Osaka - Sunday, December 11, 2011
Nikkei, Japanese leading newspaper specialized in business and economy, reported today that Japan, China and South Korea are to start negotiation to conclude a FTA (Free Trade Agreement) in summer 2012. The three countries plan to define the direction of the negotiation start kickoff in the joint study about FTA among the three countries next week, and to officially confirm in the summit among the three countries to be held in spring 2012.
They also plan to reach a substantive agreement on Investment Agreement including such topics as preservation of intellectual properties.
1. Why Japan decided to start the negotiation now?
In November Japan expressed its intention of joining the negotiation to become a member of TPP. According to the analysis of the Japanese government, China and South Korea have become more proactive in negotiating with Japan about the topic in this trend and thus would like to take the opportunity to move forward on the FTA negotiation with the two countries.
2. How will the FTA negotiation proceed?
The 7th meeting of joint study among industry, academia and public sector to discuss conclusion of FTA among the three countries will be held in Pyeongchang December 14 – 16. It is anticipated that in the report to be announced on the last day a proposal to start the negotiation soon will be included, in addition to stance of each country regarding liberalization of trade and investment.
After the announcement of the report, governments of the three countries are to start drafting organization and schedule of the negotiation on the practical level. It is planned that in spring 2012 the official agreement discussion of the FTA is to be included in the summit agenda participated by the three countries to be held in China. The three countries aim to start the negotiation in summer 2012 to reach an agreement and sign smoothly and quickly.
3. What would be the focus of the negotiation?
It would be whether how cooperative the three countries can be to reach an agreement.
Japan would like to promote region scale economic alliance in Asia Pacific through Investment Agreement and FTA. China is rather reactive in lowering tariff of industrial products because they feel it would be a negative factor in developing the industry of their country.
In such a situation, it will not be easy for the three countries to reach an agreement. There are many hurdles to overcome regarding conditions even after the FTA negotiation started among the three countries.
4. What is the additional discussion planned between Japan and South Korea?
The Japanese government will also proceed simultaneously with negotiation to liberalize bi-lateral FTA with South Korea. The government started to coordinate to re-start in the first half of 2012 the negotiation of EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) between Japan and South Korea that has been halted since 2004. This topic is planned to be included in the agenda of the meeting between Prime Minister Noda of Japan and President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea when the President visits Japan on December 17.
5. What is the plan of the Investment Agreement among the three countries?
It is anticipated that the substantive agreement is reached regarding the Investment Agreement among the three countries to deregulate investment from foreign capitals in the 14th meeting to be held on December 14. And then the leaders of the three countries are to sign the agreement in spring 2012 to make it effective by the end of 2012.
In the Investment Agreement, topics such as rules for intellectual property preservation and dispute settlement based on the International Law will be included. The agreement also aims to loosen the regulation of local content and technology transfer.
Resources:-
Japan, China and South Korea are to start negotiation to conclude FTA in summer 2012. The three countries plan to define the direction of the negotiation start in the joint study about FTA among the three countries next week, and to officially confirm in the summit among the three countries to be held in spring 2012. They also want to reach a substantive Investment Agreement including such topics as intellectual properties preservation.
2011年12月11日日曜日
Japanese Companies Joining War for Global Talent (Part 2)
Osaka – Sunday, December 11, 2011
This is the succeeding article of the previous article Japanese Companies Joining War for Global Talent (Part 1) in which how Japanese companies started in earnest acquiring, developing and retaining global talent.
In this article, the author would like to introduce how 3 Japanese companies have started to develop global talent.
1. Hitachi
1) Overview of the company
Hitachi, established in 1910, is a leading Japanese company in electronics and heavy industry. The company initiates global businesses focusing on “society innovation business” that provide social infrastructure supported by information and telecommunication system businesses.
There are approximately 33,000 employees (non-consolidated) and 360,000 employees (consolidated) as of March 2011.
2) Basic concept of the global talent development
The objective of global talent development is to promote local driven management and accelerate business globalization by transforming to their management to a new human resource management from globalization perspective.
Their policy is to roll out human resource management and development aligning to each business of the variety of businesses the company is engaged in.
3) Main targets of the development programmes
The company has developed programmes for 4 types of global businesses; international (e.g. electron microscope business), global (e.g. semiconductor business), multi-national (e.g. home electronics business) and trans-national (e.g. large system business such as thermal power business. The company identified requirements and calculated the number of employees necessary for each type.
4) Main development programmes
(1) Globalization of Japanese employees working in Japan
Young employees are sent to International Assignments 1-3 months leveraging internal posting system.
(2) Developing global leaders
Off-JT developing programme for lines managers in Japan are reviewed focusing on developing leadership skills required in global business.
2. JGC Corporation
1) Overview of the company
JGC Corporation, established in 1928 as the Japan’s first engineering company, has been managing projects by engineers around the globe. Their business and management policy is to strengthen their core business and expand/grow business investment to become “Program Management Contractor & Investment Partner”.
There are 2,137 employees as of March 31, 2011.
2) Basic concept of the global talent development
The objective of global talent development is to develop employees so that they can lead diverse people of different background, work style and values, thus the company can initiate and manage projects as a global engineering company.
The total programme focuses on experience in real business OJT in addition to classroom lectures.
3) Main targets of the development programmes
The company aims to make all their employees be able to work globally, and not developing only selected employees as “global talent” or “employees to be sent to International Assignment”.
This is because the company believes that all employees in all functions in all layers of the organization require skills to lead and manage diverse people.
4) Main development programmes
The company provides various development programmes by layers of organization.
For example, all employees with work history in their company of maximum 4 years are sent to an International Assignment 3 – 6 months such as working in a shop floor of overseas plant construction. Also some employees with more work experience are selected to be sent to an International Assignment for 1 year such as working in western companies.
3. Fuji Xerox
1) Overview of the company
Fuji Xerox, a global company of copy/fax and information/communication equipments, was established in 1968 as the joint venture of Fuji Film (now Fuji Film Holdings) and Xerox (now Xerox Limited). The company has a slogan of “Best Partner, Fuji Xerox” and provides document services for office productivity improvement and management quality enhancement.
There are 9,627 employees as of March 31, 2011.
2) Basic concept of the global talent development
The comprehensive development programme is designed based on the philosophy that developing operation and communication skill required in live global business for practical use is more important than simply developing English language skills.
3) Main targets of the development programmes
The main target used to be a group of selected employees, who were sent overseas for International Assignment.
However, the company realized that all employees need to have a certain level of global business skill and mindset and therefore added a new course for sales person responsible for Japan market.
4) Main development programmes
(1) Overseas business training, integrating English language training and International Assignment
There used to be only a 1-1/2 year course for 10 employees a year. Now the company added a 2-1/2 year course for 20 employees a year, from which employees from in Japan domestic sales department also can benefit.
