Japanese Games: World Leader in Gaming Industry

The synonym of Japan can also be stated as "developed technology". Yes very true to its expression, Japan has always being the world leader when it comes to technology regarding anything to everything. Gaming industry is one such tag in the fame of Japan. Japan not only stands as a father of the gaming industry, but also the existing world leader. It all started as early as 1917 when Japan entered into the market of animations and cartoons and took it by its storm completely. Everybody loves cartoons in one form or another. Cartoons are a favourite among kids and young teenagers, whereas the adults too enjoy them immensely even if secretly! Cartoons, animations, video games and online computer games- the face is many yet the basic concept remains the same. Japanese games are very popular worldwide and have huge, all age group fans throughout the world.

About Japanese Games

Japanese games basically have cartoon characters performing amusing acts and entertaining you. Cartoons are the soul of the gaming industry. Technology advancement has gone at par with excellence now that the Japanese games have started 3D animations as well. Yes the characters of these games have now become a bit more real and alive- thanks to technology! But still they are animations at heart. Anime, as the cartoon characters in Japan are more popularly known as has more resemblance to the western society. The big eyes are one of the major recognition signs of these Japanese games. Yet we can’t simply tag every Japanese game cartoon under it. These games are extremely popular. The Japanese games come under several categories as racing tracks, cards, puzzles, mysteries etc. The Japanese games use latest technologies to give the background and the characters more touch of reality.

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Toyota Prius, the Japan Car of the Year

The new Toyota Prius has clinched its first major award, voted Japan Car of the Year by a panel of distinguished motoring journalists and industry experts at the Tokyo motor show. The accolade is a formal acknowledgement of the advances Toyota has made with the third generation Prius, which delivers more power yet even better fuel efficiency and lower emissions from its full hybrid powertrain.

Prius’s advanced but eminently user-friendly technology is also winning the hearts and minds of its most important critics, drivers themselves. In Japan Prius has been the nation’s top selling new car for the past five months in a row – every month since the car first arrived in showrooms. And with more than 31,000 sales in September alone, new Prius last month accounted for almost 11 per cent of the entire new car market.

New Prius is also making a big impact with motorists here in the UK, with more than 4,000 customer orders received since its launch in August. In September its sales performance moved it up to become Toyota’s third best-seller, after Yaris and Auris.

More information about new Prius’s achievements can be found on the official Toyota blog, Today/Tomorrow at http://blog.toyota.co.uk

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Japanese Automotive Industry

The Japanese automotive industry is one of the most prominent industries in the world. Japan was the world's largest vehicle manufacturer in 2008 but is very likely to cede this position to China in 2009. It is home to a number of companies that produces cars, construction vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs, engines, etc.

Japanese automotive manufacturers include Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Mitsuoka.

During the 1960s, Japanese automakers launched a bevy of new kei cars in their domestic market. These tiny automobilesusually featured very small engines (from 360cc to 600cc) to keep taxes much lower than larger cars. The average person in Japan was now able to afford an automobile, which boosted sales dramatically and jumpstarted the auto industry toward becoming what it is today. The first of this new era, actually launched in 1958, was the Subaru 360. It was known as the "Lady Beetle", comparing its significance to the Volkswagen Beetle in Germany. Other significant models were the Suzuki Fronte, Mitsubishi 500, Mazda Carol, and the Honda N360.

Rapidly increasing domestic demand and the expansion of Japanese car companies into foreign markets in the 1970s further accelerated growth. Automobile production in Japan continued to increase rapidly after the 1970s, as Mitsubishi (as Dodge vehicles) and Honda began selling their vehicles in the US. Even more brands came to America and abroad during the 1970s, and by the 1980s, the Japanese manufacturers were gaining a major foothold in the US and world markets.

With Japanese manufacturers producing very affordable, reliable, and popular cars throughout the 1990s, Japan became the largest car producing nation in the world in 2000. However, its market share has decreased slightly in recent years, particularly due to old and new competition from South Korea, China and India. Nevertheless, Japan's car industry continues to flourish, its market share has risen again, and in the first quarter of 2008 Toyota surpassed American General Motors to become the world's largest car manufacturer.

