FOREIGN RESIDENTS AT WORK IN JAPAN | October 2014

October 2014

FOREIGN RESIDENTS AT WORK IN JAPAN

PRIME MINISTER'S DIARY
Prime Minister Attends 69th UN General Assembly

COVER STORY
FOREIGN RESIDENTS AT WORK IN JAPAN

FEATURES

Capitalizing on the Power of Overseas Talent

As economic globalization spreads and Japan's birth rate continues to decline, employing foreign talent with advanced specialized and technical knowledge is becoming vital for Japanese businesses. We spoke with Prof. Hiroyuki Fujimura, Hosei University's Graduate School of Business Administration about how talented foreign workers are being used in Japan and their potential.

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Core Values - Taking UNIQLO's Corporate Culture Global

The Fast Retailing Group, which operates UNIQLO, has been proactive in developing its global strategy for the group as a whole. It is far and away Japan's top-selling brand in the apparel retail industry, and is also ranked fourth on the list of the world's top five apparel retailers for sales. The group boasts around 90,000 employees in total, of which 50,000 are Japanese while 40,000, or close to half are non-Japanese.

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Aiming High
An International University in Japan is Producing a Flood of Global Talent

Billing itself as "a truly international university," Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) - located in Beppu on the east coast of Kyushu - aims to produce graduates with job skills, education and a high capacity for independent thought. Of the university's 5,745 students, 2500, or almost half of the student body, are international students (exchange students studying under the same conditions as their Japanese peers) as of May 1, 2014. In 2013, firms in Japan recruited 187 of APU's international students upon graduation. APU's high percentage of international students provides a cosmopolitan study and living environment that has no equal anywhere else in Japan. Kei Suzuki of APU's career office - which fashions this hospitable environment - spoke about employment prospects for young foreign talent at Japanese firms.

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Welcome Mat
Capitalizing on Diversity to Create Livable Multicultural Towns

In the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, 2.61 percent of the population comes from abroad - significantly more than Japan's 1.56 percent national average. Hamamatsu has chosen to prioritize interculturalism in its policies and aims to make itself a place in which everyone can live comfortably and peacefully.

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From Finance to Furnishings
Theodore Jennings Moves from Salary man to Entrepreneur

The Texas native's business is all about thinking outside the box, or perhaps more accurately, the house. The founder and CEO of Vacation Veranda - which transforms small Tokyo balconies with decor befitting a vacation destination - offers a simple but compelling concept. "The idea is to have a vacation on your veranda, anytime," he explains. "It's also a way to improve Tokyo's living environment." His four-year-old company is still in its infancy, but already counts the owners of numerous private residences and even an ambassador among its Tokyo clientele.

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Introducing Japan Online
Stefan Schauwecker and japan-guide.com

Search for travel and leisure information about Japan online and you're certain to come across japan-guide.com, a website with over a thousand pages dedicated to showcasing Japan from various perspectives, such as tourist locations, accommodation information, a guide to living here and a user forum.

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Making a Mark with popIn
Tao Cheng Thinks Differently

The University of Tokyo-based venture company popIn Inc. started with a patented invention of Tao Cheng: a site search technology he called "popIn" because it enables search results to display instantly in the same window after the mouse hovers on top of a word.

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A Fresh Take on Japan
Tracey McTague and Her Family's Expat Life

Imagine receiving sudden notice that you're being posted to a position overseas. Anyone would be in shock. And if your destination were a place with an unfamiliar language and culture, that shock would be intensified. Tracey McTague works at a major American energy company with locations around the globe. Before she was posted here, Japan had never been on her radar.

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