accj journal march 2009

¥800 | March 2009

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NMORE THAN BEING SEEN

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

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

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

45TH

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March 2009 | The Journal | 3

CONTENTS Volume 46 | Issue 3 | March 2009

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FEATURESCOVER STORY

12 More than Being Seen GreenForeign 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

26 ACCJ EventIndividual 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

30 CSR for SailorsThis 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

34 ACCJ EventThe 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

38 Anniversary SpecialA 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。

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ACCJ MissionFurther 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.

4 | The Journal | March 2009

DEPARTMENTS9 Note from the Editor

11 President’s Message

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

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

Julian Ryall.

36 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

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

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

47 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

52 Business Profile Beckie Cassidy is Program Director at Japan Market Expansion Committee (JMEC),

which trains businesspeople and develops foreign businesses here. By Nicole Fall

55 Behind the Book Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls by Noel M. Tichy and

Warren G. Bennis, is reviewed by Tom Baker.

56 Core Advocacy Principles

58 Advocacy Update ACCJ Viewpoints

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

CONTENTS Volume 46 | Issue 3 | March 2009

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ACCJ LeadersPresident

Thomas W. Whitson KPMG FAS Co., Ltd.

ChairmanAllan D. Smith AIG Companies, Japan and Korea

Vice PresidentsMichael 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.

TreasurerNasir Majid PricewaterhouseCoopersBrett Jensen (Kansai) Colliers Hallifax

Steve Burson (Chubu) H&R Consultants

ACCJ GovernorsAndrew Conrad Aflac International, Inc.

Christopher K. Ellis Chrysler Japan Company, Ltd.Bruce J. Ellsworth Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies

James Foster Microsoft JapanHarry Hill (Chubu) Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc.

Tad Johnson Pratt & Whitney Aftermarket Japan KKJohn Kakinuki GE Consumer Finance Co., Ltd.

Jiri Mestecky Kitahama Partners L.P.C.Patricia O’Keefe USC International Offices-Tokyo

Douglas L. Peterson Nikko Citi Holdings Inc.Nicole W. Piasecki Boeing Japan

Jay Ponazecki Morrison & Forester LLPMitsuyo Teramura Federal Express Corporation

Jim Weisser PBXL

ACCJ Executive StaffSamuel H. Kidder Executive Director

Aron Kremer Deputy Executive Director

ACCJ CommitteesAmerican Auto Industry Rick Brown

Architecture, Construction & Real Estate Kevyn Johnson/Michael P. KingAsia Business Philip C. Jones

B2B Sales Karl Hahne/Craig SaphinBanking and Finance Thomas Clark/Ernfred Olsen

Capital Markets Douglas HymasCharity Ball Barbara Hancock

Competition Policy Task Force Robert GrondineCorporate Social Responsibility Patricia Bader-Johnston

Direct Marketing Joseph PetersEnvironmental Naoki Arai

Financial Services Forum Charles D. Lake IIFood and Agriculture Collin Benson

Foreign Direct Investment Nicholas BenesGovernment Relations Ira Wolf

Healthcare Steve PlunkettHuman Resource Management Chris Lamatsch, Adam Kassab

Independent Business Doug JacksonInformation, Communications & Technology Darren McKellin, Ann Rollins

Insurance Nate Graddy/Jonathan MalamudIntellectual Property David Case

International Education Patrick NewellInternet Economy Task Force Yoshitaka Sugihara

Investment Management David MonroeLegal Services Arshad Karim/Eric Sedlak

Corporate Counsel Clair ChinoMarketing Programs Dominic Carter/Koichi Hama

Membership Relations Andrew SilbermanPrivatization Task Force David Hoover

Retail TBASoft Landing Task Force Adam Kassab/Mariko Nakazono

Special Events Barry BergmannYoung Professionals Group John Ghanotakis/Daniel Lintz

Taxation Jack Bird/Michael ShikumaToiletries, Cosmetics & Fragrances Yukiko Tsujimoto

Transportation and Logistics Jeff Bernier/Jeremy GoldstrichTravel Industry Kayoko Inoue/Vincent You

University Briefing Program Richard May/David Satterwhite

Kansai ChapterBusiness Programs Jiri Mestecky

Community Service Kojiro DanExternal Affairs Kiran SethiLiving in Kansai Barry Louie

Membership Paul DupuisWomen in Business Mari Nogami

Chubu ChapterCommunity Service Steve Burson

Independent Business Chris Oostyen/Jason MorganLiving in Chubu Lowell Sheppard

Membership Relations Chris ZarodkiewiczPrograms Steve Brown

American Chamber of Commerce in JapanMasonic 39 MT Bldg. 10F, 2-4-5 Azabudai

Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 106-0041Tel: 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 nations’ business organizations.

Publisher Vickie Paradise [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief Simon [email protected]

Senior Editor David Umeda

Art Director Paddy O’ConnorGraphic Designer Akiko Mineshima

COLUMNISTSTom Baker, Nicole Fall, Mark Schreiber

CONTRIBUTORSAlana R. Bonzi, Geoff Botting, Martin Foster, Justin McCurry, Darren McKellin, Tony McNicol,

Anthony H. Rowley, Julian Ryall, Catherine Shaw, Richard Smith, Jeffrey Tanenhaus

PHOTOGRAPHERS / ILLUSTRATORS Tony McNicol, Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, Darren Thompson, Mattias Westfalk

Published by Paradigm

President Vickie Paradise GreenCreative Director Richard Grehan

Advertising Sales Eileen Chang, Sarit Huys, Helene Jacquet, Leai Kubotsuka

Kamiyama Ambassador 20918-6 Kamiyama-cho, Shibuya-ku

Tokyo, Japan 150-0047Tel: 03-5478-7941 Fax: 03-5478-7942

e-mail: [email protected]

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.