(2) Addition of global education in current training
Session of global business is added to current annual trainings and trainings for selected sales persons.
4. The author’s final thoughts
Japanese companies are far behind their western counterparts in global talent development. Most of their development programmes used to be targeting only on a selected employees who are to be appointed long-term International Assignment (3-5 years) and/or employees who are to be engaged in international and overseas related operation. Also their development and training programmes used to focus on English skills.
However, at least some of them started to realize all their employees need to have skills, competencies and mindset to work globally to certain extent. Also a few leaders in global talent development are now aware of the necessity and importance of leading and managing members of diverse team.
The author sincerely hopes that more Japanese companies would follower such companies. She hopes that they would implement programmes to make their employees learn from live experience the skills, competencies and mindset required to work in a global business environment, collaborating with members of the global network.
References:-
“Global Talent Development”, featured article of Vol. 3808 of Rosei Jiho issued on October 28, 2011, p10-p73 (in Japanese)
https://www.rosei.jp/readers
Resources:-
Japanese companies are still far behind their western counterparts but they have started to evolve their global talent development programme when they used to provide such programme to only selected employees, focusing on English language skills. Some of them started to provide programmes to all their employees including those in Japan sales department, aiming to develop their employees so that they can lead and manage diverse team members.
This is the succeeding article of the previous article Japanese Companies Joining War for Global Talent (Part 1) in which how Japanese companies started in earnest acquiring, developing and retaining global talent.
In this article, the author would like to introduce how 3 Japanese companies have started to develop global talent.
1. Hitachi
1) Overview of the company
Hitachi, established in 1910, is a leading Japanese company in electronics and heavy industry. The company initiates global businesses focusing on “society innovation business” that provide social infrastructure supported by information and telecommunication system businesses.
There are approximately 33,000 employees (non-consolidated) and 360,000 employees (consolidated) as of March 2011.
2) Basic concept of the global talent development
The objective of global talent development is to promote local driven management and accelerate business globalization by transforming to their management to a new human resource management from globalization perspective.
Their policy is to roll out human resource management and development aligning to each business of the variety of businesses the company is engaged in.
3) Main targets of the development programmes
The company has developed programmes for 4 types of global businesses; international (e.g. electron microscope business), global (e.g. semiconductor business), multi-national (e.g. home electronics business) and trans-national (e.g. large system business such as thermal power business. The company identified requirements and calculated the number of employees necessary for each type.
4) Main development programmes
(1) Globalization of Japanese employees working in Japan
Young employees are sent to International Assignments 1-3 months leveraging internal posting system.
(2) Developing global leaders
Off-JT developing programme for lines managers in Japan are reviewed focusing on developing leadership skills required in global business.
2. JGC Corporation
1) Overview of the company
JGC Corporation, established in 1928 as the Japan’s first engineering company, has been managing projects by engineers around the globe. Their business and management policy is to strengthen their core business and expand/grow business investment to become “Program Management Contractor & Investment Partner”.
There are 2,137 employees as of March 31, 2011.
2) Basic concept of the global talent development
The objective of global talent development is to develop employees so that they can lead diverse people of different background, work style and values, thus the company can initiate and manage projects as a global engineering company.
The total programme focuses on experience in real business OJT in addition to classroom lectures.
3) Main targets of the development programmes
The company aims to make all their employees be able to work globally, and not developing only selected employees as “global talent” or “employees to be sent to International Assignment”.
This is because the company believes that all employees in all functions in all layers of the organization require skills to lead and manage diverse people.
4) Main development programmes
The company provides various development programmes by layers of organization.
For example, all employees with work history in their company of maximum 4 years are sent to an International Assignment 3 – 6 months such as working in a shop floor of overseas plant construction. Also some employees with more work experience are selected to be sent to an International Assignment for 1 year such as working in western companies.
3. Fuji Xerox
1) Overview of the company
Fuji Xerox, a global company of copy/fax and information/communication equipments, was established in 1968 as the joint venture of Fuji Film (now Fuji Film Holdings) and Xerox (now Xerox Limited). The company has a slogan of “Best Partner, Fuji Xerox” and provides document services for office productivity improvement and management quality enhancement.
There are 9,627 employees as of March 31, 2011.
2) Basic concept of the global talent development
The comprehensive development programme is designed based on the philosophy that developing operation and communication skill required in live global business for practical use is more important than simply developing English language skills.
3) Main targets of the development programmes
The main target used to be a group of selected employees, who were sent overseas for International Assignment.
However, the company realized that all employees need to have a certain level of global business skill and mindset and therefore added a new course for sales person responsible for Japan market.
4) Main development programmes
(1) Overseas business training, integrating English language training and International Assignment
There used to be only a 1-1/2 year course for 10 employees a year. Now the company added a 2-1/2 year course for 20 employees a year, from which employees from in Japan domestic sales department also can benefit.
(2) Addition of global education in current training
Session of global business is added to current annual trainings and trainings for selected sales persons.
4. The author’s final thoughts
Japanese companies are far behind their western counterparts in global talent development. Most of their development programmes used to be targeting only on a selected employees who are to be appointed long-term International Assignment (3-5 years) and/or employees who are to be engaged in international and overseas related operation. Also their development and training programmes used to focus on English skills.
However, at least some of them started to realize all their employees need to have skills, competencies and mindset to work globally to certain extent. Also a few leaders in global talent development are now aware of the necessity and importance of leading and managing members of diverse team.
The author sincerely hopes that more Japanese companies would follower such companies. She hopes that they would implement programmes to make their employees learn from live experience the skills, competencies and mindset required to work in a global business environment, collaborating with members of the global network.
References:-
“Global Talent Development”, featured article of Vol. 3808 of Rosei Jiho issued on October 28, 2011, p10-p73 (in Japanese)
https://www.rosei.jp/readers
Resources:-
Japanese companies are still far behind their western counterparts but they have started to evolve their global talent development programme when they used to provide such programme to only selected employees, focusing on English language skills. Some of them started to provide programmes to all their employees including those in Japan sales department, aiming to develop their employees so that they can lead and manage diverse team members.
2011年12月4日日曜日
Japanese Companies Joining War for Global Talent (Part 1)
Osaka – Sunday, December 4, 2011
As explained in the previous articles How Japanese Companies Started Acquiring and Retaining Global Talent and Japanese Companies Are Changing Global Talent Development Strategy, globalization of their human to globalize their organization and business is now the focus of the Japanese companies to compete and survive in today’s global economy. That is to say they have entered the War for Global Talent with their competitors of non-Japanese global companies.
There have been online and offline articles in variety of media about this topic lately and having read them the author realized that there are 4 main things the Japanese companies are focusing on, which she would like to briefly introduce in this article.
1. Acquire Non-Japanese New Graduates
Recruiting non-Japanese employees used to be only done locally; i.e. local employees used to be hired, assigned and developed all locally and they were mostly assigned to local positions.
