Why Business in Japan Now?

With its economy size and maturity Japan has been one of markets that have attracted worldwide business owners and companies outside Japan, but has remained one of a few markets too difficult to enter and penetrate. Possible reasons may include its language, geographic "the far east" location, unique culture of over 200 year isolation from the rest of the world, and so on.

Is it still too difficult to enter and penetrate Japanese market in today’s globalized economy and society? And, is it really wise for you to give up doing business in Japan without understanding its market, customers, and what it is like to do business in Japan?

The answer is no.

Japanese market is attractive with its size, maturity and stability even though its population is decreasing and other emerging markets look more promising. Furthermore, the country is safe and clean compared with many other countries in the world, which is what most of people who have visited or relocated to Japan say. Moreover, the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics will surely provide great business opportunities to stakeholders around the world, not limited to those in Japan.

Let me briefly explain what I mean.

1.    Japan - rich country with its big and mature market, but still untapped by many companies        

1)   Big, stable and ripe for business expansion

It may be one of the most mature markets in the world, but Japan is home to a wealth of untapped development possibilities. As the third largest market in the world after North America and China, Japan’s fertile ground is ripe for business expansion. With government initiatives to boost economy called Abenomics as well as upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan truly offers opportunity worth exploring.

Japan enjoys stable economy. There is very little possibility of drastic economic fluctuation that negatively affects foreign investment entering and penetrating Japanese market such as sudden sharp appreciation of JPY to USD or any other foreign currency, sudden change in interest rate and so forth.

Politics is stable and it is very unlikely that the leading party will change for the time being, which means Japanese government policy will be stable and Abenomics initiatives will continue.

With this background, Tokyo Metropolitan has partnered with JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) and opened Business Development Center Tokyo in April 2015 to provide services and incentives for foreign companies.

Many projects are planned and ongoing to develop and transform Tokyo area, not just where the athletes will be playing sports or Tokyo Bay area during 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This means better business environment in Tokyo.

So many improvements are ongoing in Tokyo and other cities and regions in Japan to make their cities friendly for tourists and visitors around the globe, when we have more and more tourists coming into Japan not limited to major places like Tokyo and Kyoto, such as Hokkaido, Nikko in Tohoku region, Hakone in Kanagawa, Takayama in Gifu, Hiroshima and Kyushu.

2)   Ideal market for high-value, sophisticated products and services

Japan, a mature market, is great for well-targeted products and services of high value. It is an ideal market to test marketing of new and innovative products and services. Japanese customers are probably the most difficult ones in the world to please and satisfy. If you can satisfy them you have high probability of being able to satisfy consumers of other markets. Japanese do, however, pay for the products and services they do value.

Why don’t you seriously think to explore Japan’s potential with an experienced in-market partner, if you have not done so?

2.    Globalization - free flow of goods, money, people and information

1)   History of proactive interaction with the world as well as isolation from the world

With very limited and fragmented information about it, Japan may be regarded as a mysterious country and you may have no clue of how to make a market entry and do business in Japan. Many people do say that it is an exclusive market, often mentioning of the over 200 years of national isolation from the world during its Edo period.

But, on the contrary, Japan used to be extremely proactive in interacting with the world, absorbing different cultures, adapting them to meet its local needs and creating something new. This is from around AC 600 until today, first from Korea and China, and then from the west.

2)   With drastic changes in the last decades the world becomes far smaller today

When Margaret Thatcher was leading UK and Ronald Reagan US around 1980, there was no direct flight between Japan and Europe. I lived in Osaka, so I had to fly from Osaka to Tokyo to Anchorage to finally arrive at London Heathrow Airport which took a whole day door-to-door. Also, there was limitation in carrying cash with us from Japan when travelling abroad. The amount was insufficient for us to do shopping as we do today.

The general public could not make international phone calls as we do today. To make one international call from Japan we had to make a reservation and the line did not necessarily get through smoothly. And the cost was about 1/3 of the average wage of a Japanese worker.

There was no Internet so we could neither communicate via Skype nor browse web content online. Therefore, the only way for Japanese living abroad to obtain Japanese content was to receive Japanese books, newspapers and magazines sent from Japan. The other option was to drive hours to London and buy them in Japanese departments or book stores.

