Article by Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)

Akira Kurosawa was born in Tokyo and from a young age was inspired by art and reading. He began his film career as an assistant director for the renowned Japanese director Kajiro Yamamoto. Kurosawa was well read, and Yamamoto appreciated his vast knowledge. Within five years Kurosawa was writing scripts and directing sequences for Yamamoto’s films. In addition to being a great filmmaker, Kurosawa had an eye for selecting actors. He chose people with strong emotions and distinct facial expressions. He went on to make some 30 movies, many featuring his favorite leading actor Toshiro Mifune.

Article by Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)

SOICHIRO Honda was born in Shizuoka, Japan. His father, a blacksmith, owned a bicycle repair shop and Honda spent his early childhood helping him fix bikes. As a child, he was fascinated by airplanes and it is said that after he viewed an airplane demonstration by pilot Art Smith, Honda’s love for machinery and invention was instilled in him forever.

Article by Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)

KISHO Kurokawa was born the son of an architect in Aichi, Japan. During WWII he was sent to live with his grandparents in a Buddhist temple. He bunked in a teahouse there that later served as an inspiration for his creative works.

Article by Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)

Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist and animator, a producer, political activist and a medical doctor who never practiced medicine. He is often referred to as “Manga-no-Kami Sama” (the God of Manga), and is best known as the creator of “Astro Boy” and “Kimba the White Lion”. Although he graduated from Osaka University with a medical degree, his professional career as a manga artist began while he was still at university. He decided to follow his heart and devote himself to manga. Later, in the sci-fi manga “Black Jack,” he was able to apply his scientific knowledge.

Article by Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)

SEIJI Ozawa began his music career as a piano student only to sprain his finger playing rugby as a teenager. Unable to continue the piano, his teacher at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo brought Ozawa to a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, a life-changing event that shifted his focus from piano performance to conducting.

Article by Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)

ICHIRO Suzuki likes to go simply by “Ichiro.” Since the age of 12, he has focused on building a career in baseball. His father mentored Ichiro with rigorous training From a young age, and it has been said that Ichiro built strength and stamina by hurling car tires and by hitting whiffle balls with a heavy shovel. These strenuous exercises helped to develop power and endurance for his thin frame. In high school he had an incredible batting average of .505 with 19 home runs. Despite these impressive numbers, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the Japanese professional baseball draft as teams were concerned about his physique due to his very light frame. Ichiro was with the Orix Blue Waves From 1992 to 2000, proving to be one of the best players in the game before leaving for the American Major Leagues to play with the Seattle Mariners in 2001.

Japan’s leading entrepreneurial companies, Rakuten and Uniqlo, are taking a no-nonsense approach toward going global by adopting English as the official workplace language.

Speaking the Global Language of Business

Drastic times call for drastic measures

Two of Japan’s top entrepreneurial companies have adopted English as the official language of their workplace. This is in a country with companies known for avoiding risk whenever possible. So why would Rakuten and Uniqlo take such atypical measures at a time when English-language proficiency is low in the country? TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) score data from 2004 to 2005 placed Japan second to last in Asia in terms of English language skills with 191 points, only one point higher than North Korea. Not helping, the collapse of two of Japan’s largest English language school chains, Nova and GEOS, over the past six years has reduced the number of opportunities for adults to study English at private language schools. So this ‘sink or swim’ approach by Rakuten and Uniqlo to speak English in the workplace is a bold but strategic maneuver at a time when they are expanding to compete in the global marketplace where the official language of business is English.

This Archived Feature Article is taken from the Autumn 2003 Issue #248 which was a best-selling issue that featured a number of Japan's foremost business leaders 

Carlos Ghosn, the ambassador of change, the icebreaker, le cost killer, the troubleshooter, or however you wish to refer to him, is Japan’s hero that has provided a glimmer of hope to leaders of thousands of ailing corporations who are desperately seeking solutions to their problems. Ghosn boldly entered Japan’s business arena with a passion and determination that had not been seen by the Japanese since Akio Morita and Sony took the US electronics market by storm. Since arriving in Japan in 1999, Ghosn took Nissan from the brink of bankruptcy to a profit-making entity in just two years.