On behalf of the TJCS Business Committee, I am proud to announce the third installment of the 2010 event series Canada Means Business on August 25th, 2010.
As Nagoya will host the COP10 in October, three speakers will specially focus on environmental issues. Not only in business, but also in our daily lives, much attention toward the environment is important. Such useful information will be offered to you at this event. This event will bring you the opportunity to communicate with many different companies. By doing so, it expands your business network and eventually will lead to develop international business relations between Japan and Canada.
We look forward to seeing you there!
When: August 25th (Wed) 19:00 - 21:00 (Registration starts from 18:30)
Where: Hotel Coms Nagoya, Cafe Lento
Address: 2-23-22 Higashisakura, Naka-ku, Nagoya
Hotel Coms Contact: Tel: 052-931-5811, Fax : 052-931-5808
Price:
TJCS Corporate Members: 5,000 Yen
TJCS Regular Members: 5,500 Yen
Affiliate Assoc. (ACCJ, ANZCCJ): 6,000 Yen
Non-Members: 6,500 Yen
Spaces are limited, sign up today to guarantee your spot. Click here to sign up now!
The Canada Means Business series continues throughout 2010 and 2011 with the following dates.
August 25, 2010 Canada Means Business, Meet and Greet
October 27, 2010 Canada Means Business (TBD)
January 26, 2011 Canada Means Business (TBD)
If you are interested in organizing business event with Tokai Japan Canada Society business committee, please contact business@tjcs.jp
Saturday, August 21, 2010
New Ownership for H&R Group in Tokyo and Nagoya Relocation
NEW OWNERSHIP FOR H&R GROUP
Effective August 20th, Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc. has finalized the sale of its 100% owned subsidiaries H&R Consultants K.K and ReloJapan K.K. (known as the H&R Group) to private equity investment company Appreciate Co., Ltd. (“Appreciate”) and owner Hiroyuki Kurihara.
Through the acquisition, Appreciate has established a 100% subsidiary “H&R Group K.K.,” which will act as the parent and holding company of H&R Consultants K.K., and ReloJapan K.K.
H&R Group and Appreciate will make every effort to enhance the service provision of H&R Consultants and ReloJapan in real estate and relocation services to fully meet the global mobility needs of corporations in Japan.
Detailed information is as follows:
Background
H&R Consultants is an officially licensed real estate company that provides real estate and relocation services to both multi-national and Japanese corporations. ReloJapan is the sister company of H&R Consultants, and is 100% devoted to destination service provision and management of the entire relocation process for assignees destined to Japan.
Appreciate is a private equity investment company that focuses on small to medium sized investments across all industries in Kanto and Chubu.
Comments from Stakeholders
Harry Hill, President, Oak Lawn Marketing Inc.
“I have tremendous affection for the H&R group of companies, as this was one of the first businesses I started in Japan. As per the evolution of Oak Lawn Marketing joining NTT DOCOMO, INC. in April of 2009, this transaction is “win-win” for all parties and will empower the H&R Group management to seek further growth in an environment that fully supports their culture and core business. I am incredibly proud to be involved in another entrepreneurial success story here in Japan.”
Scott Reid, Operating Officer, Oak Lawn Marketing Inc. (Former President of H&R Consultants and ReloJapan)
“I have great faith in Steve Burson and his management team and I believe this is a great step for the H&R Group. I am sure it is the consistent performance over many years that has made this possible. This move can only make the H&R Group greater and allow them to take things to the next level.”
Hiroyuki Kurihara, President, Appreciate Co., Ltd.
“My instincts told me from the first meeting with Steve Burson that this was an organization I wanted to invest in. Ultimately, the international feel of H&R Group’s culture, the consistent financial performance through different economic times and the potential for continued growth into the future are the factors that determined the value of this investment. I really look forward to working with all the H&R Team.”
Steve Burson, President of H&R Consultants K.K. and ReloJapan K.K.
“We owe so much to Oak Lawn Marketing for their support and guidance over the last 18 years. Furthermore, I am very grateful that we have been able to find a great home with Appreciate and Hiroyuki Kurihara.
