JOURNAL
THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN JAPAN

Volume 60 • Spring/Summer 2023 • ¥1,000

DXJapan’s digitaltransformation
takes shape

THE VOICE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS IN JAPANHealthcare
TalentCybersecurity
Tourism
Education
Innovation

A Warm
WelcomeSit down to a complimentary,
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5

PRESIDENT

Equal and
Secure7

Charting a path to a diverse,
digital future.

PRESIDENTOm Prakash
Northrop Grumman Japan
TREASURER

8

Steve Briggs
Kraft Heinz JapanPHOTOSA Full Slateof Events

Growing
Greener

The ACCJ–Kansai leads sustainablegardening and food security initiative.
10

A visual look at the chamber’s in-person
events and meetings.

VICE PRESIDENTS

EVENT

EVENT

Surf theDX Wave

Five big lessons for Japan from Hawaii toboost tourism through digital tools.

Douglas Hymas SignTime K.K.
Jiro Kawakami (Kansai) MGM Resorts Japan LLC
Mari Matthews The Bank of New York Mellon Trust (Japan), Ltd.
Victor Osumi Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Robert W. Roche (Chubu) Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc.
Yoshitaka Sugihara Netflix G.K.
William J. Swinton Temple University, Japan Campus
GOVERNORS

Meghan Barstow Edelman Japan
Andrew J. Conrad Aflac
John W. Carlson III Novartis
Nuala Anne Connolly AIG Japan Holdings K.K.
Izumi Hamada Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies
Mark Hosang (Chubu) Randstad K.K.
Mitsuhiko Ida Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.
Hans George Klemm Pharmaceutical Research andManufacturers of America (PhRMA)
Anna Maruyama IBM Japan, Ltd.
James Miller Amazon Web Services Japan G.K.
Frank Packard Eight Peaks Partners /// EPP CapitalDavid Richards Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., Ltd.
William Shaffer Boeing Japan K.K.

20

Healthy Makeover

Simone Thomsen (Kansai) Eli Lilly Japan K.K.
ACCJ EXECUTIVE STAFF

How are digital transformation tools changing
healthcare in Japan?

Laura Younger
Executive Director
THE ACCJ JOURNAL

Christopher Bryan Jones
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
To advertise or subscribe: comms@accj.or.jp

12

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan
Masonic 39 MT Bldg. 10F, 2-4-5 Azabudai

PHOTOS

Shinnenkai and WIB
2x4x4 Program

14

A look at two of the biggest ACCJ eventsin the first half 0f 2023.

Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 106-0041
Tel: 03-3433-5381 n Fax: 03-3433-8454 n www.accj.or.jp
16

ADVOCACY

Big Moves
Moving24

Innovation
Engine34

TRAVEL

Fukui and Kanagawa
Prefectures

Explore the rich culture, tradition, cuisine,and nature of two diverse locales.

HR

FutureReady

What must Japan do to ensure its
workforce can compete in a digital world?
32

CIC co-founder Tim Rowe shares hisentrepreneurial journey and vision.

The ACCJ is an independent membership organization not affiliated with any
government or other chamber of commerce. The ACCJ is a member of the Asia–
Pacific Council of American Chambers and values its relationships with Japanese,
American, and other nations’ business organizations.
Disclaimer: The ACCJ will not accept liability for any damages caused by thecontents of The ACCJ Journal, including, but not limited to, any omissions, errors,
facts, or false statements. Opinions or advice expressed in the The ACCJ Journal
are not necessarily those of the ACCJ.

INTERVIEW

In Praise of the
Salaryman CEO

Jesper Koll shares why Japan’s corporate
leaders are better than their reputation.

Two years into the JDA 2030, ACCJ leaderstake stock of progress.
28

BUSINESSRECRUITMENT

Cracking
the Code

Recruiter Robert Half shares how to findthe best cybersecurity talent.
41

TAX

2023 Tax
Reforms

Grant Thornton explains how changes togift tax rules and audits will impact you.

THE AMERICAN CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE IN JAPANTHANKS OUR PRESIDENT'S
CIRCLE MEMBERS FOR THEIRONGOING SUPPORTPRESIDENT

By Om Prakash

Equal and Secure
Charting a path to a diverse, digital future.

T

he May meeting of G7 leaders in
Hiroshima has focused efforts acrossthe American Chamber of Commercein Japan (ACCJ) to ensure that our voice isheard—and the importance of the chamber
reinforced—as Japan and the United Stateswork to coordinate critical policies.
Of particular importance are all mattersdigital. For Japan, digital transformation
has become a core part of the government’s
push to prepare the country for a prosperous future. The ACCJ is dedicated to beinga leading voice and partner, representing
the global business community, and I am
pleased that the Board of Governors confirmed our new Digital Forum in April.
Led by Chair Mitsuhiko Ida, and ViceChairs Scott Warren and Kristopher Tate,the forum will enhance the coordination of
the chamber’s array of digital committees.
As a central hub from which to promote
policies and advocacy with one voice, theDigital Forum will no doubt boost our effectiveness in addressing key digital issues in
the US–Japan partnership, keeping us at thecenter of the action.

