Japan Entrepreneurship Article
- 1. hugh.purser@btinternet.com forward, and that is through a much more independent culture of career development and employment practices. William Reed2, an American who has lived in Japan for 30 years, and now a Japaneurship? bestselling author and public speaker, suggests that the development of entrepreneurship will happen in its own Japanese way. It may take longer, but just as the world rushed to study and adopt Japanese management practices in the 70s and 80s, one day the same will happen in With a rapidly aging population, the entrepreneurial arena too. changes to lifetime employment practices, and continuing economic uncertainties, Japan needs to look to new sources of economic growth and a better use of productive resources. More entrepreneurial activity may hold the key. This article looks at the state of entrepreneurship in Japan today, and learns that a group of Japanese entrepreneurs in the UK may hold hope for the future. In truth, mainstream opinion in Japan does All you need in life is courage, not reflect much optimism that a rash of imagination...and a little dough3 entrepreneurial activity will break out any time soon. Failure is more newsworthy than Calligraphy by William Reed success, as the headlines around the The difference lies not in the individual, but collapse of Livedoor and the jailing of its in the culture and environment. These senior officers continue to remind us; or the issues were highlighted in a comparative escalating suicide rate, blamed on economic study of Japan and Silicon Valley in 20014. pressures and corporate restructuring (job In the area of risks and obstacles, Japanese losses). To be unorthodox means to be entrepreneurs were concerned more about ostracised; the nail that sticks out will be personal and globalisation risks and less hammered down. These remain more than about market and financial risks. Under clich辿s, and societys treatment of failure remains a problem. As the Economist1 perceived growth factors, the Japanese rated higher on strategic focus and R&D, recently put it: Companies would rather whereas their Silicon Valley counterparts put that 100 employees each take a single step more emphasis on growth-orientation, forward than one of their number take 100. customer focus and venture capital. On Outside the mainstream there is a infrastructure, Silicon Valley benefitted from different sense. Takashi Yoneda, superior professional services, university entrepreneur, Chairman of LPL Securities, resources, and venture capital, while and Senior Research Fellow at the Career interestingly or perhaps surprisingly, Resource Laboratory at Keio University, Japanese firms seemed to have better teaches a vibrant course on Total Life Design aimed at helping students to develop self-reliant careers and manage 2 William Reed is 7th dan in Aikido, Shihan in brush their financial independence. His view is that calligraphy, and founder of www.agili.jp in Tokyo Japan has reached a stage of dynamic 3 from the classic quote by Charlie Chaplin in THE disequilibrium in the human capital arena, LIMELIGHT and that the lifetime employment model is 4 Entrepreneurship in Japan and Silicon Valley: a broken. Consequently, there is only one way comparative study by Kan-ichiro Suzukia,, Sang-Hoon Kimb, and Zong-Tae Baec, a Nomura Research Institute Ltd., b College of Business Administration, Seoul National University, c Graduate 1 EconomistMagazineDisruptionofService7th School of Management, Korea Advanced Institute of February2008,pp78 Science and Technology (KAIST).
- 2. hugh.purser@btinternet.com access to diverse financing resources may have launched a business yet, but the including bank loans and government ambition is present. financing. On a cold February evening JEEF members were treated to a motivational and The International Context very personal story from Shoko Hirotsuna. Shoko has run the London marathon 5 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor times, is a licensed scuba diver, yachts- 20065 measured the prevalence of woman, and, most importantly, set up her entrepreneurial activity around the world own business8 nearly 8 years ago. A former among the adult population. big company employee, she followed the It is no surprise that the USA came path expected of her, marrying to a fellow out in the lead, followed by the UK, with company staffer, and following abroad to Japan clearly lagging. For example Nascent the UK. Once here she put herself through Entrepreneurial activity measured &.5% in an MBA at Southampton University as well the USA, 贈.2% in the UK and 1.6% in as an Advanced Management programme at Japan. The report differentiates between Instituto de Empresa in Spain. Then she necessity entrepreneurs (NEs6) and started Business Paradigm and has never opportunity entrepreneurs (OEs7). In fact, looked back. Her portfolio includes an Japan rates a similar high OE score, inward investment company specialising in comparable to the USA and UK. The figure Bulgaria. Her story is gripping, and by the for OEs tends to be high in developed end of the evening a number of the other economies generally, whereas the NEs are lady members are motivated to start their prevalent in high numbers in developing own business ventures at the earliest countries. Nonetheless, France and opportunity. Germany have noticeably high levels of NEs, and the question may be asked, in the Lost in Translation? context of Japans shifting economic environment, whether NEs will become The evidence from London is modest, more prevalent in the years to come. but powerful. One question is whether the There are other factors to look at too growing number of Japanese running their in determining status and trends, such as own businesses overseas can transfer their age, gender and work status. Just to pick knowledge and experience to their one gender the report shows a much compatriots at home. Or whether the higher proportion of men than women collective responsibility and support culture, engaging in entrepreneurial activity across at which Japanese excel, is in fact more the globe (with a notable exception of the suited for intra-company ventures and Philippines). But some anecdotal evidence corporate spin-outs. Masamichi Toyama, would suggest one would find a high himself a spin-out of a major Japanese proportion of female Japanese corporation, who is founder of Soup Stock entrepreneurs, many of whom are probably Tokyo and Chairman of Smiles Co. recently NEs at least in the sense of breaking away described himself as a kind of hybrid, from the traditional glass ceiling of everyday connecting two positions such as work and corporate life in Japan. art and individuality and corporative power9. London Calling Perhaps entrepreneurship in Japan may express more collective characteristics Once a month, a group gathers in than seen in the West. But happen it will, the smart offices of JETRO (Japan External and one day we will be asking how did they Trade Organisation) in Holborn. They are do that? among 80 members of the Japan-Europe Entrepreneurs Forum (JEEF) who gather to The author is a director of the Asia Pacific network and listen to presentations on Technology Network, and Chairman of Exudo, a company providing membership, portal and e- various aspects of running a business. Few commerce systems to social, business and consumer networks. He welcomes further debate on the subject of this article. Feedback and comments can be sent to 5 Bosma & Harding, London Business School & Babson hugh.purser@btinternet.com College 6 NEs:those who are pushed into entrepreneurship because other options for work are either absent or 8 FounderofBusinessParadigm.com unsatisfactory 7 9 OEs:those who want to exploit a business opportunity InterviewwithKeioUniversityAlumniVoices