While we will seek improvements in all areas of our business into the future, I am also happy to report that H&R Consultants and ReloJapan’s operations and staff, in its entirety, will remain unchanged.
None of this would have been possible without the support of our clients, vendors and friends, so I would like to take this opportunity to portray my sincere appreciation to you all and to ask for your continued support and guidance into the future. We look forward to working with you and your teams to forge even stronger relationships and provide even better service.”
Outline of H&R Group (as of August 20th, 2010)
Parent Company: H&R Group K.K.
President: Hiroyuki Kurihara
Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa (will later be moved to Aichi)
Capital: 40 million yen
Date of Establishment: August, 2010
Name of Company: H&R Consultants K.K.
President: Steve Burson
Location: Nagoya, Aichi
Capital: 40 million yen
Date of Establishment: 1993 (Nagoya), 2000 (Tokyo Branch)
Name of Company: ReloJapan K.K.
President: Steve Burson
Location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Capital: 10 million yen
Date of Establishment: June 2001
Inquiries
Human Resources and Administration Division
H&R Group K.K.
TEL: 052-973-3957
E-MAIL: InfoRequest@MoreThanRelo.com
ATTN: Yuki Yamada / Aki Kamiya
Effective August 20th, Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc. has finalized the sale of its 100% owned subsidiaries H&R Consultants K.K and ReloJapan K.K. (known as the H&R Group) to private equity investment company Appreciate Co., Ltd. (“Appreciate”) and owner Hiroyuki Kurihara.
Through the acquisition, Appreciate has established a 100% subsidiary “H&R Group K.K.,” which will act as the parent and holding company of H&R Consultants K.K., and ReloJapan K.K.
H&R Group and Appreciate will make every effort to enhance the service provision of H&R Consultants and ReloJapan in real estate and relocation services to fully meet the global mobility needs of corporations in Japan.
Detailed information is as follows:
Background
H&R Consultants is an officially licensed real estate company that provides real estate and relocation services to both multi-national and Japanese corporations. ReloJapan is the sister company of H&R Consultants, and is 100% devoted to destination service provision and management of the entire relocation process for assignees destined to Japan.
Appreciate is a private equity investment company that focuses on small to medium sized investments across all industries in Kanto and Chubu.
Comments from Stakeholders
Harry Hill, President, Oak Lawn Marketing Inc.
“I have tremendous affection for the H&R group of companies, as this was one of the first businesses I started in Japan. As per the evolution of Oak Lawn Marketing joining NTT DOCOMO, INC. in April of 2009, this transaction is “win-win” for all parties and will empower the H&R Group management to seek further growth in an environment that fully supports their culture and core business. I am incredibly proud to be involved in another entrepreneurial success story here in Japan.”
Scott Reid, Operating Officer, Oak Lawn Marketing Inc. (Former President of H&R Consultants and ReloJapan)
“I have great faith in Steve Burson and his management team and I believe this is a great step for the H&R Group. I am sure it is the consistent performance over many years that has made this possible. This move can only make the H&R Group greater and allow them to take things to the next level.”
Hiroyuki Kurihara, President, Appreciate Co., Ltd.
“My instincts told me from the first meeting with Steve Burson that this was an organization I wanted to invest in. Ultimately, the international feel of H&R Group’s culture, the consistent financial performance through different economic times and the potential for continued growth into the future are the factors that determined the value of this investment. I really look forward to working with all the H&R Team.”
Steve Burson, President of H&R Consultants K.K. and ReloJapan K.K.
“We owe so much to Oak Lawn Marketing for their support and guidance over the last 18 years. Furthermore, I am very grateful that we have been able to find a great home with Appreciate and Hiroyuki Kurihara.
While we will seek improvements in all areas of our business into the future, I am also happy to report that H&R Consultants and ReloJapan’s operations and staff, in its entirety, will remain unchanged.
None of this would have been possible without the support of our clients, vendors and friends, so I would like to take this opportunity to portray my sincere appreciation to you all and to ask for your continued support and guidance into the future. We look forward to working with you and your teams to forge even stronger relationships and provide even better service.”