Equality for All

Also high on our priority list are LGBTQ+
rights. Just before this year’s Tokyo Rainbow
Pride event, held in Yoyogi Park April 22–23,
the ACCJ issued an open letter calling on the
Government of Japan to join its G7 peers inlegalizing marriage equality and enacting
anti-discrimination protections.
It is vital for the government to bringthese protections in line with those ofother G7 nations to bolster Japan’s ability
to attract global talent, further economic
potential, and create a more inclusive living
and working environment.
Diversity truly is key to business success, and we were honored to celebrate thecompletion of the Women in Business Committee’s Transforming Ourselves Together:
A 2x4x4 Formula series with US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and more than
200 members and guests at Tokyo American
Club on April 11. Programs such as this are

critical to developing champions of diverse
leadership. They also encourage workplacepolicy changes that benefit all employees
and attract a more diverse workforce thatwill contribute new innovations and ideasthat positively impact society.

Economic Security

Also critical to a prosperous society are free
trade and economic growth, and the US–Japan bilateral partnership is key to driving
regional collaboration on these issues in the
Indo–Pacific region and beyond.
Through our relationship with bothgovernments, the ACCJ continues to focus
on our core advocacy area of enhancing
economic security as the foundation forflourishing business.
In particular, we must deepen collaboration in the promotion of digital infrastructure development. At the heart of this is the

Om Prakash
ACCJ president

We must deepen collaborationin the promotion of digital
infrastructure development.
need for enhanced cybersecurity within
Japan’s critical industries. With underinvestment in this area now being addressed,
there are greatly increased prospects formore US–Japan cooperation that we, as achamber, need to be at the center of.
I, along with the ACCJ Task Force on Economic Security, specifically discussed theissue of security clearance classifications
with Minister of State for Economic Security
Sanae Takaichi on April 19. We look forward
to continuing this dialogue and engaging
with the Government of Japan to further
strengthen the US–Japan partnership on key
issues related to economic security as we
step together into a digital future.
Finally, I’d like to thank each of you for
all your contributions to the ACCJ. Together
we have made great strides this year. I lookforward to seeing you in person around themany activities of the chamber. n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

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TOKYO

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SHANGHAISINGAPORE

EVENT

By Ryan Watson, co-chair, ACCJ–Kansai Community Service Committee

Growing Greener
The ACCJ–Kansai leads sustainable gardening and food security initiative.

As our world faces the convergence of issues
such as climate change, supply chain disruptions, and economic instability and inequality,
food security has become a growing concern.
This holds true right here at home, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) Kansai
chapter led a series of events that brought together
community members, businesses, and organizationsin an awe-inspiring effort to foster sustainable gardening and address food insecurity in the region.
At the heart of these endeavors is the Healthy
Urban Gardening (HUG) initiative, the first event of
which was held at the Osaka YMCA International
School (OYIS) on a sunny Sunday last November.
Hosted by the ACCJ–Kansai Community Service Committee (Kansai–CSC), the day of sustainable fun drew
more than 100 attendees, including ACCJ members,
supporters, parents, and students, who came together
for hands-on workshops and educational activities.
Viviana Di Blasi and her dedicated team took thestage to demonstrate how to make “seed bombs”
using a range of soils and seeds, while Cyd Forster,Eva Spanring-Forster, and members of the local
Girl Scouts shared the ins and outs of using worm
boxes for vermicomposting, the use of earthworms
to convert organic waste into fertilizer. Meanwhile,
Mark White and a team from OYIS engaged attendees
in the construction of raised planter beds made fromdiscarded wooden cargo pallets.
The depth of knowledge and passion exhibited wasfurther highlighted by a captivating video presentation by Joshua Bryan, an industrious seventh grader
who showcased his own home-composting project.
The session ended with an engaging quiz on the importance of composting, prepared by other students.

Throughout the day, the younger attendees actively
participated by moving compost from a corner of theschoolyard to a new garden area. Armed with shovels
and spades, they eagerly loaded compost into wheelbarrows, joyfully transporting it to its new home.
The event also offered moments of entertainmentand generosity. During a well-deserved break, attendees were treated to musical performances by talented
students. Not only were these entertaining, but theyalso served to raise funds for Food Bank Kansai, a

By working together, we cancreate a greener, healthier, andmore sustainable future for Kansai
and beyond.
Kobe-based non-profit organization that collects
donated food products and distributes them to people
in need, single-mother families, and others.
Building on this success, the Kansai–CSC organized
a second HUG workshop together with Deutsche
Schule Kobe International (DSKI). Held in April,
the event attracted more than 100 participants andfeatured a range of activities that further underscoredthe importance of community-driven vegetable gardens and sustainable living practices.
These collaborations with OYIS and DSKI were not
only about education and hands-on experiences, butalso had a profound impact on the community, showcasing the power of collective effort in addressing
pressing issues. By working together, we can create
a greener, healthier, and more sustainable future for
Kansai and beyond. n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

7

EVENT PHOTOS

8

2

3

4

Photo: Andy Boone

15
1. Former JAXA astronaut Naoka Yamazaki (right)
looks on while former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy
speaks at the Global Leadership in Space event in
the ACCJ Boardroom on February 8.
2. On May 16, Weber Shandwick Managing Directorand ACCJ Marketing and Public Relations
Committee Vice-Chair Campbell Hanley led aninteractive workshop at the ACCJ office in Tokyo.

