Lectures on Japanese economic and business environment
日本の経済と企業、日本とのビジネスに関するレクチャーリレー
The Japanese Studies and EARL organised a series of special lectures on Japanese economics and business environment. Prominent representatives from Japanese enterprises, located in Slovenia, and successful Japanese, who made a career in Slovenia, were invited to share their knowledge and experience in entrepreneurship. And also vice versa – Slovenes, who manage to break through on the demanding and competitive Japan market presented their ideas, work and methods in the fields of high technology, mutual relationships between Japan and Slovenia, translation, tourism.
Event report:
On Wednesday and Friday, 21st and 23rd of March, a series of presentations under the heading 'Japanese economy and business environment' were held on the Faculty of Social sciences in Ljubljana. Professor Chikako Shigemori Bučar was the organiser of the project which included the cooperation of the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Social Sciences. The two-day event was intended for students who are interested in finding employment opportunities in Japan or finding employment opportunities which are tightly connected to Japan. On the first day, two internationally successful Japanese companies, Toyota and Mitsui, had thirty minute presentations which were followed by a presentation by the representative from the Embassy of Japan in Slovenia. On the second day, the successful Slovenian company, Sensum, which operates all over the world, including Japan, took the floor first. It was followed by presentations from former students from the Department of Asian Studies who currently work in the fields of translation, tourism and self-employment. All of the presentations were attended by a large audience and were received as being of great value to many of the students present.
‘Toyota way, business philosophy and main Toyota projects’
The presentation was conducted by the general director of Toyota Adria, Kensuke Tsuchiya. He focused on the business philosophy of the car company and the explanation of the concept ‘Toyota Way’. Later on, he explained the ways Toyota is engaged in many different spheres, not just the automotive industry. They are present in construction, ecology and now they also became the global partner of the Paralympic Committee. One of the main points of the presentation was the motto ‘Always a better way’. The speaker explained how Toyota always strives to find a better solution and the belief that nothing is perfect and that there is always room for improvement. Along with the conviction carried by the founder of Toyota, Kiichiro Toyoda, that the customer is always first, the company was able to become the biggest car company in the world. Toyota wants to employ eager, positive and industrious candidates.
‘Challenge and innovation: Sôgô Shôsha, Mitsui & Co.’
Sôgô Shôsha is an expression used for trade and investment companies founded in Japan that are active around the globe. The representative of Mitsui & Co. Deutschland GmbH, Yoshio Ishimaru, who came all the way from his office in Budapest, explained why their company is so successful. Their motto is ‘We make impossible possible’ and they are a company that seeks business and investment in various spheres. He further explained how the company is not based in just a handful of business. Its assets are spread out and they are not necessarily always engaged in a specific business at any given moment. Mitsui will thus always give its support to a client as long as it is beneficial for the seller, beneficial for the buyer and beneficial for the company.
‘The role of the Embassy of Japan in promoting bilateral relations between Japan and Slovenia through involvement in cultural activities, public relations and education’
Matej Černjavič, a public relations and cultural affairs specialist working for the Embassy of Japan in Slovenia introduced a pyramid scheme with five points: 1. Awareness, 2. Interest, 3. Knowledge, 4. Counselling, 5. Activity. The embassy writes news, creates events, engages in study abroad programmes and promotes special television programmes on the basis of the five points listed before. Through their various activities, they strive to inform the Slovenian population about Japan, its culture, society, language and history. The speaker explained how the main goal is to improve the relations between Japan and Slovenia through activities mentioned earlier.
‘A Slovene high-tech company on the Japanese market: a success story’
After twenty-five years of preparations and research, the Slovene company Sensum started its business in 2000. Sensum reached international success producing lab devices and systems while working together with pharmaceutical companies like the Slovene Krka and Lek, Japanese Qualicaps, Api and Sunsho Pharmaceutical and also the globally successful Bayer. The story was told by Dr. Sc. Maksmiljan Bregar, who talked about the many difficulties the company encountered when entering the Japanese market. Culture, competitiveness, the time difference and language proved to pose the biggest difficulties. In the end, the speaker talked about possible employment options, such as translation and cultural mediation, for students of Japanese studies.
‘Translation’, ‘Tourism’ and ‘Self-Employment options for graduates of Japanese studies’
Three presentations concerning translation, tourism and self-employment options represented the main part of the meeting on Friday. Currently employed graduates of the Faculty of Arts, Iztok Ilc, Peter, J. Vojvoda, Ana Resnik and Tina Zadnik, talked about their experience after graduation. All of them directly addressed the audience in Slovene and English and shared valuable pieces of advice that could help future graduates find a job in the competitive market. The jobs covered included jobs for translation of various texts, oral translation, tourist agents and guides and language instructors. When the presentations came to an end, a debate about the role of a translator followed. A comment from a faculty professor about a historic event where the translator played a key role proved that the methods used in translation haven’t changed that much through its long history.
Author Katja Peljhan
Translator Erazem Štancar