Outline of H&R Group (as of August 20th, 2010)
Parent Company: H&R Group K.K.
President: Hiroyuki Kurihara
Location: Yokohama, Kanagawa (will later be moved to Aichi)
Capital: 40 million yen
Date of Establishment: August, 2010
Name of Company: H&R Consultants K.K.
President: Steve Burson
Location: Nagoya, Aichi
Capital: 40 million yen
Date of Establishment: 1993 (Nagoya), 2000 (Tokyo Branch)
Name of Company: ReloJapan K.K.
President: Steve Burson
Location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Capital: 10 million yen
Date of Establishment: June 2001
Inquiries
Human Resources and Administration Division
H&R Group K.K.
TEL: 052-973-3957
E-MAIL: InfoRequest@MoreThanRelo.com
ATTN: Yuki Yamada / Aki Kamiya
Breakfast With The American Consulate In Nagoya
I am pleased to organizing the following breakfast on September 3rd for the ACCJ. Please join if you can! Just 15 seats available, so book fast!
***********************************************************************
BREAKFAST MEETING WITH U.S. CONSULATE NAGOYA
DATE: Friday, September 3rd, 2010, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
VENUE: Hilton Nagoya, 28F, White Room
MAXIMUM ATTENDANCE: 15 people
COST: Members: 3,000 yen Non-Members: 4,000 yen
REGISTRATION AND CANCELLATION DEADLINE: Wed 1st September
***********************************************************************
Come and join us for an informal breakfast with all of the officers (andprobably a few of the local staff) at the U.S. Consulate in Nagoya.Nagoya's three American diplomats are Jonas Stewart, who was the Director of the Nagoya American Center (part of the U.S. Consulate) since 2007 and extended a year to be Principal Officer during the gap created by Max Kwak's retirement and the arrival next summer of Max'sreplacement.
Stephen Wheeler just arrived in Nagoya last month as the new Nagoya American Center Director, and Commercial Consul Edward Yagi (who also arrived in 2007) still has a couple of years left on his assignment as well.
Edward and Jonas are keen to update us on what theyhave seen and heard during their last three years in Nagoya and tointroduce Stephen to us. All three diplomats have agreed to give us their honest take on U.S.-Japan affairs, offer us their insights on business, cultural, and political issues, and answer any questions we have about U.S.-Japan relations, consular issues, or anything else of interest to the ACCJ community.
I am sure this will be a reallyinformative gathering, and also a rare and ideal opportunity to meet theentire U.S. Consulate diplomatic corps in one place, at one time.
Steve Burson and Andy Boone
Business Program Committee - Chubu
TO REGISTER: Visit <http://member.accj.or.jp/> and log in with yourmember ID and password.
If you have any questions, please contact NorikoKato at 052-229-1525, nkato@accj.or.jp, or fax to ACCJ Chubu Office: 052-222-8272
***********************************************************************
BREAKFAST MEETING WITH U.S. CONSULATE NAGOYA
DATE: Friday, September 3rd, 2010, 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
VENUE: Hilton Nagoya, 28F, White Room
MAXIMUM ATTENDANCE: 15 people
COST: Members: 3,000 yen Non-Members: 4,000 yen
REGISTRATION AND CANCELLATION DEADLINE: Wed 1st September
***********************************************************************
Come and join us for an informal breakfast with all of the officers (andprobably a few of the local staff) at the U.S. Consulate in Nagoya.Nagoya's three American diplomats are Jonas Stewart, who was the Director of the Nagoya American Center (part of the U.S. Consulate) since 2007 and extended a year to be Principal Officer during the gap created by Max Kwak's retirement and the arrival next summer of Max'sreplacement.
Stephen Wheeler just arrived in Nagoya last month as the new Nagoya American Center Director, and Commercial Consul Edward Yagi (who also arrived in 2007) still has a couple of years left on his assignment as well.
