Japan and Entrepreneurs

I caught an interesting show on Japanese TV the other day called 子供に聞かせたい Kodomo ni Kikasetai! or "I Want to Tell This to the Children!" which featured some of Japan's most visionary business leaders talking about how they became successful. First Toshio Suzuki, the "business arm" of Studio Ghibli, talked about the challenges of managing the financial side of an animation studio and of securing the financing that made Hayao Miyazaki's amazing works possible. Another speaker was Kazuki Morishita, president of the company behind Pazudora (Puzzles and Dragons), the mobile game that took Japan and the world by storm and rocketed his company past Nintendo in market cap. Finally we heard from Kohzoh Takaoka, the head of Nestle Japan, which has been hugely successful in its 100 years of doing business here. He came to his superiors' notice when he thought up the innovative idea of promoting Kit Kat (which sounds like きっと勝つ kitto katsu or "you will surely win") to students preparing for university entrance exams, and he's also the guy responsible for all those incredible flavors of Kit Kat you love to buy from J-List. After the guests spoke there was a question-and-answer segment in which smart young people, including a girl who started a company making YouTube videos for fashion-related companies at the age of 15, received advice on how to succeed in the future.

I thought the program was important because one of the biggest problems in Japan is its lack of entrepreneurial spirit, especially among women. Although some of the most respected names in Japan's history are those who created companies, such as Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita or Souichiro Honda, who turned a tiny company making machine parts for Toyota into a famous worldwide brand, in reality there's often little respect for people with crazy dreams of starting a business. The Japanese are a very conservative people who tend to value security, and Japanese as a group aren't generally forgiving of failure, even though to try something and fail at it is an important part of life, especially for an entrepreneur. Then there's the fact that if you try to start a company and fail, your status is "reset" if you go to work at a new company, making you kohai (underling) to employees who are younger and have less experience than you. Having a TV show that put entrepreneurs in a positive light while showing young people interested in the idea of making their own businesses someday seemed to be to be a really good step forward.

A Japanese TV show to inspire young entrepreneurs.

The Moe Algorithm of Infinite Straos

Somewhere in Japan there's a computer that runs an algorithm for generating "harem" anime stories, which I believe was used by Media Factory to create Infinite Stratos. It's a future in which warfare is dominated by powered exoskeletons which conveniently can only be piloted by women, though when a boy named Ichika is discovered to be able to control the devices, he's sent to the Infinite Stratos Academy where he's surrounded by fabulously beautiful girls. All the classic moe character elements can be found in the series: the tsundere childhood friend who's also a shrine maiden, the British ojosama who speaks in an aristocratic way, a plucky girl from China who's self-conscious about her flat chest, a "reverse trap" (a girl who pretends to be a boy), an eyepatch-moe warrior girl from Germany, and of course the "generic everyman nice guy" Ichika, who's not even aware he's at the center of a harem. At its core, moe is about the little imperfections and personality flaws that make the characters charming, whether it's extreme jealousy or shyness or yandere tendencies, and this anime has plenty to explore. If you like Infinite Stratos, you might like our English combat ero-RPG Pretty Soldier Wars A.D. 2048, which has a similar story.

The moe-tastic girls of Infinite Stratos. Which is your favorite?

Psst, Need Any Anime Figures?

In addition to our pre-Christmas sale on all bento and kitchen items, we're having a nice 2x J-List Points sale on all in-stock anime figures. There's no otaku in the world who wouldn't want to get hands on a special Super Sonico figure or perhaps one of those Link or Metroid figmas. The sale covers all figures that are currently in stock, so it's great for grabbing items you want to give this Christmas...even if it's to yourself.