Kitamura, US Consul General Richard Mei, and ACCJ
Governor–Kansai Simone Thompsen attended theStorks basketball game at Green Arena Kobe on April 8.
4. Robb Shannon (left), founder and CEO of Bayshore
K.K. spoke at the Ten Points on Business DinnerSeries on March 16 at Midtown BBQ. Pictured herewith ACCJ–Chubu Independent Business Committee
Co-Chair Steven Brown.

5. The ACCJ–Kansai CEO Series welcomed Kobe
3. From left: i-plug Co., Ltd. CEO and Representative
Shushinkan Breweries, Ltd. Representative Director
Director Tomoya Nakano, Smartvalue Co., Ltd.
and President Takenosuke Yasufuku (center right) on
President and Representative Executive Officer
March 2 at Kobe Shushinkan.
Jun Shibuya, Nishinomiya Storks President Masaki

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

9

6

8

7

9

Photo: Andy Boone

10
6. ACCJ members and friends cheered the Sunrockers
Shibuya to victory at their March 11 home gameagainst the Gunma Crane Thunders.
7. KKR Japan CEO Hirofumi Hirano (left) presented
KKR Japan: Growing a Vibrant Asset Management
Business at an Alternative Investment Committee
event at Tokyo American Club on April 13. Pictured
here with committee Chair Frank Packard.

9. Robert Eberhart (center), visiting associate
professor at the University of California, Los
Angeles’s Anderson School of Business presented
Japan at a Crossroads: Can and Should Japan
Emulate the Dynamism of Silicon Valley? on May
15 at Tokyo American Club. Pictured here with
ACCJ President Emeritus Michael Alfant (left) andInformation, Communications, and Technology
Committee Vice-Chair John Kirch.

8. California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis
spoke to ACCJ members and guests during a special
luncheon at Tokyo American Club on March 14.

10. ACCJ–Chubu members raised more than¥110,000 at the Chubu Children’s Fund Annual BBQ
on March 11.

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

EVENT

10

By Julian Socher

Surf the DX Wave
Five big lessons for Japan from HawaiiAs Japan’s fledgling Digital Agency finds its way
through its second year of existence, and theTokyo Metropolitan Government’s new start-up
strategy takes hold, a digital transformation (DX) wave
is sweeping across the country. Learning to surf thatwave takes experience, however, and another group ofislands that know a bit about surfing, and have ridden
DX to their advantage, could be a guide for Japan.
How the Hawaiian tourism industry found renewed life through digital transformation was the
subject of a February 28 event held at Tokyo American Club and online, and entitled How to Surf the DX
Wave: Five Big Lessons for Japan from Hawaii. The
American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Tourism
and Hospitality Committee luncheon—co-hosted
by the Digital Transformation and the Information,
Communications, and Technology Committees—welcomed Mayumi Nakamura and Mike Birt of AscentPartners, LLC to discuss the restructuring of Hawaii’s
tourism management system.

Mike Birt

Mayumi Nakamura

When the Covid-19 pandemic forced a total shutdown of travel, tourism hot spots such as Honolulu,
which had welcomed a record 10.4 million visitors in
2019, went from overtourism to dead empty in justa few days. The islands fell quiet. And when tourism
returned in 2021, it was not the same.

Recovering from Wipeout“As people started coming back, the domestic travelindustry was just a madhouse,” Birt explained. It was
clear that the pandemic had left Hawaii’s tourism industry scarred and unprepared for the influx. Change
was needed.
The seeds for change were planted even earlier.
When heavy storms hit Haena State Park, on theisland of Kauai, in April 2018, major access roads wereshut down and neither tourists nor locals could enter.
It was a needed pause, however. Before the disaster, some 3,000 tourists had visited daily, leaving little
room for Hawaiians. “There was some conflict there,
and many people couldn’t enjoy their own homeland,”
Nakamura explained.
While the storm was a multi-million-dollar disaster for many, others saw it as divine intervention, an
opportunity to reappraise the management of stateparks and give greater consideration to the balance of
tourists and locals.
When the decision was made to transform thesystem, the Hawaiian government approached AscentPartners for help. Nakamura led ateam that designed a timed-entry
reservation system. Entry was restricted to those with reservations,and daily tourist admission was
capped. This allowed locals more
opportunities to enjoy their own
land. Greater emphasis was also
placed on hiking the trails and evoking the experience of the naturalland as the Native Hawaiians saw it.
Due to the pandemic, all thework had to be done remotely. The
Hawaii project was run from Seattle,
while the software development
team was in India and various support staff were scattered across the
US mainland.
The project was a great success.
v Kauai, home to Haena State ParkTHE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

Not only were there societal benefits, but economic
ones as well. The state brought in 250 percent of its
projected tourism revenue in the first year.

Model for DX

Birt believes the fact that this project could be carriedout remotely with such great success shows the potential for adapting the approach to other countries, witheach following their own philosophy of reimagining
post-pandemic tourism.
“It became a model for how to scale and develop
very effective software digital transformation projects that can literally span the world,” he explained.
“Destination management is a key element—and thisisn’t just Hawaii. Venice, Iceland, Amsterdam … there
are a number of [places] that have really had to workon how to manage their destination so that it doesn’t
become overrun, and the community can still enjoy
where they live.”
Birt and Nakamura said they learned a lot during
their three years working with the Hawaiian state government. They shared five lessons which they believe
Japan could put into action to transform its own postpandemic tourism.