Edward and Jonas are keen to update us on what theyhave seen and heard during their last three years in Nagoya and tointroduce Stephen to us. All three diplomats have agreed to give us their honest take on U.S.-Japan affairs, offer us their insights on business, cultural, and political issues, and answer any questions we have about U.S.-Japan relations, consular issues, or anything else of interest to the ACCJ community.
I am sure this will be a reallyinformative gathering, and also a rare and ideal opportunity to meet theentire U.S. Consulate diplomatic corps in one place, at one time.
Steve Burson and Andy Boone
Business Program Committee - Chubu
TO REGISTER: Visit <http://member.accj.or.jp/> and log in with yourmember ID and password.
If you have any questions, please contact NorikoKato at 052-229-1525, nkato@accj.or.jp, or fax to ACCJ Chubu Office: 052-222-8272
Monday, August 2, 2010
Cultural Differences in Providing Relocation Services
I was priveleged to attend a seminar by Rochelle Kopp last week on bridging cultural differences as a leader in Japan. I found the session incredibly useful, not because it was incredibly new content, but because it refreshed me on the different backgrounds westerners and foreigners come from. We often forget the below when we are working with our Japanese colleagues, but when you think about it, it can be attributed to many of the problems.
The following is a summary of the seminar from my eyes on how Japanese people tend to be different from us in the West. It is a bunch of generalizations, but gives a good overview of how things happen in a Japanese office.
DECISION MAKING
- Decision making is very consensus driven.
- Decisions tend to take a long-time to make, as much “ne-mawashi” or (individual discussion with each stakeholder to gain their buy in) is required, before the formal decision is made
Different ways of approaching decision making, but in the long-run neither method is faster or slower (perhaps). For Japanese people, the time taken in the “lead-in” means that they are able to implement quicker when the decision is made.
WORK DELEGATION
- In the west we “delegate” work, but in Japan “delegation” takes a different form; it is not so much “delegation” as “working together”, and it looks like “micro-management” to the west
- The basis to delegation is “Hoo-Ren-Soo” (report, touch base and seek advice) and if this happens properly, there is a lot of back and forward on the delegated work, which would be regarded as micro-management in the west.
JAPANESE STAFF VALUE THESE THINGS HIGHLY
- Good company profile, prestige and recognition; often this can be done through CSR activities
- Group social events, group meetings, group coordination
- “Kikubari” or consideration for others feelings. There is an expectation for managers to be on the look out for how their staff “feel” about things, and that they understand how staff will feel under different circumstances.
GROWING TRUST WITH JAPANESE
- Be consistent in what you do. Act consistently.
- Spend time with your Japanese colleagues. Do lunches with them, do social events and dinners
SEEKING OPINIONS
- As Japanese communication is often “in-direct” or “non-verbal” seeking opinions can be difficult.
- Japanese typically don’t like conflict, so you need to be careful in how you ask for opinions; asking directly will not work in many cases (eg. Don’t ask “What do you think” or “What is your opinion”)
Advice for seeking opinions
1. Don’t say what you think first or don’t give your ideas first (particularly if there is hierarchy and you are of a higher level than the other Japanese members)
2. Be clear with what you are talking about; write things down as you go, use visual aids and use agendas
3. Once the topic is clear and set, use questions such as “Do you have any advice for me?” or “Do you see any difficulties with this?”
RECOGNITION
- Giving feedback in public is often counter-productive in Japan, as Japanese feel uncomfortable being singled out from amongst their peers. Giving feedback to teams in public is a better way to go.
- Japanese people generally dislike general positive feedback such as “I think you did a great job”, so you need to give concrete examples of what you like about them or what they are doing.
- Japanese are typically not good at providing “positive feedback” as it is not something taught in Japanese society historically (in fact many look down on positive feedback, as there is a saying “home-goroshi” or “killing by praise”). It is therefore recommended that training is undertaken on how to give positive feedback.
- Often Japanese prefer a different form of positive feedback such as being given a different status (job title, etc.) or being asked to join special projects, etc.
MOST RECOMMENDED WESTERN WAYS OF DOING THINGS (things you should implement!)
