ACCJ Journal March 2009 by Paradigm

¥800 | March 2009 A ME R ICA N CHA MB E R O F CO MME R CE IN J A PA N J O UR NA L

Journal

Marunouchi development ■ Profile: mother in space ■ Book: winning leaders ■

MORE THAN BEING SEEN

Eco-experts are building a cleaner, leaner city for business.

N 45

MA R CH 20 09

ANNIVERSARY

SPECIAL

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ACCJ Mission Further the development of commerce between the United States of America and Japan, promote the interests of U.S. companies and members, and improve the international business environment in Japan.

CONTENTS

Volume 46 | Issue 3 | March 2009

EMILIO AMBASZ & ASSOCIATES

FEATURES COVER STORY 12

More than Being Seen Green Foreign architects and environmental consultants are introducing to Japan some ground-breaking green designs. By Catherine Shaw 表面的な「エコ」で終わらないために海外の建築家や環境問題コンサルタントが環境にやさしい「グリーンビルディング」の画期的な設計を日本に紹介。文／キャサリン・ショー

ACCJ Event Individual Income Taxation in Japan for Expatriates: Things to Know. By Julian Ryall ACCJイベント在日外国人のための個人所得税入門：知っておきたいポイント。文／ジュリアン・リアル

CSR for Sailors This NPO’s mission is to share its sailing skills and knowledge to make yachting in Japan more affordable. By Julian Ryall 船乗りのCSR セーリングの技能と知識を共有し、日本でのヨット普及を使命とするNPOがある。文／ジュリアン・リアル

ACCJ Event The Japanese Healthcare System: A Value-Based Perspective. By Geoff Botting ACCJイベント日本の医療制度：価値重視の視点から。文／ジェフ・ボッティング

Anniversary Special A look back at how the Journal has developed as it celebrates its 45th birthday. アニバーサリー・スペシャル発刊45周年を記念して本誌の発展の歴史を振り返る。

March 2009 | The Journal | 3

CONTENTS

Volume 46 | Issue 3 | March 2009

DEPARTMENTS 9

Note from the Editor

President’s Message

Media Watch Auto market decline. Retail trends. Student loan woes. Spend or save.

On the Spot Naoko Yamazaki, soon to be the first Japanese mother in space, is interviewed by Julian Ryall.

Opinion Leader Hiroyoshi Ito is Director and Senior Executive Officer at Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., which aims to make Marunouchi the center of international commerce and culture. オピニオンリーダー「丸の内エリアを国際的な商業と文化の拠点に」――三菱地所の取締役常務執行役員、伊藤裕慶氏が語る

Out and About Speakers, members and guests photographed at recent ACCJ events.

Events Line-up Selected business and leisure-related happenings in March. By David Umeda

FDI Portfolio Italian brand in Shinjuku. Pump firm’s Asia HQ. Consolidated Games. Luxury denim brand expands. CSR consulting. Star’s accessories launch. By Nicole Fall

Business Profile Beckie Cassidy is Program Director at Japan Market Expansion Committee (JMEC), which trains businesspeople and develops foreign businesses here. By Nicole Fall

Behind the Book Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls by Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis, is reviewed by Tom Baker.

Core Advocacy Principles

Advocacy Update ACCJ Viewpoints

In the Final Analysis By Samuel H. Kidder, ACCJ Executive Director

4 | The Journal | March 2009

TONY MCNICOL

ARON KREMER

ILLUSTRATION FOR THE ACCJ JOURNAL BY DARREN THOMPSON

ACCJ Leaders President Thomas W. Whitson KPMG FAS Co., Ltd. Chairman Allan D. Smith AIG Companies, Japan and Korea Vice Presidents Michael J. Alfant Fusion Systems Japan Co., Ltd. Laurence W. Bates General Electric Japan, Ltd. William R. Bishop, Jr. Nippon Becton Dickinson Co., Ltd. Michael D. Bobrove (Kansai) Nihon Medrad K.K. Kumi Sato Cosmo Public Relations Corporation Mark F. Schwab United Airlines, Inc. Chris Zarodkiewicz (Chubu) Cezars International K.K. Treasurer Nasir Majid PricewaterhouseCoopers Brett Jensen (Kansai) Colliers Hallifax Steve Burson (Chubu) H&R Consultants ACCJ Governors Andrew Conrad Aflac International, Inc. Christopher K. Ellis Chrysler Japan Company, Ltd. Bruce J. Ellsworth Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies James Foster Microsoft Japan Harry Hill (Chubu) Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc. Tad Johnson Pratt & Whitney Aftermarket Japan KK John Kakinuki GE Consumer Finance Co., Ltd. Jiri Mestecky Kitahama Partners L.P.C. Patricia Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Keefe USC International Offices-Tokyo Douglas L. Peterson Nikko Citi Holdings Inc. Nicole W. Piasecki Boeing Japan Jay Ponazecki Morrison & Forester LLP Mitsuyo Teramura Federal Express Corporation Jim Weisser PBXL ACCJ Executive Staff Samuel H. Kidder Executive Director Aron Kremer Deputy Executive Director ACCJ Committees American Auto Industry Rick Brown Architecture, Construction & Real Estate Kevyn Johnson/Michael P. King Asia Business Philip C. Jones B2B Sales Karl Hahne/Craig Saphin Banking and Finance Thomas Clark/Ernfred Olsen Capital Markets Douglas Hymas Charity Ball Barbara Hancock Competition Policy Task Force Robert Grondine Corporate Social Responsibility Patricia Bader-Johnston Direct Marketing Joseph Peters Environmental Naoki Arai Financial Services Forum Charles D. Lake II Food and Agriculture Collin Benson Foreign Direct Investment Nicholas Benes Government Relations Ira Wolf Healthcare Steve Plunkett Human Resource Management Chris Lamatsch, Adam Kassab Independent Business Doug Jackson Information, Communications & Technology Darren McKellin, Ann Rollins Insurance Nate Graddy/Jonathan Malamud Intellectual Property David Case International Education Patrick Newell Internet Economy Task Force Yoshitaka Sugihara Investment Management David Monroe Legal Services Arshad Karim/Eric Sedlak Corporate Counsel Clair Chino Marketing Programs Dominic Carter/Koichi Hama Membership Relations Andrew Silberman Privatization Task Force David Hoover Retail TBA Soft Landing Task Force Adam Kassab/Mariko Nakazono Special Events Barry Bergmann Young Professionals Group John Ghanotakis/Daniel Lintz Taxation Jack Bird/Michael Shikuma Toiletries, Cosmetics & Fragrances Yukiko Tsujimoto Transportation and Logistics Jeff Bernier/Jeremy Goldstrich Travel Industry Kayoko Inoue/Vincent You University Briefing Program Richard May/David Satterwhite Kansai Chapter Business Programs Jiri Mestecky Community Service Kojiro Dan External Affairs Kiran Sethi Living in Kansai Barry Louie Membership Paul Dupuis Women in Business Mari Nogami Chubu Chapter Community Service Steve Burson Independent Business Chris Oostyen/Jason Morgan Living in Chubu Lowell Sheppard Membership Relations Chris Zarodkiewicz Programs Steve Brown American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Masonic 39 MT Bldg. 10F, 2-4-5 Azabudai Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 106-0041 Tel: 03-3433-5381 Fax: 03-3433-8454 www.accj.or.jp / www.ecentral.jp The ACCJ is an independent membership organization with no affiliation with any government or other chamber of commerce. The ACCJ is a member of the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers and values its relationships with Japanese, American and other nationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; business organizations.

Journal

Publisher Vickie Paradise Green paradise@paradigm.co.jp Editor-in-Chief Simon Farrell simonfarrell@paradigm.co.jp Senior Editor David Umeda Art Director Paddy O’Connor Graphic Designer Akiko Mineshima COLUMNISTS Tom Baker, Nicole Fall, Mark Schreiber

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PHOTOGRAPHERS / ILLUSTRATORS Tony McNicol, Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, Darren Thompson, Mattias Westfalk Published by Paradigm President Vickie Paradise Green Creative Director Richard Grehan Advertising Sales Eileen Chang, Sarit Huys, Helene Jacquet, Leai Kubotsuka Kamiyama Ambassador 209 18-6 Kamiyama-cho, Shibuya-ku Tokyo, Japan 150-0047 Tel: 03-5478-7941 Fax: 03-5478-7942 e-mail: inquiries@paradigm.co.jp www.paradigm.co.jp

Published monthly in Tokyo, on the 25th of the month, since 1964. Indexed in the PAIS BULLETIN. All rights reserved. The views and opinions expressed herein (other than editorials from the ACCJ itself) are solely the opinions and views of their authors. The ACCJ is not responsible or liable for any portions thereof.

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Subscription rates for non-ACCJ members One year ¥9,000; two years ¥15,000; three years ¥22,000. ¥800 per copy. Rates include domestic postage or surface postage for overseas subscribers. Add ¥7,500 per year if overseas airmail is preferred. Please allow eight weeks for changes of address to take effect. Subscription requests should be sent to info@accj.or.jp The ACCJ Journal welcomes story ideas from readers and proposals from writers. Letters to the editor may be edited for length and style. The ACCJ Journal is produced entirely on Apple computers

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

When the going gets tough … T he ACCJ has long advocated ocated rk and a Tokyo to rival New York London in the global ﬁnancial ture, center stakes. With infrastructure, versight, services, transparency, legal oversight, costs, and multilingual ability the key concerns, our cover story adds one igueur for more criterion that’s now de rigueur rivate and decision-makers in both the private public sectors—sensitivity to the environough, this ment. As the title suggests, though, n Green. involves More than Being Seen dication of So it’s pleasing to note the dedication prawling ACCJ members turning this sprawling er place to metropolis into an even greater live and work. e 36 Our Opinion Leader on page nsion to details another exciting dimension ears—the the Tokyo skyline in coming years—the Marunouchi Redevelopment Project. ed center After ﬁrst creating an integrated e now for start-ups, the second phase ly “broaden underway promises to not only ty” of and deepen the bustling vitality” the area, but also to tastefully restore what is the cradle of Japanese urban development. As ACCJ President Thomas Whitson reports on page 11, attendance at ACCJ

events has actually increased, despite (or because of) the economic uncertainty. It should be no surprise really, with such useful topics as the Individual Income Taxation in Japan for Expatriates event held in February, perfectly scheduled in time to act on the expert advice delivered by the speakers before the Japanese

deadline to file tax returns. If you missed this event, read our full report on page 26 before Mar March 16! They say Corporate Social Responsibi Responsibility is the first casualty of a recession. B But the Journal strives hard to promote CSR in good and bad times alike. This iis not difficult as it is one of the ACCJ’s key p pillars. CSR is also said to be even more crucial when money is tight and wage earners e feel vulnerable. The ACCJ donated donat an incredible ¥9 million to three worth worthy causes in February. Thanks to the 60th Anniversary Diamond Charity Ball in Dece December 2008, charities helping vulnerable children, and fighting human trafficking and poverty, each gratefully received a g generous check in February, as you can see on page 41. Finally, iit’s our 45th anniversary issu issue. We had a lot of fun reviewing review how the Journal began, and has developed. On page 38, please ple enjoy some memorable anecdotes, quotes and front covers that have Simon Farrell decorated Japan’s top Englishsimonfarrell@ paradigm.co.jp language business magazine since March 1964.

A new survey* shows trust in business falling worldwide. Yet fully 95% of Japanese opinion leaders have greater faith in a company that communicates frequently and honestly, which PR can deliver. *Edelman 2009 Trust Barometer

Thomas R. Zengage, Representative Director & Chairman, Edelman Japan KK Tel: +81(3) 6403 5200 Email: japan@edelman.com

Find out what all the whispering is about.

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

ACCJ events, CSR and Doorknocks thrive despite grim economy.

ARON KREMER

he outlook for the financial year ending March 31, 2009 appears dismal, and many companies are backing away from predictions they made only a couple of months ago. Even Japan’s most competitive global companies are projecting significant amounts of red ink as markets dry up in the U.S. and Europe, and the strong yen saps export competitiveness. Employment losses reported at some of Japan’s best companies is a sign of even more severe pressure on Japanese subcontractors and second-tier companies who traditionally take the brunt of economic dislocation while the blue chips sail on. Right now, it seems that everyone’s boat is taking on water. So, although ACCJ membership is down slightly, how to explain a 20% increase in participation at January ACCJ events? I hope it isn’t a case of “misery loves company”; but I am happy that our members want to get together in ACCJ settings. It is sometimes difficult to think about Corporate Social Responsibility under economic pressure, but it is important to maintain our reputations for proper social behavior even as we manage through recession and hard times. This year, ACCJ Tokyo is planning for a Tokyo Walkathon. I am pleased that we have finally stolen Chubu’s great idea. And this year’s Charity Ball Committee has plans for a tasteful but less costly production that will still anchor the end of our year in a spirit of charity. In the ACCJ’s Diet Doorknock on February 17-19, about 80 ACCJ members paid courtesy visits to more than 50 Diet members and senior government officials—including the Minister of Justice, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Chairman of Japan’s Fair Trade Commission, the head of the Financial Services Agency, the head of the lower house Foreign Affairs Committee chair, among others. We visited representatives of all major political parties and heard the views of opposition leaders who could have influential positions if the lower house elections change the government later this year. The Chamber staff orchestrated this ballet to ensure that each ACCJ member was in the right place with the right materials at the right time. We are also grateful to the U.S.