Lesson 1: DX requires leadership and vision“Without a vision, none of the people around [you]can support the project. In the case of Hawaii, it wasa return of aloha spirit,” Nakamura said. What madethe project possible, she added, was that both the state
government and private individuals were on board andcommitted to using the pandemic to take a bold step.

Lesson 2: DX has customers—and adversaries“The state parks are literally part of [Hawaii’s] soul;
Hawaiians think of their parks as almost a living
thing,” Birt explained. Undertaking such a large-scale
project, therefore, brought together many parties witha vested interest, whether emotional or financial.
Naturally, with this came those who strongly
opposed the transformation. But nobody, Birt andNakamura acknowledged, knowingly played the roleof adversary; they resisted change simply for self-preservation. What saved the project from failure was thatpowerful friends in the Hawaiian state government
shared the vision and supported it from the start.

Lesson 3: Technology is powerful

DX is not a simple one-and-done operation. It is aneveryday effort that must be constantly analyzed andadjusted to fit the needs of the project. The DX wave
does not stop or slow down. Everyone must be skilled
and educated to properly participate in the journey.
Questions must be constantly asked. In the case of the
Hawaii project: Where are the tourists going? How are
they going? How could communication be improved?
What could smooth entrance into the parks?

Lesson 4: Expectations change

While the aloha spirit is the genuine treasure of Hawaii, it must always be met in balance with malama,
the respect for the state and environment, as well as
the customs and culture that come with it. You receive
the generosity of Hawaii, but you are obliged to pay itback in appreciation. The same balance is sought inDX, where it has the potential to bring revenue andbenefits, but we must be careful to not kill the goosethat lays the golden eggs.

Lesson 5: DX waves won’t stop, learn to surf them
Lastly, there must be an emphasis on change, and anunderstanding that there is no final resting point in
DX. Nakamura referred to the decline of Facebook andthe rise of the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT as
examples of the unpredictable nature of technology.
“You have to be ready to ride the waves as they comes,”
she said. “Be adaptable, be adjustable. Don’t think of it
as a destination, but as a journey.” n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

11

EVENT PHOTOS

12

Photos by: Miki Kawaguchi, LIFE.14

2023 ShinnenkaiOn January 18, the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) officially kicked-off the New Yearwith more than 240 members and guests at the 2023 ACCJ Shinnenkai at the Imperial Hotel. US Charged'Affaires Ray Greene, Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ken Kobayashi, andChairman of the Japan–U.S. Business Council Jun Sawada joined as our distinguished guests. n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

WIB 2x4x4

13T

he ACCJ Women in Business Committee concluded the successful and inspiring Transforming
Ourselves Together: A 2x4x4 Formula program on April 11 with the Teach-Back Networking Party atTokyo American Club. The finale of this first-of-its-kind progressive learning series was attended
by US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and joined by more than 200 attendees. n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

BUSINESS

By Jesper Koll

In Praise of the
Salaryman CEO

14

Japanese corporate leaders are much better than their reputation.

T
Jesper Koll
Global ambassador
Monex Group Inc.

hey are not really part of the global
Davos jet set. They don’t fly aroundthe world in their private jets. Many
still proudly print the office fax number on
their business cards. And in the age of theshort quip, they lack a strong (or any) presence on social media. They even very muchprefer to stay silent in investor-relations orpress meetings.
But if you’re looking for extraordinary
resilience and all-around competence to get
the job done, Japan’s salaryman CEOs andtheir teams actually have a very impressive
track record.
In fact, the data strongly suggests Japanese salaryman CEOs have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in comparison with thesuperstar CEOs of Wall Street.

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

Decades of Growth

Since 1995, Japanese listed companies haveseen their top-line sales basically stagnate,
up a mere 1.1 times in 2022 from their 1995
level. But there was a whopping 11-fold surge
in profits over the same period.
Anyone who has ever invested in or run abusiness knows how impossibly difficult it isto grow profits without the tailwinds of rising top-line sales. For one year, maybe. But
for 30 years? Clearly, Japanese salaryman
CEOs must have done something right.
Meanwhile, since 1995, superstar CEOsin the United States delivered a 6-fold increase in profits, generated by a tailwind of
top-line sales rising 3 times. Of course, theWall Street superstar CEOs deserve to be
proud of having delivered such profits overthe past 27 years. But compared with the 11-fold surge
produced by Japan’s salaryman CEOs, the US superstar performance looks rather unimpressive—particularly since the salaryman CEOs got no tailwinds fromrising sales. No wonder Warren Buffet is impressed by
Japan’s Wall Street counterparts.

Pay for Performance

Interestingly, the impressive performance of Japanesesalaryman CEOs has been reflected in their compensation. Since 1990, pay for the top CEOs has almost
tripled. So, there is pay for performance in Japan for
CEOs—profits up 11 times, compensation up a moremodest 3 times, but still in sync with performance.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the link between
corporate performance and CEO compensation is muchtighter. CEO compensation has mirrored the rise inprofits, both basically marking a 6-fold jump since 1990.
The biggest difference between the salaryman
CEO and the superstar CEO is, of course, the absolute
gap in compensation for the chief executive positionin Japan has declined by more than 10 percent. In
contrast, capex for US listed companies has surged bymore than 150 percent over the same period.
Also, Wall Street CEOs raised their employees’
compensation by about 90 percent since 1995, while
Japan’s salaryman CEOs actually managed to decrease
employee compensation almost 25 percent over thesame time frame.
Make no mistake: share prices reflect potential
returns on future corporate performance, and dreaming about future performance is basically impossible
without corporate leaders investing in both humanand productive capital.
The good news is that there’s absolutely no reason
that salaryman CEOs cannot become great investors
in their companies. In my view, because there has
been a change in three parameters—human capital,technology access, and economic security—a capex
and investment super-cycle is on the horizon in Japan.
A labor shortage and war for talent are forcing acomplete rethink of human-capital deployment. One