There were neither YouTube and Ustream nor no access to Japanese TV and video content online abroad. From around 1982 employees of some Japanese companies in Japan recorded some TV programs in home video tape using their personal VCR and sent to Japanese colleagues abroad. This was the only way then to access to Japanese video/TV content from abroad.

Today we have access to information around the globe and can deliver message to the world by the Internet. We also have access to products and services around the globe and can shop online. This means companies and business owners outside Japan have access to Japan and can deliver information, products and services, and communicate with business partners and customers in Japan to do business regardless of their location. This is advantageous since Japan is a well-developed for online business. According to a survey result by MarketingProfs.Com, Japan is the forth e-commerce market in the world after China, US, and UK.

And today, the Japanese government and people are basically open to people (tourists and relevant business persons, athletes etc.), goods (products and services), capital and information (content and entertainment) coming into their country.

Lastly, I would like to emphasize is that successful Japan market entry and penetration is not something only for large companies but also can be achieved by SMBs and individual business owners.

This Post was written by Megumi Oyanagi: Bridge between Japan and Global, Japan Market/Marketing Professional, the Author of “7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan”

Respect & Accept Japan’s Business Culture and Manners & Customs for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

So far, I have outlined 6 approaches that are inevitable in successful business in Japan.

In order to make them work, you need 1 thing; without this, you will never be successful in doing business in Japan even with the 6 approaches.

That is, do not assume “Japan Way” and the way done in your country is similar.

This is about business culture, manners and customs, communication style and so forth.  This is more about soft part, or mindset and behavior, attributing to the country’s long history, culture, religion, education, how things work in the society etc.

One of the things first mentioned by non-Japanese about this topic is exchanging business cards in Japan.

This is true while you need to understand something behind it that leads to many other things you encounter in doing business in Japan such as how you would need to communicate and get things done in business professionals in Japan especially in formal settings, and setting up your office in Japan.

These are because in Japan “the organization the individual belongs” and his/her title have much significance than the individual.

Another key thing is that face-to-face communication is the key in Japan and it is very unlikely you can get along only with online communication, unlike in large countries such as in the US.

These attribute to the Japan’s long history and culture. You would simply need to respect and accept it instead of pushing your way in doing business in Japan if you want to be successful, as in the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.

In fact, this was the topic I did one hour consultation with an American business executive who started his business in Japan with a local JV over an international phone call last year. He said communication with the Japan local JV has not been going on well and he tried to understand why by reading books but thought it better to have the consultation on Corporate Culture.

Such a thing is quite understandable because this kind of things are difficult to include in manual, nor can be understood and put into practice overnight.

Having said that, there are things that are universal such as basics of business, ethics/morale/compliance, and how you should treat other people.

After all, this is all about Diversity and Inclusion.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

This article was originally posted on Megumi Oyanagi’s Blog About Japan

Leverage the Internet/Digital while Mixing with Face-to-Face for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

So far, I have outlined 5 approaches that are inevitable in successful business in Japan.

In order to make them work, you need 2 things, which are the 6^th and the 7^th approach.

The 6^th is to leverage the Internet technology.

It allows you to network with experts around the globe via social media, just as I am doing NOW using LinkedIn, blogs, Facebook etc., as well as getting information online using search.

It is this way that I have access to information worldwide and have been gaining relevant information/data as long as they are in Japanese (my native language) to English. 

It is this way that I met people outside Japan/my area who turned out to be great friends and experts in respective realm who kindly provided with their wisdom especially via LinkedIn discussions. They consequently helped me writing my eBook as well as in doing other things at work or outside work.

Key people in writing and completing the eBook include those whom I met online, and worked/collaborated online. Some of them I also collaborated offline (i.e. face-to-face) if/where possible.

My advice is you take similar approach. In doing so, you need to remember that social media landscape in Japan is quite different from those in your country.  You also need to remember that Japanese people do prefer face-to-face communication. They would not start business only by interaction online.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

Your Country is Not the Only Source of Wisdom for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

So far, I have outlined 5 approaches that are inevitable in successful business in Japan, which are basics in planning and doing business.

