Report No.29
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Japan Entrepreneur Report No. 29 March 2005
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- Entrepreneurs, buy now!
- Saying Yes to Japan
- Raves and rants
- JER readers in our book
- Bits and bytes
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Entrepreneurs, buy now!
This month's JER is a shameless flogfest for my new book, co-authored by
Carl Kay, entitled Saying Yes to Japan: How Outsiders Are Reviving a
Trillion Dollar Services Market. It's available now at leading online
booksellers. See <www.sayingyestojapan.com/sample/> to download Chapter
One free of charge.
From a distance, Japan is the land that has mastered service: a nation of
white-gloved taxi drivers and consummately polite department store clerks,
where every customer is king. That image is accurate--for low-value
services like gift shopping. But in industries like health care, finance,
real estate and, yes, even information technology, Japan's domestic firms
fall dangerously short of what the rest of the world has to offer.
Most Japanese companies--and Japan watchers abroad--have failed to
appreciate this deficiency, instead focusing on the Japanese skill at
creating gleaming hardware. But this part of Japan's story is slowly
coming to a close. The nation's wealthy but rapidly aging population is
poised to start declining next year, and the big opportunities are no
longer in manufacturing but in services.
While the Japanese understand the importance of quality hardware,
outsiders seem to understand better that success in a service economy
requires speed, flexibility, specialization and focus. Saying Yes first
identifies Japan's most backward--and therefore highest-potential--
domestic service sectors. Then it shows specifically how outsiders--both
foreigners and nontraditional Japanese entrepreneurs--use modern
methodologies and professionalism to win in a multi-trillion dollar
services economy.
If you have enjoyed Japan Entrepreneur Report or Japan Internet Report
over the past nine years, you'll get a kick out of Saying Yes to Japan.
And to readers who have suggested I charge for my newsletter: Now's your
chance to buy something from me!
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Saying Yes to Japan
In keeping with the "fair and balanced" reporting trend the U.S. media
has pioneered over the last several years, we, authors Tim Clark and Carl
Kay, will now interview each other in a completely objective and fair-
minded manner:
Tim: Carl, where does the Saying Yes title come from?
Carl: Well, originally the book was supposed to be about purpose-driven
weight loss, but we decided we could sell more books if we wrote about
Japan's service sector. It was strictly a business decision...
Actually our title echoes the title of a book by Ishihara Shintaro,
currently Governor of Tokyo. His 1989 book No to Ieru Nihon (The Japan
That Can Say No) asserted the right of Japan to disagree with the United
States. While we certainly agree that Japan should stand up for itself
internationally, we are much more concerned about issues of quality of
life inside Japan, about unmet consumer and societal needs. The foreign
entrepreneurs that we portray in the book are saying 'yes' to the
consumers of Japan, to meeting their demands, and to getting rich in the
process. Tim, why did you decide to write this book?
Tim: Don't you remember that night in Omotesando when we drank too much
wine and decided to write a book together?
Carl: Right...
Tim: Aside from keeping that promise, three reasons. First, I'm testing
Clark's Theorum of Sole Proprietor Scalability, which says that without
scores of collaborators or wads of cash, there are very few truly
scalable businesses white-collar entrepreneurs can effectively undertake.
Software development and book-writing are among them.
Second, I wanted to improve my writing skills and learn about the
publishing world firsthand. Finally, I've always believed Japan's service
sectors offer enormous opportunity. After more than 20 years of full-time
involvement with Japan and nearly a decade working there, I wanted to
examine domestic services in depth, particularly the real estate, health
care and finance sectors. How about you, Carl? What were your reasons?
Carl: After spending so much of my life as an entrepreneur, I find
endless fascination in the challenges taken on by entrepreneurs. I am
also a long time observer of, and commentator on, the dynamics of cross-
cultural experience. So the topic of the book combines two very strong
interests of mine.
Saying Yes is also a vehicle to share some of my insights, hopes and
frustrations about Japan after nearly 30 years of personal involvement
here.
My final reason is that I bought on an impulse a brand new super fast PC
right after I sold my company and had to do something with it to justify
the purchaseˇÄ
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Raves and rants
Had enough of our self-congratulatory prose? OK, let's hear some
congratulatory prose from folks who were kind enough to read the pre-
release manuscript of Saying Yes. Here's what Shinsei Bank Vice Chairman
Thierry Porte had to say:
From financial services to funeral services, Clark and Kay provide a
fascinating tour of important developments in Japan's service economy.
The opportunities for 'outsiders', both Japanese and foreign, are
enormous. Those interested in these opportunities would do well to study
the cases Saying Yes provides.