Since 1995, Japanese listed companies have seen their top-line
sales basically stagnate, up a mere 1.1 times in 2022 fromtheir 1995 level. But there was a whopping 11-fold surge in
profits over the same period.

relative to average employee pay. In Japan, this is now
just about 12 times on average, with the top 50 CEOs
making 50 times.
On Wall Street, it’s a different world altogether; theaverage annual salary of a CEO now is just under 400
times that of their average employee.
Put another way, a Wall Street CEO earns in one
day what one of their employees earns in a year. But inJapan, it takes the 50 highest-paid CEOs about a week,
and the average CEO a month to bring in what theirstaffers make in one year.
Don’t get me wrong. This piece is not about whether US-style or Japanese-style corporate leadershipis better. It is about highlighting some of the actual
performance indicators and, most importantly, demonstrating that Japanese corporate leaders did in fact
deliver what had been asked of them. They focused on
profits, profits, profits.

Future Focus

So why was this tremendous achievement by salaryman CEOs not reflected in higher share prices?
Unfortunately, the answer is very simple: salaryman
CEOs did not invest in their businesses. Since 1995,
the capital expenditure (capex) of listed companies

result is rising wages, but more important will be thegrowing focus on pay for performance and a shift towards genuine career development, i.e., a break withthe lazy pay-for-seniority culture.
As workers grow increasingly scarce, machines andartificial intelligence will be deployed more broadly.
Ironically, the previous reluctance of salaryman
CEOs to invest in better IT may turn into a classic
backwardness advantage. If you’ve never embraced
cloud computing, you now can go straight from hanko
to blockchain. Japan’s DX protocol has a good chanceof becoming best in class in the same way shinkansenbullet train technology set the global standard forhigh-speed railways.
National economic security and changing geopolitical realities will force new investment in supply
chains and production facilities, as well as researchand development centers.
Japan should be proud of its salaryman CEOs.
For the past 30 years, the focus has been on growing
profits by cutting excess costs (and debt), which hasdelivered in impressive ways. Now, the goals havebeen reset. You must invest and accelerate the growthof your business. Like Warren Buffet, I have no doubt
they can deliver. n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

15

ADVOCACY16

By Aston Bridgman

Big Moves Moving
Two years into the JDA 2030, ACCJ leaders take stock of progress.

T

ransformations take time. Reaping rewards
can take longer. For Japan, shedding analog
processes is critical for future prosperity, and
the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ)
is bringing together the broad expertise and experience of its membership to assist with the push fordigital transformation (DX).
In early 2021, the ACCJ unveiled a comprehensive
white paper entitled Japan Digital Agenda 2030 (JDA2030) that outlined 11 big moves which could position
the country as a global leader as we dive deeper into
the 21st century. Produced together with McKinsey &Company, the JDA 2030 presents technology use casesand describes how Japan could realize a transformation that would put the world’s third-largest economy
on equal footing with leading digital nations.
These measures to bolster DX in Japan call forconcerted steps by major industries and stakeholders

And with DX impacting all organizations, not justthose in technology fields, everyone has a role to play.
“The question is swiftly becoming, Is there sucha thing as a non-tech field?” Warren told The ACCJ
Journal. “We are seeing technology being appliedin almost every business. I think the application oftechnology is almost too alluring—and necessary tokeeping a competitive edge—to be ignored.”
ACCJ Digital Transformation Committee Co-Chair
Jim Weisser agrees. “All businesses are digital or havea DX component. Trying to figure out which piece
to transform—and how to do it—is a problem for allcompanies.”
Fellow co-chair and ACCJ Governor James Miller
added: “The most important thing for members tokeep in mind is the cross-sectional view versus thedeep dives. There are sets of concerns that are technology specific, but we are continuing to focus on sharing“All businesses are digital or have a DX component.
Trying to figure out which piece to transform—and how
to do it—is a problem for all companies.”

in areas such as digital talent, industry transformation, digital government, and economic renewal. And
in the two years since the paper was published, theneed for cross-industry collaboration to make manyof the JDA 2030’s big moves a reality has become
increasingly clear.

What has also become clear is thatthe pace at which digital everything is infiltrating all aspects ofbusiness and society calls for areassessment of the JDA 2030. The
ACCJ’s new Digital Forum, confirmed by the Board of Governors
in April and led by Chair MitsuhikoIda, along with Vice-Chairs Kristopher Tate and Scott Warren, will beleading this task, working with thevarious digital-related committees
to coordinate the chamber’s voice
and position on DX.

