Friday Morning Inspiration - some thoughts from Japan

After two weeks of traveling Japan, I could not help but share a few of my fascinations and pose questions, how future ready a society can be and what makes it thrive and what slows it down based on my observations in Japan.

Some of this I expected - like the famously punctual #Shinkansen, some surprised me like the utter lack of flexibility to stray from rules.

For background, like Germany that is projected to surpass Japan this year as the world's 3rd strongest economy (see article here for details), perfection and abidance by rules and rituals are common values. The Japanese economy has kept interest?rates and inflation low over many years, however also not generating thriving growth and being one of the later countries to build startup ecosystems.

Here are some observations that might spark your thoughts:

1. Drive to perfection and process optimization?

This can be observed anywhere in Japan, for instance, ticket control in trains is redundant since the introduction of so called IC card gates across the transport ecosystem. And the ecosystem is integrated despite many?different?train?companies operating it. Different to the German train system, the Japanese get perfection done.

This drive to perfection can be very good for mental health for instance connected to the ritual of tea ceremonies, but also be creating inefficiencies, e.g. long lines in shops and restaurants as the Japanese like to perfectly prepare and wrap their goods.?The love for wrapping and packaging is is also a big obstacle for changing sustainability habits to the better.

2. Discipline, rules and hierarchy?

Established systems can enable getting things done in a certain order like the Kanban Toyota system which revolutionized?production. But hierarchy and rules obsession can get in the way if the unexpected happens and a more?volatile world requires?more resilient and agile?systems. As a famous example, the Fukushima nuclear disaster and what happened because people?were conflicted in?rules and hierarchy is well illustrated in the Netflix series "The Days".

Ups and downs in hierarchy can cost a lot of time in decision making and communication and are hence to be circumvented in "new work" organizations.

There seems to be a rule for everything in Japan, therefore exceptions are always a problem and the only way out is leveraging one's network in the higher levels of hierarchy, so networking is a skill to be cultivated here as well.

3. Sense of community, also within the company

Meaningful work has risen to the top of many rankings on employee satisfaction and is very much cultivated in Japan. Here, colleagues regularly go out together after work, but when changing companies they change the tribe.?

The system of "Uchi & Soto" meaning you focus on the ones in a group and not what's happening outside of the group can also lead to social?dismissal. It has also not instilled the need for the Japanese to learn foreign languages with an increasing number of exceptions. But with #GoogleTranslate or #DeepL, you can have all the right conversations.

4. The modern and the traditional and respect for the arts

Combined left and right brain thinking is something I always aspire to and is maybe a hidden gem, visible in many parts of Japan. People are?queuing to play pianos in public places like the governmental building or in shopping centers.

Architecture shows this combination of modernity and traditions, yet also risk avoidance which led to the most earthquake resilient buildings in Japan. Whole islands - like Taoshima near Takamatsu- are dedicated to modern art and others to keeping traditions. And across age and gender, people know how to create artful Origami paper cranes.

5. The struggle with an ageing?society

While the official national pension age in Japan starts at 60, many companies keep their skilled workers at higher ages, valuing and leveraging experience and dedication. Yet, like Germany, Japan seems to play catch-up and partly stays equally unprepared for the elderly, like many inaccessible subway stations show, that are not yet refurbished due to lack of space or funding.

6. New business ideas emerging, but startups underdeveloped

In 2000, Japan once stood for 20% of the global Fortune 500 companies, now downs to 10.6%, which is still remarkable. With 6 unicorn startups by October 2022, Japan has however just 0.5% of the world's unicorn startups. See more details in this article here. One prerequisite for the startup scene that is slowly developing is an increased level of internationalization which for instance companies like #Rakuten and #Shiseido promote, e.g. by driving diversity in the talent pool and making English their company language.

In cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, I have seen a lot of creative ideas that might have further scale, from the famous pet cafes (nowadays ranging from cats and dogs to hedgehogs and owls)

... and ideas like the Tokyo Low-Non Bar challenging the concept of cocktail bars with their non alcoholic concoctions. As the #Anime and #Manga artists scene keeps on thriving with global popularity, interesting so see the profit sharing within the value chain, which was illustrated in the Kyoto International Manga Museum. There visitors were also encouraged to read more "Gaiman" = non Japanese. i.e. foreign comics.

7. Love for convenience, every wish is fulfilled

Convenience stores are open 24 hours, vending machines are available on the most remote spaces for everything, from hot and cool drinks to paper slips for prayer. Though, 7Eleven and FamilyMart seem to have quite an oligopoly running. Time starved Japanese will therefore always find a chance for a quick bite.

8. Commercialization of space at extraordinary level

Building on the above, Japan's businesses like many others in Japan have done an amazing job in commercializing retail spaces. For instance, the 2nd largest train station - Kyoto - welcomes many millions of commuters and otherwise traveling visitors each year and has one of the most developed shopping and restaurant scenes.

All in all, a lot to learn from Japan and a lot to keep up in the Western world to staying an open society that takes responsibility.

I wish you all a Friday where finding the balance of accepting and challenging the status quo stays an advantage.

Beate Rosenthal