WIT Life #87: Tokyo Vice – Cultural Icon

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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

The other night I had the pleasure of meeting the author Jake Adelstein (pictured here on the Daily Show) who wrote the sensational book Tokyo Vice, the story of his time as a crime reporter in Japan.  This absorbing memoir traces his path from Sophia University student to full-time reporter at the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, a notable feat for a foreigner.  He spent 12 years covering the underbelly of Japan, and as expected the bulk of his talk concentrated on the yakuza.

He discussed how this Japanese mafia is known as a second police force, or a necessary evil (必要な悪 or hitsuyou na aku). As tracked by the police they number 86,000 and have 986 front companies in Tokyo.  In Japan, there were no organized crime laws until 1992, and even now there is limited wiretapping and no witness protection/relocation, quite different from the States in this respect.  Adelstein also highlighted other interesting cultural differences such as the fact that there are even yakuza fan magazines, which have articles profiling members as well as photo essay series with them as subjects!  As a crime reporter an important aspect of his job was reading these publications to keep up-to-date on the yakuza world.

Several questions from the audience focused on the collusion between Japanese corporations and the yakuza, and Adelstein said that it was highly possible that many companies cooperate with one yakuza group to protect them from others.  Also, ex-yakuza are often hired as corporate consultants.   This is a timely topic considering the speculation that Fujitsu’s former President  was ousted because of alleged gangster ties.  According to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, it has been confirmed that this has been taken to court and is currently being battled over.

The Vocabulary of Japanese Food – Sweet Potatoes

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(For more information on where these recipes came from and more Japanese cooking vocabulary, check out my previous posts for Yellowtail Teriyaki, Cashew Chicken, Roast Chinjao, and Tonkatsu!)

Did you read about Fall foods in Japan yet? If you have, you’ll notice that the first food listed is sweet potatoes. Have you ever wondered how to make them into a dessert, Japanese style? Read on and learn how!

スイートポテト – Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

English Japanese
400 g sweet potatoes (0.88 lb or 14.1 oz) さつまいも　４００ｇ
32 g butter (about 2.5 Tbsp) バター　３２ｇ
60 g granulated sugar (about 1/3 cup) グラニュー糖　６０ｇ
4 Tbsp whole milk 牛乳　大さじ４
Dash of salt 塩　少々
2 egg yolks (divided) 卵黄　１個分＋１個分
1 Tbsp dark rum ラム酒　大さじ１
A little bit of water 水　少々

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F). Peel the sweet potatoes, then cut into rounds 3 cm in width. Place the sliced potatoes into a bowl of water as you cut them, then drain when ready to proceed to the next step.

Fill a saucepan with plenty of water, then put in the potatoes and heat until the water is boiling. When they can be easily pierced with a chopstick or fork, remove from heat and drain the hot water.

While the potatoes are still hot in the drained saucepan, quickly crush them until they are broken up into small pieces. Add the 32 g of butter and mix well. Then add the 4 Tbsp of milk, 60 g granulated sugar, and salt, then heat on low heat. While stirring constantly, let the moisture evaporate, and mash until the potatoes become smooth.

Quickly cool the potatoes by placing the hot saucepan into a bowl of ice water. When they have cooled a bit, add one of the egg yolks and 1 Tbsp rum, then mix well.

Lay down some parchment paper on a flat surface like a counter or table. Divide the sweet potato dough into four equal sections and place on the paper. Form each into a football-like shape by wrapping them in the parchment, then using a dish towel on the outside of the wrapper to manipulate the hot dough.

In a small bowl, put in the other egg yolk and add a little water, then mix. Place the football-shaped sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then lightly brush the tops with the egg mixture.

Put the baking sheet on the top rack in the oven, which should be between 180-200°C (356-392°F). For two potato shapes, bake for 15-20 minutes. For 4, bake for 20-25 minutes. When the tops dry out after baking, take the potatoes out of the oven and brush with the egg mixture once more. Then put them back in the oven for 2-3 minutes. When the tops have browned, they are ready to be taken out of the oven and served.

(Note: Japanese dessert sweet potatoes are often served with a bit of honey on top.)

