Spencer
Wolfe

As you see these buildings demolished to build new ones, I wonder with dwindling Japan birth rates... who is going to work there?

We're in the business of building but our team, was glad to see the old building ripped down.

Lot's of good reasons for the Japanese government to get with it. Taxes are high in Japan. It seems we have inherited a broken tax system from the United States after the war.

Clearly time for some changes.

Japan Leads G-20 In Corporate Tax Rate For 9th Year
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Japan's effective corporate tax rate remains the highest among the Group of 20 leading economies for a ninth straight year, standing at 40.69% as of July, a survey by KPMG International shows.

Japan's rate, which includes national and local taxes, far exceeds the world average of 24.99% based on 114 countries. That average has fallen 0.45 percentage point from last year and more than 6 points from a decade ago.

The U.K. and New Zealand are planning further tax cuts for businesses, according to KPMG. Meanwhile, in Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is arguing for a 5-percentage-point reduction in the national corporate tax next fiscal year, but it faces resistance from the Finance Ministry and others stressing fiscal discipline.

Quoted article here.

(The Nikkei Oct. 23 morning edition)

It looks like the Japanese government has finally gotten the picture. I hope it is not too little too late. They could certainly better use Narita, warehousing benefits, and various other things to encourage businesses to come to Japan.

Govt Weighs Tax Breaks To Attract Foreign Companies
TOKYO (Nikkei)--To convince more foreign firms to set up operations in Japan, the government is considering plans to offer corporate tax breaks that would lower their effective rates to 25-30%.

This comes alongside government and ruling bloc discussions toward reducing the current effective corporate tax rate of 40% by around 5 percentage points as a way to revitalize business activity. By offering an even larger break to overseas companies, bringing the rate closer to those in other major markets, the government hopes to woo them to Japan.

Drugmakers and other overseas companies that set up R&D operations in Japan would be eligible for an effective corporate tax rate of 25-30% for five years.
The growth strategy that the government unveiled in June places a priority on encouraging foreign firms to invest here. A council tasked with promoting investment is expected to unveil comprehensive measures in November.

Corporate tax breaks are set to be a key component of these measures. Under a proposed plan, overseas companies that set up R&D operations and other core bases in Japan would be eligible for an effective corporate tax rate of 25-30% for a period of around five years. Firms boasting advanced technologies in the medical and biotech fields, among others, are expected to qualify.

The specifics have yet to be fleshed out, including whether to grant the tax breaks to foreign companies that acquire Japanese businesses.

The government also plans to offer subsidies that firms can use to lease office space and acquire property. And by easing visa requirements for highly skilled workers, Japan will strive to create a favorable working environment for foreigners.

Competition among Asian countries is heating up as governments seek to attract investments from abroad. South Korea currently offers income tax breaks to foreign engineers, while China has established special tax incentives to manufacturers holding advanced technologies.

By contrast, Japan has seen an exodus of overseas companies. According to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry survey, 125 foreign firms exited Japan in fiscal 2008.

(The Nikkei Oct. 21 morning edition)
Quote from here

Considering they bought out Vodafone's Japan operation just a few short years ago, it seems Softbank is winning the race for new subscribers.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Softbank Wins Subscriber Crown For 6th Month In Row
TOKYO (NQN)--Softbank Mobile Corp. said Thursday it gained 332,600 new subscribers on a net basis in September, taking the top spot among mobile carriers for the sixth straight month.

The Softbank Corp. (9984) group firm continued to see strong sales of Apple Inc.'s iPhone 4 smartphone. Softbank Mobile is the exclusive mobile service provider for the iPhone.

Softbank Mobile's subscriber base grew at a record monthly pace, excluding the month of March, which is the busiest month for sales.

For the April-September half, the company gained a total 1.598 million new subscribers on a net basis, a record high for a fiscal half.

NTT DoCoMo Inc. (9437) came second with 109,400 new subscribers. Its net gain was smaller than a month earlier, because more and more DoCoMo subscribers shifted to rival carriers, due partly to the popular iPhone, according to the company.

KDDI Corp. (9433) placed third, gaining a net 91,400 new subscribers.

Coming in fourth was eAccess Ltd. (9427) an affiliate Emobile Ltd. with 68,500.

Source here.

We been asked by partners like eBay, Salesforce, and RIM and many other companies to provide the same type of support in other countries and open offices there for years.

Well, we have a passion for detail (which probably held us back) but we are spreading from Tokyo like the foundation of a building. Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, and much more to come.

Buckle up, the best in Asia is coming to a major Asian city near you!

We are very excited about rolling out hosted phone systems in Tokyo, Japan soon. This will be a part of our AINEO Secure cloud service. Very cool.

There are companies charging 60,000 yen a month for 6 phones in an office. Wow! You could buy your own system in a year. And a higher and system on a three year loan.

The service will be called AINEO Secure IPT (IP Telephones) and will be just buying a phone, signing up for a monthly subscription and plug and play. All the features of a PBX in 2 hours if you have a good internet access line in Tokyo.

More to come!

As Toyota is a partner client, I found it hard to find that their QC would be so bad. I made a note about it on this website. It looks like my instinct was correct according to the Nikkei this AM. Below is the article in English.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

U.S. Study Indicates Driver Error In Most Toyota Crashes
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A government safety examination of Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) vehicles involved in crashes attributed to sudden acceleration so far has not yielded evidence of flaws in Toyotas while pointing instead to driver error.

Congressional staff members were briefed on the study Tuesday in Washington. The preliminary report examined 58 electronic recording devices similar to black boxes in airplanes that can provide information about what was happening with a car when it crashed.

The report, which analyzed accidents for which the driver made an allegation of unintended acceleration, draws no conclusions about the data, other than they don't point to a flaw in Toyota vehicles.

Of the devices analyzed, 35 showed that at the moment of impact, the driver hadn't depressed the brake pedal at all. Fourteen more showed partial braking, while nine showed the brake depressed at the "last second" before the crash.

There were a handful of other results where the brake was pressed early and let go, or in which both the gas and brake pedals were pressed at the same time. There also was one case of pedal entrapment by a floor mat.

In five cases, the electronic recording device failed to work.

While the agency didn't make conclusions about the results, the evidence points to a preponderance of cases where people who claimed unintended acceleration were pressing the wrong pedal. That is the same finding reported last month by The Wall Street Journal and attributed to a person familiar with the study.

The study is ongoing and both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are evaluating the software and mechanical systems of Toyota vehicles, as well as their susceptibility to electromagnetic interference.

Source
http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20100811D10JF364.htm

"Competition is no longer local, it is global."

It looks like China has finally overtaken Japan as the world's second largest economy. I don't think too many people or even companies think, "I think I want to be the world's largest economy".
However, it is amazing that the little island nation of Japan went from a burned out defeated nation in 1945 to the world's second largest economy for years.

Well, 65 years later they have to give up the crown to China. We'll see how things go there. Well done Japan!

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE66T07N20100730