April / May 2010
Changing of the Guards
April is always a time of change in the Chamber. With 31 March marking the end of one fiscal year and 1 April the start of the next, there are fiscal matters requiring attention...
Change For the Better
From aerospace to toiletries and asset management to organic products, many industries with a foreign presence here would like to level the playing field when it comes to market access and regulations...
End of an Era
At the April annual general meeting, I stepped down as president of the Chamber and chairman of its Executive Committee. After three years in that capacity, I did so with mixed feelings...Sony Buys Game Maker
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has bought innovative UK video game developer Media Molecule for an undisclosed amount, the INSIDE game website reported in March...Sony Buys Game Maker
ADVOCACY AT WORK
"Women are also more likely than men to speak English, which is useful if they work for foreign firms or Japanese firms with foreign clients or overseas offices staffed by foreigners"
Parental Child Abduction and The Hague Convention
The high number of cases of international parental child abduction has recently started to come under the spotlight in Japan...
Cut your office costs without cutting corners…
The economic outlook for 2010 and beyond is looking increasingly bright. However, current conditions are challenging and most businesses are focused on cutting costs, including overheads...
Make Moving Easier
What is the complication in “Helping People Move” these days? Why is there so much involved in finding that house under budget for someone moving to Japan?
Overview of Asia
Managing and growing a sustainable business in Asia can present unique challenges to foreign multinational corporations and overseas investors...
Jancis Robinson, OBE
Although already renowned for its sake and beer, Japan has yet to share the international recognition for its wines that is enjoyed by other wine-producing nations such as Australia and New Zealand...
More Than Location
Serviced apartments have weathered the recession well, partly due to the nature of the industry, said Martin Fluck, Japan country manager of Oakwood Asia Pacific...
Arts Talk
Jude Kelly, OBE, chair of the 2012 London Olympics’ arts, education and culture committee, addressed the Beppu Art Project in Kitahama, the Nishi Nippori Shimbun reported in March...
Extract Value from Consultants How to hire, control and fire them
Outsourcing is on everyone’s lips these days, as firms look to cut costs and add value without compromising quality...
Expatriate Cross-Cultural Training
What is cross-cultural training and what will I learn from it? This is often the first question newly arrived expatriates and their spouses ask me...
Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday
On the occasion of the celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday, it is a great pleasure to be invited to write a message to the readers of BCCJ ACUMEN magazine...
Blended Development
Some managers believe the best solution to employee development is “Let’s buy a training course”. Perhaps that means implementing traditional classroom training or even an online training programme.
FDI Tax Changes
In recent years, there have been a number of changes to the Japanese tax system that have had an impact on foreign investment in Japan and Japanese investment overseas...
Keeping the “D” in the DPJ
The curious case of Yukio Ubukata highlights tension in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) over its internal consultation processes.
BA-JAL Expand Codeshare
JAL and BA have reached an agreement to expand their oneworld® code-sharing partnership, the Nikkei reported in March...Electric Car Investment For Sunderland
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. will invest £420 million to manufacture its electric Leaf car in Sunderland, northeast England, in early 2013...
Cancer Speech
Laura Lee, chief executive of Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, was invited to speak at Kanazawa University, the Mainichi Shimbun reported in February...Round-the-World Record Attempt
A Belfast cancer victim who began a round-the-world fund-raising trip by gyroplane on 22 March will visit 26 countries in four months, including Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported in March...
Flu Drug OK
Japan became the first country to approve the anti-viral influenza drug Rapiacta (peramivir) that is licensed by Shionogi & Co., Ltd. from UK-based BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun reported in January...GSK Denture Adhesive Recalled
GlaxoSmithKline plc withdrew from sale their denture adhesive New Poligrip EX, the Nikkei reported in March...Top Award for Game Designer
Nintendo Entertainment’s Analysis & Development General Manager Shigeru Miyamoto received the coveted fellowship at the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards in London, the Gpara.com website reported in March...Cornish Cream Teas Exported
A Cornish tea plantation will export cream teas to Japan, the BBC and UK newspapers reported in March...
Island Sells ¥3,000 Spuds to London
Kagoshima Prefecture’s rich and creamy annou sweet potato is in demand from posh London restaurants that offer up to ¥3,000 per spud, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported in March...Scots Expo Plan
British Council Japan Director Jason James visited Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Tagami to request the prefecture’s help in organising a Scotland exhibition, the Nagasaki Journal reported in February...
Top Twitcher Visits Hokkaido
A senior official from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was delighted to see a rare red-crested white crane in Hokkaido, the Kushiro Shimbun reported in February...
Manage Your Money When Living Abroad
One thing you don’t want to be worrying about when you’re organising a new job, accommodation, schools and a whole new life abroad is the financial aspects of your future life...
Exporting Innovative Design
During the post-war reconstruction period and the 1980s Bubble era, international architects transformed Japan’s traditional building aesthetic with modernist designs...
Ultimate Teamwork
Generations of executives have attempted to adapt the mindset of the battlefield to the business world, from developing a strategy to defeat corporate rivals to building camaraderie in an inhospitable environment...
Sake Targets Foreign Markets
An award-winning brand has released a DVD in English and brochures in six languages to exploit the trend for sake in the UK and other markets, it was reported in March...