However, Japanese companies started to realize that they need to acquire talent from around the globe. And because recruiting mid-careers is still not so popular in Japan, they have started to recruit non-Japanese new graduates.
1) Recruit Non-Japanese Who Have Studied in Universities in Japan
This is the first attempt by the Japanese companies because non-Japanese students who have been studying in universities in Japan would be fluent in Japanese and are used to Japanese culture. This is extremely important for Japanese companies because one of the requirements that most Japanese companies present in recruiting non-Japanese new graduates is proficiency in Japanese.
This was the case of an American colleague of the author of her previous employer and the case of her colleagues in her current site. They are both very fluent in Japanese, especially the latter, who has married to a Japanese wife and has the visa with which he can to live in Japan forever.
2) Recruit Non-Japanese Who Have Studied in Universities Outside Japan
This option is quite new for Japanese companies. The new graduates who are recruited are mostly Chinese university students from prestigious universities in China.
For example, Nikkei, Japan’s leading newspaper specialized in business and economy, reported on December 3 that a Japanese leading recruiting company called Recruit planned and hosted events in Beijing and Shanghai in November. 42 Japanese companies including NTT, Kyocera, Kao and Mitsubishi Corporation participated in the event.
They interviewed university students who are to graduate from top class universities such as Tshinghua University in summer of 2012. They were successful in meeting and interviewing as many as 1,000 students who were fluent in Japanese as well as English. Such students are interested in working for Japanese companies because they want to see whether their competencies and skills are competitive outside their country. Approximately 150 students were offered the job.
The reason for Japanese companies now proactively recruiting Chinese new graduates is the fact that they would be able to hire globally competitive Chinese students, when China is an important market in their global business strategy. This attributes to the fact that there are as many as 7 million students in China in a year group, which is 10 times as many as in Japan.
Chinese students who attend such an event are in general more fluent in English than Japanese students, and can speak Japanese as well.
Also according to Mr. Obata, who had started his career in the company Recruit and has recently been engaged in business of recruiting Chinese university new graduates in China, Chinese university students are in general also more conscious than Japanese students in improving their competitiveness in the global labour market.
The company Recruit commented that majority of the 42 companies are expecting to hire students who could be potential candidates to fill key management positions in the future.
2. Assign Non-Japanese to Key Management Positions Throughout the Group Company
Most employees working in Global HQ in Japan have been Japanese and the top and/or senior management of the worldwide local sites have been Japanese expatriates from the Japan HQ; however, that will also change gradually.
1) Diversify Employees Working in Global HQ in Japan
According to Nikkei, Aeon, the leading retailer in Japan, has set a target of making half of their employees working in Global HQ in Japan non-Japanese by 2020.
This is why they only did seminar for recruiting new graduates only once in Japan this year and they spent all remaining resources to doing seminars abroad to recruit non-Japanese students. In fact, 400 students out of 2,000 who will join them in April 2012 are non-Japanese students who are to graduate from universities abroad.
2) Localize and/or Diversify Local Management
This had started in such companies as Panasonic around 2005 and according to Nikkei, Aeon and Hitachi also started.
This is to allocate optimum human resource to key management positions of worldwide local sites, breaking the “glass ceiling”. This very often is assigning high-performing local employees to such positions who better understand all the circumstances of the country thus they would have better chance of managing the site and the employees compared to Japanese expatriates from the Global HQ.
For this reason, Aeon assigned a Malaysian female who had been working with them throughout her career as the top management of their Malaysia site this June.
Hitachi started to review their human resources of senior management positions of their worldwide sites this year, with the objective of achieving optimum allocation of their human resources based on their HRM system around the globe, especially in emerging markets.
3. Integrate Worldwide Human Resource DB and Evaluation System
Global companies such as IBM and P&G have been going through globalization since 1990s to establish a system in which information of high-performing worldwide employees are shared so that they can allocate with optimization employees to key management positions around the globe. Senior management of the group company of global companies is composed of diverse talent, such as Nestle, whose senior management is composed from people from 9 different nationalities.
Such HR system inevitable to attract and retain best talent from around the globe had not been established in Japanese companies; however, a few innovative Japanese companies started to realize the necessity of such system.
According to Nikkei, Hitachi integrated information of their 370,000 group-wide human resources in their DB and grades of worldwide line managers earlier this year. This is to select optimum human resources from worldwide for key positions and projects in order to compete with their global counterparts.
Fuji Xerox also has a plan of establishing a similar human resource DB with the very same objective, according to Rosei Jiho, a Japanese HRM magazine. They are fully aware that they need to integrate HR system which is currently different from country to country to develop a common platform throughout the group, especially evaluation and rewards system.
4. Provide Ttraining and International Assignments
This has been the primary ways of developing global talents and similarly to their global counterparts, Japanese companies have been improving and evolving their global talent development.
The author would like to introduce some of the examples in the upcoming article.
References:-
Nikkei’s article on p1 issued on December 3, 2011, about leveraging human resources by Japanese companies (in Japanese)
“Global Talent Development”, featured article of Vol. 3808 of Rosei Jiho issued on October 28, 2011, p10-p73 (in Japanese)
https://www.rosei.jp/readers
Online articles about recent recruiting trends in China and Japan by Japanese companies written by Mr. Shigekazu Obata (in Japanese)
http://diamond.jp/category/s-syukatsurepo
Resources:-
Japanese companies have been far behind in acquiring, developing, retaining and allocating with optimization global talent but they have realized that globalization of their business and organization is critical to compete and survive in the today’s global economy and that they would need to join War for Global Talent. Thus they have in earnest started recruiting non-Japanese new graduates from around the globe, localizing and diversifying people assigned to key worldwide management positions, and integrate group-wide human resource information, in addition to improving training and International Assignments.
As explained in the previous articles How Japanese Companies Started Acquiring and Retaining Global Talent and Japanese Companies Are Changing Global Talent Development Strategy, globalization of their human to globalize their organization and business is now the focus of the Japanese companies to compete and survive in today’s global economy. That is to say they have entered the War for Global Talent with their competitors of non-Japanese global companies.
There have been online and offline articles in variety of media about this topic lately and having read them the author realized that there are 4 main things the Japanese companies are focusing on, which she would like to briefly introduce in this article.
1. Acquire Non-Japanese New Graduates
Recruiting non-Japanese employees used to be only done locally; i.e. local employees used to be hired, assigned and developed all locally and they were mostly assigned to local positions.
However, Japanese companies started to realize that they need to acquire talent from around the globe. And because recruiting mid-careers is still not so popular in Japan, they have started to recruit non-Japanese new graduates.
1) Recruit Non-Japanese Who Have Studied in Universities in Japan
This is the first attempt by the Japanese companies because non-Japanese students who have been studying in universities in Japan would be fluent in Japanese and are used to Japanese culture. This is extremely important for Japanese companies because one of the requirements that most Japanese companies present in recruiting non-Japanese new graduates is proficiency in Japanese.
