By Terrie Lloyd
Specifics of setting up a Company

In Part 1 of this article, published in the Autumn 2006 issue, we took an overall glance at the new rules of incorporating in Japan. In part 2, we take a specific look at what it takes under these new rules to get down to business.

Brian NelsonBy Terrie Lloyd
—ValueCommerce’s Brian Nelson tells how it is done

Foreigners starting up and running Japanese companies in Japan are still somewhat of an anomaly and therefore don’t receive much press in this country. Thus, it was with some surprise that we were greeted with articles in the morning newspapers of February 2005, that Yahoo! Japan had agreed to buy a 49% stake in an Internet affiliate marketing company called ValueCommerce for JPY10.9bn (US$93.1m) in cash, the largest deal Yahoo! Japan had done until that time. “Who is ValueCommerce?” asked many around the nation. Over the next 18 months, they were to witness not just a rocket ride to a July 2006 IPO, but significantly one which was steered by foreign founders and a largely foreign management team.

By Mariko Kato
A Review of The Blue-Eyed Salaryman by Niall Murtagh

There have been many books written about Japan and the Japanese, some ignorant and superficial, some informed but exaggerated, some informed and quite accurate but rather cruel. Murtagh’s book, The Blue-Eyed Salaryman, is a rare treat not only for its gently woven and simply told account of the unique and ever-stereotyped Japanese corporate culture, but for the author’s warmth towards his colleagues as individuals.

By Chris Cleary

The moral is simple and obvious: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Everyone knows that. But ...

How Japan's Otaku are changing the way we do business.
By David Meredith, President, Bates Asia Japan Inc.

You've seen them shuffling around Akihabara, shopping bags held closely to chest containing prized comics or lined up outside computer stores waiting for the latest release of limited edition action figures. These Otaku, or geeks who have a passion for animation and manga, are a ubiquitous modern symbol of Japan.