What makes it difficult to go through them is probably the fact that you cannot do them all by yourself or your staff due to insufficient knowledge, know-how, network, resources and so forth, especially if you are business owner/professional of small & mid-sized business.

You can overcome it by networking with experts around the globe and seeking help from them, in respective topics such as market research, marketing, supply chain and so forth. After all, two heads are better than one.

The more the budget you have the better, but you can somehow do so with limited budget, too.

You might think you need to know Japanese language to do so for Japan business. Actually no.

Japanese bi/multi-cultural with English fluency is probably the first go-to-person while it is quite interesting to know there are non-Japanese based in Japan, or non-Japanese working for Japanese clients and the like who may well know about specifics of doing business in Japan and cultural aspects more than most of the Japanese.

That is quite understandable because it is when you have been exposed to multiple different environment that you can compare and understand the uniqueness of your own country or Japan.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

Operational Excellence from Marketing, Sales, Delivery to Collecting Money for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

It is after developing your strategy and plans for your business and marketing as in the previous post that you are ready for execution.

Operational Excellence is a key in this phase, assuming you have developed your products and services hence you decided to do your business and have reached to this point.

That is, the end-to-end chain of marketing, BD (business development)/sales follow-up of leads generated, and distribution of your products & services you’re your local staff or partner operating smoothly, to deliver value to your target customers.

From web content I come across it seems many people tend to think marketing and sales are different and it is a challenge for the two to work together. To customers all functions of the company/business/brand is the same. You need to provide high quality customer experience at all touch points, online and offline.

Doing marketing targeting the market and customers you are not so familiar with is a challenge while there is some ways to overcome that. And, when your marketing becomes a success; i.e. generates leads (e.g. customers are interested in your products & services and wanting to know more) you need to make sure you follow up and this is sales, which needs to be done locally otherwise it would not work.

And, what is more, distribution which come next is a challenge especially if your business of selling tangible products as you can imagine. You cannot do this globally only but what if you cannot set up an entity in Japan and hire local staff?

Moreover, collecting money from your customers after delivery is crucial and this also requires someone doing this locally. How can you overcome this?

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

How to Develop and Execute Your Plan Strategically and Systematically for Successful Japan/Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

After doing research and developing strategy as in the previous post, now it is time for you to develop action plans. At this point, many business professionals might dive into making to-do-list but wait.

You need to be strategic and systematic in developing your plan. It is wise to use key marketing framework and methodology.

Define positioning of your business and products/services based on the research & analysis and strategy. Do you want to position yourself as luxurious brand or commodity brand? Niche brand or brand for the general public? High-end or volume-zone?

Your positioning determines targeting i.e. the customers you want to target after customer segmentation, which is the key in developing and executing marketing strategy/plan.

Your targeting determines 4Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion), which leads to action plans with timeline, role & responsibilities of people involved, budget etc., i.e. concrete allocation of resources (budget, manpower, time).

Among the 4Ps of marketing, there are a few that are truly critical in doing business outside your country. Once you get them wrong, it is very difficult to put them back into track.

Planning for execution is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

This article was originally posted on Megumi Oyanagi’s Blog About Japan

Have You Done Enough Research then Developed Your Strategy for Successful Japan/Global Business? – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

As in the previous post, many business professionals think globally only when they realized they cannot grow their business only in their own, local market (i.e. of their own country). So they tend to “rush” in going global.

Perhaps that is why many of them think “let’s start going global from this country” without much thought or strategy supported by research and analysis.

Japan is number 3 market in size and matured for most industries so it is an attractive market. So many business professionals outside Japan are interested in making Japan market entry. This is probably such people contact me via LinkedIn saying they want to expand their business in Japan. But, I must say majority are so easy going.

It is basically the same for many Japanese business professionals. When they explain to me their aspiration in going global and starting with this country or this approach, I would ask them why most of the time they cannot explain clearly, in convincing manner. It is because of insufficient or lack of research, insight and strategy.

With language barrier and lack of knowhow or connections, doing research, gaining insight and developing strategy is a huge challenge. It does not mean you can get away with it. And, there are some ways you can overcome this challenge, even with limited resources.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

When Should You Start Thinking Globally for Successful Global Business – Japanese Businesses & MNCs Operating in Japan

You may well start your business locally in your country even if you have a vision of going global in the future. When do you start taking global market into consideration? After your local business starts to mature?