- Performance based reward systems
- Making an office fun
- Shorter working hours
- Hiring of those generally not respected by Japanese companies; female staff, staff over 50 years of age, and staff without “official qualifications"
TYPICAL JAPANESE BEHAVIOURS TO BE AWARE OF
- Japanese are often uncomfortable to tell you about things you don’t want to hear (ie. bad news) - Japanese are very harsh with each other when it comes to their level of English. They can be very un-accepting of other Japanese members with English levels better or worse than their own
- Japanese often believe there is “one best way to do things” through proven methods. This explains why they can be stubborn about doing things differently, if they believe they know the “one best way” and it is “proven”. In this case, the following wording can be useful; “I have a suggestion that would be even better”.
- Decision making is very consensus driven.
- Decisions tend to take a long-time to make, as much “ne-mawashi” or (individual discussion with each stakeholder to gain their buy in) is required, before the formal decision is made
Different ways of approaching decision making, but in the long-run neither method is faster or slower (perhaps). For Japanese people, the time taken in the “lead-in” means that they are able to implement quicker when the decision is made.WORK DELEGATION
- In the west we “delegate” work, but in Japan “delegation” takes a different form; it is not so much “delegation” as “working together”, and it looks like “micro-management” to the west
- The basis to delegation is “Hoo-Ren-Soo” (report, touch base and seek advice) and if this happens properly, there is a lot of back and forward on the delegated work, which would be regarded as micro-management in the west.
JAPANESE STAFF VALUE THESE THINGS HIGHLY
- Good company profile, prestige and recognition; often this can be done through CSR activities
- Group social events, group meetings, group coordination
- “Kikubari” or consideration for others feelings. There is an expectation for managers to be on the look out for how their staff “feel” about things, and that they understand how staff will feel under different circumstances.
GROWING TRUST WITH JAPANESE
- Be consistent in what you do. Act consistently.
- Spend time with your Japanese colleagues. Do lunches with them, do social events and dinners
SEEKING OPINIONS
- As Japanese communication is often “in-direct” or “non-verbal” seeking opinions can be difficult.
- Japanese typically don’t like conflict, so you need to be careful in how you ask for opinions; asking directly will not work in many cases (eg. Don’t ask “What do you think” or “What is your opinion”)
Advice for seeking opinions
1. Don’t say what you think first or don’t give your ideas first (particularly if there is hierarchy and you are of a higher level than the other Japanese members)
2. Be clear with what you are talking about; write things down as you go, use visual aids and use agendas
3. Once the topic is clear and set, use questions such as “Do you have any advice for me?” or “Do you see any difficulties with this?”
RECOGNITION
- Giving feedback in public is often counter-productive in Japan, as Japanese feel uncomfortable being singled out from amongst their peers. Giving feedback to teams in public is a better way to go.
- Japanese people generally dislike general positive feedback such as “I think you did a great job”, so you need to give concrete examples of what you like about them or what they are doing.
- Japanese are typically not good at providing “positive feedback” as it is not something taught in Japanese society historically (in fact many look down on positive feedback, as there is a saying “home-goroshi” or “killing by praise”). It is therefore recommended that training is undertaken on how to give positive feedback.
- Often Japanese prefer a different form of positive feedback such as being given a different status (job title, etc.) or being asked to join special projects, etc.
MOST RECOMMENDED WESTERN WAYS OF DOING THINGS (things you should implement!)
- Performance based reward systems
- Making an office fun
- Shorter working hours
- Hiring of those generally not respected by Japanese companies; female staff, staff over 50 years of age, and staff without “official qualifications"
TYPICAL JAPANESE BEHAVIOURS TO BE AWARE OF
- Japanese are often uncomfortable to tell you about things you don’t want to hear (ie. bad news) - Japanese are very harsh with each other when it comes to their level of English. They can be very un-accepting of other Japanese members with English levels better or worse than their own
- Japanese often believe there is “one best way to do things” through proven methods. This explains why they can be stubborn about doing things differently, if they believe they know the “one best way” and it is “proven”. In this case, the following wording can be useful; “I have a suggestion that would be even better”.
The above blows away some of the business theory suggested in Western business literature.... and makes you think!
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