Subscription rates for non-ACCJ membersOne 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 [email protected]

The ACCJ Journal welcomes story ideas from readersand proposals from writers.

Letters to the editor may be editedfor length and style.

The ACCJ Journal is produced entirely onApple computers

Journal

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

The ACCJ has long advocated a Tokyo to rival New York and London in the global fi nancial

center stakes. With infrastructure, services, transparency, legal oversight, costs, and multilingual ability the key concerns, our cover story adds one more criterion that’s now de rigueur for decision-makers in both the private and public sectors—sensitivity to the environ-ment. As the title suggests, though, this involves More than Being Seen Green. So it’s pleasing to note the dedication of ACCJ members turning this sprawling metropolis into an even greater place to live and work.

Our Opinion Leader on page 36 details another exciting dimension to the Tokyo skyline in coming years—the Marunouchi Redevelopment Project. After fi rst creating an integrated center for start-ups, the second phase now underway promises to not only “broaden and deepen the bustling vitality” of 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 fi le tax returns. If you missed this event, read our full report on page 26 before March 16!

They say Corporate Social Responsibility is the fi rst casualty of a recession. But the Journal strives hard to promote CSR in good and bad times alike. This is not diffi cult as it is one of the ACCJ’s key pillars. CSR is also said to be even more crucial when money is tight and wage earners feel vulnerable. The ACCJ donated an incredible ¥9 million to three worthy causes in February. Thanks to the 60th Anniversary Diamond Charity Ball in December 2008, charities helping vulnerable children, and fi ghting human traffi cking and poverty, each gratefully received a generous check in February, as you can see on page 41.

Finally, it’s our 45th anni-versary issue. We had a lot of fun reviewing how the Journal began, and has developed. On page 38, please enjoy some memorable anecdotes, quotes and front covers that have decorated Japan’s top English-language business magazine since March 1964.

When the going gets tough …

Simon Farrell [email protected]

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 KKTel: +81(3) 6403 5200 Email: [email protected]

ocatedrk and

nancial ture, versight, the key one igueur forrivate and the environ-ough, this n Green. dication of prawling er place to

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They sayResponsibirecession. Bto promotealike. This iACCJ’s key peven more and wage eACCJ donatthree worthto the 60thBall in Decevulnerable traffi cking received a gyou can see

Finally, iversary issufun reviewbegan, andpage 38, plememorable

Find out what all the whispering is about.

©2008 United Air Lines, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

unitedairlines.co.jp


Thomas Whitson is ACCJ [email protected]

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

ACCJ events, CSR and Doorknocks thrive despite grim economy.

The outlook for the fi nancial 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

signifi cant 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 diffi cult 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 fi nally 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 offi cials—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 infl uential 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 fi nancial system regulation and reform still resonates with leaders on both sides of the Pacifi c.

I think that our message of formalized bilateral economic dialogue at various levels of government working toward greater U.S.-Japan economic integration will lead to more opportunities for our member companies and an eventual free trade agreement between Japan and the U.S. ■

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When the economy

falters, many

cut back on envi-ronmental issues, particularly when it

comes to large-scale developments,” says Michael King, co-chair of the ACCJ Archi-tecture, 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

starts to improve,” he continues. “For Japan to retain its role as a global economic player and Asia’s fi nancial 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 diffi cult problems to deal with.

“You’d be hard pressed to fi nd 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 diffi cult now.’

“Had Japan’s demand for environ-mental sustainability been from the ground roots, like in other parts of the world,” he continues, “the situa-tion 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

ROLE TO PLAY FOR GLOBAL CONSULTANTS. By Catherine Shaw

More than Being Seen Green


MORE THAN BEING SEEN GREEN

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 benefi ts. 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 extrac-tion and manufacturing of building materials, and construction and demoli-tion debris that generates methane.

In Japan, records show buildings and industry contribute similar amounts of CO

2 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 benefi ts 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, 2,000-seat theater, conference facilities, 600,000ft2 (55,740m2) of government and private offi ces, 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. Build-ings 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 certi-fi ed Green Buildings reported a 3% increase in occupancy, rent premiums of $120/m2 and sale premiums of $1,800/m2,

according to Vass. “Forty-two percent of buyers were more inclined to buy a sustainable home because of their health benefi ts, compared with 17% for energy savings and 12% for the environment.”

BLL’s building in Sydney (30 The Bond) illustrates the health and social benefi ts of Green Buildings, according to BLLJ Executive Offi cer Gordon Hatton. The fi rst 5-star Green Star-certifi ed 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 signifi cant 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 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 corpora-tions, as well as individuals, up this learning curve which benefi ts 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 benefi ts 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 refl ected in the building industry, agrees Hatton

of BLLJ. “But Japan invested heavily in specifi c areas of energy effi ciency [e.g., solar panel technology] with a focus on technology-driven solu-tions, and is, therefore, very strong in that regard. Some developers have empathy for environmental sustain-ability, but a holistic approach to Green Building is not widespread.”

“It’s often very diffi cult to introduce something new to this market,” explains Philippe Valery, president of Saint-Gobain HanGlas (Japan) K.K., a manu-facturer 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 recom-mendations 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-specifi cation glass is margin-ally more expensive and the additional

Key Steps to Green BuildingEstablish your sustainability vision and ■

objectives for the development.Get stakeholders (owner, fi nancier, ■

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.Defi ne a baseline, and model potential ■

scenarios.Site selection — First key step in ■

infl uencing 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 effi ciencies are achieved.Measuring results — Feedback from ■

users, data collection.