It is natural that you start your business where you are familiar with thus that is what most people do but that is no good.

There are so many things that cannot be “changed/tailored” to make your business change/evolve to something global once you start with something very local.

Brand (including brand name) is just an example. This is why current global companies like Toyota have changed their CI brand from their original one (e.g. from Japanese to English).

Such small change worked for them, but for others they simply had to completely change everything, meaning huge investment/cost and re-building the brand again.

Thinking globally from the early stage is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

You Cannot Underestimate Manners & Customs, Culture for Successful Global Business – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

As in previous posts, regulations/rules and language, knowledge of market and customers of foreign market, and operations are key factors in going global yet difficult to overcome. 

There is one more thing you cannot simply ignore – business manners & customs, and culture.

I actually was asked to do an hour consulting over phone of an American business professional about this last year. They had set up a joint venture with a Japanese local company and started their Japan business but were having problems and he concluded it was because of corporate culture.

He seemed to have tried to understand this issue by reading some books but decided to have my consultation. From our conversation he seemed to have been spot on and told me he would immediately take actions based on my consultation.

The Japanese companies going global also have the very same issue.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

Maybe the Biggest Hurdle for Successful Global Business – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

As in previous posts, regulations/rules and language, knowledge of market and customers of foreign market are often named as key factors in going global yet difficult to overcome. 

In reality, selling, distributing and collecting money in doing business (something more operational) especially in going global is a huge obstacle. This is vital in business yet sometimes underestimated in planning phase.

You cannot say your business is successful unless you managed to sell, distribute/provide to your customers and they pay you, i.e. you receive money from them, not account receivable).

In making Japan market entry and doing business in Japan, this may not be as critical as some other countries/regions because Japanese people tend to keep their promise once made. Perhaps Japanese companies and business professionals going global find this more difficult.

But still, when you are not so familiar with the Japanese market, developing the total operational process and making sure you manage the process and collect money from your customers in a way that your cash flow is in good condition is not easy, especially when you cannot set up an entity in Japan from the start etc.

A solution is setting up a Joint Venture with a Japanese company but this is still too much a burden for many small & mid-sized businesses. In that case, there are other possible solutions, too.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

Overcoming Lack of Market and Customer Knowledge in Going Global – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

Besides regulations/rules and language, knowledge of market and customers of foreign market is key in going global.  This cannot be acquired and truly utilized in product/service development and marketing overnight.  And, without this, you cannot decide which product/service to launch in which geographical market, and how.

In making Japan market entry and doing business in Japan, business professional outside Japan do say such knowledge is something they lack.  To me, many LinkedIn discussions of groups about Japan are about seeking some help to overcome this issue.

Similarly, Japanese companies and business professionals also need help in acquiring and leveraging knowledge of the overseas market and customers when they expand their business outside Japan.

Even if such knowledge cannot be acquired overnight and even if you may not have time and system to develop employee/talent who truly has such knowledge.

One solution is hiring appropriate talent, but finding, hiring and developing such full time employee may well be too much a burden for you.

It does not mean there is no way to overcome this issue.  You can overcome this by leveraging appropriate resources around the globe.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

You Cannot Underestimate Japanese Language in Business in Japan – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

Though I would not say it is the first priority as in my previous post, for MNCs operating in Japan, language is usually named as the first obstacle for their market entry into the Japanese market and being successful.  And it is true you cannot underestimate language issue in doing business in Japan.

Only very limited Japanese people are fluent in English.  That is even those working in large MNCs operating in Japan.  That is why translating/localizing documents and tools into Japanese is “must” in all businesses and occasions.  Whenever you are to have a meeting or event involving non-Japanese speaker(s), interpretation is the issue you need to think about / solve.

Japanese companies and business professionals also say language (English) is the first challenge they face in going global.  Similarly, language is not the first priority but it is an obstacle they need to overcome.

Language is a tool of communication in doing business.  Without it, no way you can be successful in your business.

But, it does not mean you always need to be fluent in Japanese to succeed in business in Japan.