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

Literature title

An Evolving Proposition

what sets of issues business leaders should prioritizethat are cross-sectional.”
Already, the chamber is looking at a variety ofmechanisms to bring together the insights from theJDA 2030—and those continually being developed by
the ACCJ’s committees—to refine
its position and recommendations to provide the best guidance
in a rapidly changing environJapan Digital
ment. This effort, supported by
Agenda 2030
the work of the digital committees
on technology-specific issues, isfocused on teasing out the common
positions across the broad rangeof committees to bring the wholechamber to bear on DX.
A question about the big moves
outlined in the JDA 2030 is whether
they might require a longer timeline to be realized than the sevenyears that remain until the original
target date. This has spurred an
Big moves to restore digital competitiveness and productivity

February 2021

17

effort to learn from the chamber’s landmark
2009 white paper Achieving the Full Potential of the Internet Economy in Japan, howprogress was achieved, or efforts stalled, andhow the digital agenda itself can evolve.
While a lack of dialogue or substantive
business input may have slowed progress,
the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011, reignited interest inresilience. Similarly, former Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe’s focus on the role ofdata at the 2019 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos has since proved to bea major lift for the JDA 2030.

Data, Trust, and Talent

At the center of Abe’s Davos proposal was
Data-Free Flow with Trust (DFFT), somethingwhich Japan and its allies have struggled todefine in the years since, said Warren, who
is also co-chair of the ACCJ Legal Services
and IP Committee as well as vice-chair of theInformation, Communications, and Technology Committee.
“How we achieve [DFFT] will be one of
the main topics discussed during the G7
conference. The real challenge, I think, isthat the definition cannot be static, as it isvery dependent on the type of data—criticalinfrastructure data versus other data—andthe question of how much you trust thereceiving entity and country. I think thetrue answer has to take those factors into
account.”

Ida, an ACCJ governor, noted that theestablishment of a new organization topromote DFFT was agreed at the G7 Digital
Ministerial Meeting held in Gunma Prefecture in April. “For this, governments wantprivate sectors to share our experiences,needs, and suggestions for policymaking.
This is just one case in which the ACCJ cancontribute,” he said.
Another area of great importance tosuccessful DX is the acquisition and trainingof digital talent. But for a company to build
a deep bench of world-class talent, with thedigital know-how that is increasingly criticalto success, takes time, Weisser said.
Megumi Tsukamoto, a vice-chair of the
ACCJ Task Force on Economic Security, said
that it is likely to take five years or so forJapanese companies to establish their digital bench once they recognize the need andbegin fostering this talent. First, they mustovercome major challenges in their operating cultures to provide levels of compensation expected by these professionals.
She also notes that opportunities are
emerging that might enable Japanese companies and IT vendors to build their digitaltalent sooner. One is the sudden availabilityof personnel following the recent restructuring in the IT sector, both in Japan and in
key markets overseas. “They’ll do it because,
without IT talent, it is very difficult to compete with other global companies. It is anurgent issue,” Tsukamoto emphasized.

Mitsuhiko Ida
Chair,
ACCJ Digital Forum

Kristopher Tate
Vice-Chair,
ACCJ Digital Forum

Scott Warren
Vice-Chair,
ACCJ Digital Forum

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

WORKING
FOR YOU.

As we enter a new normal, there’s never been a better time to harness theenergy of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Tap into the
combined expertise and knowledge of more than 3,000 members from
600+ companies and 40 countries to help your career and business succeed.
CONNECTwith 60+ special interest committees

ENGAGE

with 30+ events, meetings, and webinars each month

ACCESS

experts, government officials, guest speakers, and more

INFLUENCE

reach regulators and lawmakers through ACCJ advocacy

If you would like to explore membership opportunities, including
extending these benefits to an unlimited number of employees,
contact membership@accj.or.jp for more details or call your ACCJ
membership representative.
THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

Companies are also increasingly awareof the business opportunities digital candrive, and are developing their people torealize them. Tsukamoto points to one
Japanese service provider that is working
to create tools, some powered by artificial
intelligence, to help staff who lack digitalskills. By pooling specialists in planning,user interface design, and the core product—and combining these with dedicated IT
support—they are able to develop in-house
software that can enable service staff to focus on the highest value tasks while leaving
the software to automate others. She alsomentioned a Japanese manufacturer that isalready pairing robots with its production
line workers to realize mutual benefits.

These insights are the basis for plans
to coordinate DX leaders across the ACCJ’svarious digital committees. The goal is tounderstand the high-level points and thedepth of topics, ranging from talent acquisition to cybersecurity.
“Now is the time to work together,” Miller
concluded. “We’re seeing dramatic changes
in Japanese policy and company environment that we haven’t seen for 30 years. We
are seeing a lot more combined interest in[the US–Japan] partnership.”
The ACCJ, with its diverse and multinational membership, is one of the few organizations that can pull such voices together
and bring industry views to both the US andJapanese governments, noted Ida. “We can

19

Megumi Tsukamoto
Vice-Chair,
ACCJ Task Force on
Economic Security“Combined with being the world’s third-largest economy,
the level of scale and scope of opportunities seenin Japan are really unrivaled.”