Vocabulary:

Japanese Romaji Meaning
はかり hakari Scale (ie. Cooking scale)
ピーラー piiraa Vegetable peeler
オーブン oobun Oven
オーブンシート oobun shiito Parchment paper
ふきん fukin Dish towel; dish rag
ハケ hake Brush (here, refers to a cooking or pastry brush)
バター bataa Butter
牛乳 gyuunyuu Milk
卵黄 ranou Egg yolk(s)
たっぷり tappuri Fully; amply; generously
細かい komakai Small; fine
つぶす tsubusu To crush; smash; mash
氷水 koori mizu Ice water
敷く shiku To spread; lay out
生地 kiji Dough
溶きほぐす toki-hogusu To scramble (an egg)
表面 hyoumen The surface; face; ouside; exterior
上段 joudan The upper row, tier, step, or rack

Sakura Mochi – Japanese Sweets – TOKYO Style

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Hi All, I promised to have this entry ready a few weeks ago. I’m so sorry for the delay. You know how some things don’t go as planned. But, without further ado…

Sakura (桜), cherry blossom trees, are the true sign of spring in Japan and their beauty has been revered by the Japanese for centuries. Each year, when the trees blossom, millions sit under their shade to eat, drink and make merry. The blossoms and leaves themselves are edible and are used in some traditional Japanese dishes.

Last week, I made Kantou style (Tokyo style) sakura mochi, a light pink, mochi pancake filled with sweet red beans, anko (あんこ), and traditionally wrapped in a preserved sakura leaf. Not being in Japan, I couldn’t find the sakura leaf, so I got a little inventive and tried a shiso leaf, or ohba, the green leaf with a light refreshing minty, herbal taste that you usually find in sushi. I loved it! But not everyone else did. Try this recipe yourself, and let me know if you like the ohba taste 😉

1/3 cup of mochiko (rice flour)
1 cup of water
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of sugar
red food coloring
about a cup of anko (sweet red bean paste)
cooking oil spray
pack of ohba

1) Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
2) Stir in water.
3) Add a couple of drops of food coloring to turn the mixture pink.
4) Heat pan over a medium heat, and spray lightly with the cooking oil spray.
5) Add a couple of spoonfuls of the mixture to the pan. You can either make oval-shaped pancakes or more round pancakes. This will determine the final shape of the mochi treat.
6) Cook for a few minutes on both sides. The mochi pancake will start to turn slightly translucent as it cooks. This recipe makes about 15 pancakes.
7) As you finish the pancakes, set them aside on a plate to cool.
8) Portion out small balls of anko on a separate plate.
9) Roll the anko balls into the mochi pancakes. There are two ways to roll the anko into the mochi.

  • ONE: Using an oval-shaped pancake, you can roll the anko ball into the pancake so that it looks like a tube.
  • TWO: Using a round-shaped pancake, you can fold the pancake in half over the anko ball so that it looks like a little taco.

10) Roll the ohba, shiso leaf, around the tube or taco. You may have to pinch the leaf to break the stem so that the leaf will stay folded over.

Then, ENJOY!

–Ken-chan

Learn Japanese NYC – Speaking Japanese in a Hotel

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When learning Japanese conversation, or developing conversational skills in general, it’s important to develop “situational fluency.” Language learners should anticipate common situations they’ll run into, and prepare their language skills to meet the demands of those situations. Of course each Japanese language learner has different demands, some might be traveling to Japan later on, others might have more immediate needs in their current workplace. This article will cover very useful Japanese conversation for any language learner that plans on traveling to Japan, and staying in a hotel.

Before getting into the specifics of Japanese conversation vocabulary at a hotel, it’s important to prepare you for the cultural experience you’ll encounter. Japan is a service nation, from McDonald’s to Uniqlo you’ll encounter some of the best customer service on the planet. The hotels are no exception, from extra clean sheets to bowing at every turn to little knick knacks in your room, the hotel is the epitome of Japanese customer service.

Let’s start with something simple for Japanese Conversation, if you already have a reservation and you’re just looking to check -in:

チェックインをお願いします

The word for check-in in Japanese sounds just like the English word, in Katakana it reads: チェックイン (Chi e ku i – in) You use “onegaishimasu” as a more formal version of “please”, so this phrase means Check in, please.

私の名前はビルです。わたしのなまえはびるです。

The above phrase, adding in Kanji as well as hiragana and katakana means my name is Bill.

部屋を見せてください。

The above phrase uses the command phrase, “please” or kudasai. The verb 見せる（みせる）means to show, and 部屋（へや）means room, please show me the room.

Now here’s some beginning phrases for Japanese conversation if you don’t have a reservation. It gets a little more complicated here:

ようやくをしたいんですが 　ようやく means reservation. This is a very useful phrase and is used at either restaurants or at hotels. The correct way of asking for a reservation is literally like above, “I would like to make a reservation but…” “But” in Japanese, especially when used with the たい or “to want” form, means to lighten the request, to ask politely.