This was the case of an American colleague of the author of her previous employer and the case of her colleagues in her current site. They are both very fluent in Japanese, especially the latter, who has married to a Japanese wife and has the visa with which he can to live in Japan forever.
2) Recruit Non-Japanese Who Have Studied in Universities Outside Japan
This option is quite new for Japanese companies. The new graduates who are recruited are mostly Chinese university students from prestigious universities in China.
For example, Nikkei, Japan’s leading newspaper specialized in business and economy, reported on December 3 that a Japanese leading recruiting company called Recruit planned and hosted events in Beijing and Shanghai in November. 42 Japanese companies including NTT, Kyocera, Kao and Mitsubishi Corporation participated in the event.
They interviewed university students who are to graduate from top class universities such as Tshinghua University in summer of 2012. They were successful in meeting and interviewing as many as 1,000 students who were fluent in Japanese as well as English. Such students are interested in working for Japanese companies because they want to see whether their competencies and skills are competitive outside their country. Approximately 150 students were offered the job.
The reason for Japanese companies now proactively recruiting Chinese new graduates is the fact that they would be able to hire globally competitive Chinese students, when China is an important market in their global business strategy. This attributes to the fact that there are as many as 7 million students in China in a year group, which is 10 times as many as in Japan.
Chinese students who attend such an event are in general more fluent in English than Japanese students, and can speak Japanese as well.
Also according to Mr. Obata, who had started his career in the company Recruit and has recently been engaged in business of recruiting Chinese university new graduates in China, Chinese university students are in general also more conscious than Japanese students in improving their competitiveness in the global labour market.
The company Recruit commented that majority of the 42 companies are expecting to hire students who could be potential candidates to fill key management positions in the future.
2. Assign Non-Japanese to Key Management Positions Throughout the Group Company
Most employees working in Global HQ in Japan have been Japanese and the top and/or senior management of the worldwide local sites have been Japanese expatriates from the Japan HQ; however, that will also change gradually.
1) Diversify Employees Working in Global HQ in Japan
According to Nikkei, Aeon, the leading retailer in Japan, has set a target of making half of their employees working in Global HQ in Japan non-Japanese by 2020.
This is why they only did seminar for recruiting new graduates only once in Japan this year and they spent all remaining resources to doing seminars abroad to recruit non-Japanese students. In fact, 400 students out of 2,000 who will join them in April 2012 are non-Japanese students who are to graduate from universities abroad.
2) Localize and/or Diversify Local Management
This had started in such companies as Panasonic around 2005 and according to Nikkei, Aeon and Hitachi also started.
This is to allocate optimum human resource to key management positions of worldwide local sites, breaking the “glass ceiling”. This very often is assigning high-performing local employees to such positions who better understand all the circumstances of the country thus they would have better chance of managing the site and the employees compared to Japanese expatriates from the Global HQ.
For this reason, Aeon assigned a Malaysian female who had been working with them throughout her career as the top management of their Malaysia site this June.
Hitachi started to review their human resources of senior management positions of their worldwide sites this year, with the objective of achieving optimum allocation of their human resources based on their HRM system around the globe, especially in emerging markets.
3. Integrate Worldwide Human Resource DB and Evaluation System
Global companies such as IBM and P&G have been going through globalization since 1990s to establish a system in which information of high-performing worldwide employees are shared so that they can allocate with optimization employees to key management positions around the globe. Senior management of the group company of global companies is composed of diverse talent, such as Nestle, whose senior management is composed from people from 9 different nationalities.
Such HR system inevitable to attract and retain best talent from around the globe had not been established in Japanese companies; however, a few innovative Japanese companies started to realize the necessity of such system.
According to Nikkei, Hitachi integrated information of their 370,000 group-wide human resources in their DB and grades of worldwide line managers earlier this year. This is to select optimum human resources from worldwide for key positions and projects in order to compete with their global counterparts.
Fuji Xerox also has a plan of establishing a similar human resource DB with the very same objective, according to Rosei Jiho, a Japanese HRM magazine. They are fully aware that they need to integrate HR system which is currently different from country to country to develop a common platform throughout the group, especially evaluation and rewards system.
4. Provide Ttraining and International Assignments
This has been the primary ways of developing global talents and similarly to their global counterparts, Japanese companies have been improving and evolving their global talent development.
The author would like to introduce some of the examples in the upcoming article.
References:-
Nikkei’s article on p1 issued on December 3, 2011, about leveraging human resources by Japanese companies (in Japanese)
“Global Talent Development”, featured article of Vol. 3808 of Rosei Jiho issued on October 28, 2011, p10-p73 (in Japanese)
https://www.rosei.jp/readers
Online articles about recent recruiting trends in China and Japan by Japanese companies written by Mr. Shigekazu Obata (in Japanese)
http://diamond.jp/category/s-syukatsurepo
Resources:-
Japanese companies have been far behind in acquiring, developing, retaining and allocating with optimization global talent but they have realized that globalization of their business and organization is critical to compete and survive in the today’s global economy and that they would need to join War for Global Talent. Thus they have in earnest started recruiting non-Japanese new graduates from around the globe, localizing and diversifying people assigned to key worldwide management positions, and integrate group-wide human resource information, in addition to improving training and International Assignments.
2011年9月25日日曜日
Will Mt. Fuji Become A World Heritage At Last?
Osaka - Sunday, September 25, 2011
Recent hot topic in Japan that has been discussed in TV news and other programmes is the fact the Mt. Fuji and City of Kamakura are to be applied to be registered as World Heritage.
City of Kanakura, famous for the largest Buddha statue in Japan (called in Japan “Kanakura Daibutsu”) and a impressive shrine called Tsuruoka Hachimangu, used to be the capital of the Muromachi Government (1336 – 1573), which opened the era governed by samurai; therefore, it is to be applied to be registered for its importance in Japanese history and culture.
Regarding Mt. Fuji, a symbol of Japan that everyone around the globe are familiar with, numerous attempts had been made for the World Heritage registration but in vain so the focus of the discussion in the TV programmes has been about Mt. Fuji.
There had been attempts since 2003. First in 2003 Mt. Fuji’s application was made as World Natural Heritage. However, it was not accepted mainly because of garbage issues attributing to the fact that many climbers leave behind garbage instead of taking them back. After this incident, there were some initiatives of clearing up garbage of Mr. Fuji.
Another attempt was made in 2005, when Mt. Fuji’s application was made as World Cultural Heritage. However, it was not accepted because the lower part of Mt. Fuji has already been developed to quite an extent, with motorways and national roads. Also, at first Mr. Fuji’s beautiful shape of the mountain was an appealing point but then other countries claimed that their mountain(s) are of similar beautiful shape, such as the one in Kilimanjaro.
