Japan and Japanese

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The Japanese impression of western- particularly American culture- is interesting. When I worked for the American electronics company Burr-Brown Corporation, we had a main sales office in Atsugi. It was managed and staffed by well-qualified Japanese who moved quite well in each culture and we were very successful.
They would have been the first class engineers for your job, Neil, as it was not easy to communicate in English for ordinary engineers.
 
An interesting experience with a training session at Eastman Kodak, Rochester, New York, occurred winter 1986. We were to learn to service the Ektachem 700 blood analyser. Along with service reps from around the U.S., were two men from Japan where the E700 was to be introduced. The Japanese men were the head of Negase, the company that would market the Ektachem in Japan, and the Tokyo Negase district manager. Some of the U.S. students were surprised at their ages and high positions of the Japanese men. In my very limited understanding of the Japanese system, I commented although they may never make service calls themselves, they would be expected to know everything the employees who serviced the equipment would know. The very first day, heavy snow and wind, as we walked into the classroom, the two Japanese students were there early, standing as a receiving line, erect with a very slight head bow. Their "Good Morning"s were received by a line of us covered with snow, a cup of coffee, and a partially open overcoat, and a series of "Mornin". The rest of the six weeks, we always found them already at their instrument when we arrived.
Another interesting social custom I noticed during trouble shooting sessions, the younger man, if he found the "bug" first, would lead his senior to the problem to allow him to find it first.
Another interesting social thing was, as we (two men to a machine) would trouble shoot our individual problems separated by only a divider from the other teams, the discussions could get loud. On occasion when the Japanese language was loud, my lab partner would say "What?", and the two Japanese men in the next cubicle would then speak very quietly.
These two men were very impressive, especially as they told us they had learned English for only six months before coming to the U.S.
According to my quick research, Mr. H. Nakamura and Mr. M. Yumura of Nagase & Co., Ltd. seem to have committed the Ektachem 700 as chemists.
Correct?
 
That is possible. My classroom notes have been long gone. The senior man would have been in his middle 50s then, with the Tokyo manager in his 30s.
An interesting episode happened one weekend. The U.S. students were assigned a car for six men, however international students received a car for two, or if only one, a car. This particular weekend three of us had been left without transportation. The younger Japanese student had told us he would be with another Japanese student in the copier division. Knowing this, I was selected to see if the older Japanese student was in, and was available to go to a restaurant with us. When he answered "Mushi Mushi", I explained the situation and he was glad for the chance to get out. We went to his room, and he handed us the keys and said, "You drive". Knowing they learned driving the wrong way from the British, we set out. The guys were suggesting places to eat, but knowing the Japanese love for steak, I suggested a steak house, to which our guest enthusiastically agreed.
 
Correct or not, Mr. Nakamura in 2004 and Mr. Yumura in 2015 :)

Mr_Nakamura_2004.jpg
Mr_Yumura_2015.jpg

Sources shall be clarified if necessary.
 
You are understanding Japan and Japanese very well, Neil. I am much impressed.

In the case of interview with a non-Japanese company in Japan. This is a different world as it would be impossible for the 90% Japanese companies to handle job seekers like this because this system is almost derailing from tradition.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLCMMyphPhY&t=62s

For the security, the guy in the video Makoto Ishizaka's profile -

Graduated from Waseda University Faculty of Law in 2002. He started working at NEC as a new graduate and was in charge of corporate sales for the chemical industry. In 2007, he earned an MBA from BYU in Utah, USA. After that, he was in charge of product manager and platform strategy at Microsoft Japan. Since 2013, he has been in charge of global marketing for open source and cloud businesses at Microsoft in the US.

 
Correct or not, Mr. Nakamura in 2004 and Mr. Yumura in 2015 :)

View attachment 744946View attachment 744947
Sources shall be clarified if necessary.
Your questions about the Japanese students identity caused me to probe my memory. I suddenly remembered Kodak took a class picture at the last day of each class, and somewhere I may have them. Today, I found them along with proof of fading memory. The class was for the earlier E400, not the 700, and the dates were 10 JAN to 9 FEB 1984, not 1986. Revealed are Kazumasa Sakagami as the older man and Minoru Ohtake. It was quite a trip down memory lane, as the class seems so young.
 
Your questions about the Japanese students identity caused me to probe my memory. I suddenly remembered Kodak took a class picture at the last day of each class, and somewhere I may have them. Today, I found them along with proof of fading memory. The class was for the earlier E400, not the 700, and the dates were 10 JAN to 9 FEB 1984, not 1986. Revealed are Kazumasa Sakagami as the older man and Minoru Ohtake. It was quite a trip down memory lane, as the class seems so young.
Thanks for your additional information, ed.
I found the name of Kazumasa Sakagami as a staff of the medical division of Nagase & Co., Ltd. but no clue about the other person Minoru Ohtake. Nagase & Co. was originally founded in Osaka and I am familiar with its classical building as the head office. Thank you very much again, ed. I enjoyed research missing old times too :thumbleft:

Good old days - Nagase Osaka Head Office
Nagase&Co.jpg

 
I don't eat food from Fukushima since my brother died of cancer there three years ago.
News dated October 26.

"5 workers at Fukushima plant doused with radioactive fluid.
Five workers were accidentally splashed with liquid containing radioactive materials while cleaning at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. Two of the five workers were hospitalized for decontamination treatment and medical observation, the utility reported on Oct. 26.
A doctor determined the possibility of both men sustaining burns due to radiation exposure was low, according to TEPCO......."

 
I don't eat food from Fukushima since my brother died of cancer there three years ago.
News dated October 26.

"5 workers at Fukushima plant doused with radioactive fluid.
Five workers were accidentally splashed with liquid containing radioactive materials while cleaning at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. Two of the five workers were hospitalized for decontamination treatment and medical observation, the utility reported on Oct. 26.
A doctor determined the possibility of both men sustaining burns due to radiation exposure was low, according to TEPCO......."

TEPCO corrects the leak amount of contaminated liquid at Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Immediately after the leak accident, TEPCO announced that the leak amount of contaminated liquid that doused on 5 workers was 1/10 liters but, after interviewing them, it turned out that the amount was several liters.

Akira Ishiwata, a member of the regulatory commission, expressed his disbelief at a regular meeting "Every time TEPCO's announcement changes, the number gets bigger." Commissioner Nobuhiko Ban also criticized "It is clear that this is a result of work management failure."

 
Israel told US it is modeling Gaza attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

"It became evident to US officials that Israeli leaders believed mass civilian casualties were an acceptable price in the military campaign," The New York Times reported on Monday.

"In private conversations with American counterparts, Israeli officials referred to how the United States and other allied powers resorted to devastating bombings in Germany and Japan during World War II – including the dropping of the two atomic warheads in Hiroshima and Nagasaki – to try to defeat those countries," the newspaper added.



Above article was introduced in YouTube by Japanese media yesterday to cause controversy and rage in comments.
This will be a good opportunity for the Japanese people to understand the global viewpoint IMO.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oz7niYdjdM
 

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