Charge d’Affairs Jim Zumwalt for hosting our Japanese counterparts and the Diet Doorknock teams at his home. Our Japanese government contacts are very interested in what the new U.S. administration means for Japan-U.S. relations at all levels. We had many lively exchanges of views, and we have picked up some themes that we will develop before we go on our Washington Doorknock later this year. Although there is some protectionist sentiment coming from many world capitals, I am optimistic that the ACCJ’s message of free and fair competition and a transparent process of ﬁnancial system regulation and reform still resonates with leaders on both sides of the Paciﬁc. I think that our message of formalized bilateral economic dialogue at various levels of government working toward greater U.S.-Japan economic Thomas Whitson is integration will lead to more opportunities for ACCJ President. twhitson@accj.or.jp our member companies and an eventual free trade agreement between Japan and the U.S. ■

March 2009 | The Journal | 13

More than Being Seen

Green

ROLE TO PLAY FOR GLOBAL CONSULTANTS. By Catherine Shaw

hen the economy falters, many cut back on environmental issues, particularly when it comes to large-scale developments,” says Michael King, co-chair of the ACCJ Architecture, Construction and Real Estate Committee. “But we now know that buildings have an enormous impact on the environment, human health and the economy, so this isn’t a sensible option. “ ‘Green Building’ is much more than being seen to do the right thing. Cutting back today means a generation of obsolete buildings when the economy

14 | The Journal | March 2009

starts to improve,” he continues. “For Japan to retain its role as a global economic player and Asia’s financial center, it simply has to keep up with the market trends of its competitors.” The irony is that sustainability was an integral part of life during the Edo Era (1603-1868), according to Azby Brown, architect, author and director of the KIT Future Design Institute in Tokyo. “But, at the time other countries developed their environmental consciousness, Japan had other very difficult problems to deal with. “You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the building industry to admit to not wanting to be ‘green,’ ” adds Brown. “But

when asked why they are not building more sustainable buildings, they give excuses like ‘It’s difﬁcult now.’ “Had Japan’s demand for environmental sustainability been from the ground roots, like in other parts of the world,” he continues, “the situation would be very different today.” Green Building has its roots in a broad paradigm shift that began in the U.S. and Europe in the early 1960s. Growing concern about the long-term costs of wasting precious natural resources led to public demand for better environmental controls. Climate change, human health and the

MORE THAN BEING SEEN GREEN

according to Vass. “Forty-two percent of buyers were more inclined to buy a sustainable home because of their health benefits, compared with 17% for energy savings and 12% for the environment.” BLL’s building in Sydney (30 The Bond) illustrates the health and social benefits of Green Buildings, according to BLLJ Executive Officer Gordon Hatton. The first 5-star Green Star-certified building in Australia incorporated environment-friendly measures such as chilled beam technology, sustainable non-toxic materials, solar shading and a roof garden. A recent study reported a significant decrease in employee health complaints, such as regarding sore eyes, fatigue, headaches, colds and dry skin, while 51% of employees indicated increased productivity. “The building also achieves 50% lower GHG [green house gas] emissions and 60 to 70% waste recycling diversion,” says Hatton. “And we’ve been able to deliver sustainability with the target rent.” “To a large extent, activism for sustainability and Green Buildings in Japan hasn’t yet entered the broad consciousness of decision-makers Michael King at the builders- or user-levels,” says Co-Chair King of the ACCJ committee. “In the U.S., large-scale users were a moving force to convince developers and building owners to provide green space. Hopefully, we can help in assisting Japanese corporations, as well as individuals, up this learning curve which benefits us all.” “Japan is a very pragmatic society,” observes Brown of the KIT Future Design Institute. “When asking, ‘Are we going to spend this much on this kind of energy system, or are we just going to do the cheaper one?’, if the more expensive one’s benefits are environmental only, people will invariably take the cheaper course,” he says. “There need to be very strong social incentives for it to be any different.” Sustainability is not yet fully reflected in the building industry, agrees Hatton

SNAPSHOT Key Steps to Green Building ■ Establish your sustainability vision and objectives for the development. ■ Get stakeholders (owner, financier, occupiers, etc,) on board. ■ Appoint a project manager and/or sustainability consultant to coordinate the relevant parties and hold to the vision. ■ Select a rating tool for benchmarking your building. ■ Define a baseline, and model potential scenarios. ■ Site selection — First key step in influencing sustainable design. ■ Design — Be innovative, challenge the status quo. Requires iterative discussion between owner, sustainability advisors, specialist suppliers and designer to balance sustainable vision with practical building and occupier requirements. ■ Contractor — Pick a contractor that can deliver, particularly considering supply of sustainable material choices and site management requirements. ■ Commissioning — Vital to ensuring planned efficiencies are achieved. ■ Measuring results — Feedback from users, data collection.

of BLLJ. “But Japan invested heavily in specific areas of energy efficiency [e.g., solar panel technology] with a focus on technology-driven solutions, and is, therefore, very strong in that regard. Some developers have empathy for environmental sustainability, but a holistic approach to Green Building is not widespread.” “It’s often very difficult to introduce something new to this market,” explains Philippe Valery, president of SaintGobain HanGlas (Japan) K.K., a manufacturer and distributor of construction materials, including glass. “Some contractors prefer to use the cheapest products and stay with suppliers they have established relations with. “The Japanese government’s recommendations for building insulation don’t help. Windows are ranked from 1 to 4 stars, based on energy savings; but in Germany, for example, you would not be able to obtain a construction permit with most of the windows that obtain the highest rating in Japan,” continues Valery. “Even when the highest-specification glass is marginally more expensive and the additional

March 2009 | The Journal | 15

BOVIS LEND LEASE JAPAN

quality of the environment have since evolved into important global issues. Advances in the measurement of environmental impacts have meant better information about costs and benefits. This is particularly so when you consider that buildings consume vast amounts of energy, water and electricity, and are responsible for 40% of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions—released through extraction and manufacturing of building materials, and construction and demolition debris that generates methane. In Japan, records show buildings and industry contribute similar amounts of CO2 to total emissions (31% and 36%, respectively); but buildings have been increasing their contribution [36% increase on KP (Kyoto Protocol) base year], while industry has decreased its contribution (down 5% on base year). “Industry has been making an effort; buildings [residential/ commercial] haven’t,” says Tim Vass, environment manager of Bovis Lend Lease Japan, Inc. (BLLJ). “Economic benefits are an equal aspect of sustainable development, along with environment and social aspects,” he adds. For example, Argentine architect Emilio Ambasz successfully reconciled maintaining the last remaining green space in Fukuoka city center with a new multi-use building of more than one million square feet containing an exhibition hall, museum, 2,000seat theater, conference facilities, 600,000ft2 (55,740m2) of government and private offices, as well as large underground parking and retail spaces. Green Building is widely recognized as a good business investment— thanks to reduced running costs and increased income/sale prices. Buildings that are designed, constructed, operated and maintained well enjoy increased durability, reduced operating and maintenance costs, and improved occupant health and productivity. A 2007 U.S. study of 1,300 certified Green Buildings reported a 3% increase in occupancy, rent premiums of $120/m2 and sale premiums of $1,800/m2,

investment would offer a quick payback to the owner, Japanese contractors use what wouldn’t meet the most basic environmental specifications in Europe.” Japan’s Green Building certification system is known as CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency), but the more stringent US LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is fast becoming the default world standard for global clients. It is widely credited as the best definition of Green Building, providing clear advice for architects, engineers, builders and owners on how to approach sustainable development.

16 | The Journal | March 2009

“While CASBEE is a step in the right direction, it is not currently available for fit-outs, can be difficult to use as a design tool, and lacks the international recognition of other rating systems,” says Rebecca Green, a Green Building consultant at ERM Japan. “Many of our domestic and multinational clients request LEED or BREEAM [Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method] certification—as these systems provide flexibility in application across their global footprint, can be used to optimize energy performance, and are increasingly being selected to raise the profile of their projects and achieve international success in Green Building design.”

The international certiﬁcation trend is strong. According to Jerry Yudelson, author of The Green Building Revolution, the 2006 cumulative LEED-NC (new construction) registrations in the U.S. exceeded the 2005 totals by 50%, while the number of certiﬁed projects increased over the same period by nearly 70%. “In an industry [construction and development] that typically grows about 5% [or less] per year, this rapid growth is an earthshaking phenomenon,” observes Yudelson, who believes the focus of Green Building will begin to switch from new buildings to greening existing buildings. (The fastest-growing

The design for ACROS “Asian Crossroads Over the Sea” Fukuoka proposes a powerful new solution for a common urban problem: reconciling a developer’s desire for profitable use of a site with the public’s need for open green space.

rating system in 2008 was the LEED for Existing Buildings program.) There are already 14 LEED-certified buildings in China, with at least 134 registered for certification; and 24 certified/64 registered in India, reports Vass of BLLJ. Demand is being driven, in part, by companies that make it a policy to occupy only rated space. “The trend is growing in Japan,” confirms Hatton of BLLJ. “Client discussions usually begin with ‘How can we get LEED certification here?’ We are increasingly being approached by foreign and domestic clients to assist them in formulating broader sustainable strategies for their real estate assets.”

Hatton recalls a recent client, a large Japanese real estate developer, who recognized the potential to use a sustainability agenda to enhance a project worthy of its prominent historic site. “By collaborating with our global team, and reviewing examples of what we have delivered in other countries,” he says, “this client is conﬁdent they can apply sustainability in a way that we predict will distinguish their project in the market while still adhering to their commercially driven business case.” “Two areas stand out as areas of sustainable development in need of improvement in Japan,” says Yasuo Miyazaki, executive ofﬁcer and director,

Mechanical & Electrical, at Shimizu Corporation. “The ﬁrst is that Green Building standards and regulations need to be improved. The second is the need to establish a system or index to evaluate the [investment] value of Green Buildings.” Shimizu applies an in-house Green Code that goes beyond CASBEE standards to incorporate sustainability criteria such as the wider ecosystem, long-life buildings and resistance to abnormal weather. The new evaluation standard enhances value, according to Miyazaki, through cost savings, an extended building life and additional income from improved building quality, increased productivity and risk avoidance.

March 2009 | The Journal | 17

EMILIO AMBASZ & ASSOCIATES

MORE THAN BEING SEEN GREEN

Shimizu’s Institute of Technology is a leading example of green technology in Japan, incorporating innovative measures such as a new Micro Grid System (developed jointly with The University of Tokyo, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Meidensha Corporation) and a Ceiling Radiation Heating and Cooling System that achieves substantial environmental savings. Other sustainable elements include rooftop greenification (84 varieties of insects and 14 varieties of birds already have been observed), electromagnetic environmental control and task/ambient (airflow) conditioning and lighting. The building achieves significant energy conservation through thermal storage, using a system that optimally combines off-peak heat storage and daytime heat-use to reduce the peak load in daytime air-conditioning. The annual rate of consumption shift to off-peak stands at 53.6%, which is equivalent to a 647-ton reduction in LCCO2 (Life Cycle CO2) over 60 years. There is a growing interest, at least among Japan’s industry leaders, in going beyond the basic requirements of Green Building to meet the highest international standards. Those with global experience in this field report a growing demand for information. “Our ACCJ committee arranges regular sessions on this topic,” says King. “Panel discussions—like our May 2008 ‘How will sustainability trends change the real estate market?,—are effective in highlighting different perspectives on a particular topic. We brought in specialists from academia, the building and designing discipline, and a developer and operator of sustainable hotels. We plan to

BLLJ

What is Green Building? Green Building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resourceefficient throughout a building’s life cycle—from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design’s concerns of economy, utility, durability and comfort. Green Building is known also as a sustainable or high-performance building.

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

SNAPSHOT

111 South Wacker in Chicago, Illinois, received LEED-CS Gold certification for its sustainability achievements.

March 2009 | The Journal | 19

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MORE THAN BEING SEEN GREEN

BLLJ

30 The Bond is the first office building in Australia to commit to a 5-star energy rating and is a leading example of social and environmental sustainability within commercial objectives.

have another event later this year on sustainability and Green Buildings.” The Urban Land Institute in Japan, ULI Japan, also held a well-attended conference in 2008, where former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stressed the importance of environmental protection and economic development never conflicting with each other. Such events reduce the common misconception that Green Buildings are significantly more expensive to build and are, therefore, the preserve of high-profile projects. “As green technologies have improved and become more widely available, costs

have dropped signiﬁcantly,” says Green of ERM Japan. “Estimates now place the cost of ‘going green’ [at] less than 2% on average above a typical design. From a savings standpoint, it’s important to look at payback, which is often less than 1-2 years for many features.” Cost savings are most likely to be fully realized when incorporated at the project’s conceptual design phase with the assistance of an integrated team of building professionals, according to construction-cost specialist John Critchley, director of D.G. Jones & Partners (Japan). “Buildings need to be designed as one

system, so there is a more holistic view of the various costs and benefits at play.” “Energy modeling is available to assess the effect a proposed ‘green’ feature will have on the overall design, and can be used as an integrated design tool. This is much more accurate than just looking at simple payback,” says Green. “For example, a green roof works not only to limit stormwater runoff and promote biodiversity, but [also] changes the thermal characteristics of a building so that heating and cooling loads may be reduced. Modeling helps to evaluate a range of upgrades in terms of initial cost and overall life-cycle cost. With bolt-on green, you can’t achieve true integrated design.” Green Building is likely to become a permanent part of our economic, cultural and financial landscape. Japan has some way to go toward enacting regulations that favor Green Buildings, by providing strong incentives to the private sector and encouraging Green Building by local government, those who take a proactive stance regarding the sustainability of existing and planned buildings and future proof Catherine Shaw is a freelance against new regulations will journalist based achieve a significant future in Tokyo. marketing advantage. ■

March 2009 | The Journal | 21

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Shin-Tokyo Building 2F, 3-3-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005 Tel: 03-3214-2491

Fax: 03-3214-2494

www.tmhlo.jp

MEDIA WATCH

Nervous Breakdown The ongoing decline of Japan as a jidosha shakai (a society on wheels) has hit gasoline stations hard. The Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 20) reports that gasoline prices, after peaking at around ¥180 per liter last summer, are now approaching half that amount. Many service stations are not surviving; about 250 shut down between April and November in the greater Kanto area alone. The retail side has been declining since 1996, when the petroleum import market was deregulated. From more than 60,000 service stations across Japan in 1995, the number had declined to 40,457 by March 2008; it subsequently tumbled by another 957 stations in the latter half of 2008. According to Kanehiro Iida, director of the National Petroleum Dealers Association in Tokyo, the biggest problem is the method by which the wholesale prices of gasoline are set. “The subsidiaries of oil companies can purchase gasoline cheaper than we small operators. This has caused

distorted distribution. Since gasoline is the same product no matter who sells it, price competition is inevitable. Small operators lacking capital power can either go bankrupt, or else shut down before that happens. Tokyo has lost more than 60% of its service stations since 1975. While 80% of the gasoline stands still in operation are small to medium-sized, the majors are on the rise. Junichiro Nagaiwa, second-generation owner in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward, says the change in the market is evident from his customers. “Instead of luxury sedans, now they’re driving minicars. Or they’ve given up their car and take the train; or they’ve gone from motorcycles to bicycles. The times have changed, and it can’t be helped—well, we had a good run for 50 years,” he shrugs resignedly. Nikkan Gendai (Dec. 20), meanwhile, looks at the used car market, which is suffering from a sales decline as sharp as in the new car market. The 290,000 units sold in November 2008 represent a year-

on-year decline of 16.3%, making it the lowest demand in 27 years. Fewer than 40% of the vehicles offered at a recent dealer auction found buyers, according to an operator. “Previously, most of the used cars on the market came from trade-ins,” says Atsushi Sato, an automotive writer. “But because new cars aren’t moving, the supply of used cars is drying up and the available models are mostly older, and more dealers are cutting their prices. Also, because of heavy discounting to move the glut of new models, the price gap has narrowed.” Used auto sales have been caught up in the deflationary spiral. According to an unnamed trade publication, the average sales price for a used minivan fell by 10 to 20% between April and December. “Now people can buy new cars for what they used to pay for used models,” says a dealer in Tokyo. “In some cases, to move some new models, we might have to cut the sticker price by half. So used cars aren’t moving.”

