FEATURE: Japanese firms get serious about globalization for survival

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TOKYO, Aug. 5 Kyodo -
A recent decision by up-and-coming Japanese firms such as online shopping mall
operator Rakuten Inc. and Fast Retailing Co., operator of the popular Uniqlo
casual clothing chain, to adopt English as their official in-house language by
2012 reveals their resolve to become global in order to survive.
Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani's call for executives who cannot speak
English by 2012 to leave the company has caused ripples among Japanese business
people who struggle to master the language. But company officials say such a
strategy has been implemented ''out of necessity.''
At its headquarters in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward, where name tags of employees,
floor directories in elevators, menus in its staff canteen and even the labels
on recycling trash cans are all written in English, Rakuten officials said
English will be ''essential'' as the firm is expanding its business into 27
countries and regions.
''In the future at our company, it is highly likely that those who sit next to
you cannot speak Japanese,'' said Naoki Mizushima, a Rakuten public relations
official. ''Adopting English as the official in-house language will be a small
step to achieving our goal of becoming the No. 1 Internet service company in
the world.''
Even though the ratio of foreign workers is still about 10 percent at Rakuten,
which now has some 6,000 group employees, the percentage is expected to grow as
the company has been expanding its foreign recruitment, especially from China
and India.
The largest Internet mall operator in Japan has recently acquired French and
American e-commerce site operators PriceMinister S.A. and Buy.com Inc., and
foresees a jump in the overseas ratio in its total transaction volume from the
current 1 percent to 70 percent in its international business strategy.
Mizushima said the policy of making English the common language is also aimed
at drawing top talents from overseas and not alienating them, so they can
recognize chances for promotions and stay longer with the company.
For Japanese staff, the strategy would also be beneficial as it would improve
their skills as individuals, even if they leave Rakuten, he added.
Already, some in-house meetings have been conducted only in English and to keep
up with company policy, many employees have been taking English courses offered
by language school Berlitz Japan Inc. at the firm and have also signed up with
e-learning programs, according to Mizushima and other public relations
officials.
Mizushima said, however, Rakuten does not intend to ''abandon Japan'' by
selecting English as the common language. ''Our policy does not mean that those
who are fluent in English would get promoted automatically. English is just an
additional skill and employees should be good at their jobs in the first
place,'' he said.
At Fast Retailing, the situation is similar. The casual clothing chain has been
accelerating its foray into overseas markets and aims to expand its business in
such countries as China, South Korea and Russia.
By 2012, the company will use English for in-house meetings and e-mail
communications if there is at least one foreign staff in a group. In line with
its drive of going global, half of the 600 new recruits scheduled to join Fast
Retailing next spring will be non-Japanese, a company spokeswoman said.
Yohei Shibasaki, head of a firm that organizes a career forum and provides
guidance to foreign college students who wish to land a job in Japan, said he
sees changes in the recruitment practice of Japanese firms that aim to go
global, as they are keen to secure ''talented foreigners who can be competitive
in the world market.''
''In Japan, the population is estimated to decline to 95 million in 2050 (from
the current 120 million), and businesses cannot rely only on domestic demand,''
said Shibasaki, president of Fourth Valley Concierge Corp., the organizer of
the ''Top Career'' forum.
''They need to diversify their staff to do business in overseas markets,'' he
said. The president referred to the need for Japan to attract from abroad many
talented people like Marcus Tulio Tanaka, a Brazilian-Japanese who played for
Japan at the World Cup soccer finals in South Africa.
At the career forum, foreign students can meet with recruiters from such major
firms as Rakuten, Fast Retailing, Sony Corp., trading houses Marubeni Corp.,
Mitsui Co. and Itochu Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co.
Shibasaki said the policies of Rakuten and Fast Retailing to adopt English as
their official language is ''reasonable'' because the chances of securing
outstanding human resources will increase, if companies not just look at
foreigners who can speak Japanese but also at English speakers who cannot
communicate in Japanese.
Yotetsu Hayashi, director of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's human
resources policy division, said the government has been implementing policies
to support Japanese firms recruit talented foreign students amid a global
competition to acquire top-level personnel.
''Front-runners such as Rakuten and Fast Retailing would accommodate
non-Japanese staff well, but many other Japanese companies have yet to accept
and train them as career-track workers,'' Hayashi said.
He said the government has been assisting those firms by offering business
Japanese courses and internship programs to foreign students through its
partnership with universities and the business community.
As part of a new strategy to spur Japan's growth, the government is also
considering measures to facilitate immigration procedures for talented foreign
personnel, depending on their academic and professional career, qualifications
and Japanese proficiency.
Both Hayashi and Shibasaki said there are still many foreigners who want to
work in Japan, as they are intrigued by the success stories of such Japanese
companies as Sony, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
==Kyodo
2010-08-05 23:58:29


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