published by jimgris on 2009-01-03 09:13:44 in the "Japan" category
Sink or swim: Haruka Nishimatsu, chief executive Japan Airlines: "Nishimatsu says that in the big picture, JAL's change process has to be much more than just talk - Asia's biggest airline needs to genuinely be overhauled. While some say his plan does not go far enough, particularly in terms of job cuts, Nishimatsu says pragmatism must be adhered to. He also insists that if his targets are not met that he will take full responsibility. 'If you were to ask is this the perfect, completely realisable cost-cutting plan, then that is a very difficult thing to declare,' he says. 'But if we don't achieve our targets, I do not intend to stay on.' "
A leader asserting ... responsibility? I find that especially shocking. Usually leaders spin, deflect, duck, attack, point fingers, lie, and steal. And they usually get away with it, too. I don`t see very many people leading by example these days, do you? And I don`t see very many leaders emerging from real communities of people engaged in direct action, do you? I`m talking about people who actually work not just talk. These people are obvious on every project. They are the leaders even though they don`t have the title and most times never get the title. That`s unfortunate. It seems to me that the era of the experts and special people spinning us like sheep should be over. Humor me. I can dream, can`t I? But is that happening at JAL? Can it happen in government too?
published by jimgris on 2009-01-01 04:08:32 in the "Japan" category
What I love about bullet trains in Japan is that they look fast even when they just cruise into the station. This is a very tough train, no question about it. These bullets are pretty old now, but Japan will be upgrading to the jet fast maglev bullets in the future. And that is a fast train. But I still want a fast train from Tokyo to Narita, though. That has to come first before anything else. Anyway, I love when the bullet glides into Tokyo Station. It`s like a jet boat pulling into the harbor. Everyone knows it`s fast. It doesn`t have to say a damn thing.
Wouldn`t it be nice to lay bullet tracks all across the United States? The billionaire oil guys wouldn`t be happy at all but we`d surely be. And we should come before them for a change. It`s been them before us for far too long.
published by jimgris on 2008-12-31 23:30:20 in the "Japan" category
Part of Shogatsu in Japan involves going to temples and shrines to pray. Last night at midnight we went down in the valley in a lovely light snowfall to this temple to pray, ring the bell that you can hear for miles around, and meet others in the community. People pray at three locations at this temple and then walk down the hill to a shrine to pray there as well. Shrines and temples mix in Japan totally freely ...
published by jimgris on 2008-12-31 04:35:28 in the "Japan" category
Some images from the train ride along Chikumagawa (gawa means river) earlier today. I have these in color so I tried black and white tonight. This is from my Canon PowerShot. But for a little point/shoot, they came out quite nice I think. It`s cold and snowy out here in the mountains for Shogatsu (Japanese New Year).
published by jimgris on 2008-11-28 09:02:12 in the "Japan" category
Amazing what two years and a few seasons of heavy snow and blistering
heat in the mountains will do to an old abandoned inn, eh? What's left
of this building is in Kijimadaira, Japan, which is about an hour from
Nagano. The top image is from 2005 and the bottom image is from 2007. I
understand not much is left at the moment. I'll take another shot
when I go out next month.
Interesting article. And well worth a read if you are at all interested
in Japan and the misperceptions about the place. It reminds me that
there are many Japans here.
Japan gets a wrap that it's a monoculture and relatively closed. And
you can find many examples to demonstrate those perceptions, too.
However, the opposite is also true. Japan does an enormous amount of
international contributing in many fields, yet the Japanese get
relatively little credit for those activities. So, it's good to see
this article pointing to some obvious examples where Japan reaches out
or leads. I've seen several articles along these lines lately. Perhaps
it's because the Japanese are helping out so many idiots who have
broken the global financial system in recent months, and that is a
very, very high profile issue. Who knows. Regardless of the reason,
Japan is getting some coverage lately, and it's not all bad.