March 2009 | The Journal | 23

MEDIA WATCH

Dispatches from the Retail Front Timed out, but still edible

Tracking footprints

Ultra-low prices—such as a box of teabags, ¥28; canned fruits, ¥48; and curry in retort pouches, ¥58—at the Sankei supermarket, 15 minutes on foot from JR Kameido Station in Tokyo’s Koto Ward, seem like a time travel back to the 1960s. Shukan Post (Dec. 26) reports they’re the real thing. What’s the catch? Looking at their “best consumed by dates,” you’ll see that the three aforementioned items expired in November 2006, January 2008 and June 2008, respectively. That’s why the store sets them out together on a special rack, with a yellow sign bearing the words “Mottainai Shohindana” (shelf of products we shouldn’t waste) written in black marker pen. Over 30 different shelf-worn items can be found. But are they safe? “I taste test them myself,” says Fumio Mizuno, Sankei’s boss. “If they seem okay, I put them out on sale. The public health office knows we’re doing it.” Making inquiries at the Koto Ward public health office, the magazine’s reporter found that, since Sankei openly advertises that the consume-by dates on such goods have expired, there’s no violation of the Japan Agricultural Standard Law. Nor does selling the goods violate any food sanitation statutes. Besides, such dates are merely guidelines and not legally enforceable. According to Kazuko Okuda, professor emeritus at Konan Women’s University, the dates are set so as to encourage more rapid turnover. “The expiration doesn’t mean it can’t be consumed,” she says. Sankei’s 76-year-old president grew up during the war, a time when discarding food was unthinkable. He tells Shukan Post that, over the past five years, he figures the mottainai shelf has actually run up a deficit of about ¥3 million. But it’s popular with customers and makes his shop appealing to the neighborhood’s thrift-conscious.

Consumer products are beginning to display data related to their carbon footprint. At the Eco Products 2008 exhibition held in Tokyo in early December, the Japan Marketing Journal (JMJ) (Dec. 17) reports that some 30 companies exhibited over 100 products bearing labels indicating data on CO2 emissions. From January, the AEON Co., Ltd.’s supermarket chain had planned to begin limited sales of some 50 products—ranging from agricultural produce and processed foods, to daily goods—in 10 outlets. A spokesperson for the company says the goods would carry labels and be displayed with in-store point-of-purchase materials displaying CO2 emissions. But will consumers purchase an environmentfriendly product, even if its price is slightly higher? When goo Research polled 1,520 adults online, 5.9% say they definitely would, and another 39.8% say they might. In contrast, 34.4% give inconclusive responses. Slightly and completely negative respondents are at 16.3% and 3.6%, respectively. Products already purchased—or were to be purchased—in which energy savings figured in the selection include TV sets (47%), refrigerators (44.6%), washing machines (43.7%), microwave ovens (40.7%) and air-conditioners (40%). According to goo, Japan’s top five manufacturers with a strong image of being environmentally conscious are Toyota Motor Corporation (345 votes), Panasonic Corp. (112), AEON (100), Sharp Corp. (80) and Suntory Ltd. (62).

Chirashi price-chopping Wal-Mart subsidiary, The Seiyu Ltd., has begun a new policy of matching the prices of rival stores for customers who bring in a chirashi (handbill or flyer) or other evidence proving a competitor is offering the same item at a lower price. On December 4, Seiyu also ran full-page ads in daily newspapers in the greater Tokyo area that compared its prices with those of other stores—a practice common in the U.S., but not in Japan. Seiyu’s move is not the first of its kind in Japan, though. The Gunma Prefecturebased Kainzu, Inc. chain of 158 home center outlets in 22 prefectures adopted a similar price guarantee policy in the late 1990s. Each store is allowed to decide the terms. According to the JMJ, few customers avail themselves of the system, however—apparently content with the store’s discounting policy as it stands. The JMJ (Dec. 11) sent a reporter to Seiyu’s Sugamo store in Tokyo, and determined there are certain strings attached. For one thing, a price advertised as half-off is not acceptable to Seiyu as a bargaining point, since this figure is regarded by Seiyu as ambiguous. Also, Seiyu ruled out locking horns with proprietary brands of clothing offered by some other chains.

March 2009 | The Journal | 25

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MEDIA WATCH

Student Deadbeats to Be Blacklisted The Yokohama-based Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) announced it would begin recording into a credit blacklist the names of students who were in arrears on their loan repayments. The organization offers Type 1 loans of between ¥21,000 (high school or occupational training school) and ¥122,000 (graduate school) at no interest. At the end of 2007, 2.58 million students had borrowed ¥360 billion. The amount in arrears (being defined as six months or longer following graduation) totaled some ¥66 billion, a 1.5-fold increase from five years ago. From November, JASSO joined the Personal Credit Information Center operated by the individual national credit investigation service of the Japanese Bankers Association, and from March 2009 will begin entering personal information into the credit blacklist. “Even if the borrower [eventually] makes full restitution of the loan, the name remains on the blacklist for a fixed period and that person would be[come] ineligible for credit cards or a loan,” a business journalist tells Nikkan Gendai (Dec. 13). “In some cases, landlords might also refuse to accept them as tenants.” A JASSO staff member, justifying the organization’s action as “unavoidable,” and asking for understanding, emphasizes that JASSO must recover the funds in order to be able to supply loans to the next generation of students.

“We’re in an age of non-transparency, when companies can easily get out of naitei [informal hiring agreements],” says Meiji University Professor Masaru Takagi. “Falling behind in loan repayments is not a good thing, but are measures that destroy their [delinquent borrowers’] future acceptable? This might cause them to stumble right at the very beginning of their careers.” In a related development, NHK TV news reported on December 18 that several major universities have begun offering tuition grants or scholarships to students whose families cannot afford the tuition.

Random Access The economic stimulus package in the works by the government of Prime Minister Taro Aso is to include cash benefits. No one is sure yet what the deal entails, but 3,425 members of the online AsparaClub.com were happy to discuss their plans for spending it. Roughly one out of three say they would just put the money in their savings account—the stated reason being concerns for the future. Some 61% say they would spend the money; the breakdown is 56% for living expenses; 11% for children’s

education; 10% for out-of-pocket activities; 8% on appliances or household goods; and 6% for travel or leisure. (The Asahi Shimbun) What do Japanese spend at Christmas, and for whom? A nationwide survey of 1,030 adults by the JMA Marketing Journal (Dec. 10) found that 48.3% planned to engage in the practice of gift giving in 2008, a rise of 5.2% over 2007. Some 27.8% give “undecided” as their response. Among those respondents with children of middle-school age or

below, planning for Santa to visit is 59.4%. Of those giving positive replies, 73% say the value of the gift would be unchanged from the previous year; 5.9% say it would be less. As for outlays, 38.4% give from between ¥2,000 and ¥5,000, followed by 12.4% who plan to spend above ¥10,000. The most popular gifts for children are, in descending order, toys, game software, books, clothing, video game units, music CDs or movie DVDs, sportswear, and stationery. (JMJ)

March 2009 | The Journal | 27

ACCJ Event INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAXATION IN JAPAN FOR EXPATRIATES: THINGS TO KNOW By Julian Ryall Photos by Tony McNicol

here is, according to the old saying, a time for everything and everything has its time. March is unavoidably the time to ﬁle tax returns in Japan. Invariably something of an obstacle course to negotiate—and not made any easier by periodic changes in the rules as they affect expatriate residents of Japan—the topic was handled by taxation experts from Ernst & Young Shinnihon Tax, a provider of professional tax services in Japan as a member ﬁrm of Ernst & Young Global Limited. They

ACCJ Taxation Committee Vice Chair Eric Keuling, Michael H. Shikuma, Kiyohide Iwasaki

gave a presentation to members of the Chamber and their guests on February 6, called “Individual Income Taxation in Japan for Expatriates: Things to Know,” on how to avoid some of the most common—and potentially damaging to one’s bank balance— pitfalls and problems.

28 | The Journal | March 2009

“There are some very common mistakes that expats make and we see that every year,” said Harish Shrivastava, a partner at Ernst & Young, Human Capital services. “I have seen lots of my clients make mistakes when it comes to things like the timing of selling property in their home country, and we tell them to exercise caution.” Shrivastava—who was joined for the question-and-answer session by Ernst & Young’s Kiyohide Iwasaki, director of Human Capital services—opened his presentation by identifying the three categories of resident status in Japan and outlining the differences when filing tax returns. A non-resident is classified as anyone who has been in Japan for less than one year and, if treaty conditions are met, may be exempt from tax. To avoid paying taxes here, the individual must spend less than 183 days in Japan in a calendar year or on a rolling-year basis, receive salary and allowances offshore, and accept no charge-back to the permanent establishment in Japan. If the conditions are not met, however, an individual is subject to a flat income tax rate of 20%, though no local taxes. Most expats fall into the second category of being a nonpermanent resident, and have an assignment period of 12 months or longer, are not a citizen of Japan, have spent less than five years of the last 10 years in the country, and are taxed at a progressive rate of up to 50% on the greater of either their Japansource income, or any non-Japan source income remitted into Japan plus any amount paid in Japan. The third grouping is permanent resident, which includes foreign nationals who have lived in Japan for five years of the

ACCJ EVENT

last 10 years, and thus are taxed Taxation on capital gains from the at a progressive rate on the worldsale of listed securities is conducted wide income. differently in Japan, compared to the National income tax returns United States, with no distinction for 2008 are due on March 16 this in Japan between short- and longyear, Shrivastava pointed out, with term capital gains. For a permanent July 31 and November 30 set as resident, as a result, the gain is taxed payment due dates for the first and at 20% if sold through a broker oversecond installments of paying the seas, but only 10% if sold through a broker in Japan. estimated taxes for the current year. Capital gains on land and property, Similarly, the local resident tax can be paid on the other hand, is a more tricky area, in a lump sum on June 30, or else spread Shrivastava said, due to the Japanese over four installments: June, August, requirement that to qualify for the reduced October 2009; and February 2010. rate of 20% on a long-term asset—as Regarding the income that is subject to opposed to 39% for a short-term asset—the tax, Shrivastava identified the base salary holding period for a property must exceed and benefits, cost of living and cash allowfive years, determined as of January 1 of ances, Japan taxes paid by an employer on the sale year. the employee’s behalf, Japanese-language Retirement income qualifies for a series lessons for family members, and stock of special deductions, as does occasional option gains. All are taxable, regardless of the payroll location. There is better news income—defined as one-off payments, Harish Shrivastava when it comes to housing provided by an such as lottery winnings or a lucky day at employer, home leave entitlements, educathe track. Shrivastava cautioned, though, tion for dependents in Japan, moving that income from exercising an overseas expenses, and capital gains and retirement allowances—“as long parent company’s stock option is not considered as occasional as it is structured properly,” Shrivastava emphasized. income, and thus is subject to being taxed as compensation. Anyone who earned less than ¥20 million that was paid all In the final tax reckoning, you should include factors such in yen from a single employer, and did not earn other income as home leave, education, employer housing and moving above ¥200,000, is not required to file a Japan tax return. expenses—along with the premiums paid for social, earthquake However, there are benefits for anyone in that category who has and life insurance—as well as taking into account credits for un-reimbursed medical expenses of more than ¥100,000, has home acquisition loans. made donations to a registered Japanese charity in excess of Special consideration is afforded to registered directors, ¥5,000, or has a housing loan for a principal residence in Japan. Shrivastava pointed out, although it mainly results in more Income categories that are taxed at normal progressive rates taxable income. include earnings from employment, business or rental income, In conclusion, he reiterated a series of warnings to anyone as well as interest and dividends—unless paid through a Japan filing tax returns in Japan, prominent among them the need to paying agent—and miscellaneous or occasional income and exercise caution when selling property in your home country retirement earnings, although special reductions are available and being aware that Japan imposes taxation on remittances for that category. as well. Other potential pitfalls related to greater taxation involve breaking residency after January 1—leaving yourself open to liability for a full year of local tax—and deciding to keep your alien registration card as a souvenir of time spent in Japan. Big mistake, Shrivastava said, as turning in your card is a condition of breaking residency and avoiding future taxes. In the months and years ahead, there inevitably will be changes—some minor, some more far-reaching—in regulations concerning taxation; but all will have major implications for the amount you pay in taxes each year. Getting professional advice from the experts is a Julian Ryall is smart move. The Daily Telegraph’s Tokyo Harish Shrivastava can be contacted at Ernst & correspondent. Young Shinnihon Tax, Tel. 03-3506-2017. ■

“There are some very common mistakes that expats make and we see that every year.”

March 2009 | The Journal | 29

When the space shuttle Atlantis is launched in 2010, Naoko Yamazaki will become only the second female Japanese to go into orbit—and the very ﬁrst Japanese mother to do so.

Naoko Yamazaki THE FIRST JAPANESE MOTHER IN SPACE. By Julian Ryall

When did you first decide you wanted to become an astronaut, and what attracted you to this career? When I was a child, I liked to look at the stars in the sky, which made me interested in space. I also liked to watch science fiction movies like Star Wars, and I believed that everyone would be able to go into space by the time I grew up. At the same time, I was interested in becoming a schoolteacher; so when I found out that a teacher astronaut, Christa McAuliffe, was on board the space shuttle Challenger, I felt that it was possible for space and teaching to be connected. How did you go about becoming an astronaut, as it’s not one of those run-ofthe-mill jobs? The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency [JAXA] has an astronaut selection process similar to NASA’s, which involves a series of exacting checks, including a comprehensive knowledge test, an English test, medical tests and a group dynamics test, as well as several interviews. The entire process takes about one year, and is very challenging. Please tell us about your education and professional background. I majored in aerospace engineering, specifically space transportation systems and space robotics. After I earned my Master’s degree in the same field, I started working as an engineer at JAXA. I was in charge of the development of Kibo, the Japanese

ON THE SPOT

Space exploration is an investment in our future life here on Earth.

JAXA

Station. The hardest part for me was going through the high-paced training and doing everything in my second language. It was like school and it was challenging—but it was also fun.

