Japanese Behavior
- Outliers: The Story of Success
I have a habit of re-reading the books I find I like and worthwhile over and over again. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is one of those books. Gladwell talks about how sheer time one spends doing the thing she enjoys are directly tied with achievements and success tied to that activity. The example he used was […]
...- 17 Mar, 2012 | Comments Off
- What to localize, what not to localize in Japan
According to the World Bank, population living in Japan in 2010 was 127.5 million. Although Japanese live in small space compared, by global standard, most has high standard of living. So many companies come from overseas trying to capture the market based on the demographics, and over the past 22 years, I have taken part […]
...- 23 Feb, 2012 | Comments Off
- Update on affect of the great earthquake
Undercurrent would be something that Japanese over generation has been familiar with, which is surviving the natural disaster and rebuilding after great crisis. We are warned that another big earthquake is due, this time with epicenter of the quake even closer to Tokyo, but this time on the west side of it. We are still […]
...- 31 Jan, 2012 | Comments Off
- Research conducted in Tokyo now
Product/service development, design research related people like ethnographers, interview moderators, recruiters, coordinators, interpreters, etc. have been keeping busy in Tokyo since latter part of last year, as overseas companies are again very interested in researching Japanese market. After the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake in March 11, 2011, it has of course been an interesting study […]
...- 28 Jan, 2012 | Comments Off
- Identity integrity of adults and children in internet world, physical world
Having children was the best thing I have ever done. Ever since my first son was born 26 years ago, my children taught me more than anybody else I know. Living together with mother-in-law, husband and children was the next best thing. As researcher, I would always be stimulated. One of the most amazing things my […]
...- 22 Dec, 2011 | No comments yet
- Social Media Balance Out Traditional Media, And Japanese Responsibility Starts at The Bottom
6 weeks after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake, NHK online news announced that 27,931 people are dead or missing, and over 136,000 people are still living in evacuation in extreme hardship at Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures. As the rest of Japan slowly but steadily recover from the earthquake, recovery is still far away for […]
...- 18 Apr, 2011 | No comments yet
- Heart of Japanese 2011
As business owners and individuals sent words of condolences and encouragement, immediately following the earthquake, I felt miserable because the words wouldn’t come. I was in shock after experiencing the same earthquake in Tokyo inside a subway train, and the ominous 6 hours walk home through eerie Tokyo where nothing was broken, yet practically nothing […]
...- 12 Apr, 2011 | No comments yet
- Understanding Japanese Culture Through Music
Joseph Campbell talked about the role of mythology in people’s lives. It’s so true. And it seems to me music tells so much about each culture. Modern Japanese choral music performed by children at schools show so many things about Japanese culture. Importance of harmony between people. Working together. The lyrics of modern choral music […]
...- 11 Apr, 2011 | No comments yet
- New Year in Japan
New Year’s day is a big holiday in Japan, and traditionally, there are decorations that are associated with the New Year like pine branch, cut bamboos, woven dried rice stalks. I vaguely thought of the decrease in these decorations at homes and cities for the last few years, but this year, I became aware of […]
...- 29 Dec, 2010 | No comments yet
- Researching the aging market in Japan
Japan has had more elderly people aged over 65 than younger people aged 15 and younger since 1997. Above graph shows other countries are following the same trend as in Japan. What does this mean to me? As a 50-year old, it is about ME. And as a researcher, I am tremendously interested in what […]
...- 08 Dec, 2010 | No comments yet