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investment would offer a quick payback to the owner, Japanese contractors use what wouldn’t meet the most basic environmental specifi cations in Europe.”

Japan’s Green Building certifi ca-tion system is known as CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Effi ciency), but the more stringent US LEED (Lead-ership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifi cation is fast becoming the default world standard for global clients. It is widely credited as the best defi nition of Green Building, providing clear advice for architects, engi-neers, builders and owners on how to approach sustainable development.

“While CASBEE is a step in the right direction, it is not currently available for fi t-outs, can be diffi cult to use as a design tool, and lacks the international recognition of other rating systems,” says Rebecca Green, a Green Building consul-tant at ERM Japan. “Many of our domestic and multinational clients request LEED or BREEAM [Building Research Estab-lishment Environmental Assessment Method] certifi cation—as these systems provide fl exibility in application across their global footprint, can be used to optimize energy performance, and are increasingly being selected to raise the profi le of their projects and achieve inter-national success in Green Building design.”

The international certifi cation 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 certifi ed 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 phenom-enon,” observes Yudelson, who believes the focus of Green Building will begin to switch from new buildings to greening existing buildings. (The fastest-growing


rating system in 2008 was the LEED for Existing Buildings program.)

There are already 14 LEED-certifi ed buildings in China, with at least 134 registered for certifi cation; and 24 certifi ed/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,” confi rms Hatton of BLLJ. “Client discus-sions usually begin with ‘How can we get LEED certifi cation 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 confi dent 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 offi cer and director,

Mechanical & Electrical, at Shimizu Corporation. “The fi rst 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.


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 profi table

use of a site with the public’s need for open green space. E

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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 Corpora-tion) and a Ceiling Radiation Heating and Cooling System that achieves substantial environmental savings. Other sustainable elements include rooftop greenifi cation (84 varieties of insects and 14 varieties of birds already have been observed), electromagnetic envi-ronmental control and task/ambient (airfl ow) conditioning and lighting.

The building achieves signifi cant 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 LCCO

2 (Life Cycle CO

2) 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 fi eld 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 special-ists from academia, the building and designing discipline, and a developer and operator of sustainable hotels. We plan to


What is Green Building?Green Building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-effi cient 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.

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

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Catherine Shaw is a freelance journalist based in Tokyo.

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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 protec-tion and economic development never confl icting with each other. Such events reduce the common misconception that Green Buildings are signifi cantly more expensive to build and are, therefore, the preserve of high-profi le projects.

“As green technologies have improved and become more widely available, costs

have dropped signifi cantly,” 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 impor-tant 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 benefi ts 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 fi nancial landscape. Japan has some way to go toward enacting regulations that favor Green Buildings, by providing strong incentives to the private sector and encour-aging Green Building by local government, those who take a proactive stance regarding the sustainability of existing and planned buildings and future proof against new regulations will achieve a signifi cant future marketing advantage. ■

BLL

J

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MEDIA WATCH

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 defl ationary 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.”

Nervous Breakdown


MEDIA WATCH

Timed out, but still edible 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 Shohin-dana” (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 offi ce knows we’re doing it.”

Making inquiries at the Koto Ward public health offi ce, 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 fi ve years, he fi gures the mottainai shelf has actually run up a defi cit of about ¥3 million. But it’s popular with customers and makes his shop appealing to the neighborhood’s thrift-conscious.

Tracking footprints 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 environment-

friendly product, even if its price is slightly higher? When goo Research polled 1,520 adults online, 5.9% say they defi nitely 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 fi gured 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 fi ve 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 fl yer) 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 fi rst of its kind in Japan, though. The Gunma Prefecture-based 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 fi gure is regarded by Seiyu as ambiguous. Also, Seiyu ruled out locking horns with proprietary brands of clothing offered by some other chains.

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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 defi ned as six months or longer following graduation) totaled some ¥66 billion, a 1.5-fold increase from fi ve 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 fi xed 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.

The economic stimulus package in the works by the government of Prime Minister Taro Aso is to include cash benefi ts. 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)

Random Access

Student Deadbeats to Be Blacklisted

MEDIA WATCH


There is, according to the old saying, a time for every-thing and everything has its time. March is unavoid-ably the time to fi le 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 fi rm of Ernst & Young Global Limited. They

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.

“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 fi ling tax returns.

A non-resident is classifi ed 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 fl at income tax rate of 20%, though no local taxes.

Most expats fall into the second category of being a non-permanent resident, and have an assignment period of 12 months or longer, are not a citizen of Japan, have spent less than fi ve 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 Japan-source 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 fi ve years of the

ACCJ EventINDIVIDUAL INCOME TAXATION IN JAPAN FOR EXPATRIATES: THINGS TO KNOWBy Julian Ryall Photos by Tony McNicol

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


last 10 years, and thus are taxed at a progressive rate on the world-wide income.

National income tax returns for 2008 are due on March 16 this year, Shrivastava pointed out, with July 31 and November 30 set as payment due dates for the fi rst and second installments of paying the estimated taxes for the current year. Similarly, the local resident tax can be paid in a lump sum on June 30, or else spread over four installments: June, August, October 2009; and February 2010.

Regarding the income that is subject to tax, Shrivastava identifi ed the base salary and benefi ts, cost of living and cash allow-ances, Japan taxes paid by an employer on the employee’s behalf, Japanese-language lessons for family members, and stock option gains. All are taxable, regardless of the payroll location. There is better news when it comes to housing provided by an employer, home leave entitlements, educa-tion for dependents in Japan, moving expenses, and capital gains and retirement allowances—“as long as it is structured properly,” Shrivastava emphasized.