BIOGRAPHY Naoko Yamazaki Born: Dec. 1970 in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture Married: To Taichi Yamazaki Children: Yuki Hobbies: Scuba diving, skiing, flying and music Education: Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1993 and a Master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1996 Career: ■ Joined the National Space Development Agency of Japan in 1996 ■ Involved in a series of development projects, notably the Japanese Experiment Module system and the International Space Station Centrifuge ■ Selected in February 1999 as an astronaut candidate ■ Received astronaut certification in September 2001 ■ Approved as a flight engineer at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, near Moscow, in May 2004 ■ Certified as a mission specialist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Feb. 2006

Experiment Module now attached to the International Space Station [ISS]. That experience enhanced my desire to go and work in space. What is the hardest part of the training to become an astronaut? We have to learn many things during astronaut candidate training—how to ﬂy a T-38 [supersonic] jet airplane, how to survive in the sea, communicate in English and Russian; and, of course, we have to learn the systems used aboard the space shuttle and the International Space

What will be your duties when you are in space? The mission’s major goals are [further] assembly of the ISS and logistics transfer. Each crewmember’s duties will be assigned eventually; and as a mission specialist my responsibilities will probably be to operate the robotic arms, as well as support the space shuttle and ISS operations. You are going to be the first Japanese mother in space; what does your daughter think of her mom flying beyond the Earth’s atmosphere? My daughter is in first grade. Since my husband took her to the Kennedy Space Center to watch the launches of three space shuttles, she now understands what a space shuttle does. She is excited that I am going into space, and is looking forward to watching the launch of my mission. How do you expect to feel when the launch countdown begins? This will be my first launch and obviously I am very excited, so I expect that I will be on cloud nine—very happy at that moment before the launch, as well as a little apprehensive since this is my first time. But I am very eager to get to that point. After the shuttle lifts off, it takes 8 minutes and 30 seconds for the shuttle to get into orbit and zero gravity. During this time, we will be very busy, and have to concentrate on the ascent activities. Do you have any fears? “Fear” is a little too strong a word to use to describe my feelings. In the same way as anybody who faces new challenges, I feel a little apprehensive about some of the things that will be new for me, such as the launch and zero gravity. But I am sure that all my training will enable me to

experience all of these new challenges—as well as with the help of all the great people who will be working on the mission. What are you most excited about doing in outer space? Other than working with my crewmembers to fulfill our mission objectives, I am most looking forward to watching the Earth from space. I know I will also enjoy the feeling and experience of zero gravity, and I hope I can relate all of my space experiences when I return. When you have completed the mission, what will be your next goal? My next goal will be to stay onboard the ISS for several months as an expedition crewmember; and, after that, I hope I can fly to the moon. Do you consider yourself a pioneer for young women in Japan? Would you like others to follow in your footsteps? I have never considered myself as a pioneer, especially since Chiaki Mukai already went into space twice and conducted lots of science experiments as a payload specialist. However, if I am a role model for young girls and women in Japan as the first Japanese woman to fly to the ISS and work as a mission specialist in space, I am very happy to have that honor. I certainly hope other women will follow in my footsteps. Should more time and funding be devoted to space exploration? It is a [matter of] balance, of course; but I believe it is important to devote as much time and money to space development as possible. Space exploration is an investment in our future life here on Earth. Along with the scientific discoveries, what personal discoveries do you expect to make? I cannot imagine all the personal discoveries I will make when I go into space; but I think I will have a better view Julian Ryall is or understanding about the The Daily Telegraph’s Tokyo Earth and how we live on this correspondent. planet [when I return]. ■

March 2009 | The Journal | 31

CSR for Sailors NPO TEACHES TRAINEE MARINERS IN ENGLISH. By Julian Ryall

t often is said that sailors are a breed apart from us landlubbers. Per Knudsen talking about his experiences under sail reinforces that perception. “It may be something that non-sailors have difficulty in understanding, but there is nothing like being out at sea with a breeze in the sails and shooting along at seven knots under clear skies, and with a view of Mount Fuji and the beautiful Japanese coastline, knowing you can put in to a local harbor and have some wonderful sushi for lunch,” says the 52-year-old Dane. “Add the pleasant water temperature in the summer, and you can dive and swim off the boat,” he says. Knudsen is clearly a man who prefers to be wearing a sou’wester to a business suit and tie, which befits his position as commander of the Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron (TSPS). More than five decades old, the TSPS is the local unit of the

32 | The Journal | March 2009

United States Power Squadrons—the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to recreational boating and safety—and the only branch outside the U.S. and its territories. The Tokyo boating brotherhood has 105 members and meets on the first Wednesday of each month to discuss upcoming events—both on the water and off. “Our aim is two-fold. Firstly, boating education, and then boating or social activities with fellow sailors,” says Knudsen. “And anyone who is interested in sailing and boating can join. “Our biggest attraction to new sailors is our educational offerings, which you have to be a member to take part in,” he says. “We also offer—twice yearly—classes in English for preparation for the official Japanese skipper’s licenses, Class 1 & 2. Many of the students who take the license end up joining the TSPS.” Michael Seymour, who earned his first Japanese Boat Operator License through the organization, describes the TSPS as “the

CSR FOR SAILORS

best-kept secret in Tokyo” because the TSPS costs very little, and is one of the very few places that the Japanese maritime authorities permit the test to be conducted in English. Seymour, part of the support team for round-the-world yachtsman Minoru Saito (see sidebar), first arrived in Japan as a U.S. Marine in 1971, later leaving the military to set up a company importing top-of-the-range cars, and finally became the agent for Nautor’s Swan yachts in 1980. Seymour was able to sell as many as 40 units—renowned around the world as the Rolls Royce of ocean-going sailing boats—in one record-breaking year. And that despite the hurdles boat-owners face in Japan. “Owning a boat can be an extremely expensive proposition in this country,” says Seymour. “Marina fees are a major consideration, and it takes an effort to find any moorage near Tokyo or the other major sailing hubs.” One marina notably charges ¥50 million as a deposit for moorage of a 40ft yacht, and then ¥3 million in annual fees. Other operators insist that only people owning an apartment in their marina complex can moor boats there. Add on maintenance costs, the language barrier inherent in joining a Japanese marina, and the difficulty of finding experienced and capable crew, and the obstacles become clear. Yet, like Knudsen, Seymour says that being out on the waves during a perfect day for sailing makes it all worthwhile. “The thing about sailing is that the only way to learn how to do it is to get out there and do it,” he says. “There are no born yachtsmen. I’d never sailed before I started representing Nautor, but I immediately loved it.” For anyone considering taking up sailing, Seymour suggests looking in the classified sections of sailing magazines for crewing opportunities or, best of all, contacting the TSPS. “If I can learn sailing, anyone can,” says Knudsen, who took up the sport in 1994, eight years after arriving in Japan, and initially had a stake in a 30ft sailing boat—learning the ropes from his Japanese partners and the “old hands” at the TSPS. He is now the proud sole owner of a 41-footer. “I should add that not all our members have their own boats,” he says. “Of the 105 members, about 25 have their own boats; but the owners often offer crewing opportunities to fellow TSPS members.” Knudsen also says there are plenty of secondhand sailing boats available here, with many reasonably priced—although the extravagant mooring fees remain an obstacle. “Sailing is just like skiing or motorcycling,” he says. “You have to concentrate 100% on what you are doing, so it is very refreshing for the mind and body. “And unlike reading a book or playing computer games, you get a fantastic nature experience,” Knudsen says, “and get to see new places.” Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron homepage is at www.tspsjapan.org/

March 2009 | The Journal | 33

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CSR FOR SAILORS

Spare a thought for Minoru Saito. He is probably battling mountainous seas somewhere in the South Atlantic Ocean; sailing against the prevailing winds, waves and currents about 12,000 nautical miles from home. This archetypal Old Man of the Sea wouldn’t have it any other way, though. At 75, Saito holds the world record for the number of sailing circumnavigations of the planet at seven, and is currently working on making it eight. In 2005, after his previous trip, he was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest person to sail around the world solo and nonstop. Just to make it that little bit more tricky, for his eighth 24,970nm odyssey aboard the Nicole BMW Shuten-dohji III, he decided to sail the westward contrary route, which far fewer solo sailors have attempted. Saito departed Yokohama in October, and is due to return at the end of May 2009. He is supported by a team in Japan that is monitoring his progress and is aided by some of the most technologically advanced sailing gadgets ever devised—including realtime information on sailing conditions provided by ClearPoint Weather—but even so, he admits the going has been the hardest he has ever experienced. “I had not done a westward circumnavigation before; and as ﬁve of my friends had accomplished this feat, I really wanted to give it a try,” he explains in a satellite phone conversation. “I thought this would be my last chance. “But this has been worse than my other trips, mostly because of a lack of funds and preparation time,” he continues.

SAITO CHALLENGE 8

Round-the-World— in Reverse “Unfamiliarity with the boat and her systems has been a major problem. “I personally helped to build my previous boats, so I was very familiar with the mechanical systems,” he adds. “This boat was purchased secondhand only a few months before this trip, and I have had numerous mechanical and electrical problems.” Such faulty operations in the system required Saito to put into both Sydney and Hobart, in Tasmania, for repairs, and spoiled his chances of completing the voyage nonstop—but he remains undeterred. “This trip has been particularly hard,” he says over the phone. “In all my previous voyages, the sailing has been comparatively easy because I have always sailed with the wind, which is much easier. On the other hand, I am learning a lot about close-hauled sailing, which is good.” A veteran of hundreds of thousands of nautical miles under sail, Saito says even the thought of being a long way from land has never worried him. “I’ve never been nervous,” he adds. “I love the ocean and I love the challenge. It is like when I climbed mounJulian Ryall is tains in my youth. There is great exhilaration in The Daily reaching the top.” Telegraph’s Tokyo To follow Minoru Saito’s solo voyage around the correspondent. world, log onto www.saito8.com/ ■

March 2009 | The Journal | 35

ACCJ Event THE JAPANESE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: A VALUE-BASED PERSPECTIVE By Geoff Botting

fter Michael E. Porter started to research healthcare systems around the world, the business economist at Harvard University came to an astonishing conclusion— the way countries deliver healthcare hasn’t changed much over the past two centuries. “We’re in a time warp,” he told the audience at an ACCJ luncheon in Tokyo on December 3. “We got this 21st century technology—truly amazing technology. We got some of the most talented people on the planet who work in this industry. And yet the way we organize

36 | The Journal | March 2009

care delivery is very much the way it was organized 200 years ago.” When people get sick and seek treatment today, they’re subjected to the same fundamental process their grandparents—even great grandparents—experienced. They go to a general practitioner, who might prescribe medicine. But if the medicine doesn’t help, the patient returns to the doctor, who might then order x-rays or scans; or, perhaps, might refer the patient to a specialist, who could, in turn, direct the patient to yet another doctor—and so on and so on. “The patient is a ping-pong ball,” says Porter. “They migrate around from one

specialist to another for a series of interventions that are sequential. And there’s almost no coordination. “And the particular person you get to see,” he says, “is not necessarily a specialist in that field.” The system is fragmented, inefficient and costly; as a result, patients receive little “value.” This idea of value is at the crux of Porter’s framework. In the healthcare context, value is defined as patient outcome per dollar (or yen) spent. The essential problem with healthcare systems throughout the world, he argues, is that they’re not aligned in ways that create value. Unlike other industries

Porter has researched, healthcare delivery—despite huge advances made in the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals and in medical-equipment technology— hasn’t changed much over the last few decades. Many healthcare systems lack competition; and those that do, such as in the U.S., have failed to be aligned so that the competition increases value. “The key issue in healthcare is how to employ competition in a way that actually benefits the patient, rather than working against them,” says Porter, “and how to create real value.” These ideas are laid out in the book, Redefining Health Care: Creating ValueBased Competition on Results (2006), which the world-renowned strategy expert co-wrote with innovation expert Elizabeth Olmstead Teisberg. Though he admits to not being a healthcare expert, particularly pertaining to the situation in Japan, Porter has spent the last seven years “on a journey” to explore ways of creating systems that can deliver high-levels of value to their patients. No healthcare system in the world, in his view, is achieving that objective. “We are not creating really high-value healthcare delivery systems … where patients do well. Where people don’t get sick and don’t stay sick,” he says. The U.S. system can claim good patient outcomes, but it’s also structured so that competition serves to shift costs from one area of the system to the other—which does nothing to improve the quality of patient care. Providers can benefit financially even when patients do not benefit. Furthermore, patient access to the system is bad and costs are excessive. Japanese administrators, meanwhile, are obsessed with containing costs—a policy hindering the healthcare system from acquiring some of the best medical technologies available. So how can a country break out of a fragmented, 200-year-old process and deliver value? Through no less than a total overhaul of its healthcare system, according to Porter—including a groundup reorganization of hospitals and other medical facilities.

ACCJ EVENT

“We are not creating really high-value healthcare delivery systems … where patients do well. Where people don’t get sick and don’t stay sick.” Michael E. Porter

The idea of an integrated cycle of care appeals to Porter. When patients get sick, they would head—not to a general hospital—but directly to a highly specialized and integrated facility. If this is starting to sound hypothetical, consider the West German Headache Center in Germany, the subject of a case study by Porter and two other researchers. All of the doctors and medical staff at the unit are migraine specialists. They treat only one type of patient: headache sufferers. As the unit is integrated, patients aren’t bounced from place to place and forced to make numerous appointments over prolonged periods of time. What’s more, as the doctors and staff gain experience and expertise in their ﬁeld, their patients beneﬁt from improved outcomes.