Here's New York Times business writer Ken Belson:
At last, a book that systematically debunks the myth that Japan's economy
is a well-oiled machine. Clark and Kay, with a journalist's eye for
detail, show how Japan's service industries operate based on irrational
principles that have calcified for decades. They tell the compelling
stories of foreigners who, unshackled by social constraints, spotted
inefficiencies and created profitable businesses that fill real needs. In
doing so, Clark and Kay provide a roadmap for other entrepreneurs in
search of a challenge in Japan.
Now comes Merrill Lynch Japan Chief Economist Jesper Koll, ever-bullish
on Japan's prospects:
Japan hasn't merely overcome her lost decade, she's on track toward a new
golden age. No, it's not about blue-chip exporters like Toyota and Canon;
their global dominance was never in doubt. The real opportunity lies in
domestic services. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to
understand and profit from inside opportunities in the world's largest
creditor nation.
Finally, Nikkei Business Publications America President Yamamoto Tateki:
While many observers have written on Japanese business to demand reform
or to dispense etiquette tips (and yes, sometimes to praise), this truly
entrepreneurial book has an eye-opening focus: Where to find those
profits and how to make them. Bravo.
More reviews can be seen at <www.sayingyestojapan.com/reviews/>.
Reflecting Saying Yes themes, earlier this month Carl and I sounded off
on Sony's decision to hire its first non-Japanese chief executive. The
New York Times printed our rant, entitled "Out of Service," on March 9,
and the International Herald Tribune ran it on March 10. You can read it
here: <www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/09/opinion/edclark.html>.
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JER readers in our book
Any book that reaches print does so with the support of many people who
never touch the text. We would like to thank these JER readers and
supporters, many of whom are interviewed--and all of whom are
acknowledged--in Saying Yes to Japan:
Amano Kazumi, Dave Baeckelandt, Ken Belson, Bruce Brenn, Todd Budge,
Sloan Carr, Jeff Char, Rich Chen, Mark Colby, Jim Coyer, Ken Curtis,
Christopher Evans, Kane Fenner, Steven Gan, Hanamoto Hiroshi, Guy Harris,
Hiraga Koichi, Hotta Katsumi, Imazu Miki, Ito Joichi, Ito Yasuhiko,
Prashant Jain, Neeraj Jhanji, Jay Johannesen, John Kamm, Leo Keeley, Alex
Kerr, Dermot Killoran, Kouo Tatsuma, Michael Korver, Simon Laight, Terrie
Lloyd, Jeff Loucks, Steve McKay, Mikuni Akio, Allen Miner, Dave Mori, Tag
Murphy, Bob Myers, Nagashima Osamu, James Nakagawa, Pete Nevalainen,
Ochiai Kunihiko, Ed Reingold, David Russell, John Stern, Seth Sulkin,
Song Wen Zhou, Tim Romero, Ken Ruoff, Suda Tadao, Suga Hitoshi, Sugiyama
Minoru, John Tofflemire, Bill Totten, Tsujita Masaaki, Tsukioka Akihito,
Jason Van Hendrik and John Wocher.
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Bits and bytes
Attention entrepreneurs! Lacking an extra $800 million to start that
wafer fabrication plant? Short the $200 million you need to acquire that
small steelmaker? Not to worry: the big opportunities are in services,
where you need more imagination than startup capital. Carl Kay shows
where the opportunities are on April 5 at the Entrepreneur Association of
Tokyo (<www.ea-tokyo.com/CarlKay.html>), April 6 at the Tokyo chapter of
the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (<http://www.accj.or.jp>),
April 7 at the Tokyo PC Users Group (<http://www.tokyopc.org/>), May 12
at the Kansai ACCJ (<http://www.accj.or.jp/>) and May 13th at the Nagoya
ACCJ (<http://www.accj.or.jp>).
Live outside Japan? No worries--the Saying Yes to Japan road show is
coming soon to a city near you: Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Honolulu,
Washington D.C., St. Louis, Portland, Oregon, Quebec City and more. See
<http://www.sayingyestojapan.com/events/> for dates and details. By the
way, Carl can be reached through his personal Web site at
<www.carlkay.com>. I can be reached through mine at <www.timclark.net>.
Got kids saying yes to studying Japanese? Here's a tip as we approach the
beginning of Japan's new school year: the best tools and study aids are
at <http://www.rolomail.com/>. Take, for example, authentic kanji charts
illustrating the entire General Use Character Set proscribed by the
Japanese Ministry of Education. These are the real deal, used in Japanese
junior high school classrooms, and printed by a mapmaker on quality high-
gloss paper. First through sixth grade charts also available See
<http://www.rolomail.com/cgi-bin/sanadd.pl?3-0-136>
Tim Clark
Senior Fellow (non-resident)
SunBridge Corp.
Voice (U.S.) 503.235.4419
Fax (U.S.) 503.235.4429
clark@sunbridge.com
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