Anyone who earned less than ¥20 million that was paid all in yen from a single employer, and did not earn other income above ¥200,000, is not required to fi le a Japan tax return. However, there are benefi ts for anyone in that category who has un-reimbursed medical expenses of more than ¥100,000, has made donations to a registered Japanese charity in excess of ¥5,000, or has a housing loan for a principal residence in Japan.

Income categories that are taxed at normal progressive rates include earnings from employment, business or rental income, as well as interest and dividends—unless paid through a Japan paying agent—and miscellaneous or occasional income and retirement earnings, although special reductions are available for that category.

Taxation on capital gains from the sale of listed securities is conducted differently in Japan, compared to the United States, with no distinction in Japan between short- and long-term capital gains. For a permanent resident, as a result, the gain is taxed at 20% if sold through a broker over-seas, but only 10% if sold through a broker in Japan.

Capital gains on land and property, on the other hand, is a more tricky area, Shrivastava said, due to the Japanese requirement that to qualify for the reduced rate of 20% on a long-term asset—as opposed to 39% for a short-term asset—the holding period for a property must exceed fi ve years, determined as of January 1 of the sale year.

Retirement income qualifi es for a series of special deductions, as does occasional income—defi ned as one-off payments, such as lottery winnings or a lucky day at the track. Shrivastava cautioned, though, that income from exercising an overseas

parent company’s stock option is not considered as occasional income, and thus is subject to being taxed as compensation.

In the fi nal tax reckoning, you should include factors such as home leave, education, employer housing and moving expenses—along with the premiums paid for social, earthquake and life insurance—as well as taking into account credits for home acquisition loans.

Special consideration is afforded to registered directors, Shrivastava pointed out, although it mainly results in more taxable income.

In conclusion, he reiterated a series of warnings to anyone fi ling tax returns in Japan, prominent among them the need to exercise caution when selling property in your home country and being aware that Japan imposes taxation on remittances 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 inevi-tably will be changes—some minor, some more far-reaching—in regulations concerning taxa-tion; but all will have major implications for the amount you pay in taxes each year. Getting professional advice from the experts is a smart move.

Harish Shrivastava can be contacted at Ernst & Young Shinnihon Tax, Tel. 03-3506-2017. ■

ACCJ EVENT

Julian Ryall is The Daily Telegraph’s Tokyo correspondent.

“There are some very common mistakes that

expats make and we see that every year.” Harish Shrivastava

When did you fi rst 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 fi ction 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-of-

the-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 compre-hensive 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, spe-cifi cally space transportation systems and space robotics. After I earned my Master’s degree in the same fi eld, I started working as an engineer at JAXA. I was in charge of the development of Kibo, the Japanese

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 fi rst Japanese

mother to do so.

Naoko YamazakiTHE FIRST JAPANESE MOTHER IN SPACE.By Julian Ryall


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

ON THE SPOT

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 fl y 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

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.

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 fi rst Japanese

mother in space; what does your daugh-

ter think of her mom fl ying beyond the

Earth’s atmosphere?

My daughter is in fi rst 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 fi rst 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 appre-hensive since this is my fi rst 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 crewmem-bers to fulfi ll 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 grav-ity, 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 fl y 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 pio-neer, 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 fi rst Japanese woman to fl y 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 invest-ment in our future life here on Earth.

Along with the scientifi c discoveries,

what personal discoveries do you expect

to make?

I cannot imagine all the personal discover-ies I will make when I go into space; but I think I will have a better view or understanding about the Earth and how we live on this planet [when I return]. ■

Naoko YamazakiBorn: Dec. 1970 in Matsudo, Chiba PrefectureMarried: To Taichi YamazakiChildren: YukiHobbies: Scuba diving, skiing, fl ying and musicEducation: Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1993 and a Master’s degree in aerospace engi-neering from the University of Tokyo in 1996

Career: Joined the National Space Development ■

Agency of Japan in 1996Involved in a series of development projects, ■

notably the Japanese Experiment Module system and the International Space Station CentrifugeSelected in February 1999 as an astronaut ■

candidateReceived astronaut certifi cation in ■

September 2001Approved as a fl ight engineer at the Yuri ■

Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, near Moscow, in May 2004Certifi ed as a mission specialist at NASA’s ■

Johnson Space Center in Feb. 2006

BIOGRAPHY


JAX

A


It often is said that sailors are a breed apart from us land-lubbers. Per Knudsen talking about his experiences under sail reinforces that perception.

“It may be something that non-sailors have diffi culty 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 befi ts his position as commander of the Tokyo Sail & Power Squadron (TSPS).

More than fi ve decades old, the TSPS is the local unit of the

United States Power Squadrons—the leading nonprofi t organi-zation 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 fi rst 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 offer-ings, 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 offi cial 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 fi rst Japanese Boat Operator License through the organization, describes the TSPS as “the

CSR for SailorsNPO TEACHES TRAINEE MARINERS IN ENGLISH.By Julian Ryall


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), fi rst 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 fi nally 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 consid-eration, and it takes an effort to fi nd 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 diffi culty of fi nding experi-enced 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 classifi ed 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/

CSR FOR SAILORS©

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Spare a thought for Minoru Saito. He is probably battling moun-tainous 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 techno-logically advanced sailing gadgets ever devised—including real-time 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 fi ve 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.

“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 moun-tains in my youth. There is great exhilaration in reaching the top.”