“That’s the way care should be delivered: integrated, coordinated, fast,” says Porter, who calls the unit a “center of excellence.” “That’s the way care should be delivered for every medical condition— breast cancer or diabetes or asthma,” he says. Doctors elsewhere are often required to carry out a wide range of duties—from heart surgery, to paperwork and hiring staff—hindering their effectiveness in patient care. After it was determined that Germany’s healthcare system had been handling migraine sufferers with appalling inefﬁciency, the migraine center was created. Previously, patients were typically subjected to a drawn-out, sequential process involving a host of doctors who weren’t particularly knowledgeable about migraines. Patients were prescribed the wrong medication in a majority of cases, according to the research. Porter is impressed by Japan’s healthcare system of universal coverage, accessibility, and the pooling of patients—which compels hospitals to accept difﬁcult cases. He also likes the country’s comparatively healthy lifestyle. Japan’s big problem is its obsession with cost containment, which can end up having the opposite of its intended effect, he believes. “The way to actually contain costs in healthcare is not to try to reduce costs. The way to contain costs is through improvements in quality,” says Porter. “That sounds pretty Japanese, doesn’t it? “The irony is Japan is the nation that brought us Toyota, and just-in-time and total quality, and all these wonderful ideas about how to create products and services,” he says. “And yet, somehow, they’ve all been forgotten in healthcare.” However, Japan isn’t alone in that regard. “Nobody knows yet how to create the ideal healthcare system. You can go from country to country Geoff Botting and the problems differ,” is a freelance journalist based says Porter, “but nobody’s in Tokyo. happy.” ■

March 2009 | The Journal | 37

Hiroyoshi Ito The earliest indication of the Marunouchi district as an international business center can be traced to 1890, when Mitsubishi Company, the predecessor of Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., accepted an offer from the Japanese government and purchased the entire area. In 1894, Mitsubishi Ichigokan became the ﬁrst building to be ﬁnished on the site, followed by other red brick buildings—completing

38 | The Journal | March 2009

the first phase of development known as the London Block period. The second great period of development, which focused on the construction of many high-rise office buildings, occurred during the era of high economic growth in the aftermath of World War II. The district’s large projects are indicative of how Mitsubishi Estate has remained at the forefront of urban development. Today, we are engaged in a third great p period of development with the Marun Marunouchi Redevelopment Project, aimed at increasing the added value of the dist district as a whole. We envision a vital neighb neighborhood that accommodates some of the m most vibrant interactions in the world— world—a location where individuals and corpora corporations influence each other and collec collectively enhance each other’s value. I th In this invigorated area of the capital city, w workers and visitors will possess ever-in ever-increasing access to significant busine business opportunities and people will be able to enjoy a first-rate living environmen ronment regardless of the time of day. The first stage of the Marunouchi Redeve Redevelopment Project was initiated in 1998 1998, guided by the three keywords of open openness, network and interaction. Ov verr th Over the course of a decade, functional renew renewal was pursued with a focus on th the area in front of Tokyo Station, begin beginning with the construction of the Maru Marunouchi Building and continuing with five other new office buildings. In an effo effort to transform the district from being ffocused almost exclusively on busine business to meeting a variety of needs, a recon reconstruction is being pursued in both ha hard and soft modalities. This work is aime aimed at deepening business functions, e enhancing commercial facilities and cre creating an environment referred to

as the Japan Incubation Village, which nurtures the growth of new industries. As part of this effort, we initiated the Entrepreneur Group for Growing Japan (EGG Japan)—Japan’s first integrated center for start-up companies, including such facilities as small incubation offices and the business membership-based Tokyo 21c Club. EGG Japan promotes innovation by providing a venue for diverse support in the fields of financing, human resources, law and accounting. Business opportunities thus are created involving both large companies and start-ups in the Marunouchi district, while offering specialized expertise. The decade beginning in 2008 has been designated as the second stage of the Marunouchi Redevelopment Project. This phase will broaden and deepen the bustling vitality created near Tokyo Station in the first stage— expanding throughout Marunouchi, Yurakucho and Otemachi. The first projects of the second stage are the Marunouchi Park Building and Mitsubishi Ichigokan, both of which are slated for completion in 2009. The restoration of Mitsubishi Ichigokan is undertaken on the site of the original Marunouchi office building. Recognizing the importance of the site as the birthplace of Japanese urban development, this project not only continues Tokyo’s urban memory, but also creates and disseminates urban culture. It affords many visitors the opportunity to experience the district’s history, culture and high-quality art through access to the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum. The public square, with its lush greenery accented by works of art and an open-air café, creates an inviting and restful space that acts as a focal

ILLUSTRATION FOR THE ACCJ JOURNAL BY DARREN THOMPSON

MAKING MARUNOUCHI A WORLD-CLASS BUSINESS DISTRICT.

OPINION LEADER

伊藤裕慶 point for leisurely strolls and a variety of other activities. Environmentally responsible development is also being actively pursued through the landcover measures of greening the public square, as well as by the use of waterretentive pavement material, that keep the ground permeable and help to ameliorate the heat-island effect. The Marunouchi area is undergoing a transformation with its taller, greater-capacity buildings being used more efficiently. This growth is not arbitrary, however. Rather, it is based on guidelines that have been adopted voluntarily by the landowners in question, with the intention of creating a cityscape that is appropriate for the area’s role as the central district of Japan. Commercial facilities are being enhanced further, with the neighborhood enlivened by numerous organized events. Through this promotion of an attractive and vivacious urban environment, we are working to provide an experience that makes the time spent here of highquality whether during or after business hours, while also making a positive contribution to Tokyo’s urban renewal and international competitiveness. In 2008, the Japanese government designated the Tokyo Station/Yurakucho Station area—including the Marunouchi, Otemachi and Yurakucho districts—as a priority zone contributing to Japan’s role as an international financial center. Taking advantage of the area’s high-level concentration of financial institutions—as well as various types of advanced infrastructure, transportation networks and commercial functions—we will endeavor to promote the area as a financial hub, while creating an attractive urban setting. Hiroyoshi Ito is Director and Senior Executive Officer at Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.

丸の内をワールドクラスのオフィス街へ。国際ビジネスセンター丸の内の夜明けは、１８９０

「第２ステージ」の第１弾プロジェクト「丸の

年に三菱地所の前身である三菱社が政府の要請

内パークビル」「三菱一号館」は２００９年竣

により丸の内一帯の払い下げを受けた時代に遡

工であるが、「三菱一号館」の復元は、丸の内

る。１８９４年に竣工した「三菱一号館」を皮切り

で最初のオフィスビルが建設された場所を「街

に、赤レンガの建物が建ち並び、一丁倫敦と呼ば

づくりの原点」として再認識し、「都市の記憶」

れた「第1次開発」、戦後の高度経済成長期には

を継承するとともに、多くの人々が街の歴史や

大型のビルへの建替えを行った「第２次開発」と、

文化、更には質の高い文化芸術と触れ合うこと

当社は都市開発のパイオニアとして先進的な街づ

のできる開かれた美術館「三菱一号館美術館」

くりを続けてきた。

として、都市文化を創造・発信していく。緑豊か

そして現在、当社は「第３次開発」となる「丸の

な広場を整備し、広場にはアートやオープンカ

内再構築」に取り組んでおり、街全体の付加価値

フェに囲まれた憩いの空間を創造し、丸の内の

を高めることを目的に、当社が目指す街の姿を

回遊性・多様性の核となることを目指す。また、

「世界で最もインタラクション（個人や企業が相

広場の緑化、保水性舗装により、地表面の被覆

互に影響しあい、お互いの価値を総合的に高めて

対策を強化してヒートアイランド現象の緩和を

いくこと）が活発な街」と定め、就業者や来街者

図るなど、環境と共生する街づくりを積極的に

に対し付加価値の高い事業機会と就業時間内外

推進している。

を問わず質の高い生活環境を提供している。

丸の内エリアでは、「高度利用化・高層化」

１９９８年始動の丸の内再構築「第1ステージ」

が進められているが、夫々の開発が無秩序に進

では、「オープン、ネットワーク、インタラクティ

められるのではなく、地権者が自主的に設けた

ブ」をキーワードに、１０年間で東京駅前周辺を

「まちづくりガイドライン」の考え方に基づき、

重点的に機能更新し、丸ビルを始めオフィスビル

日本の中枢拠点に相応しい風格のある景観の創

６棟を建替えた。それまでのビジネスに特化した

出に努めている。商業施設も更に拡充し、イベン

街から、開かれた多様性のある街へと転換を図

トによる街の活性化など、魅力と活力のある街

るため、ハード・ソフト両面から再構築を推進し、

づくりを推進することにより、オン・オフ問わず

更なるビジネス機能の深化、商業施設の拡充を

上質な時間を提供すると共に、東京の都市再生

進め、また、新産業創出の拠点づくりの一環とし

と国際競争力の向上に積極的に貢献したいと考

て「日本創生ビレッジ」を開設した。「日本創生ビ

えている。

レッジ」は、ビジネスクラブ「東京21cクラブ」と

２００８年に、丸の内・大手町・有楽町エリア

小割りのインキュベーションオフィスを一体化さ

を含む東京駅・有楽町駅周辺地域が国際金融

せた日本初の新事業の創造拠点であるが、イノベ

拠点機能を先行させる地域として位置付けられ

ーションの推進を目指す丸の内所在の大企業と

たが、金融機関の集積、各種インフラ、交通ネッ

ベンチャー企業間の事業機会や各種専門サービ

トワーク、商業機能についても高い水準で整備

ス・ノウハウを提供し、資金や人材、法務、会計な

されていることを活かして、「国際金融拠点」と

ど多岐に亘り事業を支援している。

して更なるビジネス環境を推進し、魅力ある街

２００８年からの１０年間は「第２ステージ」

づくりを進めたい。

と位置付け、丸の内再構築の更なる「拡がり」と「深まり」を目指し、「第１ステージ」で創出した

三菱地所株式会社

東京駅前の活気と賑わいを丸の内・有楽町・大手

取締役常務執行役員

町全域に広げる。

伊藤裕慶

March 2009 | The Journal | 39

Anniversary Special HOW THE AC ACCJ CCJ JOUR JOURNAL OU BECAME BECA AME AM ME JA ME JJAPAN’S APA A AP PAN’S P AN S TOP TOP P ENG GLIS SH-LAN NGUAGE EB USINES NESS M AG A GAZ ZIN INE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

40 | The Journal | March 2009

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

The First 45 Years

hen, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Journal was launched in March 1964, it was more like a lean 29-page snapshot—in black and white, and with scattered grainy images—of two very different economies, and included some words of encouragement from then-U.S. Ambassador Edwin O. Reischauer. Chamber Comments, with no byline, became an often irreverent wrap-up of the American expatriate lifestyle—once citing “uninformed opinions at home” that the U.S. businessman in Japan was “a merchant prince lolling in luxury, an exploiter, a mercenary pirate, even a second-rater who couldn’t make a go of it at home.” An editorial in April 1970, however, put its own spin on the expatriate life: “In one area of international business, most U.S. companies with overseas operations can be considered to have progressed very little since the 19th century—that area is the compensation of expatriates.” From day one, the Journal sought to unravel the complexities of Japan’s take on international trade and FDI. In May 1964, for example, an editorial noted that “a continuous erosion in investment freedom has taken place from the day the [U.S.-Japan Treaty] was signed.” Perhaps merely an urban legend, but a number of people long-associated with the Journal claim it was the first publication to quote the phrase that would encapsulate the world’s growing fear of—and grudging respect for—corporate Japan. “It becomes clear that Japan may well be called a conglomerate—Japan, Inc., in fact,” wrote one contributor in the mid-1970s. Although the media quickly adopted the catchy “Japan, Inc.” expression, some observers noted that its warning undertone seemed lost on U.S. and European leaders. ACCJ event coverage eventually moved to the now-defunct monthly Newsletter, freeing the Journal to concentrate on developments in the commercial, political and economic spheres. At the same time, the Journal also encouraged an understanding and promotion of culture and the arts, in its Knowing Japan Better column. The last Journal of the ’70s marked a milestone— as Japan had recovered from the ’73 oil shock and the trade deficit with the U.S. had increased 250% over 1976. Few ads appeared in the Journal during the early 1980s, with some articles and Reports of the 21 Committees running to 10 pages or more—solid text with few black-and-white images. In January 1990, the Journal ceased to be an in-house production after years of draining ACCJ finances.

“We embarked on a plan with the ACCJ Journal to provide a quality publication that would support ACCJ objectives,” said then-ACCJ President William E. Franklin, “with no financial disservice to members.” “Not only was it an economic strain on the Chamber,” added then-Executive Director Bill Farrell, “but the matter generated differing views from the rank and file to the Board of Governors.” The Journal went large format, providing a professional look and, naturally, attracting more advertising, much of it full-page and in color. The first issue carried ads from 11 U.S. corporations and a local restaurant. Content reflected, more and more, the rapidly changing U.S.Japan relationship triggered by a $50 billion trade deficit that seemingly overshadowed everything else. The February 1990 cover was on Carla Hills, the first woman to be named U.S. Trade Representative. She wrote in the Journal: “I want the whole market opened.” The Journal reviewed the book, The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation, by Karel van Wolferen, penned in response to A Japan That Can Say No, co-authored by Shintaro Ishihara (current Tokyo governor) and Sony co-founder Akio Morita in 1989, claiming U.S. racism was the real culprit behind the U.S.-Japan trade friction, not Japanese protectionism. The Journal offered a new look and size from January 2003. Reflecting the growing role of advocacy by the Chamber, the bilingual Opinion Leader column (with original illustration) was introduced, along with classic cartoons from The New Yorker Collection. In response to readers wanting shorter columns and more of them, the Journal began to expand its departments section from 2005, first with In Case You Missed It on science and technology, and Classic Journeys (aka All Over This Land). Book reviews were reintroduced, with Behind the Book also offering readers three free copies. We also experimented with the yearlong Right on Course (golf, 200607), Museum Musings (2007-08) and Events Line-up (2009). With government deregulation—and Japan’s greater interest in foreign direct investment—our FDI Portfolio column began in February 2007. These days, almost all articles in the Journal are researched and written by full-time journalists, based on topics suggested by the editors, the writers themselves, the Communications Advisory Council (CAC), and by the members and the ACCJ staff. The CAC led by Bill Bishop introduced the Advocacy Update (Viewpoints) regular section from September 2008. The latest Journal relaunch, in January this year, introduced Out and About (ACCJ activities) and the ACCJ Event features—on larger pages and with more images. ■

March 2009 | The Journal | 41

OUT AND ABOUT

ACCJ Donates ¥9 million to Charities Photos by Aron Kremer

On February 9, the ACCJ presented a total of ¥9 million raised at its 60th Anniversary Diamond Charity Ball to three charities: Second Harvest Japan, the Polaris Project, and the Elizabeth Saunders Home. Second Harvest Japan distributes food to soup kitchens, orphanages, the elderly, emergency shelters, single mothers, the homeless, migrant workers, and many others. www.secondharvestjapan.org

Based in the U.S. and Japan, the Polaris Project brings together community members, survivors, and professionals to ﬁght human trafﬁcking and modernday slavery. www.polarisproject.org

Established in 1948, the Elizabeth Saunders Home has helped more than 2,000 children set out into the world from the institution. Currently, there are about 100 children, aged two to 18, resident at the home.

From left: Leland Gaskins (volunteer), Huntley Nicholas (trustee), and Peter Heyman (volunteer) of Second Harvest Japan, and ACCJ Chairman Allan D. Smith.

ACCJ Governor Patricia O’Keefe, ACCJ Diamond Charity Ball Co-Chair Jeffery Shimamoto, Elizabeth Saunders Home General Manager Ryozo Fukushiro, ACCJ Diamond Charity Ball Co-Chair Barbara Hancock, and ACCJ Diamond Charity Ball Committee Member Claire McDonald.

Polaris Project Japan Coordinator Shihoko Fujiwara and ACCJ President Thomas Whitson.

March 2009 | The Journal | 43

EVENTS LINE-UP

Tokyo Big Sight, East 4-6 (shop, architecture+); East 1-3 (lighting, retail tech, IC); West 3-4 (security); Odaiba, Tokyo Waterfront, Kokusai-tenjijo Station, Yurikamome

Biennial World Baseball Classic

SHANGRI-LA HOTEL, TOKYO

March 7-23 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/

Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo March 2 www.shangri-la.com Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is opening its first property in Japan, which will occupy the top 11 floors of the 37-story, mixed-use Marunouchi Trust Tower Main Building, adjacent to Tokyo Station. The 202 spacious (50-269m2) guestrooms (300 thread-count linen) and suites (800 thread-count linen) include 42-in flat screen TVs and 16-in bathroom TVs, large writing desk, wired & wireless broadband Internet access, spacious bathrooms and a relaxing seating area. There are two restaurants (Japanese and Italian) and a lobby lounge serving teas and snacks (afternoon), cocktails and drinks, with live music (evenings). CHI—The Spa at Shangri-La, the group’s signature spa brand, provides ancient Chinese and Himalayan healing therapies, along with a 20m indoor swimming pool and a health club equipped with state-of-theart exercise equipment.