2. What is the appealing point of Mt. Fuji in making application for World Heritage this time?
Currently their idea is “mountain of religion”. This is because in Japanese literatures from Manyoshu, one of the oldest Japanese literatures in history, to works from Edo era (1600 - 1868), Mt. Fuji is mentioned as a mountain in which people have religions faith.
3. How experts view of the possibility of Mt. Fuji to be registered to be a World Heritage?
They think currently the possibility is 50%. They feel the appealing point and reason for the registration needs to be more focused. The reason for the registration needs to be something that makes Mr. Fuji “the only one” rather that “number 1” of something, with concrete, logical explanation supported by facts.
4. What is the author’s final thoughts?
This is really about marketing; i.e. segmentation, positioning, and targeting followed by branding then creating and delivering message based on the defined USP (unique selling point).
We all now the theory and steps of effective marketing but successfully planning and implementing marketing strategy is difficult, especially when it is of something like Mt. Fuji that has possible multiple options of USP.
How would you market Mt. Fuji so that it will be registered as a World Heritage?
Resources:-
Mt. Fuji, together with Kamakura City, will be applied to be registered as a World Heritage, after multiple attempts. Mt. Fuji is a symbol of Japan but it has been difficult to identify USP making it “the only one” with reason of the registration with concrete, logical explanation supported by facts. After all, this is all about now to successfully marketing Mt. Fuji with the goal of being registered as a World Heritage.
Recent hot topic in Japan that has been discussed in TV news and other programmes is the fact the Mt. Fuji and City of Kamakura are to be applied to be registered as World Heritage.
City of Kanakura, famous for the largest Buddha statue in Japan (called in Japan “Kanakura Daibutsu”) and a impressive shrine called Tsuruoka Hachimangu, used to be the capital of the Muromachi Government (1336 – 1573), which opened the era governed by samurai; therefore, it is to be applied to be registered for its importance in Japanese history and culture.
Regarding Mt. Fuji, a symbol of Japan that everyone around the globe are familiar with, numerous attempts had been made for the World Heritage registration but in vain so the focus of the discussion in the TV programmes has been about Mt. Fuji.
1. Why previous attempts of Mt. Fuji
There had been attempts since 2003. First in 2003 Mt. Fuji’s application was made as World Natural Heritage. However, it was not accepted mainly because of garbage issues attributing to the fact that many climbers leave behind garbage instead of taking them back. After this incident, there were some initiatives of clearing up garbage of Mr. Fuji.
Another attempt was made in 2005, when Mt. Fuji’s application was made as World Cultural Heritage. However, it was not accepted because the lower part of Mt. Fuji has already been developed to quite an extent, with motorways and national roads. Also, at first Mr. Fuji’s beautiful shape of the mountain was an appealing point but then other countries claimed that their mountain(s) are of similar beautiful shape, such as the one in Kilimanjaro.
2. What is the appealing point of Mt. Fuji in making application for World Heritage this time?
Currently their idea is “mountain of religion”. This is because in Japanese literatures from Manyoshu, one of the oldest Japanese literatures in history, to works from Edo era (1600 - 1868), Mt. Fuji is mentioned as a mountain in which people have religions faith.
3. How experts view of the possibility of Mt. Fuji to be registered to be a World Heritage?
They think currently the possibility is 50%. They feel the appealing point and reason for the registration needs to be more focused. The reason for the registration needs to be something that makes Mr. Fuji “the only one” rather that “number 1” of something, with concrete, logical explanation supported by facts.
4. What is the author’s final thoughts?
This is really about marketing; i.e. segmentation, positioning, and targeting followed by branding then creating and delivering message based on the defined USP (unique selling point).
We all now the theory and steps of effective marketing but successfully planning and implementing marketing strategy is difficult, especially when it is of something like Mt. Fuji that has possible multiple options of USP.
How would you market Mt. Fuji so that it will be registered as a World Heritage?
Resources:-
Mt. Fuji, together with Kamakura City, will be applied to be registered as a World Heritage, after multiple attempts. Mt. Fuji is a symbol of Japan but it has been difficult to identify USP making it “the only one” with reason of the registration with concrete, logical explanation supported by facts. After all, this is all about now to successfully marketing Mt. Fuji with the goal of being registered as a World Heritage.
2011年9月19日月曜日
Energy Saving Obligatory Criteria Set for New Constructions in Japan
Osaka - Monday, September 19, 2011
Nikkei, Japan’s leading newspaper specialized in business and economy reported today that Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has set up a policy of giving obligations to real estate and construction companies to meet a specified energy saving criteria set by the Japanese government for all new housings and buildings to be constructed in the future.
1. What is the overview of the policy?
The government is to set limits to energy consumption according to types of housings and buildings and to request efficiency enhancement of energy consumption such as air conditioning using heat insulators. The government aims to control and reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emission the they believe this kind of policy is effective because according to MLIT, GHG emission from constructions cover over 30% of total GHG emitted in Japan.
After 2020 construction will be not approved unless it meets the requirements set by the government. Until 2020, companies and individuals who have met requirements will be given tax incentives.
2. Isn’t there any energy saving criteria today?
Yes, there is. Such criteria for housings were set in 1999 but it is not obligatory. It costs addition 10% to construct houses meeting the criteria; therefore, only less than 40% of new houses meet the criteria.
3. How will the government proceed with setting and implementing the policy?
MLIT will set up a meeting with authorities from industries and academia in October to discuss concrete measures for obligation of meeting energy saving criteria. MLIT aims to revise the legislation regarding energy saving construction in 2013, discussing and collaborating with Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of the Environment （MOE）.
To achieve such a timeline, the government is to draft new criteria by the end of the year, including limits of energy used in air conditioning and lighting depending on the types of housings and buildings. The details of the criteria will be tailored to meet local needs depending on the regions, considering regions with heavy snow in winter.
4. What is the concept of the new criteria?
New criteria will be set so that energy consumption will be 20-30% less than normal housings and buildings. To meet the criteria, heat insulators are to be used in walls and ceilings. When solar battery is implemented, energy generated by solar power will be subtracted from the energy consumption calculated.
5. When will auditing of energy saving construction be implemented?
It will be implemented in 2012. When construction companies make application in building new housings or buildings, local government will check the types of materials to be used.
When energy saving criteria is met, cost of energy saving materials used in construction will be subtracted from income to be taxed.
And for individuals, the government is to study incentives such as increase tax reduction of their housing loans.
Full implementation of the policy requires much preparation and time so the government aims to implement fully in 2020. Until then, the government would like to implement auditing systems and tax incentives to proliferate energy saving materials meeting the criteria.
6. Will obligation to meet the criteria applied to current housings and buildings?
No. This is because it is time consuming to audit all current housings and buildings, and if renovation of current housings and buildings is to be made compulsory it is quite possible that the general public will refuse.
