How a New Generation of Entrepreneur is Forging the Face of New Japan | Hacker News Reader

How a New Generation of Entrepreneur is Forging the Face of New Japan

beaconreports.net

23 pointsjason_tko9 comments

This article really mirrors my own experience in dealing with startups in Japan -- especially those outside of the Tokyo bubble. There's still this pervasive idea that if you're not a member of some multi-corporation conglomeration like Toyota or Sony, that you're not doing "real" business.

Probably the quote from the article that hit home the hardest for me was this one:

> Many people told me that, in Japan, failures are punished. They also told me that, if you start and fail, you will be personally bankrupt.

This is something I've been told many, many times throughout my professional career in Japan. And it's obviously not true -- harder than in the US, for sure -- but definitely not impossible. I see new companies springing up all the time in Japan, and not just what we would think of as startups, but also Entrepreneurial ventures in industries such as manufacturing, finance and trade.

Equally refreshing is this view of the old and new Japan coming from a Japanese person. I hear stuff about the new Japanese culture all the time from ExPats in the startup community, but normally this new vs old is the elephant in the room when the Japanese talk about the future of Japanese business (at least in my experience).

I still remember when SMAP went to GREE's headquarters and did an interview with Tanaka a few years ago -- "How can you be head of a huge company, you're younger than me!"

PS - Other favorite quote from a show about up and coming CEOs in Japan: "How can people be making that much money on the INTERNET?!?!"

>>There's still this pervasive idea that if you're not a member of some multi-corporation conglomeration like Toyota or Sony, that you're not doing "real" business.

I agree, and it drives me kind of nuts.

This is something I think you need to work with, rather than against, since this is a reality that won't change in the short term.

Our solution will be to try to get some of these large Japanese companies as customers, to give us the credibility we need to approach more and more businesses around Japan, and I'd advise anyone else trying to break into the B2B market to do the same.

Agreed -- Nagoya is also especially well-known for never sticking their neck out. "If Tokyo and Osaka are making gazillions of dollars on it, we MIGHT consider it" is the general position around here, but I think it's very indicative of most traditional Japanese businesses.

And like you say, that's why it's important to have some of those big names under your belt. It's one of the best parts of my sales pitch to Japanese companies where I can say "Oh yes, I've done work with Toyota on improving their processes."

(Also, when I was looking at Priuses, I told the salesguy that I made the app he was showing to me, but it didn't get me a discount on the car)

Speaking as someone doing a startup in Japan, this is a very enjoyable article.

Richard is one of the few writers focused on the new wave of businesses, entrepreneurs and startup accelerators in Japan.

Interesting interview. Although Mr. Hori seems optimistic about the younger generations in Japan (and I would like to agree with him), I still think that the "New Japan" he describes is much, much smaller than he makes it out to be. Overall though, I have seen a lot of positive progress in the entrepreneurial community in Japan over the past couple of years, especially with regards to incubators/accelerators gaining more traction.

I think it is a smaller demographic than the article makes out, but I think that the "New Japan" is going to NEED to come about in the next 10 years if we have any chance of staying afloat as an economic power.

Because of our aging population, in the next 15 years, 1/6th of our population will die. While the strain on the pension system will be lifted, I'm left to wonder if the seniority system has gotten to the point where there will be no changing of the guards -- and the future generations are left in charge of something that they have no idea how to maintain.

There's a saying in Japanese that companies last for 3 Generations:

1) The 1st Generation Innovates & Creates

2) The 2nd Generation only knows how to Maintain

3) The 3rd Generation only knows how to Decline

There are exceptions of course, but as a generality, I have found it to be mainly true.

I agree. I've been working in the startup scene in Japan for the past couple years (and at GREE, one of the companies which is mentioned in the article). I have met a lot of very enthusiastic young entrepreneurs, but I am not yet sure that there is a big enough crowd of people with that mentality to call it "New Japan." He makes it sound as though there has been an entire generational shift.

These changes are mainly localised to startup communities in Tokyo. However, the movement has to start somewhere. As harisenbon says, if this generational shift to entrepreneurship and changing attitudes on new businesses does not occur, Japan's future does not look bright at all.

The most fitting way to describe these entrepreneurs would be modern day ronins.

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