Naturally the next question you’ll have to answer is how many people per room. Below is how to answer one person (hitori) through three people (san nin)

一人　ひとり

二人　ふたり

三人　さんにん

If you’re on a budget, you might ask how much per room:

部屋代は一泊いくらですか？部屋代(へやだい) heya is a word we learned previously, literally meaning room. When you combine this with the character 代dai, it literally means “the price of the room”. To ask per night, you ask:　一泊（いっぱく）(ippaku) means one night, or in this context it means per night, and then of course how to ask how much, or ikura desu ka?

Here’s how you say one night (ippaku) through three nights (sanhaku):

一泊　いっぱく

二泊　にはく

三泊　さんはく

And finally, before going to your room you’ll have to ask “When is check-out?”

チェックアウトは何時ですか？ チェックアウト　as with Check-in, Check-out is also in katakana, and resembles English. The second part of the sentence is nanji desu ka, literally what time?

So now you’ve learned the basics of Japanese conversation at a hotel. One of the drawbacks to Japan and learning Japanese conversation however, is with excellent customer service comes “keigo”, very formal Japanese language. You the customer of course do not have to worry about using keigo when you speak, but when the front desk or concierge speaks to you in Japanese they’ll be using keigo. Therefore when learning Japanese conversation for hotels it’s important to learn both the formal versions of keigo, and of course more rudimentary forms of Japanese for yourself. This article covered the rudimentary Japanese, next article we’ll work on the keigo.

Learn Hiragana – The Foundation for a fruitful Japanese language experience

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There’s good news and bad news with learning Japanese. The bad news is there’s three alphabets, two with about 50 characters, and a third, Kanji, with 2-3,000. The good news is the first alphabet you learn, Hiragana, has sounds that are repeated for the rest of the alphabets. So once you’ve mastered Hiragana, you should be able to pronounce all Japanese sounds going forward. Not only pronunciation, but Hiragana is also an alphabet that any Japanese word can be written in. So to summarize, once you’ve learned Hiragana, you can speak, write, and read Japanese!

Well, not exactly, to add a disclaimer all Japanese periodicals, tv shows, road signs, etc. are written in all three alphabets: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. In order to become fluent a Japanese language learner will have to learn all three of these alphabets, in the order: Hiragana, Katakana, and then Kanji. (Or, Kanji characters can be learned along with Katakana, but Hiragana must be mastered first) However, once someone who’s learning Japanese has learned Hiragana, they can write full sentences and even paragraphs to a Japanese speaker and he or she would completely understand. They can also read articles or any Japanese periodical, but it would have to be translated all into Hiragana. For example, some early children’s books for K-1st graders are written all in Hiragana.

Hiragana comes in bunches of 5 characters. Each character in Japanese has a vowel sound attached to it, as you’ll recognize by looking at the below sample sounds. It actually makes for really great rap music: it’s probably one of the easiest languages to rhyme in. The sounds also repeat, once you learn perfectly how the first bunch of 5 characters sound, then the remaining 9 bunches of 5 characters are just variations off the initial sounds.

In today’s article we’ll focus on the very first 5 characters, again as mentioned earlier the pronunciation of these characters is key: once learned every sound after it will just be a variation on these sounds (note: with a few exceptions). The first five characters with pronunciations added are below:

aiueo

The rhyme describes what every college graduate without a job goes through. He or she might want to live away from home, but they can’t afford food! Katrina Needs Food Hates Home (this is of course not an official rhyme and if you think of something more catchy please let me know!) The vowel in each word reflects each sound of the first bunch of 5 characters. Katrina actually has three vowel sounds, but the first and last a are the “a” sound for the Japanese character: あ.

Equally important along with the pronounciation is the stroke order for each Hiragana character. When writing each character, it is important to not take your pencil off the paper until each stroke is completed. With the first character あ, for the circle make sure to start and then curve around with your pencil, without stopping and taking it off the paper. いand うare self explanatory. For え、the directions on the second stroke are as follows: left to right, right corner to left corner, then trace back up a little bit and curve the tail. For お and the second stroke, it goes top to bottom, then curve around for the final touch.

Now you’ve hopefully learned the beginning 5 bunch of Hiragana. This article will continue to explain in detail the following 9 bunches of Hiragana, but it’s important to master both the concepts and the reading, writing, and pronunciation of the first 5 bunch before moving forward. Pat yourself on the back, learning Hiragana is the first step to learning this wonderful and fascinating language of Japanese.