To follow Minoru Saito’s solo voyage around the world, log onto www.saito8.com/ ■


Round-the-World—in Reverse

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After Michael E. Porter

started to research health-care systems around the world, the business econo-mist 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

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 grandpar-ents—experienced. They go to a general practitioner, who might prescribe medi-cine. 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 inter-ventions 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 fi eld.”

The system is fragmented, ineffi cient and costly; as a result, patients receive little “value.” This idea of value is at the crux of Porter’s framework. In the health-care context, value is defi ned 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

ACCJ EventTHE JAPANESE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM: A VALUE-BASED PERSPECTIVEBy Geoff Botting


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 compe-tition; 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 benefi ts the patient, rather than working against them,” says Porter, “and how to create real value.”

These ideas are laid out in the book, Redefi ning Health Care: Creating Value-Based 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 health-care 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 struc-tured 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 benefi t fi nancially even when patients do not benefi t. 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 ground-up reorganization of hospitals and other medical facilities.

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 special-ized and integrated facility.

If this is starting to sound hypo-thetical, 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 fi eld, their patients benefi t 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 ineffi ciency, 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 diffi cult 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 and the problems differ,” says Porter, “but nobody’s happy.” ■

ACCJ EVENT

Geoff Botting is a freelance journalist based in Tokyo.

“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

© M

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The earliest indication of the

Marunouchi district as an interna-

tional 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 fi rst building

to be fi nished on the site, followed by

other red brick buildings—completing

the fi rst phase of development

known as the London Block period.

The second great period of develop-

ment, which focused on the construc-

tion of many high-rise offi ce 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 period of development with the

Marunouchi Redevelopment Project,

aimed at increasing the added value of

the district as a whole. We envision a vital

neighborhood that accommodates some

of the most vibrant interactions in the

world—a location where individuals and

corporations infl uence each other and

collectively enhance each other’s value.

In this invigorated area of the capital

city, workers and visitors will possess

ever-increasing access to signifi cant

business opportunities and people will

be able to enjoy a fi rst-rate living envi-

ronment regardless of the time of day.

The fi rst stage of the Marunouchi

Redevelopment Project was initiated

in 1998, guided by the three keywords

of openness, network and interaction.

Over the course of a decade, functional

renewal was pursued with a focus

on the area in front of Tokyo Station,

beginning with the construction of the

Marunouchi Building and continuing

with fi ve other new offi ce buildings. In

an effort to transform the district from

being focused almost exclusively on

business to meeting a variety of needs,

a reconstruction is being pursued in

both hard and soft modalities. This work

is aimed at deepening business func-

tions, enhancing commercial facilities

and 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 fi rst integrated

center for start-up companies, including

such facilities as small incubation offi ces

and the business membership-based

Tokyo 21c Club. EGG Japan promotes

innovation by providing a venue for

diverse support in the fi elds of fi nancing,

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 fi rst stage—

expanding throughout Marunouchi,

Yurakucho and Otemachi.

The fi rst 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 offi ce building. Recognizing

the importance of the site as the birth-

place 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 expe-

rience 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

Hiroyoshi ItoMAKING MARUNOUCHI A WORLD-CLASS BUSINESS DISTRICT.

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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