The article also points out that one reason for the lack of publicity
about Japanese contributions to the international community is that the
Japanese simply refuse to brag about themselves. This is one thing that
drives me nuts about working here. I don't view communications as
bragging -- heck I do a fairly gigantic amount of it -- but I've been
slapped around more than once for my views on this matter. And, for
what it's worth, I remain unconvinced about the Japanese view on the
issue. However, even though it's difficult to find references of
Japanese contributions, they are most certainly there. And in
abundance, too. The trick is you have to dig. And then when you dig,
you have to dig some more. And more. And it's not uncommon to be met
with utter silence when you discover a jackpot of contributions and ask
for a little reaction. Ok, lessons learned. We'll have to agree to
disagree on this. But here's the problem: not everyone digs. Or, not
everyone has the patience to dig enough. So, misperceptions can easily
develop, and they are rarely acknowledged or corrected. In fact, it's
common for visiting westerners to say something like this, "You know, I
never hear about Japanese contributing to [insert community or field or
whatever]." I've said it many times myself. In fact, on more than one
occasion I've said it to the agreement of all westerners in sight only
to find out that the exact opposite is true. But I had to dig. Very
frustrating. Especially since the Japanese rarely care about the
credit. Perhaps it's more of an egalitarian view, but at the very least
it's a different view. And that's the point. That's why more
communication is needed to resolve issues like this. So, there are many
Japans. You have to dig deep or you'll miss most of them.
Anyway. Check out the article. It's a positive look at some people
breaking out and doing something different, and they are getting some
well-deserved credit for their efforts.
published by jimgris on 2008-11-06 07:38:11 in the "Japan" category
Here are some images from the Day Two of the New Context Conference in Tokyo earlier today. Day One is here. Today`s conversations were excellent. Lots of discussion about new social and business networks and new applications for the mobile web. I especially liked the exploration of how western companies can do business in Japan, and how Japanese companies can expand in the U.S. throughout various market trends.
published by jimgris on 2008-11-05 04:51:58 in the "Japan" category
I went to Day One of the New Context Conference in Tokyo today. The event was sponsored by Digital Garage, and there was a great line up of speakers talking about doing business in an age of open networks. Much of the discussion centered around Japan and the unique business and cultural issues here, but open networks are global so it was interesting to see Japan in that international context. The panel sessions were filled with huge content for web entrepreneurs and participants in social networks, and the discussion was comprehensive. Most panels just bounce along the surface, but these guys dug deep. Very impressive.
published by jimgris on 2008-11-02 02:04:14 in the "Japan" category
Slacker Nation? Young Japanese Shun Promotions -- Wall Street Journal. This article reminds me of many such scare pieces in the U.S. in recent years about the lazy young undermining American competitiveness. If it's true in the US and in Japan than the Chinese and Indians will make quick work of the Americans and Japanese in the coming years. I have my doubts, though. We'll see. But with regard to Japan specifically, the second paragraph of this article and the second to last paragraph both clearly demonstrate bugs to be fixed, not aspirations to be realized.
published by jimgris on 2008-10-26 05:39:17 in the "Japan" category
Went for a walk along the Tama River today. Found some baseball games with amazing little kids,
a big party with great music and lots of drunk people, and some shacks providing shelter for the homeless. Everyone very friendly. The shacks moved me the most. Here's
the mix.
published by jimgris on 2008-10-23 03:46:29 in the "Japan" category
I was at Toshiba yesterday with some guys from Europe and the US. When execs and product teams come over to Japan sometimes I tag along. Good day. Great dinner. Fantastic meeting the Toshiba team.
Jim Grisanzio, Todd Tornga, Bill Nesheim, Dan Roberts, Chris Armes. Photo courtesy Bill Nesheim.
Sink or swim: Haruka Nishimatsu, chief executive Japan Airlines: "Nishimatsu says that in the big picture, JAL's change process has to be much more than just talk - Asia's biggest airline needs to genuinely be overhauled. While some say his plan does not go far enough, particularly in terms of job cuts, Nishimatsu says pragmatism must be adhered to. He also insists that if his targets are not met that he will take full responsibility. 'If you were to ask is this the perfect, completely realisable cost-cutting plan, then that is a very difficult thing to declare,' he says. 'But if we don't achieve our targets, I do not intend to stay on.' "