34th FOODEX Japan 2009 March 3-6 10:00-17:00 (last day: -16:30) www2.jma.or.jp/foodex The international F&B exhibition welcomes over 2,400 exhibitors from

more than 60 countries and regions, drawing 90,000-plus visitors. The “Japan: Food for Thought” online feature to the event states that “Though the Japanese still relish their sushi and sake, Japanese consumers are more and more appreciative of foreign gastronomy, eating out and encountering new dishes while traveling abroad … Japan depends on imports for 60% of its food; its food self-sufﬁciency ratio has sunk below 40%.” Makuhari Messe, Halls 1-8, Chiba, Kaihin-Makuhari Station, JR Keiyo Line

Nikkei ShopBiz 2009 March 3-6 Franchise Show 2009, March 10-12 10:00-17:00 (last day: -16:30) www.shopbiz.jp Asia’s largest comprehensive exhibition featuring new products and technologies for the next generation of store and urban development, organized by Nikkei Inc. involves six concurrent exhibitions: (1) 38th JAPAN SHOP 2009; (2) 15th Architecture + Construction Materials 2009; (3) 25th Retail Tech Japan 2009 and new Retail Digital Signage 2009; (4) 11th IC Card World 2009; (5) 17th Security Show 2009 (includes Network Camera and Natural Disaster Prevention Zones); and (6) 9th International Lighting Fair 2009.

The 16-team field is the same as in 2006, when Japan won. However, unlike last time, the first two rounds will use a double-elimination format, and there will be six games in each bracket. Regarding the first round, March 5-8, Pool A (China, Taipei, Japan, South Korea) plays at 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome (www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/cgi-bin/schedule/).

25th Franchise Show 2009 March 10-12, 2009 10:00-17:00 www.shopbiz.jp There are 170 exhibitors, running 380 booths. Tokyo Big Sight, West Hall, Odaiba, Tokyo Waterfront, Kokusai-tenjijo Station, Yurikamome

March 2009 | The Journal | 45

EVENTS LINE-UP

Dragonball March 13 According to various sources, including Variety Japan, the 20th Century Fox $100 million-budget, live-action ﬁlm adaptation of the hugely successful Japanese manga series Dragonball—written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama since 1984—will have its Japan premiere in March, ahead of an April debut on U.S. cinema screens.

There are two distances: (1) marathon (7 hr w/checkpoint cutoff times)—max 30,000 runners, at least 19 y.o. on the race day, and includes handicapped who are capable of completing race within 2 hr, 10 min on racing wheelchair and are recommended by the race organizers; and (2) 10km race (1hr, 40 min)—max 5,000 runners, at least 16 y.o. on the race day, and includes wheelchair competitors, visually impaired runners with companions, intellectually challenged runners, and runners with a history of organ transplant.

Tokyo Marathon March 22 9:05-16:10 www.tokyo42195.org Entries closed. Starts at the Metropolitan Government towers in Shinjuku, through Iidabashi and past the Imperial Palace, before turning right along the Imperial Palace past Hibiya Park and toward Tokyo Tower. After Shinagawa, the course backtracks just before the palace, turning right toward the Ginza. The runners turn left into Ginza main street, through Nihombashi past sumo’s Ryogoku up to Asakusa. Near Kaminari-mon Gate, the marathon backtracks before turning left at Ginza crossing (Wako and Mitsukoshi) and through the Tsukiji ﬁsh market district toward the Tokyo Waterfront. Just past Toyosu, the runners turn right toward Ariake, then left toward the ﬁnish line at Tokyo Big Sight.

(100m approach to famed Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine). Shimizu Park (2,000) in Chiba offers early as well as late blooming so viewing period is longer than usual. March 30th (Osaka & Kobe)— Osaka boasts Osaka Castle Park (600), Osaka Expo Park (5,500), Kema Sakuranomiya Park (4,700 along Ohkawa River), and Nishinomaru Park (4,000) surrounded by the inner and outer moat. Being in the midst of nature, Kobe includes 85m Mt. Egawa Park (1,400) that is only a 5-min walk from Kamisawa Station; and Sumaura Park (3,200) near Suma beach and Mt. Hachibuse (via riding ropeway).

Cherry Blossom Viewing March 20 (Tokyo, Yokohama, Kamakura, Chiba, Shizuoka & Nagoya) Favorite Tokyo sites include the Imperial Palace southern moat, Shinjuku Gyoen (1,500 cherry trees of over a dozen species), Ueno Park (more than 1,000 leading toward the National Museum and around Shinobazu Pond), Sumida Park (1,000 along both banks) and Inokashira Park (500 near lake). Midway between Shibuya and Yokohama is Tamagawa Park (500 overlooking winding river dividing Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures). The southern port of Yokohama includes Motomachi Park (100 along sloping Yamate Bluff); and Sankei-en Garden (500) and along Honmoku Sakuramichi (leading to the landscaped garden). Kamakura features cherry tree-lined Dankazura

18th JITAC European Textile Fair March 23-25 9:30-18:00 www.jitac.jp/en/fair/ According to organizers, European fabric has exerted great influence, and undoubtedly enjoys the reputation now of being the finest quality ever. As opposed to Japanese fabric that is very precise and tends to express every single detail, say the Japan Imported Textiles Agency Council (JITAC), European fabric is more flexible and David Umeda is able to fit a given design Senior Editor at Paradigm field—whether rich, elegant or casual.

March 2009 | The Journal | 47

FDI PORTFOLIO

Fashionably Shinjuku

It’s a busy time for fashion. Ermenegildo Zegna, the Italian luxury brand opens the doors this month (March) to its third “Global Store” flagship concept in Shinjuku. The Ermenegildo Zegna Group, best known for its menswear, has over 500 stores in 64 countries. This five-level, 9,000ft2 (836m2) property is a flashy affair designed by Peter Marino Architect PLLC, featuring a textile inspired glass façade overlaid with a crisscross stainlesssteel effect, created to resemble the brand’s quality signature fabrics.

The Shinjuku launch is the third concept in a series of three store openings, following one on Milan’s Via Montenapoleone and another on Fifth Avenue in New York, also designed by Peter Marino. “Ermenegildo Zegna is a historic brand, known for the unrivalled quality of its woven textiles. I used this imagery throughout the design,” says Peter Marino on the store’s blueprint. The Shinjuku location is an unusual choice for Ermenegildo Zegna, given that many of the other luxury brands have chosen the Ginza and Omotesando as the backdrop for their flagship stores.

Pump It Up One of the world’s largest pump manufacturers, Grundfos Management A/S, has positioned its Asian headquarters in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. The Danish company has an annual tally of around 16 million pumps—in heating and air-conditioning, as well as centrifugal pumps

for industry, water supply and waste-water— producing approximately 50% of the world market for such pumps. Grundfos decided to open its HQ in Japan because the local machining industry accounts for the majority of the firm’s industrial pump orders in the region. The new office, called the Machining Industry Business Center (MI-BC), is located on the premises of Grundfos Pumps K.K., and will serve

as its hub for industrial pump sales and support in Asia. Targeting Japanese firms with overseas operations, mainly in Asia, the center will act as a one-stop shop for sales and contract negotiations throughout Asia, as well as providing technical support for local companies. With the establishment of the MI-BC, the Danish pump maker will sharpen its focus on supporting Japanese clients looking to expand into Asian markets.

March 2009 | The Journal | 49

FDI PORTFOLIO

Consolidated Games Under an exclusive distribution agreement with Ubisoft Japan, Japanese software developer Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. will be the distributor of Ubisoft Entertainment games, starting in April. In the increasingly consolidated video game industry, Square Enix has been implementing strategic initiatives to expand its product lineup and strengthen its presence as a global game

publisher. In 2008, the company began publishing third-party titles in PAL-format territories and, in December 2008, published in Japan its first overseas-produced game with the launch of UK-based Frontier Developments Ltd.’s LostWinds for WiiWare™ (Nintendo Co., Ltd.’s family of games for its Wii handheld console). Ubisoft, headquartered in France, distributes games in more than 55 countries and, during the 2007-08 fiscal year, generated sales of €928 million. “The global video game market is expected to maintain sustainable growth thanks to geographical expansion and diversification of customer base,” says Yoichi Wada, president and representative director of Square Enix. “By partnering with the Ubisoft Group having a number of highly acclaimed titles, we can now work to provide high-quality overseas-produced games to Japan, thus invigorating the Japanese game market while strengthening our presence as a global leader in the video game industry.”

Magniﬁcent Seven Luxury denim label 7 For All Mankind is expanding its presence in Japan with the launch of a Tokyo showroom and a new store in Daikanyama. The brand is owned by apparel company VF Corporation, a powerhouse worth around $7 billion according to its own estimates, that also carries labels Nautica, Wrangler and The North Face, among many others. VF reached an agreement with Global Retail Inc. last year to develop the 7 For All Mankind brand in Japan, raising the label’s profile through wholesale expansion and the opening of freestanding stores. This marked a progression from an existing strategy by which the brand was sold at department stores and specialty boutiques.

The deal will include launching six freestanding stores, including the launch in Daikanyama of this month’s (March) door, one of the largest the brand has at 4,500ft2 (418m2), which includes retail space and offices. More than 30 shop-in-shops also are projected to open in Japan. Global Retail is a privately held brand management and retail distribution group with more than 500 sales points in 12 Asian countries, and has generated investment by Goldman Sachs and the Government of Singapore in the past. Despite the issues facing the local economy, Japan remains an important Asian market, according to Giuliano Sartori, vice president and general manager of the Asia-Pacific division, with a “highly sophisticated consumer.”

March 2009 | The Journal | 51

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FDI PORTFOLIO

The New ROI The Remy Bonzi Group hopes to deliver ROA, or “Return on Authenticity”—a commodity that founder Alana Bonzi believes clients will appreciate in such turbulent times. The referral-only consulting practice specializes in written communications—from white papers to articles and Web sites—on themes within the domain of CSR and sustainable development.

“This year presents unprecedented opportunities, opportunities to reconnect with the people who are really important to you and your business,” says Bonzi, “and to show that we’re all in this together as we collectively question where it is we are, where we are going and what is really important. “These are opportunities to communicate in tune with values,” she says, “values that now include people planet, as well as profit.” Bonzi has advised the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Latin American and Caribbean Bureau) on projects fostering exchange between Japan and the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago), in addition to the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago on engagement with Japan and Asia via the respective ministries.

Lost in Translation Sofia Coppola is better known for her directing skills and for bringing Hollywood to Tokyo with her movie Lost in Translation than, perhaps, fashion designing. But this month sees the multitalented star launch a line of accessories, comprising bags and shoes, for the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton, and available only at selected stores. Filmmaker Sofia Coppola is also a comparatively well-known fashion figure in Japan due to previous forays, notably her Milkfed brand that proved successful with young Japanese women. Coppola is friends with Louis Vuitton’s creative director, Marc Jacobs, and the collaboration came about when she traveled to Vuitton’s factory in France to create a custom order for herself. One handbag then became a capsule

collection. Coppola launched the collection at a press event in Tokyo last November, approximately a year after she first designed the limited edition range. A high-profile collaboration like this one would usually get customers through doors, but, in the current dismal economy, nothing is certain. In December, LVJ Group K.K. reduced its prices an average 7% on leather goods, ready-towear, accessories and jewelry. The adjustments were based on a policy “to offer its products at appropriate prices” Contact Nicole based on exchange rate Fall at nicole@ fluctuation, manufacturing ﬁvebyﬁfty.com if you have ideas costs and quality for this column. considerations.

March 2009 | The Journal | 53

JMEC—

the win-win competition BECKIE CASSIDY JMEC PROGRAM DIRECTOR By Nicole Fall Photos by Tony McNicol

hen Beckie Cassidy returns to Washington, D.C. this summer after a three-year stint in Tokyo, she will be departing with a number of things that were not in her luggage when arriving in Japan in 2006. Cassidy is program director at Japan Market Expansion Competition (JMEC), a post she landed three months after hitting Tokyo as the trailing spouse of a U.S. government employee. One of the ﬁrst items she will pack up when leaving the American Compound is the extensive contact book she has gathered through her position running JMEC and the countless networking events Cassidy has attended getting to know Tokyo’s movers and shakers.

54 | The Journal | March 2009

“It’s key to attend networking events, even by yourself,” advises the 34-year-old. She actually landed her own position through a job posting advertised with the Foreign Executive Women (FEW) group at a time when she was deciding what to do as her next career move shortly after arriving in Japan. “The language barrier shocked me,” Cassidy says. “But I was given some advice and that was, ‘You may not do a job you thought you would do and you may need to volunteer until you ﬁnd the right role, but be open-minded when something comes along.’ “I shed a lot of tears before I landed the JMEC role,” she says. A background in healthcare policy and an MBA led Cassidy to a role at a publishing company, United

BIOGRAPHY Beckie Cassidy ■ Born: December 15, 1974 ■ Married, one child, one dog ■ 1997–graduated SUNY Binghamton (upstate NY) with a BA in Psychology and minor in Biology ■ 1997-2001–Consultant and Corporate Trainer for Cerner Corporation (healthcare IT industry), based in Atlanta, GA ■ 2001-2003–MBA, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. ■ 2003-2005–Marketing Director for United Communications Group (healthcare publishing), Washington, D.C. ■ February 2006–Moved to Tokyo ■ May 2006–Became Program Director for JMEC

Communications Group back in Washington, D.C., soon after graduation. However, the chance job she landed at JMEC will deﬁne her future career.