年に三菱地所の前身である三菱社が政府の要請

により丸の内一帯の払い下げを受けた時代に遡

る。１８９４年に竣工した「三菱一号館」を皮切り

に、赤レンガの建物が建ち並び、一丁倫敦と呼ば

れた「第1次開発」、戦後の高度経済成長期には

大型のビルへの建替えを行った「第２次開発」と、

当社は都市開発のパイオニアとして先進的な街づ

くりを続けてきた。

　そして現在、当社は「第３次開発」となる「丸の

内再構築」に取り組んでおり、街全体の付加価値

を高めることを目的に、当社が目指す街の姿を

「世界で最もインタラクション（個人や企業が相

互に影響しあい、お互いの価値を総合的に高めて

いくこと）が活発な街」と定め、就業者や来街者

に対し付加価値の高い事業機会と就業時間内外

を問わず質の高い生活環境を提供している。

　１９９８年始動の丸の内再構築「第1ステージ」

では、「オープン、ネットワーク、インタラクティ

ブ」をキーワードに、１０年間で東京駅前周辺を

重点的に機能更新し、丸ビルを始めオフィスビル

６棟を建替えた。それまでのビジネスに特化した

街から、開かれた多様性のある街へと転換を図

るため、ハード・ソフト両面から再構築を推進し、

更なるビジネス機能の深化、商業施設の拡充を

進め、また、新産業創出の拠点づくりの一環とし

て「日本創生ビレッジ」を開設した。「日本創生ビ

レッジ」は、ビジネスクラブ「東京21cクラブ」と

小割りのインキュベーションオフィスを一体化さ

せた日本初の新事業の創造拠点であるが、イノベ

ーションの推進を目指す丸の内所在の大企業と

ベンチャー企業間の事業機会や各種専門サービ

ス・ノウハウを提供し、資金や人材、法務、会計な

ど多岐に亘り事業を支援している。

　２００８年からの１０年間は「第２ステージ」

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

東京駅前の活気と賑わいを丸の内・有楽町・大手

町全域に広げる。

　「第２ステージ」の第１弾プロジェクト「丸の

内パークビル」「三菱一号館」は２００９年竣

工であるが、「三菱一号館」の復元は、丸の内

で最初のオフィスビルが建設された場所を「街

づくりの原点」として再認識し、「都市の記憶」

を継承するとともに、多くの人々が街の歴史や

文化、更には質の高い文化芸術と触れ合うこと

のできる開かれた美術館「三菱一号館美術館」

として、都市文化を創造・発信していく。緑豊か

な広場を整備し、広場にはアートやオープンカ

フェに囲まれた憩いの空間を創造し、丸の内の

回遊性・多様性の核となることを目指す。また、

広場の緑化、保水性舗装により、地表面の被覆

対策を強化してヒートアイランド現象の緩和を

図るなど、環境と共生する街づくりを積極的に

推進している。

　丸の内エリアでは、「高度利用化・高層化」

が進められているが、夫々の開発が無秩序に進

められるのではなく、地権者が自主的に設けた

「まちづくりガイドライン」の考え方に基づき、

日本の中枢拠点に相応しい風格のある景観の創

出に努めている。商業施設も更に拡充し、イベン

トによる街の活性化など、魅力と活力のある街

づくりを推進することにより、オン・オフ問わず

上質な時間を提供すると共に、東京の都市再生

と国際競争力の向上に積極的に貢献したいと考

えている。

　２００８年に、丸の内・大手町・有楽町エリア

を含む東京駅・有楽町駅周辺地域が国際金融

拠点機能を先行させる地域として位置付けられ

たが、金融機関の集積、各種インフラ、交通ネッ

トワーク、商業機能についても高い水準で整備

されていることを活かして、「国際金融拠点」と

して更なるビジネス環境を推進し、魅力ある街

づくりを進めたい。

三菱地所株式会社取締役常務執行役員　伊藤裕慶

伊藤裕慶

OPINION LEADER

point for leisurely strolls and a variety

of other activities. Environmentally

responsible development is also being

actively pursued through the land-

cover measures of greening the public

square, as well as by the use of water-

retentive pavement material, that

keep the ground permeable and help

to ameliorate the heat-island effect.

The Marunouchi area is under-

going a transformation with its taller,

greater-capacity buildings being used

more effi ciently. This growth is not

arbitrary, however. Rather, it is based

on guidelines that have been adopted

voluntarily by the landowners in ques-

tion, 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 enliv-

ened by numerous organized events.

Through this promotion of an attrac-

tive and vivacious urban environment,

we are working to provide an experience

that makes the time spent here of high-

quality whether during or after busi-

ness 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 fi nancial

center. Taking advantage of the area’s

high-level concentration of fi nancial

institutions—as well as various types

of advanced infrastructure, transporta-

tion networks and commercial func-

tions—we will endeavor to promote

the area as a fi nancial hub, while

creating an attractive urban setting.

Hiroyoshi Ito is Director and Senior Executive

Officer at Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.

HOW THE ACCJ JOURNAL BECAME JAPAN’S TOP ENGLISH-LANGUAGE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Anniversary SpecialHOW THE ACENGGLISSH-LAN

CCJ JOURNALOU AMEBECABECAMEE AMAMMEEEMEMEEE BBUUSSIINNEESSNESSSS MMAAMMAS MMMMMAAABB

CCJ JOURNGUAGEE

S TOPAP PPAN’S TANJA OPJAJAAPAPJ AN OPSAPAPAN’S ANJAJJAJAAPPAPJA ANZINAAGG ZINNEEEGGAAZZIAAAAAGGGAGGA AAZZ



When, 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 fi rst 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 defi cit 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 fi nances.

“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 fi nancial 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 fi le 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 fi rst issue carried ads from 11 U.S. corporations and a local restaurant. Content refl ected, more and more, the rapidly changing U.S.-Japan relationship triggered by a $50 billion trade defi cit that seemingly overshadowed everything else.

The February 1990 cover was on Carla Hills, the fi rst 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. Refl ecting 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, fi rst 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, 2006-07), 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. ■

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

The First 45 Years


OUT AND ABOUT

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.

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 fi ght human traffi cking and modern-day 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.

ACCJ Donates ¥9 million to Charities 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.

Photos by Aron Kremer


Shangri-La Hotel, TokyoMarch 2www.shangri-la.com

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is opening its fi rst property in Japan, which will occupy the top 11 fl oors 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 fl at 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-the-art exercise equipment.

34th FOODEX Japan 2009March 3-610:00-17:00 (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 apprecia-tive of foreign gastronomy, eating out and encountering new dishes while traveling abroad … Japan depends on imports for 60% of its food; its food self-suffi ciency ratio has sunk below 40%.”

Makuhari Messe, Halls 1-8, Chiba, Kaihin-Makuhari Station, JR Keiyo Line

Nikkei ShopBiz 2009March 3-6Franchise Show 2009, March 10-1210:00-17:00 (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.

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

Biennial World Baseball ClassicMarch 7-23http://mlb.mlb.com/news/

The 16-team fi eld is the same as in 2006, when Japan won. However, unlike last time, the fi rst two rounds will use a double-elimination format, and there will be six games in each bracket. Regarding the fi rst 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 2009March 10-12, 200910:00-17:00www.shopbiz.jp

There are 170 exhibitors, running 380 booths.

Tokyo Big Sight, West Hall, Odaiba, Tokyo Waterfront, Kokusai-tenjijo Station, Yurikamome

EVENTS LINE-UPS

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LA H

OTE

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DragonballMarch 13

According to various sources, including Variety Japan, the 20th Century Fox $100 million-budget, live-action fi lm adapta-tion 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.

Tokyo MarathonMarch 229:05-16:10www.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 back-tracks before turning left at Ginza crossing (Wako and Mitsukoshi) and through the Tsukiji fi sh market district toward the Tokyo Waterfront. Just past Toyosu, the runners turn right toward Ariake, then left toward the fi nish line at Tokyo Big Sight.

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, visu-ally impaired runners with companions, intellectually challenged runners, and runners with a history of organ transplant.

