When I first came to Japan in 1980 I was under the impression that the Japanese were great copiers of American products and of the technologies that fueled those products. It was also my understanding that Japanese were as robotic as the machines they created.
Looking back, there were some truths to those stereotypical beliefs back then. But if you carry such belief baggage forward to the year 2010, your image of Japan and its people are now light years’ removed from the reality.
Japan is a researching Mecca, and not just for applied research. While the industrial base may be hollowing out, the service industry somewhat inefficient, and the Baby Boomers retiring in record numbers leaving job chasms in several sectors – as is the case with many advanced countries – Japan is forging ahead with new cutting-edge technologies which will dramatically change the way we live.
In the Success in Japan Directory of Research and Development Facilities, I have uncovered close to 200 major R&D centers in Japan which are independent of corporations. This country is buzzing with innovation and it is a place you want to be doing business.
Let the language barrier take the hindmost!
For many years I have been a corporate language trainer at some of the most successful multinationals in Japan, so I speak not only from textbook studies and hearsay about Japan, but from the inside teaching a growing legion of dedicated, and, in some cases, brilliant researchers.
The following is a tip-of-the-iceberg sampler of five major research projects/breakthroughs in Japan:
1) Honda Research Institute in collaboration with Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International have developed a new “Brain Machine Interface” (BMI) for manipulating robots using human brain activity signals. This amazing breakthrough enables the decoding of brain wave activity in a non-invasive manner. This breakthrough promises vast possibilities for new types of interface between machines and the human brain.
2) Astro Research Corporation has developed “Tennis Mate,” a machine designed to simulate the different strokes of tennis using a real racket. From serve to drop shot, this machine does it all. The video demo is fascinating.
3) Battery technology, especially for computer-related hardware, is foremost on the mind of many companies. Several Japanese firms, such as Mitsui Mining and Metals, are now spending vast amounts of money creating the next-generation materials non-conventional, long-lasting batteries. And NEC sparked a wave of excitement in the info-communications industry recently with the curtain lifting on the development of ultra-thin, flexible, rechargeable batteries. A sleek 0.3 mm in thickness, this ultra-thin battery holds great promise for computers and other high-tech paraphernalia.
4) Forestry and Forest Product Research Institute (FFPRI) has developed a lumber-drying technique for Japanese Cedar which uses a high temperature heating system capable of maintaining dryness up to a certain degree. This technique will allow the lumber drying process to be halved, from eight days to four days. Additionally, this new technique overcomes moisture-related lumber cracks and efficiently controls the level of dryness of cedar required for various purposes.
5) On the environmental front, Japan is on the verge of initiating technology which can capture a sixth of its carbon dioxide pollution and store the gas underground. The project is expected to be fully functional by the year 2020, although critics believe that Japan doesn’t have enough underground storage area for their ambitious plan. Companies like Japan Air Gases Ltd. plan to prove the nay Sayers wrong.
To leave Japan off your map is to leave a mountain of money on the table. My site and concept is to make Japan more friendly and accessible to people throughout the world. Enjoy the sushi while you maximize your profit potential. Welcome to Japan (Irrashai.)
While there are several web sites on Japanese trends and innovation, few of them are well-known among Japanese or foreign consumer-surfers. And although the market for TV home shopping is on the increase, viewer rates in Japan measure only a few percent. Such big-hit products as Billy’s Boot Camp have seen mainstream success, but such TV networks are generally dependent upon a small, loyal, hungry consumer group which buys gadget after gadget on a whim.
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