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)