Cherry Blossom ViewingMarch 20 (Tokyo, Yokohama, Kamakura, Chiba, Shizuoka & Nagoya)

Favorite Tokyo sites include the Impe-rial 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). Kama-kura features cherry tree-lined Dankazura

(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 Sakura-nomiya 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).

18th JITAC European Textile FairMarch 23-259:30-18:00www.jitac.jp/en/fair/

According to organizers, European fabric has exerted great infl uence, and undoubt-edly enjoys the reputation now of being the fi nest 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 fl exible and able to fi t a given design fi eld—whether rich, elegant or casual.

David Umeda is Senior Editor at Paradigm

EVENTS LINE-UP


It’s a busy time for fashion. Ermenegildo Zegna, the Italian luxury brand opens the doors this month (March) to its third “Global Store” fl agship concept in Shinjuku.

The Ermenegildo Zegna Group, best known for its menswear, has over 500 stores in 64 countries. This fi ve-level, 9,000ft2 (836m2) property is a fl ashy affair designed by Peter Marino Architect PLLC, featuring a textile inspired glass façade overlaid with a crisscross stainless-steel 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 fl agship stores.

One of the world’s largest pump manu-facturers, Grundfos Management A/S, has positioned its Asian headquarters in Hama-matsu, 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 fi rm’s indus-trial pump orders in the region. The new offi ce, called the Machining Industry Busi-ness Center (MI-BC), is located on the prem-ises of Grundfos Pumps K.K., and will serve

as its hub for industrial pump sales and support in Asia. Targeting Japanese fi rms 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.

Fashionably Shinjuku

FDI PORTFOLIO

Pump It Up


FDI PORTFOLIO

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 profi le 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 offi ces. 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 gener-ated 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-Pacifi c division, with a “highly sophisticated consumer.”

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 fi rst 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 fi scal year, generated sales of €928 million.

“The global video game market is expected to maintain sustainable growth thanks to geographical expansion and diversifi cation 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.”

Magnifi cent Seven

Consolidated Games

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Sofi a 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 Sofi a Coppola is also a comparatively well-known fashion fi gure 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 fi rst designed the limited edition range. A high-profi le 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-to-wear, accessories and jewelry. The adjustments were based on a policy “to offer its products at appropriate prices” based on exchange rate fl uctuation, manufacturing costs and quality considerations.

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 profi t.”

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.

The New ROI

FDI PORTFOLIO

Contact Nicole Fall at nicole@fi vebyfi fty.com if you have ideas for this column.

Lost in Translation


When 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 fi rst 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.

“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 fi nd 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

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

BIOGRAPHY

Beckie CassidyBorn: December 15, 1974 ■

Married, one child, one dog ■

1997–graduated SUNY Binghamton ■

(upstate NY) with a BA in Psychology and minor in Biology1997-2001–Consultant and Corporate ■

Trainer for Cerner Corporation (healthcare IT industry), based in Atlanta, GA2001-2003–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

BECKIE CASSIDYJMEC PROGRAM DIRECTORBy Nicole Fall

Photos by Tony McNicol

JMEC—the win-win competition


BUSINESS PROFILE

“JMEC has allowed me to fi nd 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 affi liated 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 benefi t 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 nonprofi t 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 benefi ts JMEC because it saves signifi cant amounts of money on offi ce 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 fi nd 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 diffi cult fi nancial 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 call me when the stress levels rise and the panic attack hits,” nods Cassidy sagely. ■

SNAPSHOT

Japan Market Expansion CompetitionFounded: 1993 ■

Mission: To help foreign businesses to enter ■

and expand into the Japanese market while building the skills of emerging executives in the Tokyo areaInitiated by: Australia and New Zealand ■

Chamber of Commerce in JapanSupported 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 EBCParticipants: As of June, 2008, 674 ■

participants have graduatedTrack record: Of 129 business plans, ■

two-thirds were partly or fully implemented, with all reporting results as predicted or better than predictedCurrent JMEC program intake is the largest, ■

with 72 participants and 11 clients Winners to be announced on June 5 ■

Nicole Fall is a freelance journalist based in Tokyo.

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

ビジネスブレークスルー大学院大学TEL: 03-5860-5531Email: [email protected] www.ohmae.ac.jp/gmba/

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。

働きながら、MBAを取得できます。

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.


We are giving away 3 copies of Judgment. Simply e-mail [email protected] 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.

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 pizza-

and-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 also-

rans out of the company once a

succession has occurred.)

The authors warn that good judg-

ment 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 Schoon-

over’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 empha-

sized: “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-of-

consciousness 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 fi rst. 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

States, where the fi rm was “able to add $100,000

to $400,000 per unit in average sales.” It also led

to new dinner options in Niigata. ■

Tom Baker is a staff writer at The Daily Yomiuri.

BEHIND THE BOOK

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 EconomyA 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 effi cient 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 fi nances 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 FieldLike market participants should be subject to the same laws in the same manner.

A level playing fi eld 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 ProcessTransparency 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 IntegrationEnhanced 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 strongbilateral relationship based on common interests and values, and

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 PracticesAdoption of global best practices promotes effi ciency and sound regulation and allows regulators, the business community, and consumers to benefi t 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 benefi t 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 specifi c circumstances of the local market.