This is one of the topics I have covered in my two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

This article was originally posted on Megumi Oyanagi’s Blog About Japan

Obstacles in Going Global is Not Only Language – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

For MNCs operating in Japan, language is usually named as the first obstacle for their market entry into the Japanese market and being successful.

Also, Japanese companies and business professionals also say language (English) is the first challenge they face in going global.

Well, to me, it is yes but no.

Regulations and rules such as tariff and laws, whether applicable for all industries or of a specific industry is the primary barrier.

They shape the external business environment and the game rule each player play the game / do business.

They determine whether you can do a certain business in a specific country or region.

What is tricky is that some rules are not necessarily clear / written down and thus difficult for foreign investments to fully understand and comply.

For overview and some details with a few examples, please kindly refer to two eBooks I wrote, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

Going Global in Globalized Economy – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

The background or reasons for global includes market situation (size, quality, positioning etc.) as in the previous post.

And of course, it is more than natural in today’s global economy in which capital, goods, people and information moves around the globe.  How they moves around the globe with such an ease has completely changed how we live as well as how we do business.

Although I did not really mention this in English version eBook, when talking going global from Japan / going global positioning Japan strategically, “Japan Brand” might be something you could leverage for your business success depending on what kind of business you are engaged in, whether Japanese or non-Japanese companies/businesses.

These are the kind of things I had in mind in the two eBooks I wrote is all about, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

I get inquiries about Japan market entries via LinkedIn and this is just a small example of how we can get information and work/do business beyond boundary.  And, when I did a 90 minutes seminar in December 2016 in Japanese about the same theme as my Japanese version eBook, the attendees were amazed to know how I interact with business professionals around the globe! 

The organizer have finished making their monthly brochure for March 2016 including a session about my seminar and the printed version should be sent to me shortly…

Why Going Global is Hot Now (1) – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

In short, for Japanese companies, when the Japan domestic market is saturated for most established products industries, products & services, Japan market size is unlikely to grow yet shrinking with aging population, they are forced to go global.

That has been the trend even for FMCG companies that were slow in going global unlike companies of automobile and electronics.

As for MNCs, it is about looking at the Japanese market from a bit different perspective.  Although emerging marketing may seem more attractive than the Japanese market, Japan is still a country you cannot ignore.

Actually it can be an ideal market to develop a new business model and roll out worldwide, positioning Japan as a “test marketing” country.  This is because expectation of Japanese consumers are the highest in the world.

These are the kind of things touched on in the two eBooks I wrote is all about, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

I get inquiries about Japan market entries via LinkedIn.  And, it was interesting to see Japanese attendees were very attentive when I did a 90 minutes seminar in December 2016 in Japanese about the same theme as my Japanese version eBook.  The organizer have finished making their monthly brochure for March 2016 including a session about my seminar.

The participants were very attentive, and what really attracted their interest is that there can be a way of creating business in such an aging Japanese market – after all it is about how you perceive market without “barriers” with out-of-the-box way of thinking.

How to be Successful in Going Global – Japanese Businesses vs MNCs Operating in Japan

Simply put, Japanese businesses finally do business not exclusively targeting their Japan domestic market and consumers; i.e. make market entry in other countries and grow their business.

As for MNCs, it is the same thing from the other standpoint; i.e. enter and penetrate the Japanese market and grow their Japan business.

Both are quite a challenge when the market, customer behavior and their needs, regulations, business manners and customs, culture and everything is so different by country/region.

However, the essence or “key approaches” for the two are the same.  What is different are “how to apply the key approaches” for each market in an appropriate way.

This is what the two eBooks I wrote is all about, which was published by StartiaLab, a leading Japanese eBook publisher in November, 2015.

English version: 7 Things to Know to be Successful in Business in Japan

Japanese version: 世界を相手に勝つための教科書 – グローバル社会で事業を拡大する7つの方法と8つの事例

I get inquiries about Japan market entries via LinkedIn.  And, it was interesting to see Japanese attendees were very attentive when I did a 90 minutes seminar in December 2016 in Japanese about the same theme as my Japanese version eBook.  The organizer informed me that they have just finished making their monthly brochure for March 2016 including a session about my seminar, which made me recall this incident.

“Going Global” is indeed a hot topic worldwide.