Having said that, MLIT believes that the renovations will take place because in general market value of energy saving housings and buildings are higher.
There is also a concept of distinguishing energy saving housings and buildings from those that are not of energy saving.
Resources:-
MLIT of Japan will set up a policy of giving obligations to real estate and construction companies to meet a specified energy saving criteria set by the Japanese government for all new housing and buildings to be constructed in the future. The government is to set limits to energy consumption according to types of housings and buildings and to request efficiency enhancement of energy consumption such as air conditioning using heat insulators. The auditing system will be implemented in 2012. The policy will be fully implemented from 2020 and until then incentives will be given to companies and individuals that meet the criteria.
Nikkei, Japan’s leading newspaper specialized in business and economy reported today that Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has set up a policy of giving obligations to real estate and construction companies to meet a specified energy saving criteria set by the Japanese government for all new housings and buildings to be constructed in the future.
1. What is the overview of the policy?
The government is to set limits to energy consumption according to types of housings and buildings and to request efficiency enhancement of energy consumption such as air conditioning using heat insulators. The government aims to control and reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emission the they believe this kind of policy is effective because according to MLIT, GHG emission from constructions cover over 30% of total GHG emitted in Japan.
After 2020 construction will be not approved unless it meets the requirements set by the government. Until 2020, companies and individuals who have met requirements will be given tax incentives.
2. Isn’t there any energy saving criteria today?
Yes, there is. Such criteria for housings were set in 1999 but it is not obligatory. It costs addition 10% to construct houses meeting the criteria; therefore, only less than 40% of new houses meet the criteria.
3. How will the government proceed with setting and implementing the policy?
MLIT will set up a meeting with authorities from industries and academia in October to discuss concrete measures for obligation of meeting energy saving criteria. MLIT aims to revise the legislation regarding energy saving construction in 2013, discussing and collaborating with Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Ministry of the Environment （MOE）.
To achieve such a timeline, the government is to draft new criteria by the end of the year, including limits of energy used in air conditioning and lighting depending on the types of housings and buildings. The details of the criteria will be tailored to meet local needs depending on the regions, considering regions with heavy snow in winter.
4. What is the concept of the new criteria?
New criteria will be set so that energy consumption will be 20-30% less than normal housings and buildings. To meet the criteria, heat insulators are to be used in walls and ceilings. When solar battery is implemented, energy generated by solar power will be subtracted from the energy consumption calculated.
5. When will auditing of energy saving construction be implemented?
It will be implemented in 2012. When construction companies make application in building new housings or buildings, local government will check the types of materials to be used.
When energy saving criteria is met, cost of energy saving materials used in construction will be subtracted from income to be taxed.
And for individuals, the government is to study incentives such as increase tax reduction of their housing loans.
Full implementation of the policy requires much preparation and time so the government aims to implement fully in 2020. Until then, the government would like to implement auditing systems and tax incentives to proliferate energy saving materials meeting the criteria.
6. Will obligation to meet the criteria applied to current housings and buildings?
No. This is because it is time consuming to audit all current housings and buildings, and if renovation of current housings and buildings is to be made compulsory it is quite possible that the general public will refuse.
Having said that, MLIT believes that the renovations will take place because in general market value of energy saving housings and buildings are higher.
There is also a concept of distinguishing energy saving housings and buildings from those that are not of energy saving.
Resources:-
MLIT of Japan will set up a policy of giving obligations to real estate and construction companies to meet a specified energy saving criteria set by the Japanese government for all new housing and buildings to be constructed in the future. The government is to set limits to energy consumption according to types of housings and buildings and to request efficiency enhancement of energy consumption such as air conditioning using heat insulators. The auditing system will be implemented in 2012. The policy will be fully implemented from 2020 and until then incentives will be given to companies and individuals that meet the criteria.
2011年9月11日日曜日
6 Months from the Japan Disaster – The Reality
Osaka - Sunday, September 11, 2011
It is 6 months since 3.11, the Japan Disaster of the earthquake and tsunami followed by the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Accident broke out on March 11 this year. It is also 10 year anniversary of the U.S. 9.11 WTC incident. Thus this weekend, almost all TV channels in Japan have been broadcasting special programmes about 9.11 and 3.11.
In this article, the author would like to outline the reality of the Japan disaster, focusing on the hard hit area from the tsunami.
1. What are the key numbers of the Japan disaster?
The status as of today is that over 15,000 people are dead and over 4,000 people are still missing.
The government had promised to provide temporary housing to people in need by the end of August but only 90% of the temporary housings originally planned are complete and only 83% are filled because some are built in area that is of bad access.
Removal of wreckage is 50%+ complete but this includes those of houses and building that needs to be demolished anyway. And how to dispose the wreckage is still yet to be decided.
2. How are victims without temporary housing living today?
A case of a lady living in one of the hardest hit area in Miyagi was introduced in a special programme broadcasted by NHK, a national TV company. She has a house of 3 floors (in Japan, ground floor and 2 floors in the U.K.), of which the 2 floors became flooded by the tsunami.
She first thought of start living in temporary housing but did not win the housing by lottery. Also the available temporary housings are in mountainous area, a place that are inconvenience for her who cannot drive a car; therefore, she started living in the 3rd floor of her house.
However, lifelines such as electricity and water cannot be supplied. Thus she uses battery instead of electricity, walks to the nearby city hall with a bucket to get water, and goes to a nearby hospital for toilet.
The lady has no idea when this kind of life would end.
3. How have towns been recovering that once their administration system paralyzed due to tsunami?
In another TV programme a case of a town was introduced in which 20% of the population became dead or missing from the tsunami, including the mayor and many of his staff members working in the local government. Also the local government buildings/offices were all swayed by the huge tsunami.
In such a situation, local administration function stopped completely and recovery from the disaster did not move forward at all. A manager of the local government had an extremely tough time being a pig in the middle of the administration and the general public.
It was only recently that the manager was elected as the new mayor. He is now determined to develop a recovery plan of the village by the end of the year, but the task would be not easy and execution would be less easy.
4. The author’s final thoughts
What the author is more familiar is the Kobe earthquake that occurred in 1996. She was shocked to see the devastated town that used to be really beautiful and prosperous after a few months from the earthquake. But after about 6 months the roadmap of the recovery was made and the recovery plan was implemented with relative smoothness.
That is not the case of the 3.11 Japan Disaster. It is true that the scale of the 3.11 disaster is far greater and there are multiple factors that make the recovery extremely difficult.
However, it seems to the author that the primary reason for the slow recovery is the ambiguous distinction of the roles between the national government and local government/administration.
The national government insists democracy to say that it is the responsibility of the local government to take the initiative. And the local government claim that the national government should execute stronger leadership, especially when the local government function of the local area is stopped completely.