VI. Corporate Social ResponsibilityAs 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 infi rm. Such a system, however, must avoid measures that protect vested interests in the name of social welfare, since such measures are ineffi cient 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 confi dence 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 benefi t 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、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、以下の基本原則に則って行われるものである。

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。

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。

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。

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。

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。

IV. 日米経済統合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。

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の解決は、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である。

V. グローバル・ベスト・プラクティスの活用グローバル・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者の全てが、そのメリットを享受することができる。

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。

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。

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、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たさなければならない。


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 offi cial position on a specifi c 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 Fieldbetween Regulated Kyosai andtheir Private Sector InsuranceCompetitorsInsurance CommitteeValid Through May 2009

RecommendationThe 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 fi eld 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 fi rst 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.

Immigration Law and Implemen-tation Changes Would Forward Japan’s “Asian Gateway Initiative” and Help Japan Become a More Competitive Financial CenterHuman Resource Management CommitteeValid Through April 2009

RecommendationIn order to help achieve the Government of Japan’s objectives of becoming an Asian Gateway and enhancing Tokyo’s competitive-ness as an international fi nancial center, and to make entry and exit procedures more effi cient 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 experi-ence” for foreigners living and working in Japan and would make it easier for companies in Japan to attract highly-qualifi ed staff from all over the world, thereby also enhancing the international competitiveness of Japan’s fi nancial and capital markets, a key policy goal of the government.

Introduce a Legal Frameworkto Implement the KeyRecommendations of theCorporate Value Study Group’sJune 2008 ReportForeign Direct Investment CommitteeValid Through July 2009

RecommendationThe 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


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平等な競争環境の確立を保険委員会

2009年5月まで有効英語正文

提言在日米国商工会議所（ACCJ）は日本政府に対し、国際通商上の日本の義務に従い、保険商品を提供する制度共済（相互扶助組織である協同組合）と金融庁の規制下にあ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環境を確立するよう要請する。制度共済とその民間保険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まで、日本政府は制度共済の保険事業拡大を禁止すべきである。金融庁の規制下にある保険サービス提供者と競合する範囲内において、すべての制度共済は金融庁の規制下に置かれ、保険業法が適用されるべきである。こうした措置がとられれば、以下のような点を制度共済に義務づけることとなり、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費者の福利促進につながるだろう。1）破綻が起きた際に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ること、2）準備金積立規制等、保険会社に適用されるのと同じルール・規制が適用されること、3）国際的に受け入れられている保険監督者国際機構（IAIS）の「保険コア・プリンシプル（保険監督基本原則）」に定められている保険サ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れること。これに加え、制度共済は民間保険競合者と同じ水準の税金を課されるべきである。平等な競争条件の確立に向けた第一歩として、ACCJは日本政府に対し、金融庁以外の省庁が監督・検査を行っている制度共済に対する法規制が、民間保険サービス提供者に対する金融庁の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請する。

日本の｢アジアゲートウェイ構想｣を推進し、日本市場を競争力の高い金融センターとするための入管法とその施行方法の変更ヒューマンリソース・マネージメント委員会


提言在日米国商工会議所（ACCJ）は、「アジアにおける日本の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市場の競争力を高める」という日本政府の目標の達成に貢献するため、また出入国管理を全体的により効率化するため、法務省に対し、出入国管理及び難民認定法（以下、「入管法」）とその施行方法を次のように改善するよう要請する。1. 再入国許可の廃止2. 在留期限を家族全員で統一できる措置の施行3. 家事/育児の手伝いのためにビザを取得する人に対し、より多くの家庭が身元引受人の資格を得られるよう、この種のビザ申請における必要事項の変更。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者を呼び込むため、「有能な人材のビザ取得を支援するためのシステム改善」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である。これらの変更を実現することにより、日本で居住・就労する外国人の「出入国に関する体験」が大幅に改善され、日本企業にとっても世界中から高い技能を持つ労働者を募集しやすくなると思われる。またその結果、政府の重要な政策目標である日本の金融市場・株式市場の国際競争力向上にも貢献できるはずである。

企業価値研究会による2008年6月の主要提言を実行する法的枠組みの導入を対日直接投資委員


提言在日米国商工会議所（ACCJ）は、経済産業省による企業価値研究会（座長：神田秀樹東京大学教授）によって2008年6月に公表された企業価値研究会報告書「近時の諸環境の変化を踏まえた買収防衛策の在り方」（以下「同報告書」）を高く評価している。これらの提言を法制化することで、日本の株式市場は信頼を高め、日本企業の価値を高める取引も促進されるであろう。また、それらの取引のほとんどは、友好的なものとなるであろう。　ACCJは、本件に関する過去の意見書と同様に、日本政府に対し、日本の法律に具体的な変更を加え、同報告書の提言を実現することを要求する。すなわち(a)グローバル・ベストプラクティスに沿った「独立社外取締役」の定義を加えるよう会社法を改正すること、(b)会社法に詳細な規則を加え、上場企業に対し(i)独立社外取締役が任命されている場合、取締役又は取締役候補者が独立社外取締役の定義に適っているかを特定し、(ii)取締役の判断の独立性に影響を及ぼす又は利益相反を引き起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と、(c)上場企業の取締役会の少なくとも3分の1が独立社外取締役であることを義務付けるよう、会社法及び日本の証券取引所の規則を改正すること、そして(d)取締役会が具体的な事項についての意思決定権限を、独立社外取締役のみから構成される委員会を含む、特定の取締役から構成される取締役会の委員会に公式に委任することを可能とするよう、会社法を改正すべきであると考える。　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。

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 dark-ness 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 signifi cantly 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 member-ship clearly remains valuable when times are diffi cult.

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 approves a stimulus program without protectionist provisions. It doesn’t make any sense to back out of the tunnel. Like it or not, that world is gone. ■

Tunnel Vision

IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS

Samuel H. Kidder is ACCJ Executive Director.

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