The Joy of Anticipation

Buying a new car in Japan is a bit different from what you might be used to. First of all, rather than buying from a third-party dealer, you nearly always go to an official car dealership operated by Toyota, Nissan, Mazda etc. (The direct-from-manufacturer sales model was emulated by GM's now-defunct Saturn brand.) You never drive off with a car that day, but instead choose which model, color and options you want then wait three weeks while they make it in the factory. While having to wait for your new car can be a bummer, I've come to appreciate the slow taste of anticipation quite a lot, looking forward to the day your new car will finally show up. I'm a Star Wars collector, and I was able to enjoy this feeling of anticipation as I searched for a rare poster from a Star Wars movie exhibition in Kyoto, which I was finally able to find after several years. It's a feeling I'm experiencing right now as I wait for my new iPad to arrive from San Diego (I have to get them from the U.S. as iPads sold in Japan are all carrier locked, making them useless for international travel), and also one Sailor Moon fans are likely feeling as they await the new series that's set to air in January 2014.

A poster that took me 4+ years to finally find, and searching for it was a joy.

Handing a Letter to the Emperor

The Emperor of Japan is the ceremonial leader of the nation, defined by the 1947 postwar constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." His name is Akihito, though he's always referred to by his era name (Emperor Heisei for the current era, Emperor Showa for his father) in Japanese, and he's 125th in an unbroken line going back to the founding of the original Yamato Kingdom. For centuries a powerless figurehead, the Emperor's role was figuratively "restored" during the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which began as a movement to force Japan to close itself off to the outside world again -- their slogan was sonno joi or "Revere the Emperor and Expel the Foreign Barbarians," and we've totally got a T-shirt of that for you -- though once the pro-Emperor reformers won power they realized foreigners had cool things like railroads and reconsidered their closure policy. Throughout Japan's history there's been a custom called 直訴 jikiso which involves a soldier, minister or other unauthorized person handing a petition to the Emperor directly, usually after getting his affairs in order as this often led to his imprisonment and execution. Last week Taro Yamamoto, a member of a new breed of actor-and-comedian-turned-politician, got in hot water when he presented a letter to the Emperor directly, asking him to intercede in the question of whether Japan would continue to use nuclear power or not. This was a huge breach of protocol, as asking the Emperor to get involved in politics is strictly forbidden.

Former comedian Yamamoto made a big faux pas when dealing with the Emperor.

Toilets in Japan

When you come to Japan for the first time, you'll encounter many strange things, like square watermelons (which are grown inside wooden frames), avocado flavored Doritos and Colonel Sanders standing outside every KFC to greet you as you go in. You'll also discover some really interesting toilets, some of which are good (when they clean your butt for you after you're done), while others present challenges for gaijin. The biggest problem is figuring out how to use a 和式トイレ washiki toire or Japanese-style toilet, which you squat over rather than sit on, and the first time you use one you never know which direction to face, how to balance without falling over, etc. While Japanese still prefer the seatless toilets in public (since you can do your business without touching anything delicate), they're on their way out in homes, as Japanese style toilets aren't that pleasant or easy to use, especially for the elderly. If you'd like to learn more about Japanese toilets, we just happen to have a photobook on the subject in stock today.

Japanese toilets can present challenges to foreigners.

Have You Started Your Holiday Japan Shopping Yet?

Christmas is in the air, and J-List is already getting busy with the rush of holiday sales. If you've got a Japan-obsessed person on your list this year, now is a great time to browse the site and get your first orders into us, while you can still take advantage of less expensive shipping options. In addition to free J-List anime eyes, we're sending out a cute season-limited holiday pocket tissues, in case you've got a collection going.

J-List Figure Sale in November

In addition to our pre-Christmas sale on all bento and kitchen items, we're having a nice 2x J-List Points sale on all in-stock anime figures. There's no otaku in the world who wouldn't want to get hands on a special Super Sonico figure or perhaps one of those Link or Metroid figmas. The sale covers all figures that are currently in stock, so it's great for grabbing items you want to give this Christmas...even if it's to yourself.