The author agrees more to the stance of the local government. She also believes that it is because of the “gembaryoku” (strengths of the general public) of the Japanese people/victims that minimized chaos. She strongly feels that if it had been in other country there had been turmoil.
Strong “gembaryoku” and weak management/leadership in typical Japanese companies in comparison to strong management and relatively weak “gembaryoku” in many western countries is often mentioned in management and such a trend came out in this case as well, as well as the plan the author introduced in her previous article Eco-Town Development in Sendai– Recovery from the Japan Disaster.
The author sincerely would like the new Noda administration start executing stronger leadership
Resources:-
Recovery from the Japan disaster of earthquake and tsunami after 6 months is yet still very slow. Not everyone has been able to live in temporary housing. Due to the scale and multiple factors making it complicated it is difficult to compare with recover from other disasters such as the Kobe earthquake in 1996; however, and the timing of when the victims can lead their lives as they used to before the disaster is yet known. One requirement that had been lacking for the recovery is strong leadership from the national government, when “gembaryoku”, the power of the general public is strong.
It is 6 months since 3.11, the Japan Disaster of the earthquake and tsunami followed by the Fukushima Nuclear Plant Accident broke out on March 11 this year. It is also 10 year anniversary of the U.S. 9.11 WTC incident. Thus this weekend, almost all TV channels in Japan have been broadcasting special programmes about 9.11 and 3.11.
In this article, the author would like to outline the reality of the Japan disaster, focusing on the hard hit area from the tsunami.
1. What are the key numbers of the Japan disaster?
The status as of today is that over 15,000 people are dead and over 4,000 people are still missing.
The government had promised to provide temporary housing to people in need by the end of August but only 90% of the temporary housings originally planned are complete and only 83% are filled because some are built in area that is of bad access.
Removal of wreckage is 50%+ complete but this includes those of houses and building that needs to be demolished anyway. And how to dispose the wreckage is still yet to be decided.
2. How are victims without temporary housing living today?
A case of a lady living in one of the hardest hit area in Miyagi was introduced in a special programme broadcasted by NHK, a national TV company. She has a house of 3 floors (in Japan, ground floor and 2 floors in the U.K.), of which the 2 floors became flooded by the tsunami.
She first thought of start living in temporary housing but did not win the housing by lottery. Also the available temporary housings are in mountainous area, a place that are inconvenience for her who cannot drive a car; therefore, she started living in the 3rd floor of her house.
However, lifelines such as electricity and water cannot be supplied. Thus she uses battery instead of electricity, walks to the nearby city hall with a bucket to get water, and goes to a nearby hospital for toilet.
The lady has no idea when this kind of life would end.
3. How have towns been recovering that once their administration system paralyzed due to tsunami?
In another TV programme a case of a town was introduced in which 20% of the population became dead or missing from the tsunami, including the mayor and many of his staff members working in the local government. Also the local government buildings/offices were all swayed by the huge tsunami.
In such a situation, local administration function stopped completely and recovery from the disaster did not move forward at all. A manager of the local government had an extremely tough time being a pig in the middle of the administration and the general public.
It was only recently that the manager was elected as the new mayor. He is now determined to develop a recovery plan of the village by the end of the year, but the task would be not easy and execution would be less easy.
4. The author’s final thoughts
What the author is more familiar is the Kobe earthquake that occurred in 1996. She was shocked to see the devastated town that used to be really beautiful and prosperous after a few months from the earthquake. But after about 6 months the roadmap of the recovery was made and the recovery plan was implemented with relative smoothness.
That is not the case of the 3.11 Japan Disaster. It is true that the scale of the 3.11 disaster is far greater and there are multiple factors that make the recovery extremely difficult.
However, it seems to the author that the primary reason for the slow recovery is the ambiguous distinction of the roles between the national government and local government/administration.
The national government insists democracy to say that it is the responsibility of the local government to take the initiative. And the local government claim that the national government should execute stronger leadership, especially when the local government function of the local area is stopped completely.
The author agrees more to the stance of the local government. She also believes that it is because of the “gembaryoku” (strengths of the general public) of the Japanese people/victims that minimized chaos. She strongly feels that if it had been in other country there had been turmoil.
Strong “gembaryoku” and weak management/leadership in typical Japanese companies in comparison to strong management and relatively weak “gembaryoku” in many western countries is often mentioned in management and such a trend came out in this case as well, as well as the plan the author introduced in her previous article Eco-Town Development in Sendai– Recovery from the Japan Disaster.
The author sincerely would like the new Noda administration start executing stronger leadership
Resources:-
Recovery from the Japan disaster of earthquake and tsunami after 6 months is yet still very slow. Not everyone has been able to live in temporary housing. Due to the scale and multiple factors making it complicated it is difficult to compare with recover from other disasters such as the Kobe earthquake in 1996; however, and the timing of when the victims can lead their lives as they used to before the disaster is yet known. One requirement that had been lacking for the recovery is strong leadership from the national government, when “gembaryoku”, the power of the general public is strong.
2011年9月3日土曜日
Eco-Town Development in Sendai– Recovery from the Japan Disaster
Osaka - Saturday, September 3, 2011
Nikkei, the leading Japanese newspaper specialized in economy and business, reported on September 1 that Sendai City and some 20 companies started studying to develop an eco-town in the devastated area of the Japan disaster.
This includes establishment of mega solar (huge solar generation plant), and using the power generated by the mega solar to start new businesses of hydroponic cultivation and food processing in the autumn of 2012. This will take place in the agricultural lands of the coastal area near Sendai City where it was severely hit by the tsunami.
The operating company will be established by the end of 2011. Thus, agriculture renewal and recovery from the disaster initiated by private sector is to start.
1. What is the background and positioning of the project?
On August 31 Sendai City announced the draft of the recovery plan from the Japan disaster, in which concept of creating an “eco-town (eco = ecology)” leveraging natural energy is stated. Energy shortage became a critical issue after the disaster; therefore, the project aims to develop a system that can supply minimum energy even in urgency. The new business will be a focus of the plan.
Sendai City’s Recovery Plan from the Japan Disaster (Outline of the Draft)
- Basic philosophy is “new dimensional town of disaster prevention and environment preservation”.
- Timing of the project is from 2011 to 2015.
- Anticipation of flooding from tsunami will be implemented by multiple protections of both software and hardware.
- Develop model of “eco town” implementing natural energy.
- Private sector will invest in agriculture. Production, processing and supply chain facilities will be integrated and arranged.
- Develop and attract industries related in new energy and disaster prevention.
- Adopt system of designated recovery zone to attract group relocation and land use restructuring.
2. Which companies are to join the project?
Companies that are to join the project include IBM Japan, Sharp, Kagome, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Itochu Corporation, Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc., Seven Eleven Japan (convenience store), York-Benimaru Co., Ltd. and local agricultural production related companies, which will be announced soon.
