It’s interesting to observe how Japan changes during a recession, from our somewhat unique viewpoint running J-List. Right off the bat, the various distributors and suppliers we deal with on a daily basis start treating us extremely well, eager to secure a closer relationship with a company that has customers all over the world. When we comment that the flow of information about what products will be released soon could be improved — my ultimate goal is for all Japanese companies to discover RSS feeds as a way of easily publishing information efficiently — they listen intently to our suggestions. Before the last recession in Japan in 1998 or so, foreigners trying to do business with distributors or import companies here weren’t always treated as warmly as they might have liked, and we had to work extra hard to get them to do business with us. It wasn’t discrimination, but a natural reaction by extremely hidebound companies who knew that overcoming the linguistic and cultural barriers involved with working with foreigners would be extra work for them. Nowadays, though, companies in Japan are a lot more flexible and open to international business opportunities. I wonder what changes and benefits will come out of the current downturn?
Dealing with older Japanese companies can be a challenge, which recessions actually help with.
