The “5 Whys” technique is a problem-solving method commonly used in Japanese business to identify the root cause of a problem. Developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, it involves asking “why” repeatedly to peel away layers of symptoms and uncover the underlying issue. Traditionally used in production and development, this tool can also…
Many people that grew up in the 90ies might still remember a Japanese gameshow called “Takeshi’s castle” in which groups of contestants were battling a host called (Beat) Takeshi by overcoming various physical challenges. As this program is currently seeing a reboot, it might be worth to take a look at how this and other…
(by Nikolaus Mach-Hour, Head of JCO Germany / VP global strategy) In this last part of our four-part series, I would like to highlight some of the trends regarding how JCO customers are about to reshape their organisations and business models. 6. Changes in business strategy Japanese business culture is traditionally rather long-term oriented when…
(by Nikolaus Mach-Hour, Head of JCO Germany / VP global strategy) After discussing changes in the management, executive and board layers in the first part of the series, in this second installment I would like to delve into changes within the Japanese organisations of JCO clients. 3. Changes in HR strategies In the past, there…
Even though Japan is among the richest and most developed countries, the work-life balance of its population may be in need of modernisation. The Japanese are hard workers, so much so that it, at times, affects their personal lives and health. The Japanese are known for working a lot of overtime. In addition, the Japanese…
Current Situation and Analysis One of the questions we often receive from our customers is about the “localization” of Japanese companies. While the prospects of global markets remain unclear, with what seems to be a limit in the growth of the Japanese market, many Japanese companies put a lot of emphasis on overseas business. Promoting…