3. What are some examples of the focuses of the project?
1) Implementation of hydroponic cultivation that does not require water
Hydroponic cultivation that does not require water will be implemented leveraging know how provided by Kagome. This is to be implemented because it would require much investment to remove salt (included in the sea water) from the land that once was flooded by the tsunami and use the land again for agriculture.
The new company will establish a vegetable production factory with an area of 10 hectare (approximately twice as large as Toyo Dome, a large popular baseball stadium in Japan) and 1 hectare processing factory, to integrate and manage from vegetable production to processing.
2) Selling of the agricultural products
Approximately 2,000 tons of vegetables are to be produced then processed annually, which will be sold by retailers such as Seven Eleven and York-Benimaru Co., Ltd. Annual revenue of 2.5 billion yen is expected.
3) Enhance efficiency of electricity use generated by natural energy
Energy required to operate production and processing factories will be generated by mega solar capable of generating approximately 4,000 kW and thermal power generated by burning chaff in the boilers. System to enhance efficiency of energy use leveraging IT will be provided by IBM Japan.
4. How will Sendai City proceed?
Sendai City has set up a policy of making an application of designated recovery zone to the Japanese government because such application is required in constructing factories in the agricultural land.
Sendai City will conclude long term lease contract with agricultural land owners of the area and the revenue generated from the new business will be allocated as rent. The city is to start negotiating with agricultural land owners who is thinking of closing their business after the disaster.
5. The author’s final thoughts
So many people including the author have been advocating for months that the recovery from the Japan disaster should be taken as the opportunity of developing a new, advanced eco (ecological and economical) town resistant from natural and technological disasters.
To the author, the Nikkei’s report about the project is the long awaited first step in developing such a town.
What the author questions is the fact that the project is initiated by private sector and Sendai City, not by the Japanese government because the recovery from the disaster is a nationwide issue and therefore she feels it really should be initiated by the government. Following the election held on August 29, there was a change in the leadership; new Prime Minister and his cabinet just took off. She sincerely hopes the new Noda Administration will take stronger initiative for the recovery from the disaster and the Fukushima nuclear plant accident.
Resources:-
Sendai City and some 20 companies started studying to develop an eco-town in the devastated area of the Japan disaster. This includes establishment of mega solar (huge solar generation plant), and using the power generated by the mega solar to start new businesses of hydroponic cultivation and food processing in the autumn of 2012 in the agricultural lands of the coastal area near Sendai City where it was severely hit by the tsunami. This is a big step initiated by the private sector and Sendai City for the recovery, a nationwide issue, which is ideally to be initiated by the government.
Nikkei, the leading Japanese newspaper specialized in economy and business, reported on September 1 that Sendai City and some 20 companies started studying to develop an eco-town in the devastated area of the Japan disaster.
This includes establishment of mega solar (huge solar generation plant), and using the power generated by the mega solar to start new businesses of hydroponic cultivation and food processing in the autumn of 2012. This will take place in the agricultural lands of the coastal area near Sendai City where it was severely hit by the tsunami.
The operating company will be established by the end of 2011. Thus, agriculture renewal and recovery from the disaster initiated by private sector is to start.
1. What is the background and positioning of the project?
On August 31 Sendai City announced the draft of the recovery plan from the Japan disaster, in which concept of creating an “eco-town (eco = ecology)” leveraging natural energy is stated. Energy shortage became a critical issue after the disaster; therefore, the project aims to develop a system that can supply minimum energy even in urgency. The new business will be a focus of the plan.
Sendai City’s Recovery Plan from the Japan Disaster (Outline of the Draft)
- Basic philosophy is “new dimensional town of disaster prevention and environment preservation”.
- Timing of the project is from 2011 to 2015.
- Anticipation of flooding from tsunami will be implemented by multiple protections of both software and hardware.
- Develop model of “eco town” implementing natural energy.
- Private sector will invest in agriculture. Production, processing and supply chain facilities will be integrated and arranged.
- Develop and attract industries related in new energy and disaster prevention.
- Adopt system of designated recovery zone to attract group relocation and land use restructuring.
2. Which companies are to join the project?
Companies that are to join the project include IBM Japan, Sharp, Kagome, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Itochu Corporation, Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc., Seven Eleven Japan (convenience store), York-Benimaru Co., Ltd. and local agricultural production related companies, which will be announced soon.
3. What are some examples of the focuses of the project?
1) Implementation of hydroponic cultivation that does not require water
Hydroponic cultivation that does not require water will be implemented leveraging know how provided by Kagome. This is to be implemented because it would require much investment to remove salt (included in the sea water) from the land that once was flooded by the tsunami and use the land again for agriculture.
The new company will establish a vegetable production factory with an area of 10 hectare (approximately twice as large as Toyo Dome, a large popular baseball stadium in Japan) and 1 hectare processing factory, to integrate and manage from vegetable production to processing.
2) Selling of the agricultural products
Approximately 2,000 tons of vegetables are to be produced then processed annually, which will be sold by retailers such as Seven Eleven and York-Benimaru Co., Ltd. Annual revenue of 2.5 billion yen is expected.
3) Enhance efficiency of electricity use generated by natural energy
Energy required to operate production and processing factories will be generated by mega solar capable of generating approximately 4,000 kW and thermal power generated by burning chaff in the boilers. System to enhance efficiency of energy use leveraging IT will be provided by IBM Japan.
4. How will Sendai City proceed?
Sendai City has set up a policy of making an application of designated recovery zone to the Japanese government because such application is required in constructing factories in the agricultural land.
Sendai City will conclude long term lease contract with agricultural land owners of the area and the revenue generated from the new business will be allocated as rent. The city is to start negotiating with agricultural land owners who is thinking of closing their business after the disaster.
5. The author’s final thoughts
So many people including the author have been advocating for months that the recovery from the Japan disaster should be taken as the opportunity of developing a new, advanced eco (ecological and economical) town resistant from natural and technological disasters.
To the author, the Nikkei’s report about the project is the long awaited first step in developing such a town.
What the author questions is the fact that the project is initiated by private sector and Sendai City, not by the Japanese government because the recovery from the disaster is a nationwide issue and therefore she feels it really should be initiated by the government. Following the election held on August 29, there was a change in the leadership; new Prime Minister and his cabinet just took off. She sincerely hopes the new Noda Administration will take stronger initiative for the recovery from the disaster and the Fukushima nuclear plant accident.
Resources:-
Sendai City and some 20 companies started studying to develop an eco-town in the devastated area of the Japan disaster. This includes establishment of mega solar (huge solar generation plant), and using the power generated by the mega solar to start new businesses of hydroponic cultivation and food processing in the autumn of 2012 in the agricultural lands of the coastal area near Sendai City where it was severely hit by the tsunami. This is a big step initiated by the private sector and Sendai City for the recovery, a nationwide issue, which is ideally to be initiated by the government.
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