Japan's direct and indirect taxation levels for companies are among the highest in the world, and foreign senior managers often wonder how Japanese companies can survive. In actual fact of course, the overheads are hitting everyone really hard, but there are some tricks that can help you reduce your employee overheads significantly. The one I want to talk about specifically today is staff housing. After the Second World War...

One of the most difficult jobs for the foreign CEO of an organization in Japan is finding trusted, capable, and effective right-hand men (or women) to assist with operations and the general affairs of running a company, i.e. a COO or CIO. If you have the cash and a mandate from Head Office, it is possible to make a focused and...

Thanks to good exposure on the Internet, I regularly get enquiries from people asking for additional advice about their personal situation. I welcome the email, but would ask that people follow some simple rules of engagement: 1. Please always send your resume (not photos) with your first...

For many of us, me especially, 2002 will be a year to forget. The tech meltdown turned into a global economic slump, of which Japan continued to be one of the central (non-) players. However, it was good in one respect: it gave all of us a dose of realism and reset expectations. In a way, the trials and tribulations have made us stronger. Looking forward to 2003, I believe that the...