WIT Life #90: 感謝の気持ち

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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

Following our time in America’s heartland my group and I have since moved to the Bay Area, where we are continuing our study of food safety here in the States.  One participant requested that we go to eat at a vegan restaurant, as this is not a common concept in Japan.  In fact, one night we had a heated conversation regarding the distinction made between the values of plant/animal lives, as well as the viability of vegetarianism.  Veganism was a whole other extreme for them, but as they say, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.  So we were off to San Francisco’s Cafe Gratitude.

My participants were surprised at how delicious all the food was despite the limited ingredients.  We had a sampler which included various spreads such as olive and hummus, and the red lentil soup of the day which was heavenly.  We also shared a coconut curry soup as well as a sweet porridge, followed by nut milk based vanilla ice cream for dessert.  None of us had known what to expect going into it, but we all left feeling very satisfied.

Part of Cafe Gratitude’s premise is, as its name indicates, to increase awareness of what we have to be grateful for.   They have a question of the day to stimulate customers, and the one we received was “What inspires you?”  Our answers were varied (animals, new encounters, people who try to improve the world) but it certainly got us all thinking.  In introducing the restaurant to my guests, I had translated it as 「感謝カフェー」 (kansha cafe).  However, they said that if that was the name of the actual cafe in Japan it wouldn’t attract customers as it sounded rather dull.

This spurred a whole conversation about what the meaning of 感謝 is in Japan, and both women said that this sentiment is not one that adults would often express, for this would be seen as going too far.  Of course it is a component of the pre-meal “itadakimasu” and conveyed either verbally or in correspondence when leaving a long-time position, etc., but it not something that would really be thought about on a regular basis.

Here too of course gratitude is something we take for granted, and part of the cafe’s purpose is attempting to remind people of its importance.  The participants didn’t seem to think this idea would fly in Japan though, and it was an interesting concept to discuss with them.  Personally I find Japanese to err on the appreciative side (i.e. on their birthdays I have friends who thank their mothers for giving birth to them), but perhaps that was a wrongful assumption.

On a different note, a recent NYT article about Japan’s “poverty problem” is worth checking out if you haven’t already.  It was selected as part of the roundup in the Week in Review section two Sundays ago, and it really speaks to an issue that is receiving significant press coverage as of late.  Also another interesting article from the Japan Times talks about the wall Japan has in regard to bringing in foreign talent and internationalizing its own populace.

Why Learn Japanese?

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This is a certainly a question that is asked of both myself, and of Hills Learning. Japanese in the 80’s was what Chinese is today, a language that is learned for business, political, and most importantly future expectations. If a language is perceived to become more prominent, people will try to learn it. Chinese is seen as a language that might even take over English in prominence, so people are desperate to learn it. Potential students for Japanese these days, so people tell me, are manga and anime fans.

While manga and anime fans certainly have an interest in Japanese culture, I would say still today schools, businesses, and individuals are still legitimately interested in learning Japanese. The majority of our own students are not manga and anime fans, but professionals, business owners, private schools, and other entities that see Japanese as very much a part of their lives and their children’s lives. I’ll also argue that Japanese is still very prominent, and learning Japanese can help both beginners and advanced speakers alike in today’s environment. Here’s why:

Strengthen or create your niche in the job market by learning Japanese When asked in an interview, “So recently what have you been doing?” I can’t think of a better response than “learning Japanese.” This instantly shows commitment and an openness to try new things, both characteristics that employers are looking for. But on a broader scale it creates a unique marketable skill, a skill that is instantly recognizable (obviously to any potential Japanese institutions or employers) but also to American, International, or European ones. Remember that ancient question, “what are your skills?” Language is something that’s instantly recognizable and respected; just don’t boast about your Japanese skills. Believe me, I’ve failed multiple interviews because the perception of my Japanese skills was much higher than what they actually were, so just be careful to articulate your skills accurately.

Japanese culture is ubiquitous throughout New York City There are multiple things Japanese in New York City, so much that I’d argue it has almost all the Japanese amenities that Tokyo has. There are multiple book and video stores that are dedicated solely to selling Japanese books and Japanese videos. There’s the typical argument of “sushi”, I know it’s everywhere, but beyond that New York City has a wide variety of Japanese restaurants: Japanese Korean BBQ, Ramen shops, Izakaya (Japanese Pubs), fast food Japanese, and noodle restaurants. There are also Japanese holidays in New York: Japan Day (50,000 attend annually), Cherry Blossom Festival, Anime Festivals, etc.