Korean BBQ and Birthdays in Japan

My wife's parents' birthdays both fall around this time of year, and we usually celebrate by getting in the car and heading to our favorite 焼き肉 yakiniku (Korean BBQ) restaurant, which is kind of like going out for Italian in the U.S. -- it sort of qualifies as eating ethnic, but just barely. Just as the production of cardboard boxes can indicate which way the U.S. economy is headed (this is called the Cardboard Box Economic Indicator and it's real), you could track the general health of Japan's economy by how many families feel confident enough about their economic situation to splurge on a big meal of Korean BBQ...and based on the crowds we saw, it looks like Japan's economy is finally improving. At a Korean BBQ restaurant you order large plates of beef, chicken and various vegetables then cook it on a gas or charcoal grill right at the table, and everyone stuffs themselves until you can smell the meat coming out of your pores. If you want to be a little more authentically Korean, order some lettuce leaves and wrap a piece of meat, some steamed rice and a dab of miso paste in the lettuce before you pop it all in your mouth -- yum. If you'd like to try Korean BBQ, there are likely some restaurants in your city, but make sure you never imply to the staff that you think kimchee comes from Japan and not Korea. Trust me on this.

Yes, Korea and Japan have a long history of cultural and economic sharing, of which the Japanese love of Korean BBQ is just one example. Several large industries such as pachinko are dominated by zainichi ("residing in Japan") Koreans, who are born here yet maintain South or North Korean citizenship for cultural reasons. Many top names in Japan's entertainment world are Korean, and former South Korea president Lee Myung-bak was actually born in Osaka. Sometimes when we post "Japanese" products like Black Black Caffeine Gum or those cute March of Koala cookies to the site, I'll get an email from a Korean reminding me that Lotte is a Korean company, not Japanese...and yet the international conglomerate got its start in Tokyo in 1948 before moving over to South Korea when relations were normalized in 1965. It's quite interesting that the richest and most successful man in Japan isn't Japanese but zainichi Korean. Masayoshi Son (Korean name Son Jeong-ui) received business advice at a young age from the legendary Fujita Den, the founder of McDonald's Japan, who told him to go to the U.S. and study electronics and microchips at Berkeley. He was able to use the his American business education to "think outside the box" and build a fabulous portfolio of businesses, and he's the president of Softbank and Sprint and chairman of Yahoo Japan.

Eating Korean BBQ and talking about Korean influence on Japan.

Favorite Desserts of the Japanese

There are many reasons to like Japan. Hot towels handed to you at most every restaurant. Trucks that warn you they're backing up by playing the Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade song. Walking behind a convenience store and finding a beautiful hundred year old Shinto shrine. Japan is also the land of some amazing desserts, and if you come here you'll probably discover some new taste treats. Japan's dessert world can be divided into two groups: 和菓子 wagashi, Japanese sweets such as taiyaki or kompeito and Kyoto candy; and 洋菓子 yohgashi or Western sweets, a word which covers everything from baumkuchen cakes to Kit Kat to the cutest doughnuts in the universe. There's an amazing sponge cake from Nagasaki called Castella with about 500 years of history behind it; unique local versions of flan egg custards, which the Japanese confusingly call プリン purin (pudding); and something called Marugoto Banana that's extremely simple, just a round piece of sponge cake with a banana and whipped cream folded inside, sort of like a dessert taco. Another favorite of mine is shu cream (pronounced like the stuff you polish your shoes with), a Japanese version of French custard-filled cream puffs (chou a la creme), which naturally come in Hello Kitty and Totoro-shaped variations. Yet another French dessert the Japanese have embraced are crepes, and it's not uncommon to see a truck selling 40 varieties of the delicious treat with long lines of people waiting to buy.

Japanese love to eat Western sweets like crepes.

Holiday Shopping Starts at J-List

Christmas is in the air, and J-List is already getting busy with the rush of holiday sales. If you've got a Japan-obsessed person on your list this year, now is a great time to browse the site and get your first orders into us, while you can still take advantage of less expensive shipping options. In addition to free J-List anime eyes, we're sending out a cute season-limited holiday pocket tissues, in case you've got a collection going.

Bento Boxes + Kitchen Stuff On Sale This Month

This month J-List is having a sale on all bento and kitchen items, including our huge selection of excellent bento boxes from Japan, our always kawaii bento accessories, plus cool products like our fun coffee and tea cups, Totoro and Spirited Away-themed miso soup bowls and more. Christmas is just around the corner, and these products would make great gifts for the special people on your list!