Now Is the Time

New tools such as these show that technology concerns are not the biggest obstacle.
“Oftentimes, it is the business thinking that
we should be focused on,” said Miller. “A lotof tools can be used to reduce risk and mitigate concerns in a way that was not conceivable a decade ago.”
Japan also brings to the table a highlevel of competency in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics, or STEM
disciplines, that enables it to leverage astrong legacy of engineering capabilities.
“Combined with being the world’s thirdlargest economy, the level of scale and scopeof opportunities seen in Japan are reallyunrivaled,” added Miller.

partner with both governments to support
their policymaking by providing our experiences, needs, and technical assistance.”
Warren invites all ACCJ members to get
involved in shaping the chamber’s digital
advocacy.
“The ACCJ has consistently espoused,
for years, that whatever new policies are
created in Japan must be fairly implemented
across both domestic and international
companies,” he said. “As for specific policies
to implement related to digital transformation, the ACCJ is in the process of gathering
those. If you have ones you think important,please submit them to one of the many digital policy committees or to your committee
leadership.” nJames Miller
Co-Chair,
ACCJ Digital
Transformation
Committee

Jim Weisser
Co-Chair,
ACCJ Digital
Transformation
Committee

Have an idea? Get involved!
The ACCJ has a range of committees working on leadership and advocacy
for Japan’s DX journey:
Digital Transformation • Secure Digital Infrastructure
Information, Communications, and Technology • Digital Economy
Task Force on Economic Security • Healthcare • and many more
Visit accj.or.jp/committees to learn more.

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

20

HEALTHCARE

By John Amari

HEALTHY
MAKEOVER
HOW ARE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TOOLSCHANGING HEALTHCARE IN JAPAN?

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C

hatGPT, that large language modelthat is stealing the headlines thesedays, may be all the buzz, but it’s justone example of how technology is rapidlychanging the way we work and do business.
And while the artificial intelligence (AI) bot
may represent a leap forward, the deployment of digital technology across an organization’s operations has been on the rise in
all industries since the advent of the World
Wide Web in 1989.
Today, we call it digital transformation(DX), and it is bringing computation,nior manager in the Healthcare Economics
and Government Affairs Division of medical
devices maker Medtronic Japan Co., Ltd.

Data Utilization

Dr. Sasahara noted that healthcare DX in
Japan—especially optimal utilization of Big
Data—is still low. Why? It is in large part because “operations heavily depend on manualand paper-based processes,” he explained.
“It’s not easy to utilize [the] merits of digitaltechnologies, such as accessibility, scaling,
and automation.”“By connecting and sharing data such as PHRs and medical
information, the value of medical care will be improved, allowing
for early diagnosis and prevention of disease progression.”

Big Data, AI, other digital applications, aswell as connected devices, to bear on how
products and services are made and/or delivered, in industries as diverse as education,
finance, and logistics.
Healthcare could also greatly benefit
from these incredible advances, and theindustry is undergoing its own DX revolution—including in Japan. Here, healthcare
DX is gaining traction in part due to the
advocacy efforts of the American Chamberof Commerce in Japan (ACCJ).
However, speaking to The ACCJ Journal,
industry insiders—including members of
the chamber’s Healthcare Committee—notethat adoption of healthcare DX in Japan lagsthat of other countries, especially those in
North America and Europe.
“I think the current situation is that
[Japan is far behind] compared with countries such as Denmark or the United States,”said Makoto Kawai, director of government
affairs at Zimmer Biomet G.K., a global
medical technology company. Kawai is also
co-chair of the ACCJ Healthcare Committee.
Maya Mamiya and Diogo Rau sharesimilar sentiments. Mamiya is an associate
director of global public policy for Asia at Eli
Lilly Japan K.K. and a Healthcare Committee
vice-chair, while Rau serves as Eli Lilly’s chief
information and digital officer.
Also sympathetic to Kawai’s view arehealthcare industry expert and committee
Vice-Chair Eiji Sasahara, and Go Ikeda, a se-

21

However, optimizing Big Data use inhealthcare is important for a variety ofreasons. One area where its effective deployment is critical is in determining the healthoutcomes of patients, the experts pointed out.
Rau identified even more areas where
optimal use of DX tools can make a difference. In the case of Eli Lilly, Big Data, AI, andmachine learning can be used to: Develop digital connectivity for clinical
trials and therapeutics
 Deploy solutions to manage patient-specific digital information
 Speed up the discovery of new lifechanging medicines Design and implement clinical trials
 Increase accessibility to and diversity of
medicines Obtain more accurate efficacy/safety data Improve patient experience Improve the safety and effectiveness of
medicines Manage and interpret patient data fromconnected therapeutic devices
Medtronic’s Ikeda agrees. “In order tolink personal health records [(PHRs)] andmedical information, it is necessary to build
a platform and take measures to shift data
ownership and management to individuals,”
he explained.
“By connecting and sharing data such as
PHRs and medical information, the value

Makoto Kawai
Director ofgovernment affairs,
Zimmer Biomet G.K.
Co-Chair,
ACCJ Healthcare
Committee

Maya Mamiya
Associate director of
global public policy for
Asia, Eli Lilly Japan
Vice-Chair,
ACCJ Healthcare
Committee

Diogo Rau
Chief informationand digital officer,
Eli Lilly JapanTHE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

22of medical care will be improved, allowing for early
diagnosis and prevention of disease progression.”
To provide better healthcare while maintaining
universal access, the current fee-for-service healthinsurance system should be shifted to value-based
healthcare (VBHC), Ikeda suggested. “DX of healthcare
is an important precondition for VBHC.”
Sasahara refers to this new paradigm as “citizencentered care”—a form of healthcare that not only
makes use of digital tools such as Big Data, but also
puts patient outcomes at the core of the industry.

