Finding Entrepreneurial Spirit in Japan

Over the weekend I went driving in the mountains of Gunma, and stopped at a P.A., which is a Japanese abbreviation for a “parking area” or rest stop inside the freeway system. These are pleasant little islands of convenience where you can stretch your legs, buy various foods that are famous in that area or just get some coffee. I was on my way to the canned coffee vending machines when I happened to pass by a lady running a small coffee stall with a unique business: for 300 yen she’d pour you a cup of coffee using the “manual pour-over drip method” with what appeared to be Starbucks coffee beans. It was an interesting business idea — no fancy espresso machine yet better coffee than I’d get in the too-sweet Japanese canned coffee — and I was happy to support her unique business model. Among the many challenges Japan faces, including its low birthrate, zero immigration and high national debt, is the lack of entrepreneurial spirit, with very few people being inspired to start a business. There are many reasons for this, including a general tendency towards risk aversion plus that old standby 出る杭はうたれる deru kui wa utareru or “the standing nail is driven,” the tendency for Japanese society to react negatively to anyone attempting to do anything radical like, say, start a new company. I certainly encountered my share of that when I started J-List, including my mother-in-law who predicted disaster at the very mention of trying something new. I believe the number of people willing to work hard and create new businesses is an important factor in whether a nation will be successful in the future.

Finding entrepreneurial spirit at a Japanese “Parking Area.”