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Japanese Electronics Products

Japan's Consumer Electronics

The Japanese consumer electronics industry is one of the most prominent industries in the world and is the world's largest electronics manufacturer by companies such as Sony, Pentax, Casio, Citizen Watches, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic, Roland, Sharp, Canon, Epson, Yamaha, Sanyo, Fujitsu, Korg, Kenwood, Sega, Fujifilm, JVC, Toshiba, Pioneer, Technics, Nikon, TDK, Nintendo, Olympus, etc.

After World War II, Japanese business began to rapidly develop consumer electronics products using keiretsu methods. By the 1980s, a relatively small number of industries dominated Japan's trade and investment interaction with the rest of the world.

Sony was founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita and rapidly advanced in the electronics field. The invention the first pocket transistor radio placed the company at the forefront of electronics development, both in Japan and worldwide. As other companies were formed to compete in this area, the industry producing consumer electronics became major exporters that invested overseas in the 1980s. In 1991, 46.7 percent of colour televisions and 87.3 percent of video cassette recorders produced in Japan were exported. The export shares of some products were too small to show separately in summary trade data, however audio tape recorders represented 2.9% of total Japanese exports in 1988, video cassette recorders 2.3 percent, radio receivers 0.8 percent, and television receivers 0.7 percent, totalling 6.7 percent.

These industries built Japan's success in developing commercial applications for the transistor in the 1950s and generations of semiconductor devices of the 1970s and 1980s. Output came from large, integrated electronics firms manufacturing semiconductor devices, consumer electronics, and computers. The companies’ international success came from continually pushing miniaturization and driving down manufacturing costs.

Japan's Industry Today

Due to its high concentration of electronics companies, Japan is the largest consumer electronics manufacturer in the world. Japanese companies have a reputation for high quality and innovation, having introduced products such as the Sony Walkman and VHS recorder.

Japan's success overpowered the United States consumer electronics industry. Charges of dumping and other predatory practices led to orderly marketing arrangements by Japan in 1977. Restraints limited the export of colour televisions to 1.75 million units annually from 1977 to 1980. The agreement gave some protection to the United States' domestic industry. Japanese companies responded by investing in the United States, by the end of the 1980s, only one United States-owned television manufacturer remained.

Japan's overseas investment in the consumer electronics industry was motivated by protectionism and labour costs. After three years of voluntary export restraints, seven Japanese firms located plants in the United States by 1980. Japanese firms continued production of the most technologically-advanced products, while shifting production of less-advanced products to developing countries, such as Taiwan[dubious – discuss]. Moving production caused Japan's export of colour televisions to fall during the 1980s, from 2 percent of total exports in 1970 to only 0.7 percent in 1988.

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Business in Japan

Introduction

Japan is often seen as a land of paradoxes where ancient tradition rubs shoulders with up-to-the-minute technology and internationally-acclaimed business practices; where you can see salary men enjoying traditional o-bon festival dances while kimono-clad teenagers talk on smoothly futuristic mobile phones. Japan is one of the most technologically advanced and vibrant business cultures in the world and the third largest economy, giving plenty of reasons why doing business with Japan is worth doing right.

The Japanese Language

The Japanese Language is very different to most European languages or even other Asian Languages. It has a verb-final construction – the verb comes at the end of the sentence – unlike English, which is mostly verb-second. This makes things complicated for Simultaneous Interpreters, as they have to wait until the end of the sentence in Japanese before they can start speaking in English and vice versa.
Japanese has no definite or indefinite articles such as the English “a”, “an” or “the”. One must be very careful that your listener knows whether you are talking about “the document” or “a document”. There are also no plural forms in Japanese so shiryou could mean either “document” or “documents”
Because of these things a lot of Japanese communication relies on context. But not just because of that. The same word can have any number of meanings depending on the context it is used in. For example, hai, can mean “Yes”, “thank you”, “I understand”, “I agree” and many more, simply by the situation which in which it is used.
The Japanese alphabet is made up of characters for syllables rather than letters for individual phonemes like English and they do not just use one, they use two. These contain 46 individual characters each, as opposed to the 26 letters of English. In addition to this there are around 8000 Pictographs or kanji in use which have multiple pronunciations and often only subtle differences between them. Contrary to popular belief these kanji are not just pictures, or even stylised pictorial representations of what they mean, but a complex system of radicals that must be mastered and learnt off by heart.
Japanese is so unique that you need an interpreter or translator with experience and able to deal with a wide range of specialist terminology, not to mention the general complexities of the language.