Japanese Companies Are Ubiquitous in New York City If you still don’t believe me, try walking into an electronics store that doesn’t have 50% Japanese products. Or purchasing a car and not thinking about Honda or Toyota. How about the Nintendo store near Rockefeller plaza? How many Japanese companies advertise in Times Square? Japanese company names are household names in America, but I can also attest to 300 or so Japanese East Coast (or American) headquarters being either in, or near, New York City. That gives you a wide variety of potential employers and ex-pat Japanese populations living in New York City.

These are just some of the reasons why New Yorkers, when thinking of which culture and language they’d love to learn about next, should consider learning Japanese. If you have any further reasons please list them, or if you disagree your comments are welcomed.

WIT Life #89: 空気人形

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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

My current DOS interpreting assignment regarding food safety has kept me busy, but a weekend here in the farm country of Illinois has allowed some time to catch up.  When I was in DC earlier this week, the annual Filmfest featuring a variety of international films was taking place.  While flipping through the program booklet, I was happy to find that the latest release of one of my favorite Japanese directors, Hirokazu Kore-eda, was being screened.  Some of his well-known previous works are After Life (ワンダフルライフ), Nobody Knows (誰も知らない) and Still Walking (歩いても 歩いても), and his newest is Air Doll (空気人形).

This two-hour plus movie came out in Japan last year, and it is based on a 20-page graphic short story published by manga artist Yoshiie Gouda.  It stars South Korean actress Bae Du-na as the blow-up doll companion to a middle-aged man, Hideo, who uses her as a replacement for his former girlfriend, even giving her the same name of Nozomi.  At the beginning of the movie she comes to life, and her adventures begin.  Nozomi hides this fact from Hideo, but she is out and about during the day, even getting a job at the local video store.

She ends up falling for her co-worker, played by the actor Arata who After Life fans will recognize as the main character from that movie (Another awesome star turn is that of Joe Odagiri as the doll maker).  As Nozomi’s relationship with him deepens, so changes the dynamic of her relationship with Hideo.  Due to these shifts, changes emerge that are both emancipating and tragic.  The movie is woven with this dual-natured theme of frivolity and melancholy, as well as the frail interconnectedness that characterizes humanity.  Throughout the movie, Nozomi often expresses that she wishes she hadn’t “found a heart.”

Aside from the main characters, there is a supporting cast formed by the residents of Nozomi’s apartment building, sad souls who all inhabit their own worlds of darkness.  They serve to emphasize the point that like Nozomi we all have our own bit of hollowness, despite how things might appear on the outside.  I came away from this movie with a strong feeling of 寂しさ (sabishisa) or loneliness, perhaps because I was away from home or maybe just because it had that effect on me.  I am not sure if this is what Kore-eda intended for his viewers, but it definitely left me more to mull over than with Still Walking, whose simple, quasi-autobiographical story was slightly disappointing.  You can find Air Doll at Midnight Video and other local Japanese stores (not sure about subtitles), so check it out as well as some of Kore-eda’s other masterpieces!

WIT Life #88: j-cation at Japan Society

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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

This weekend Japan Society hosted the inaugural 12-hour extravaganza known as “j-cation”.  The line-up of events was kicked off by the movie Flavor of Happiness (幸せの香り or Shiawase no kaori), the story of a father-daughter relationship between an aging Chinese chef and his young female apprentice.  A bit long and sappy, but the food images were to die for!  In various corners of Japan Society several workshops were simultaneously taking place, such as furoshiki (wrapping cloth) folding, Japanese tea and sweets and calligraphy classes.  There was also an assortment of stands with Japanese products, such as this outpost of (Kumamoto-born!) Dainobu convenience store selling sweets.

However, the highlight of my afternoon was the “luscious lecture” called Table Talk that featured Takeru “The Tsunami” Kobayashi.  This hot dog eating champ, whose record is 50 in 12 minutes and who won the Coney Island competition for six years straight from 2001-06, revealed some of his secrets and back stories.  The person who happened to be sitting in front of us for the talk was none other than Japan Society President Motoatsu Sakurai!  He chatted with us for a bit, lovely as always, and judging by his frequent laughter he seemed to enjoy Kobayashi’s talk as much as the rest of the audience.

