy Holdings Inc., added his considerable weight to a debate that has been bubbling for more than a decade.
NPO April 2012

Beware the "Burma Rush"

Much has been made in recent weeks of apparent progress in the campaign for democracy and human rights in Burma (Myanmar), but aid organisations warn that international pressure on the regime must not let up.
BCCJ Event April 2012

Iberian Feast of Food and Wine

Restaurant Davis plays host to Berry Bros. & Rudd wine guru for evening of excellence.
Opinion April 2012

A "Young" Nation

In March I visited Goa, in western India, for a biannual global partners’ meeting of Glasford International, a partnership of independent, retained executive search firms with offices in some 40 countries, and represented in Japan by TMT Inc.
Nuclear April 2012

N-Power Splits EU

The impact of the disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant on the rest of the world’s acceptance of atomic energy will be relatively brief and the issue will be “off the agenda” in as little as eight years, according to Professor David Cope, director of the Houses of Parliament’s Office of Science and Technology.
April 2012

Spring Is in The Air

The weather is improving, sakura are beginning to blossom and there is, dare I say it, a sense of change in the Japanese economy. The unexpected intervention by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) on St Valentine’s Day surprised the markets, not with a box of chocolates but another slug of quantitative easing that has set the yen on a weakening trend.
Olympics April 2012

Hiroshi Hoketsu

The first time 71-year-old Hiroshi Hoketsu competed in an Olympic Games, most of the other athletes who will be at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games had not even been born.
Opinion April 2012

Taking Care of Stakeholders

When all is said and done, a firm survives and prospers only with the consent of key stakeholders.
Media April 2012

Whistleblower Woodford Named Person of the Year

It's been an interesting year for Michael Woodford whose image has fared much better than that of his former employer, Olympus, in the wake of a scandal that laid Japanese business practices bare.
Media April 2012

Lady Thatcher Film Launched

Lady Margaret Thatcher to be brought to screen by an American actress formidable in her own right.
Media April 2012

Designer's Long Ties with Japan

Four-time British Fashion Awards winner Sir Paul Smith has a love affair with Japan that has lasted three decades.
Media April 2012

New Nissan to be Built in North-East

Nissan plans to build 100,000 Invitation cars per annum at its north-east UK plant creating new jobs in the process.
Media April 2012

Marking 50 Years of The Rolling Stones

In June, Suntory Liquors Ltd. will release a line of alcoholic beverages commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones.
Media April 2012

News in Brief

London comes to Ginza, new international university rankings are in, and fresh nuclear protests rise up in Wales in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.
Simon Farrell Publisher
April 2012

Cover Story

Not everyone will find allure in our striking cover shot of a snarling punk rocker; but then we can hardly be accused of being predictable and staid.
Lori Henderson MBE Executive Director
April 2012

Back to Business: Update

Following the success of our “Special 51 Night—Road to Recovery” event on 8 March, at which BCCJ member firms and friends raised more than ¥3.5mn for our Back to Business (B2B) Initiatives, we are now working to allocate funds to suitable projects in Tohoku, and continue facilitating micro-economic growth there.
Books April 2012

Book Reviews

Ian de Stains reviews Nicholas Comfort's "Surrender: How British Industry Gave Up the Ghost 1952-2012" and Tony Banks' "My War and After"
Design April 2012

Classic Meets Contemporary

The Tokyo office of advertising agency I&S BBDO recently won a Best of Show Design Lotus Award at Adfest in Pattaya, Thailand, with a creation for food retailer Umino Seaweed.
Japanese Media April 2012

What You Missed In The Japanese Press

To reduce fixed costs, more firms have been relocating away from Tokyo’ s high-rent areas by delegating their back-office functions such as accounting, administration, personnel, procurements, etc., to outside the metropolitan area, or in some cases outside Japan.