BUSINESS PROFILE

SNAPSHOT Japan Market Expansion Competition ■ Founded: 1993 ■ Mission: To help foreign businesses to enter and expand into the Japanese market while building the skills of emerging executives in the Tokyo area ■ Initiated by: Australia and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan ■ Supported by: 13 chambers of commerce in Japan and the European Business Council in Japan (EBC) ■ Run by: Executive committee comprising of one representative from each supporting chamber of commerce and the EBC ■ Participants: As of June, 2008, 674 participants have graduated ■ Track record: Of 129 business plans, two-thirds were partly or fully implemented, with all reporting results as predicted or better than predicted ■ Current JMEC program intake is the largest, with 72 participants and 11 clients ■ Winners to be announced on June 5

“JMEC has allowed me to ﬁnd something I am very interested in,” she explains. “I am currently looking for jobs at universities in Washington in a similar program advisory role. “I don’t expect to walk into a Dean’s job, but working with graduates would be my ideal job,” she jokes. Cassidy will have plenty of experience to draw from in the future. JMEC is a unique program that has been described as a mini MBA at a fraction of the cost. It fosters the development of foreign business locally by actively working with 13 chambers of commerce to strengthen the skills of young business executives. This approach differs from programs globally that are generally afﬁliated with business schools, giving JMEC a real commercial edge. Now in its successful 15th year, the program requires individuals to pay around ¥100,000 each to enter the competition to develop a business plan for companies that pay around ¥1 million. These companies want to enter or expand in the Japanese market. Participants are English-speaking Japanese and non-Japanese individuals who have a genuine interest improving their business skills. Motivation levels need to be high because individuals must attend an intensive series of lectures and

workshops, working on a team to develop the best business plan for project clients within the competition. Project clients are companies or organizations, based inside or outside Japan, that require a business plan for the Japanese market. Project clients benefit by getting a high-quality, professional business plan that addresses their needs at a fraction of the cost of hiring professional consultants. Under Cassidy’s guidance and with Assistant Program Director Laura Loy—the only two salaried employees at the nonprofit organization—JMEC saw participation levels soar from 40 people in 2007 to 72 in this year’s program. Incidentally, Loy will be stepping into Cassidy’s shoes from this summer and taking JMEC into it’s 16th edition, a competition that starts in the fall and ends nine months later with an awards ceremony to celebrate the winners of the best business plan. Talking of a gestation period of nine months, Cassidy also will be packing a number of baby items in her suitcase for her son Ben, who was born in Tokyo. She had returned to work just six weeks later, and it was during her brief time off on maternity leave that Loy joined JMEC. Cassidy works from home, a routine that means she is able to spend more time with Ben during the day, but also benefits JMEC because it saves significant amounts of money on office rent. “I’ll miss the structure of living in the compound,” says Cassidy. “There are lots of kids that Ben is friends with and a great playground. When I go back to D.C. I’ll need to start from fresh again, especially as when I left I was not a mother!” The credit crunch in the U.S. has meant reappraising some of her life goals. “The original plan was to spend a year as a fulltime mom and then look for work after this time off. Instead, I will probably look for a job as soon as I return—as I expect it will take me a year to find a suitable position,” she explains pragmatically. From a JMEC perspective, Cassidy believes now more than ever it is crucial for businesses to join the organization.

“It’s the perfect opportunity for companies to get a fresh business plan developed by a fresh set of eyes,” she says. “In a difﬁcult ﬁnancial climate, it’s good to have JMEC as a resource.” One item Cassidy will be happy to leave behind in Tokyo is what she jokingly refers to as the panic attacks. “Every fall there is a period of time when JMEC panics that there will not be enough participants applying for the competition. You worry that the marketing won’t work. Of course, it’s the calm before the storm,” she explains. “I’ve already told Laura to Nicole Fall is call me when the stress levels a freelance journalist based rise and the panic attack hits,” in Tokyo. nods Cassidy sagely. ■

March 2009 | The Journal | 55

Kenichi Ohmae Graduate School of Business MBAグローバリゼーション専攻

大前研一学長を始め、世界の経営者の指導のもと、一流の経営戦略と思考プロセスを学び、国際的なビジネスリーダーに成長できます。本校は日本で唯一、文部科学省が認可した、サイバー（インターネットや衛星放送）ネットワークを利用した遠隔教育方式の経営大学院です。時間や場所の制約を受けないので、企業に在籍したまま、いつでもどこからでも講義を受けることが可能です。異なるビジネス環境（英語環境）においても「仕事をやりぬく」、「結果を出すことができる」人材の育成を目指した、まさに実践的なプログラムです。

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If anyone in your valued network is not an ACCJ member yet, help sign them up. Recommend a new member to connect the best in business. Call us at 03-3433-7304 for more information. The ACCJ Journal is a member beneﬁt and the only business magazine sent to all ACCJ members.

BEHIND THE BOOK

Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls By Noel M. Tichy and Warren G. Bennis Portfolio, 392 pp, $26.95 Reviewed by Tom Baker

If you are hungry for pizza while your better half is in the mood for chicken, deciding where to eat might be described as a judgment call. Business professors Noel Tichy of the University of Michigan and Warren Bennis of the University of Southern California may not have had this scenario in mind when they wrote Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls; but their book does offer a dinnertime hint in its discussion of how David Novak, CEO of Yum! Brands, executed his judgment to combine some of his company’s restaurants—including Pizza Hut and KFC—in single locations. Yum! has more than 4,000 multibranded outlets now, including 14 pizzaand-chicken shops in Japan (half of them in Hokkaido and Niigata Prefecture). Drawing on their experience of consulting to major corporations, the authors divide judgments into three phases (preparation, call and execution) and three domains (people, strategy and crisis). Valuable lessons include remembering your long-term goals while dealing with an immediate crisis, and cultivating a strong bench rather than a “crown prince” to prepare for inevitable CEO successions. (Glossed over is the need to “move” the alsorans out of the company once a succession has occurred.) The authors warn that good judgment in one domain can be undone by poor judgment in another. Their primary example is former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser, who “did a wonderful job” in handling a crisis caused by fatal accidents involving Ford Explorers with defective Firestone tires. However, they argue, because his earlier personnel judgments had been less perspicacious, disgruntled

executives successfully moved to have him ousted while the crisis was absorbing his attention. The book praises former Circuit City CEO Philip Schoonover’s handling of a sales drop-off crisis at some length (while acknowledging the road ahead would still be rocky), but Schoonover was forced out in September 2008 (after the book was published) and the electronics retailer subsequently announced plans to liquidate. The authors sternly had emphasized: “Long-term success is the sole marker of good judgment”; so this section will need to be revised in any future edition. Also, for the sake of clarity and concreteness, the editor might want to restrain the authors’ penchant for stream-ofconsciousness sentence fragments next time. The Schoonover example, nonetheless, shows that achieving long-term success means more than just deciding what to do. It also means getting it done. This is part of the lesson gained from Yum! Brands. The “historically stand-alone brands—KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell—with their own merchandising, their own operating mechanisms, marketing, and so on” did not work well together at ﬁrst. There were the turf-protecting leaders implementing Novak’s multibranding strategy “with a mindset of minimizing change to the status quo.” Openness and transparency were needed to get everyone on board to work toward the execution of the judgment. Being able to do so paid off in improved per-unit sales in the United Tom Baker is States, where the ﬁrm was “able to add $100,000 a staff writer to $400,000 per unit in average sales.” It also led at The Daily Yomiuri. to new dinner options in Niigata. ■ We are giving away 3 copies of Judgment. Simply e-mail editor@paradigm.co.jp by March 18. The winners will be picked at random. Winners of Followership: Timothy Connor, Newport Co., Ltd.; David Adams, Tele Planning International; Natalia Roschina, For ALL Co., Ltd.

March 2009 | The Journal | 57

Core Advocacy Principles The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan’s (ACCJ) mission is to “further develop commerce between the United States of America and Japan, promote the interests of U.S. companies and members, and improve the international business environment in Japan.” The ACCJ bases its overall advocacy efforts upon the following principles, which it believes are vital to further developing commerce between the United States and Japan and further improving the international business environment in Japan.

I. Market-Based, Private Sector-Led Economy A market-based, private sector-led economy is the best way to achieve sustainable growth and enhance the welfare of all.

A market-based, private sector-led economy will enhance consumer welfare by expanding consumer choice and making more efficient use of society’s limited resources by enabling innovative companies to provide costeffective market-based solutions to the challenges facing society. Expanded opportunities for the private sector and reduced government competition and participation in the marketplace will also lessen the strain on public finances by alleviating the need for the government to subsidize moneylosing enterprises. A healthy market-based, private sectorled economy requires active government involvement as a fair and transparent regulator ensuring appropriate enforcement of sound regulation.

II. Level Playing Field Like market participants should be subject to the same laws in the same manner. A level playing field will enhance consumer choice by bolstering competition among existing market participants; allowing new market entrants fair access; and guaranteeing fair treatment of all market participants.

III. Transparent and Fair Process Transparency is essential to the regulatory process, improving the quality of rulemaking and enforcement decisions by ensuring fairness, clarity, and predictability. Transparency ensures that governments are held accountable for their actions, both formal and informal. Transparency is most meaningful when stakeholders are made aware of the regulations, procedures, and administrative decisions that affect their interests and can participate in their development. In addition, regulatory enforcement decisions are most effective when they are the result of a fair process, including adequate opportunities for parties involved in enforcement actions to be heard and a meaningful avenue of appeal.

IV. U.S.-Japan Economic Integration Enhanced U.S.-Japan economic integration, including through negotiation of a comprehensive, high-standard Economic Integration Agreement, is the most effective way for both nations to strengthen their international competitiveness, overcome their shared challenges, achieve sustainable growth, and maintain regional prosperity and stability. Japan and the United States have forged a strong

bilateral relationship based on common interests and values, and

58 | The Journal | March 2009

this relationship is indispensable to bilateral and global prosperity and stability. For Japan and the United States, the key to their shared challenges, which include globalization and aging populations, and the path to increased international competitiveness, lies in robust international engagement, especially through further bilateral economic integration. Further integration should include the negotiation of a comprehensive, high-standard Economic Integration Agreement (EIA), an “FTA Plus” agreement that would serve as the best practice for the next generation of trade agreements and complement and strengthen, not replace, multilateral efforts at the WTO. A U.S.-Japan EIA could also readily “dock and merge” with other high-standard bilateral and regional trade initiatives in Asia, thus allowing Japan and the United States to jointly take the lead in shaping future Asian economic development through the harmonization of standards, regulations, product approval processes, and other business environment issues.

V. Adoption of Global Best Practices Adoption of global best practices promotes efficiency and sound regulation and allows regulators, the business community, and consumers to benefit from innovation and expertise developed in other markets. The adoption of regulatory and business global best practices across a range of sectors enables regulators, the business community, and consumers alike to benefit from innovation and expertise developed across the globe. Global best practices require that companies operating in foreign markets adapt their operations to respond to the specific circumstances of the local market.

VI. Corporate Social Responsibility As good corporate citizens, companies must be responsible participants in the communities they serve and support sensible investment in an effective social safety infrastructure as well as balanced and appropriate measures designed to protect consumers, which are vital to the economic well-being of society overall. Policies that promote market-based competition, including a regulatory process that is swift, predictable and fair, are the best way to achieve sustainable economic growth and enhance the well-being of all citizens. Such policies must be predicated on a sensible and effective social safety net system to support those who cannot help themselves including the poor, very young, very old, and infirm. Such a system, however, must avoid measures that protect vested interests in the name of social welfare, since such measures are inefficient and impede fair and open competition, and should also recognize the contribution that the private sector can make to social welfare. In addition, balanced and appropriate consumer protection rules strengthen consumer confidence and well-being and are vital to a well-functioning market. However, such rules must not be abused to unduly limit competition or consumer choice. As good corporate citizens, companies must be responsible participants in and contribute to the communities they serve, not only by offering top quality products and services; providing employment; and introducing innovation, but also by ensuring compliance with the law and engaging in philanthropic activities that benefit those in need.

提言に関する基本原則在日米国商工会議所(以下、ACCJ)は、「日米の経済関係の更なる進展、米国

日本と米国は、共通の利益や価値観を基礎に、強固な二国間関係を築いてき

企業および会員活動の支援、そして、日本における国際的なビジネス環境の強

た。この関係は両国、および世界における繁栄と安定に不可欠である。日米共

化」をミッションに掲げ、活動している。ACCJが上記のミッションの実現に向

通の課題である、グローバリゼーションや人口の高齢化、激化する国際的競争

さらなる二国間経済統合をはじめとする強力な国際的取組みが鍵とけた活動の一環として行う提言は、米国・日本間における経済関係の発展と、の解決は、日本における国際的なビジネス環境の強化に資すると考える、以下の基本原

なる。日米経済統合を一層促進するにあたっては、包括的で、高度な経済統合

則に則って行われるものである。

協定（EIA）である自由貿易協定（FTA)+α の交渉を含むべきである。これは、次世代の貿易協定のベストプラクティスとして、また、WTOにおける多国間の取

I. 市場に立脚した、民間主導の経済経済の持続的成長を達成し、人々の福利を高めるためには、市場に立脚した、民間主導の経済を実現することが最も効果的である。

組みに代わるものでなく、それを補足し強化する協定である。また、日米EIAは、アジア地域の様々な高いレベルの二国間および地域間貿易イニシアチブと、ただちに結合もしくは統合できる。したがって、日米両国は、基準、規制、商品承認プロセス、その他のビジネス環境に関する問題への取組みを通じ、将来におけ

市場に立脚した民間主導の経済を実現することは、企業が、より生活者のニー

るアジアの経済発展を形作る上で、ともに先導的な役割を担うことができるの

ズにマッチし、かつ、限られた資源を効率的に活用した費用対効果の高いソリュ

である。

ーションを提供することを可能にし、結果として生活者の選択肢の増加と、福利の向上につながるものである。また、民間企業に多くの事業機会を提供するこ

V. グローバル・ベスト・プラクティスの活用

とは、政府機関による不採算事業への支援を減少させ、結果として国家財政の

グローバル・ベスト・プラクティスを活用することは、他の市場で実現したイノ

負担を減少させるものである。一方、市場に立脚した民間主導型経済を実現す

ベーションや培われた専門知識を活用することであり、効率を高め、有効な規

る上で重要なことは、法規制が適正かつ効果的に運用されるよう、規制当局が

制環境の形成を促進するという点において、規制当局、ビジネス界および消費

公正かつ透明な方法によって積極的に関与することである。

者の全てが、そのメリットを享受することができる。

II. 対等な競争条件事実上同一の市場に参加する全ての者は、同一の法律による規制の適用を受けるべきである。対等な競争条件を確保することは、市場参加者間の競争を促進し、新規の参入

規制やビジネスの領域におけるグローバル・ベスト・プラクティスを、業種を問わず活用することにより、規制当局、ビジネス界、そして消費者は、世界各国において達成されたイノベーションや培われた専門知識の恩恵を享受することができる。ただし、グローバル・ベスト・プラクティスを活用する際には、地域や市場固有の環境に適応させることが重要である。

者に市場へのアクセス権を平等に与え、また、すべての市場参加者が同一の基準の下に公平な扱いを受けることを保証することである。そして、それは結果として消費者の選択肢の増加につながるものである。

