April / May 2010

Ian de Stains OBE
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...
Simon Farrell Publisher
April / May 2010

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...
April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

Sony Buys Game Maker

Main Feature April / May 2010

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"
Embassy April / May 2010

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...
Industry April / May 2010

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...
Industry April / May 2010

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?
Business Risk April / May 2010

Overview of Asia

Managing and growing a sustainable business in Asia can present unique challenges to foreign multinational corporations and overseas investors...
Visiting Japan April / May 2010

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...
Hospitality April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Books April / May 2010

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...
Industry April / May 2010

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...
Sir David Warren KCMG
April / May 2010

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...
Industry April / May 2010

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.
Investor April / May 2010

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...
Politics April / May 2010

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.
Media April / May 2010

BA-JAL Expand Codeshare

JAL and BA have reached an agreement to expand their oneworld® code-sharing partnership, the Nikkei reported in March...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

GSK Denture Adhesive Recalled

GlaxoSmithKline plc withdrew from sale their denture adhesive New Poligrip EX, the Nikkei reported in March...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

Cornish Cream Teas Exported

A Cornish tea plantation will export cream teas to Japan, the BBC and UK newspapers reported in March...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Relocation April / May 2010

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...
Feature Article April / May 2010

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...
BCCJ Event April / May 2010

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...
Media April / May 2010

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...
Feature Article April / May 2010

Dyson

There are some ideas so revolutionary, so simple, and so blindingly clever that they deserve all the acclaim they receive. As millions of house-proud people around the world would tell you, the bag-free vacuum cleaner launched in 1993 by Dyson is right up there with sliced bread.
April / May 2010

April-May Letters

Media April / May 2010

Media

UK- Japan News