Japanese Business Etiquette

The Japanese business practice of today has been westernised to a large extent but still retains some traditionally Japanese practices which are often misunderstood or mistaken by their non-Japanese business partners.

Business cards

Meishi (?? pronounced mei-she) are the Japanese equivalent of business cards. They have a special meaning and to receive a business card without due care and attention can be seen as a personal rudeness. The correct way to present meishi is held at the top corners with the lettering facing the person receiving the card. The receiver should then take the card by both lower corners, read it carefully and place it somewhere safe. When exchanging meishi the individual of lower status will pass their card first, and the individual of higher status will pass their card second. Meishi are usually given after bowing.

Etiquette

Keigo (?? pronounced kay-go) is a polite style of Japanese used frequently in business when talking to superiors. Keigo (literally “respectful speech”) is used to show respect or humility in the face of people you are unfamiliar with. It is often not taught in schools or at home so many businessmen receive lessons when they enter a company.

Relations

Uchi/soto means, roughly, Inner/Outer and refers to your relationship with a particular group. In Japan status is conferred not only vertically, i.e. superior and subordinate, but also horizontally, i.e. those with whom you are familiar and those with whom you are not. The group dynamic is a very important one and when you first meet anyone you will immediately take up the position of outsider, soto, even if you are from different branches of the same company or work in the same field. You should understand the distance that you are shown as a sign of respect, and not think that your hosts are being cold to you. The position of soto does have some advantages over that of insider, uchi, for instance you are given more leeway in your behaviour and are not expected to follow the same strict rules as someone who is uchi.

Communications

In Japan silence is very important. Though you may feel uncomfortable, try to analyse what sort of a silence it is, whether it is a respectful silence or an upset silence. There is a definite connection between silence and wisdom. The Japanese character for Knowledge ??combines the characters for losing ? and mouth ?, which goes to show that the Japanese consider people wise who refrain from speaking. As the old proverb goes, “better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove any doubt”. Some Japanese business books have also remarked on how westerners, especially Americans, feel uncomfortable with silence, so your associates may be trying to intimidate you.

Gifts

Gifts in Japan are given to show appreciation of a favour done for you or to establish a sound business or personal relationship. Gifts should be something from your country and of a reasonably high quality, preferably with a special significance to your company or local area and not made in Asia. Gifts should be wrapped in “business colours” like dark greens, greys, blues and browns, but avoid white as it symbolises death. Gifts should be given and received with both hands, as with meishi. Remember that to your business partners the gift you give and the way that you give it reveal a lot about your character and your attitude towards business.
When conducting trade relations with Japanese companies, one cannot underestimate the value of having in-depth knowledge of cultural etiquette. Our interpreters will act as a liaison for you, ensuring that everyone is satisfied.

Hints and tips on visiting Japan

When doing business in Japan, appearance is everything. Dress conservatively and avoid anything that might suggest a lack of seriousness or respect. Bring shoes which can be put on and removed very easily, as you will be required to do so in public homes and in many restaurants.
Bowing is something that also has its own intricacies. The depth and length of the bow both show your attitude to the person you’re bowing to, bowing is usually done in various standardised increments, depending on how you treat the person opposite. A good rule of thumb is to bow to the same degree as the person you’re meeting, with your eyes down and hands by your sides. If you are unsure of yourself, do not attempt it. It may be embarrassing or, worse, be seen as mockery. Non-Japanese should feel free to just acknowledge a bow and hold out a hand to be shaken, rather than attempting to bow yourself.

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