VI. 企業の社会的責任（CSR）企業は、消費者保護や社会的セーフティネットの構築をサポートすることを含め、自らが社会を構成する一員としての責任を果たさなければならない。

III. 透明で公正なプロセス透明性を確保することは、公正性、明確性、予測可能性を向上させ、有効な規制環境の構築に資するものであり、かつ、規制を制定するプロセスにおいてきわめて重要なことである。

持続的な経済成長を実現し、人々の福利を向上させるためには、明瞭な規制の存在と、その適正な運用など、公平な競争を維持・促進するための政策が必要である。ただし、こうした政策を実施する前提として、貧困者、子供、高齢者、その他の社会的弱者等、自らの力で生活することが難しい人々を支援するための

透明性が確保されることによって、政府機関は自らの行動について公式・非公

合理的な社会的セーフティネットが適正に機能していなければならない。また、

式を問わず、その責任を負うことになる。また、透明性が確保されることのメリッ

社会的セーフティネットが社会福祉の名の下に既得権を保護するものである場

トは、ステークホルダーが自身の利益に影響を及ぼす規制、手続き、行政におけ

合には、公正かつ自由な競争を阻害する可能性があることから、こうした事態を

る決定などを知ることができ、その決定プロセスに参加することができる点にあ

避ける手法が採用されなければならない。同時に、民間企業が社会の福祉向上

る。さらに、規制が最も効果的に適用されるためには、その規制の影響を受ける

のために果たす役割が明確にされるべきである。さらに、適切な消費者保護ル

者が意見を表明することができる機会や、抗議をするための有効な手段が与え

ールの存在は、消費者の信頼と福利を高めるものであり、市場が適正に機能す

られる等、適正な運用プロセスが整備されていることが求められる。

るために必要不可欠であるが、それは、不当に競争を制限したり、消費者の選

IV. 日米経済統合

としての責任を果たさなければならない。そして、その責任を、最高の商品・サー

包括的で高度な経済統合協定の交渉を含むさらなる日米経済統合は、日米両

ビスの提供や、雇用の創出、革新的な技術の導入といった、自らの利益に直接

国にとって、国際的な競争力の強化、共通課題の解決、持続可能な成長の達

的に結びつく方法ばかりでなく、法令の遵守や社会貢献活動などによっても果

成、および地域の繁栄と安定の維持に、最も効果的な方法である。

たさなければならない。

択を狭めたりするものであってはならない。企業は、自らが社会を構成する一員

March 2009 | The Journal | 59

Advocacy Update ACCJ Viewpoints are the core products of ACCJ Advocacy. An ACCJ Viewpoint is a brief paper, generated by a committee, that expresses the Chamber’s official position on a specific issue. Viewpoints are primarily used to express opinions on current policies, policies under consideration by the Japanese and/or U.S. governments, and policies under discussion in bilateral or multilateral forums. They are also used to raise new concerns about issues not currently on the Japanese government agenda. Ensure a Level Playing Field between Regulated Kyosai and their Private Sector Insurance Competitors Insurance Committee Valid Through May 2009

Immigration Law and Implementation Changes Would Forward Japan’s “Asian Gateway Initiative” and Help Japan Become a More Competitive Financial Center

Introduce a Legal Framework to Implement the Key Recommendations of the Corporate Value Study Group’s June 2008 Report

Human Resource Management Committee

Foreign Direct Investment Committee Valid Through July 2009

Valid Through April 2009

Recommendation

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (“ACCJ”) calls on the Government of Japan, consistent with Japan’s international trade obligations, to create a level regulatory playing field between regulated kyosai (mutual aid cooperatives) that provide insurance products and private Financial Services Agency (“FSA”) regulated insurance service suppliers. Until regulated kyosai and private insurance providers receive equal treatment under Japan’s laws and regulations, the Government of Japan should prohibit any insurance business expansion by regulated kyosai. All regulated kyosai, to the extent that they compete with FSA-regulated insurance services suppliers, ought to be brought under FSA regulation and Insurance Business Law (“IBL”). Such measures would ensure equivalent conditions of competition with FSA-regulated insurance service suppliers and enhance the welfare of Japanese consumers by requiring regulated kyosai, for example, to: 1) contribute to a safety net system to protect policyholders from potential failures; 2) follow the same rules and regulations as insurance companies including the same reserving rules; and 3) submit to FSA supervision consistent with globally accepted standards in accordance with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ “Insurance Core Principles and Methodology.” Additionally, regulated kyosai should be subject to the same taxes as their private sector competitors. As a first step toward achieving equivalent conditions of competition, the ACCJ urges the Government of Japan to conduct a thorough review of the rules and regulations governing the supervision and inspection of regulated kyosai to determine their conformity with FSA standards of supervision for private insurance service suppliers.

In order to help achieve the Government of Japan’s objectives of becoming an Asian Gateway and enhancing Tokyo’s competitiveness as an international financial center, and to make entry and exit procedures more efficient overall, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) urges the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to make the following improvements to immigration law and its implementation: 1. Abolish re-entry permits; 2. Allow families to align the expiration dates of the residence permits of all family members; 3. Change the requirements for the domestic help visa so that more people are eligible to serve as the sponsor for persons applying for this type of visa. These changes are consistent with the Cabinet’s Asian Gateway Initiative, which calls for the government to “consider reviewing the visa system for highly-competent human resources” and to review immigration formalities in order to increase the number of highly-skilled workers in Japan. Implementing these changes would substantially improve the “immigration experience” for foreigners living and working in Japan and would make it easier for companies in Japan to attract highly-qualified staff from all over the world, thereby also enhancing the international competitiveness of Japan’s financial and capital markets, a key policy goal of the government.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) commends the advisory report (“the Report”) concerning takeover defenses that was issued in June 2008 by the Corporate Value Study Group formed by METI (Chair, University of Tokyo Professor Hideki Kanda). If these recommendations are enacted into law they have the potential to boost confidence in the Japanese stock market and facilitate transactions that enhance the value of the Japanese companies involved, most of which will ultimately be friendly in nature. Consistent with its past Viewpoints on this subject, the ACCJ calls on the Government of Japan to implement the Report’s recommendations by making specific changes to Japanese law to: (a) amend the Company Law by including a definition of “independent outside director” that is consistent with global best practices; (b) add detailed rules to the Company Law to require publicly-listed companies to (i) identify which, if any, directors or director nominees fit the definition of independent outside director and (ii) disclose all facts that may affect a director’s independence of judgment or create conflicts of interest; (c) amend the Company Law and/or listing rules of Japanese stock exchanges to require that at least one-third of a listed company’s board of directors be independent outside directors; and (d) amend the Company Law so as to permit a board of directors to formally delegate decisionmaking authority on specific matters to a board committee composed of elected directors, including a committee composed entirely of independent outside directors. These legal changes are necessary because the Report’s suggestions regarding director fiduciary duties and independent board decisionmaking require changes to the basic structure of Japanese companies that can only be implemented by amending the Company Law and the listing standards for Japanese stock exchanges related to corporate governance. The Report’s recommendations have the potential to boost confidence in Japan’s corporate governance and the Japanese stock market, and increase shareholder value, but in order to do so, the recommendations need to be enacted into law.

Released ACCJ Viewpoints can be read in full in the Advocacy section of www.accj.or.jp 60 | The Journal | March 2009

ACCJの「意見書」は、特定の問題に対してのACCJの公式見解を表明する委員会が作成した簡潔な提言書であり、提言活動の中核を成しています。現行の政策や、日本又は米国政府で検討中の政策、二国間もしくは多国間で協議中の政策についてだけでなく、新たな関心を高めるために現在日本政府の課題となっていない問題についても意見を述べています。

制度共済と民間保険競合者の間に

日本の｢アジアゲートウェイ構想｣を

企業価値研究会による2008年6月

平等な競争環境の確立を

推進し、日本市場を競争力の高い金

の主要提言を実行する法的枠組み

保険委員会

融センターとするための入管法とそ

の導入を

の施行方法の変更

対日直接投資委員

ヒューマンリソース・マネージメント委員会

2009年7月まで有効英語正文

2009年5月まで有効英語正文

2009年4月まで有効英語正文提言

提言

在日米国商工会議所（ACCJ）は日本政府に対し、国際通

在日米国商工会議所（ACCJ）は、「アジアにおける日本の

在日米国商工会議所（ACCJ）は、経済産業省による企

商上の日本の義務に従い、保険商品を提供する制度共済

ゲートウェイ化を目指し、国際金融センターとしての東京

業価値研究会（座長：神田秀樹東京大学教授）によって

（相互扶助組織である協同組合）と金融庁の規制下にあ

市場の競争力を高める」という日本政府の目標の達成に

2008年6月に公表された企業価値研究会報告書「近時

る民間保険サービス提供者との間に規制面で平等な競争

貢献するため、また出入国管理を全体的により効率化する

の諸環境の変化を踏まえた買収防衛策の在り方」（以下

環境を確立するよう要請する。制度共済とその民間保険

ため、法務省に対し、出入国管理及び難民認定法（以下、

「同報告書」）を高く評価している。これらの提言を法制

競合者が日本の法制下で平等な扱いを受けるようになる

「入管法」）とその施行方法を次のように改善するよう要

化することで、日本の株式市場は信頼を高め、日本企業

まで、日本政府は制度共済の保険事業拡大を禁止すべき

請する。

の価値を高める取引も促進されるであろう。また、それら

である。金融庁の規制下にある保険サービス提供者と競

1. 再入国許可の廃止

の取引のほとんどは、友好的なものとなるであろう。

合する範囲内において、すべての制度共済は金融庁の規

2. 在留期限を家族全員で統一できる措置の施行

ACCJは、本件に関する過去の意見書と同様に、日本

制下に置かれ、保険業法が適用されるべきである。こうし

3. 家事/育児の手伝いのためにビザを取得する人に対し、

政府に対し、日本の法律に具体的な変更を加え、同報告

た措置がとられれば、以下のような点を制度共済に義務

より多くの家庭が身元引受人の資格を得られるよう、この

書の提言を実現することを要求する。すなわち(a)グロー

づけることとなり、制度共済と金融庁規制下にある保険サ

種のビザ申請における必要事項の変更。

バル・ベストプラクティスに沿った「独立社外取締役」の

ービス提供者との平等な競争条件の確保および日本の消

内閣のアジアゲートウェイ構想は、日本に多くの高度技術

定義を加えるよう会社法を改正すること、(b)会社法に詳

費者の福利促進につながるだろう。1）破綻が起きた際に

者を呼び込むため、「有能な人材のビザ取得を支援するた

細な規則を加え、上場企業に対し(i)独立社外取締役が

契約者を保護するため、セーフティネットへ資金を拠出す

めのシステム改善」および出入国手続きの簡略化を政府に

任命されている場合、取締役又は取締役候補者が独立

ること、2）準備金積立規制等、保険会社に適用されるのと

求めているが、上記の変更事項はこの構想と一致するもの

社外取締役の定義に適っているかを特定し、(ii)取締役

同じルール・規制が適用されること、3）国際的に受け入れ

である。これらの変更を実現することにより、日本で居住・

の判断の独立性に影響を及ぼす又は利益相反を引き起

られている保険監督者国際機構（IAIS）の「保険コア・プリ

就労する外国人の「出入国に関する体験」が大幅に改善さ

こす可能性のある全ての事実を開示する旨義務付けるこ

ンシプル（保険監督基本原則）」に定められている保険サ

れ、日本企業にとっても世界中から高い技能を持つ労働者

と、(c)上場企業の取締役会の少なくとも3分の1が独立

ービス提供者の監督基準に則った金融庁の監督下に置か

を募集しやすくなると思われる。またその結果、政府の重

社外取締役であることを義務付けるよう、会社法及び日

れること。これに加え、制度共済は民間保険競合者と同じ

要な政策目標である日本の金融市場・株式市場の国際競

本の証券取引所の規則を改正すること、そして(d)取締役

水準の税金を課されるべきである。平等な競争条件の確

争力向上にも貢献できるはずである。

会が具体的な事項についての意思決定権限を、独立社

立に向けた第一歩として、ACCJは日本政府に対し、金融

外取締役のみから構成される委員会を含む、特定の取締

庁以外の省庁が監督・検査を行っている制度共済に対す

役から構成される取締役会の委員会に公式に委任する

る法規制が、民間保険サービス提供者に対する金融庁の

ことを可能とするよう、会社法を改正すべきであると考

監督基準と適合しているかを徹底的に調査することを要

える。

請する。

日本企業の基本的仕組みに対する変更は会社法及び日本の証券取引所のコーポレートガバナンスに関する上場基準の改正によってしかなされないことから、取締役の受託者責任と取締役会の意思決定の独立性に関する同報告書の提言を実現させるためには、これらの改正が必要となる。同報告書の提言は日本企業のコーポレートガバナンスと日本の株式市場に対する信頼性を回復し、株主価値を高めることができるであろう。しかし、その為には、同提言は法制化されなければならない。

ACCJが公表した意見書の全文は、www.accj.or.jp のアドボカシーセクションでご覧頂けます。 March 2009 | The Journal | 61

IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS

Tunnel Vision I was having lunch with a good Japanese friend a few weeks ago and as with most conversations these days we spent some time on the topic of the current economic slump. He said we are all in a tunnel and we don’t know how long the tunnel is. But we do know that when we get to the end we will emerge into a very different world. I liked the image. It encapsulates my own feeling that we’re all in the dark and that we’re headed somewhere new. I think many ACCJ members can identify with this image. And I also think that it is important to stay on board as the Chamber train streams through the tunnel. One phenomenon seems to be emerging from the overall darkness of the last few months of 2008 and is continuing into 2009. The number of ACCJ events is up and the number of attendees at events is also at record levels. In 2008 ACCJ and its committees hosted 529 events with a total attendance of almost 19,000. Interestingly, when the economic clouds had really become thick, in November and December attendance increased signiﬁcantly year over year. January 2009 saw more events and more attendees than January 2008. In January a year ago we had 30 events with 1,537 people attending. This year that went up to 39 events and 1,854 attendees. I have no doubt that the main reason for this was the hard work of our excellent committee and subcommittee leaders. And I assume there are other factors. In tough times members seem to value the opportunity to network even more. And the need to get information from programs or from fellow members becomes increasingly important. So while we hope the downturn quickly bottoms out, Chamber membership clearly remains valuable when times are difﬁcult. Advocacy activity also has not slowed down. And with the danger of protectionist policies appealing to politicians in both Japan and the United States our voice will be more important than ever. Whatever the world looks like beyond the tunnel it will still be a world with a global economy. And I have no doubt that the Internet Economy White Paper that is in gestation now will be an excellent guide map for policy makers in the world beyond the tunnel. I’m just hoping that by the time this is printed we have clarity on the Japan Post privatization issue and that the American Congress Samuel H. approves a stimulus program without protectionist Kidder is provisions. It doesn’t make any sense to back out ACCJ Executive Director. of the tunnel. Like it or not, that world is gone. ■

Morr ison & Foer ster llp R e g i s t e r e d A s s o c i at e d O f f i c e s o f Ito & Mitomi

Expertise and experience count.