(A moment after the live broadcast of “Keiichi Toyoda's Go Around the World!” on May 20, 2014)

About Yanagisawa International Tax & Accounting Office

Yanagisawa and I are fellow authors published by Cross Media Publishing. We often meet and discuss business, but our first meeting was at a Cross Media Publishing book launch party, wasn't it?

That means it was when I published “How to Build a Team That Decides Quickly and Acts Immediately” and you published “President, if you don't want to run the company into the ground, obsess over cash like an idiot!,” so it was 2009. Almost six years already!

You handle capital planning for startups, so I introduce startups I advise and ask you to help with their business plans, operating plans, and capital structures. That sometimes develops into ongoing tax advisory work.

I'm also working on overseas training to develop globally capable professionals through Spice Up Japan. You have built OneAsia, a network of accounting firms in 20 Asian countries, so we share an interest in supporting Japanese people and companies that want to compete internationally.

Developing Global Talent at Japanese Companies

As you often say in seminars, this really is an era of overseas expansion, and it is a challenge facing many Japanese companies. The practical question is how many people are truly capable of succeeding abroad.

When I speak with expatriate staff, they tell me about the expression “OKY,” short for the Japanese equivalent of “You come over here and try doing it yourself.” It shows how difficult overseas assignments can be. Personally, though, I'm the kind of person who feels more energized abroad! [Laughs]

Spice Up Japan's short, locally delivered training program develops Japanese professionals who can enjoy unfamiliar environments while producing results. It is called MISSION: GLOBAL.

Our Work on “Keiichi Toyoda's Go Around the World!”

Spice Up Japan's mission is to help strengthen Japan's presence in the world. As the title “Keiichi Toyoda's Go Around the World!” suggests, I want Japanese people to think globally. For nine months beginning last April, I hosted a program on Rainbow Town FM.

Each episode welcomed a Japanese guest working internationally, and the 30 minutes always flew by.

I first told you about the idea at Cross Media Publishing's year-end party in 2013. You connected with it, OneAsia became a sponsor, and you and other OneAsia members contributed segments discussing Japanese companies' overseas expansion and your firsthand experiences across Asia.

A Final Word

Let's continue supporting Japanese people and companies as they expand overseas!

(Spice Up Japan is a business partner, rather than a client.)