32-year old Kobayashi shared that he got his start as a college student, when his friends noticed that he could put away an insane amount of food and contacted the local media.  Now competitive eating is his full-time career, and he participates in about 12 events a year.  His favorite contest foods are soft, easily digestible ones such as tofu and curry rice (the latter was the food at his very first competition!).  During the off season, his favorite foods to eat non-competitively are bagels, tofu and yogurt.

As pictured, Kobayashi was outfitted in a sleek black jacket and scarf, and this osshare image was quite different from the typical one of the Coney Island champion with blond hair and bandana.  In response to the question of what he would like to challenge archrival Joey Chestnut with should they ever meet at a contest in Japan, his answer was sushi or onigiri.  When asked about his weight fluctuation, he said he was currently 130 pounds but could go as high as 200!

But enough with the table talk, the audience wanted to see Kobayashi in action, demonstrating his famous hot dog halving and bun soaking technique (Fun fact: If he eats 60 hot dogs during a competition, they will be accompanied by two gallons of water!).  He took on the two hosts (on left) who never stood a chance.  He finished his hot dogs with time to spare and then helped them out with theirs.

In sports news, 18-year old Japanese female knuckleball pitcher Eri Yoshida has joined the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League.  According to Salon, “the 5-foot, 114-pound Yoshida became Japan’s first female pro baseball player last year when she pitched for the Kobe Cruise 9 in the Kansai Independent League.”  Best of luck to her here in the States!

WIT Life #86: 日本の企業家精神

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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.

Last night I attended a symposium on Entrepreneurship in Japan (日本の企業家精神; nihon no kigyouka seishin) hosted by the Columbia Business School’s Center on Japanese Economy and Business.  The three panelists (two present, one via video from Tokyo) represented a variety of generations and backgrounds.  In 1985, American-born Ernest Matsuo Higa revolutionized Japanese home pizza delivery after obtaining the exclusive license to Domino’s Pizza.  Atsushi Imuta (participating from Tokyo) quit his job at a Japanese bank to found RISA Partners, an invesment banking firm.  Kohei Nishiyama, the youngest of the group who was raised in Columbia and went to university in Japan, invented the Design To Order system which allows manufacturers to reduce risk by carrying out product development based on customers’ requests.

An article on Japanese entrepreneurship in last month’s Eurobiz Japan highlights how within the Japan’s educational system there is the idea of entrepreneurship and risk-taking being undesirable, and that in order for things to change education needs to be used as tool advocating entrepreneurship.   Higa expressed that the climate for entrepreneurs was improving, perhaps as a side effect of the economic recession.  Before the best and brightest would have automatically entered the top companies, but now that this option is not always available, many have no choice but to become entrepreneurs.  But rather than a default option, the next generation needs to hear the message that starting something new is cool and making money as an entrepreneur, something often criticized in Japan, is not a bad thing.

According to Higa, all entrepreneurs in Japan are mavericks as they are pursuing something uncertain that is high risk and low return.  One reason is the government’s pro-establishment stance, which includes high personal income and inheritance taxes which are a disincentive for entrepreneurs. Also in terms of social status, even someone who is a successful entrepreneur receives less acclaim than someone who took the traditional path and entered a large company.  Whereas in the U.S. we might support the underdog, in Japan they tend to side with stability.  Also, whereas here failure can be seen as a badge of honor before you dust yourself off and try again, in Japan it has more negative associations.

Risk aversion also factors into the financing of entrepreneurs.  In Japan there is lack of a venture capitalist network, hindering access to sophisticated investors.  You can get loans from banks if you have collateral, but they tend to shy away from taking a chance on something different.  Nishiyama (pictured above, courtesy of John Ellis-Guardiola) detailed how he had to get his start-up money came from angel investors based in the U.S. or those who had spent a significant amount of time in the U.S.

Imuta emphasized the importance of spreading the culture of entrepreneurship in Japan, namely the fact that it’s fun to start something new and manage a company and its risks.  He recalled that when he quit his job at the bank, 10% of the people admired him but 70% were suspicious of why he did, thinking he was involved with embezzlement or other illegal activity.

Clearly, in order to further cultivate Japan’s budding entrepreneurs societal and regulatory changes are necessary.  This is occurring on an incremental basis, as evidenced by the appearance last fall of the Japan Times column The Wisdom of Entrepreneurs, which profiles up and coming entrepreneurs .   At Columbia Business School, entrepreneurship is the most popular track for students, and getting the Japanese as passionate about this concept could go a long way in exploiting the country’s latent entrepreneur culture.