The New York Times has offered up an analysis of Japan’s positive economic signs, a common theme in the news recently. They manage to do so with a lot more depth than the typical news piece, however. Here’s just a taste:

Even more important [than Koizumi’s reforms], they say, has been a slow but steady revolution in Japan’s clubby business culture, as hard times forced companies to become leaner and more aggressive. Japanese managers have been discarding their traditional distaste for confrontation and ending lifetime job guarantees. And the companies are investing heavily in new technology.

Well worth reading.

The Financial Times, Asahi and Mainichi all report on the planned resumption of US beef imports on Monday, following a Thursday report concluding that US beef is generally as safe as Japanese beef. The deputy chairman of the panel behind the report has criticized media and political misuse of the findings, however, stating that the report does not recommend resumption of imports.

The headline reads like this: Japan productivity lowest in G-7. This means it trails behind the United States (highest in productivity of the seven), as well as Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Canada, the other G-7 members.

This is nothing new, but I must admit it was news to me. Actually, it hit me like a ton of bricks. After all, the Japanese work environment is known for the extreme demands it places on its workers, long work hours and short vacations being the norm. Furthermore, the Japanese have gained a reputation for discipline and industriousness, something that does not go unnoticed by most foreign visitors. In short, they seem to be working longer and harder than the statistically more productive citizens of other industrialized nations. What’s going on here?

I investigate further, and find that the BBC has touched on this problem, in an article from October of 2004. But Time Magazine really nailed it in a fascinating article published a couple of years prior, a must-read for anyone even mildly interested in Japanese economic affairs.

I won’t attempt a thorough analysis of the situation as I’d just be recycling the whole Times article, but a few points summarize the situation well:

• Anti-competitive government policies are at the root of the problem:
  

  Shielded from competition by a tangle of government subsidies, tariffs and protectionist policies, the nation’s domestic manufacturers and services have hardly changed—let alone improved—for decades.

• Despite this, export industries are still faring very well:
  

  According to that report by McKinsey, Japanese export industries like automobiles, electronics and computer hardware are, indeed, 20% more productive than the worldwide benchmark. But here’s the problem: these industries, once you stop to count them, are quite few in number. Together, they make up only 10% of Japan’s workforce and 10% of its GDP.

• Retailing, in particular, is in bad shape:
  

  Of the remaining 90%, retailing just might be the sickest of the bunch. Large-scale stores are rare in Japan… mom-and-pops are the rule not the exception, making up 55% of the retail labor force. They are, in other words, still the way the nation sells things. And they are woefully unproductive, generating only 19% of the output of the average U.S. store.

This really puts Koizumi’s push for various structural forms in perspective. I do not know how much they are going to strike at the root of the problem, in the face of status-quo lobbying. But if we start seeing some substantial reforms to do away with the protectionism Japan has relied on so far, the economy might start showing some real signs of vitality.

A recent survey of Japanese 16- to 19-year-old girls shows a big gulf in career ambitions according to Chinese girls, according to a Financial Times report. While the top five desired careers for Chinese girls include CEO, president and senior management positions, Japanese girls place housewife, flight attendant and child-care worker in their top five.

A handy guide to the whole business card exchange ritual in Japan contains essential tips for anyone who expects Western ways to fly in Japan. If that all seems a little too complicated, however, you may fare better with a simpler list of essential do’s and don’ts.

Some highlights:

Bow slightly and present your business card with both hands, the non-English side up.

Do not write on people’s business cards (at least, not in front of them): it is considered a direct insult.

The underlying theme covering that last one and a host of other taboos is simply this: the business card is considered an extension of the person. Thus, it is to be treated with the same level of respect you wish to convey to the one whose name it bears.

The AP reports that Mazda is ironically encouraging its employees in Japan to walk rather than commute by car. Those who walk at least 4 kilometers a day for 15 days a month will receive a paltry ¥1500 (US $12.41) a month for their efforts.

Hello Kitty is not the only cutesy animal character plastered all over Japan. Miffy, a cartoon rabbit created by Dutch illustrator Dick Bruna, may not rank quite as highly as Sanrio’s character in terms of brand recognition and earnings, but she still manages to make Bruna and friends over ¥40 billion (US $332 million) a year on products not including the picture books where she got her start.

Yomiuri Shimbun recently reported on Miffy, and Wikipedia has a brief article with some links.

Reuters reports on the Nikkei’s Thursday close above 15,000, and continuing strong performance on Friday. Elsewhere, they report that tech stocks are expected to lead the way.

Here are a few handy guides on gift giving practices in Japan: a list of the basics for business gifts, some ideas on good and bad gifts, and a good writeup on gift etiquette not specific to business, would be worthwhile reading for anyone doing business in Japan. There is some overlap here, but every article offers worthwhile information of its own.

If trying to keep all the do’s and don’ts straight is cause for concern, settle down and keep this is mind:

As a non-Japanese, the visiting foreigner is understood to be unfamiliar with the minutiae of Japanese cultural practices and is often granted considerable latitude.

Most of the rules apply to choosing a gift and other things that can be prepared well ahead of time. After that, just making a decent, respectful effort should do fine, even if you don’t get things exactly right.

The Japan Times reports that the 2005 International Robot Exhibition began its four-day biannual event Wednesday. The recent move of robots outside of manufacturing to various other purposes is noted, such as cleaning and security jobs. Not mentioned is the compulsion for every Japanese company to make their robots look cute — something well-demonstrated by NEC’s PapeRo robots.