After another busy day of business appointments, we visited the Shibuya district known as one of the fashion centers of Japan and a heralded nightlife area, particularly for young people. It is one of Tokyo’s busiest railway stations and gives the general appearance of New York City’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve ….. but on a daily basis!
Once orienting the students to the Shibuya area, Keiko, Jason and I went off to tour the area and have a “quiet” meal.
I will let the student’s blogs and photography provide interested followers with a description of the “Shibuya experience.”
Our final business visit of the day was to Itochu, a Japanese general trading concern and Fortune 500 company. It ranks as one of the largest sogo shosha, or Japanese general trading concerns. Itochu gradually evolved from a pure buying and selling firm to a diverse global manufacturing, supplying, exporting, and investment organization. It is now among the world’s largest companies with more than 700 subsidiaries.
The UMaine students were briefed by two Itochu representatives: Mamie Ogawa of the electronics device department and Shinya Nishimaki of the fresh food business division. Both Mamie and Shinya recently spent a semester at the University of Southern Maine. Itochu regularly sends new employees (called “freshmen” in their 5th year of employment) to USM to study english and conduct research. Mamie, for example, studied the Maine lobster industry.
Mamie and Shinya provided both a business and personal perspective of life in Japan as a new entrant in a very traditional Japanese company, ranging from their hours of work, office conditions and management styles. They were 2 of just 135 people selected by Itochu from a pool of over 35,000 applicants for the positions available.
Our next visit focused on entrepreneurship in Japan as presented by Mike Alfant, Chairman/CEO of Fusion Systems who also serves a President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ).
Mike, a 20+ year resident of Japan, has successfully founded and operated a number of high-tech businesses in Japan and led a 2 1/2 hour diverse discussion of issues posed by student questions and his reflections and a wide array of points on Japanese culture, the entrepreneurial environment and business climate, the post-March 11 recovery, and future policy choices and debates.
Mike also offered students his personal perception of what it takes for a non-Japanese to successfully live and work in the country.
Day 3 began with a visit to Tokyo’s Chuo University and a 2 hour lecture seminar with Dr. Kazunori (Icko) Suzuki, Professor of Finance. Dr. Suzuki offered a stimulating talk and discussion of the “Economic Environment and Post-Tsunami Recovery Issues of Japan.”
The session provided the students with a overview of the Japanese economy and a penetrating analysis of the post-Tsunami issues. Dr. Suzuki’s candid assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese economy, and the policy challenges confronting the citizens, businesses and government prompted a lively and enlightening discussion.
UMaine readers may remember the 2010 visit by Dr. Suzuki to the Orono campus at the invitation of Dr. Richard Borgman. Keiko and I had the pleasure to get to know Icko on a personal level and are deeply appreciative of his friendship. His lecture was one of the highlights of the current MBA trip.
No trip to Tokyo is complete without a visit to the fabled “Electric Town”, Akihabara, a major shopping area for electronic, computer, cameras, radio controlled models, games and arcades of all types, personal robots and robotics, and a wide collection of anime. The internet cafes and maids are sprinkled throughout the area.
For the technical-minded, a myriad of computer and electrical parts for building any imaginable device can be found in the dedicated stalls in the back streets of the district.
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