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How can European SMEs both overcome and exploit mutual perceptions of distance and difference between European and Japanese business environments?In contexts for international business and management, perceptions of ‘distance’ and ‘difference’ can appear as sources of high risk, threats to management control, and thus as obstacles to international business success. As illustrated in this webinar, distances between Europe and Japan can appear actual or perceived: e.g. ‘real’ in terms of geography...

Are there distinctive styles of Japanese business communication?Specifically, the webinar focuses on styles of business communication commonly used by managers in Japan, comparing these styles of communication to those commonly used by managers across Europe. The term ‘style’ comes from a Latin word stilus, meaning a ‘writing instrument’ or ‘pen’. Just as individuals vary in terms of their ‘style’ of handwriting, so individual managers in Europe and in Japan vary in terms of their preferred...

How can managers in EU-based SMEs most effectively prepare for investing in a business trip to Japan?Increasing numbers of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe are looking to make initial investments in Japanese markets for their goods and services. Common approaches include attending a trade exposition or fair or by joining an EU-sponsored trade mission. This webinar offers practical guidance to European SMEs attempting to ‘stand out from the crowd’ and ‘get noticed’ in Japan...

How can EU-based small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have invested in a business trip to Japan follow up on and gain a return from this investment?One of the challenges that managers face after returning from an overseas business trip is to identify which of the meetings and conversations at (for example) a trade fair, Expo or conference should be prioritised and followed up on. The return from business trips in Japan can be especially challenging in this regard: not only are there...

How can EU-based SMEs prepare effectively for hosting a business delegation from Japan?After having invested time, money and other resources into making initial contact and subsequently developing the basis for a business relationship with partners in Japan, one objective commonly shared by managers in European small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is to invite their Japanese partners to their ‘home base’ in Europe. One potential gain in having such an invitation accepted is that the...

What is the Japanese Renewable Energy Market Situation in 2013?BEFORE the Fukushima accident in March 2011, Renewable Energies accounted for only 9% (mainly hydroelectricity for 8%) of the total 2010 electricity production in Japan, far behind major conventional sources like gas, nuclear and coal. From a world ranking perspective, Japan was #13 in Wind Energy, #3 in Solar Energy and # 8 in Geothermal Energy. In short, the government was concentrating on nuclear and solar power generation...

How can managers in EU-based SMEs achieve clear and confident outcomes in their negotiations with Japanese business partners?Earlier Webinars in this series have illustrated how Japanese and European business cultures differ. In European cultures it is normal for people to express individual preferences and concerns directly and explicitly, while in Japan there is a shared expectation that these should be stated indirectly and implicitly, perhaps in order to avoid causing embarrassment or...

Are you familiar with administrative processes in sequence when exporting and selling your agri-food products to Japan?Agri-food sector is one of the three areas where the EU expects to make the greatest gains under the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which came into force on 1 February 2019. This is the first webinar of a series of three practical guides for the EU producers and exporters of agri-food products to learn the administrative processes to follow and to make thorough...

Are you familiar with legal procedures to fully comply with when exporting and selling agri-food products to Japan?Agri-food sector is one of the three areas where the EU expect to make the greatest gains under the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which came into force on 1 February 2019. This is the second webinar of a series of three practical guides for the EU producers and exporters of agri-food products to know the legal procedures and comply to full extent with legal...

Are you familiar with managerial planning to draw optimal results when exporting and selling your agri-food products to Japan?Agri-food sector is one of the three areas where the EU expect to make the greatest gains under the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which came into force on 1 February 2019. This is the last webinar of a series of three practical guides for the EU producers and exporters of agri-food products to learn how to make managerial planning and optimise the outcomes...

What are the characteristics of the Japanese Circular Economy in terms of policy, business and trade?The Japanese government has taken significant steps to develop a circular economy policy framework. It incorporates the Japanese concepts of a Sound Material-Cycle Society (SMCS) and the 3Rs (reduce reuse and recycle) to promote waste minimisation and effective utilisation of resources, driven by a concern about the lack of landfill sites and the need for effective resource use. The Japanese...

How can I access the Japanese market as a novel biopharmaceutical product's owner?Japan includes a huge market for biopharmaceutical products which is open for innovative products and services, also those from abroad. Current trends are in immunotherapeuticals, cell-based products and genomic medicine. Japanese regulations favour innovative products and services and thus may offer an opportunity for fast-track market access. In view of specific rules and regulations, however, it may be...

Do you want strategic and pragmatic advice on how to deal with Japanese post-M&A challenges?Despite 2018 being a record year in Japanese outbound M&A activity, only 11% of Japanese companies admit to a successful post-M&A process. 'Who are the real stakeholders?'; 'Decision-making is very ambiguous’; ’What is their plan?' These reoccurring questions from top executives across a wide range of European companies indicate some of the underlying frustrations and challenges. The background for this...

Japan is quietly becoming a world leader in nanotechnology: what are the recent trends of this sector?It’s not very widely known or publicised by the Japanese government, but nanotech has reached a more mature stage in Japan which is leading to a variety of new initiatives and innovations which were not even conceivable when nanotech first came to the world’s attention a couple of decades ago. Japanese government initiatives as well as private company R&D has given Japanese researchers a much...

How will Japan use its leadership in bioscience and biotech to make its economy sustainable?Japan has long been successful in the commercial application of bioscience, in particular in biomedicine and industrial biotechnology. Only recently, Japan has defined its own agenda in this field, centred on the concept of a “bio-digital integration”. This new openness offers opportunities for European SMEs and startups with sustainable products, competencies for their production, or technologies to team...

When do I have to pay Consumption Tax when I do business with Japan?Do I have to pay Consumption Tax? How can I get paid consumption tax back? How to deal with Consumption Tax when doing business with or in Japan is a question that is often asked to JTPP Helpdesk’s experts, as Japan’s CT operates rather differently from the EU VAT regime. In this webinar, Tokyo-based tax attorney Mrs. Hiroko Koido will give an outline of the rules regarding Consumption Tax in Japan, discuss the changes after the...

What are the legal requirements you should comply with when addressing employment issues?Knowledge of labour law is simply essential to the success and sustainability of your business activities in Japan. Complying with legal requirements related to human resources matters will ensure legal certainty for your business activities and for your employees in the workplace and help you make sure basic requirements are met in order to avoid litigation.The webinar is targeted to EU companies seeking to...

Do you want to accelerate the transparency, quality and smoothness of communication with Japanese partners?This webinar on cross-cultural communication will not dwell on the popular assumptions about the cultural differences between Japan and Europe. Rather the aim to approach the matter of divergence from a fresh perspective by probing the differences in the underlying assumptions pertaining to the actual business challenges as experienced by European companies dealing with Japan and Japanese...

Do you want to understand and influence decision-making processes in Japanese organisations?Decision-making processes in Japanese organisations is an area of considerable bafflement to outsiders, but the Japanese approach to decision-making is based on different priorities and concerns, behind which lies clear pragmatic thinking. This webinar will supply an understanding of the underlying assumptions pertaining to decision-making processes in Japanese organisations and tools and tactics for...

Do you want to accelerate the transparency, quality and smoothness of trust and relationship building with Japanese partners?We all know that trust, networking and personal relations are important in Japan, but it is not so much appreciated that these three facets of business life are dramatically more important to Japanese companies. The three words, while superficially translatable into European languages, have meanings and connotations that are highly culture-specific. In this webinar we will...