Healthy Prices

The upside of deploying healthcare DX can be enjoyed
not only by patients and the private sector, but the
public sector, too, the experts noted.

Data Security

Improving data security is another benefit the DX
revolution will confer on the healthcare industry,
according to the experts. This is especially the casewhen securing the privacy of patient records, an areaof concern many of them highlighted.
Healthcare DX, they said, should adhere to international standards of security. These standards
are based on interoperability of systems and use of
platforms such as cloud computing. In Japan, however, patient data is usually stored on premises andin stand-alone systems, which are not necessarily
secure.
“With regard to data storage, the current mainstream on-premises, stand-alone system has increased security risks, and it should be considered“DX will promote R&D and enable outcome-based reimbursement evaluation,
supporting a reduction of medical and nursing care costs. It can also support thehealthcare workforce shortage [to] benefit patients overall.”Government ministries and agencies—as well as
the hospitals and other healthcare institutions andresearch and development (R&D) centers they fund—will be able to reduce costs through the effective
deployment of DX strategies.
Ikeda noted: “DX will promote R&D and enableoutcome-based reimbursement evaluation, supporting a reduction of medical and nursing care costs. It
can also support the healthcare workforce shortage[to] benefit patients overall.”that an open mechanism using the public cloud paradoxically improves security,” explained Ikeda.
Lilly’s Rau added: “Some of the key concerns
include ensuring the confidentiality of this data whentied to a patient and the integrity of the data whenbilling and making care decisions.”
Sasahara agrees. He also noted that, in Japan,
there is a lack of in-house security expertise. “It is
usual that there is no [chief information security officer] at Japanese hospitals.” Kawai held a similar view.

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

Photo: Miki Kawaguchi/LIFE.14

The ACCJ Healthcare x Digital program focused on empowering elderly patients through digital health in 2022.

23

Securely digitizing patient records will be key to realizing the potential of healthcare DX.

However, this opens up an opportunity
not only to acquire the necessary humanresources but also to “develop and utilize
emerging privacy-enhancing technologies,”
Sasahara and Kawai agreed.

Prevent and CureThe reach of healthcare is broad. It includes
the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment ofdiseases, injuries, and ailments, and encompasses a wide area of professions andfields—from doctors to nurses to medical
researchers—as well as facilities such as
hospitals, clinics, and research institutions.
In the healthcare technology space, a few
themes are emerging at the forefront. For
Ikeda, three areas of particular note are:
 Grand design
 Value assessment
 Private–public partnership (PPP)
Regarding the path to implementation,
Ikeda shared: “We believe that it is necessary to first illustrate a grand design for theoverall picture of what the platform should
be in order to realize medical DX, and thenthe process for building that overall picture
should be presented.” It is the remit of thegovernment, working with stakeholders
across society, to provide that grand design
or vision, he added.
As for value assessment of digital healthtechnology, Ikeda noted that this is difficult
to properly assess under existing medical
service reimbursement systems.
“To reduce the burden on medical professionals, as a new evaluation perspective
unique to digital health technology [emerges], to equalize and improve the efficiencyof technology, and to evaluate products thatmatch the speed of product development
and improvement, it is necessary to build
a new evaluation system by referring tooverseas cases and the utilization of noninsurance combined medical care systems,”
he explained. Here, stakeholders in Japanand abroad can learn from each other.
And what of private–public partnerships? To enhance PPP, Ikeda added, it isalso necessary to set up new forums for
information sharing and discussion among
the public and cross-cutting private sectors.
“I am expecting that the ACCJ could be thehub of PPP.”
Sasahara mentioned three more trends
to keep an eye on as paradigms change in thehealthcare industry: Citizen engagement
 A shift from reactive treatment to datadriven prevention
 Utilization of gamification tech forpatient care

Advocating for Change

To keep abreast of fast-changing developments in the industry, the ACCJ Healthcare
Committee was invited in March to an event
hosted by the American Medical Devices
and Diagnostics Manufacturers’ Association(AMDD).
Led by Ikeda, who is chair of the AMDD’s
Digital Health Committee, the event featured Dr. Kengo Miyo of the National Center
for Global Health and Medicine, a hospitaland international medical research andhealthcare training facility located acrossTokyo. Miyo is the director of the institute’s
Department of Planning Information andManagement.
Ikeda explained that the event was organized to realize medical DX in a situation
where the environment is changing, andtechnology is progressing rapidly. “Cooperation among stakeholders toward a sharedgoal, and understanding of medical DX as awhole, are indispensable,” he stated. n

Eiji Sasahara
Vice-Chair,
ACCJ Healthcare
Committee

Go Ikeda
Senior manager,
Healthcare
Economics andGovernment Affairs
Division, Medtronic
Japan Co., Ltd.

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24

HR

FUTUREREADY
By Andrew Chin

WHAT MUST JAPAN DO TO ENSURE THAT ITS WORKFORCECAN COMPETE IN A DIGITAL WORLD?

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

W

e’ve been living in a digital world
for quite some time. More than
three decades have passed since
the World Wide Web began connecting us
through zeros and ones. For most of thattime, it’s been possible to straddle the line
between digital and analog. But if the firstquarter of 2023 has made anything clear,it’s that we’re at an inflection point when it
comes to technology.
If Japan is to remain globally competitive and secure its future economy, it mustembrace digital transformation (DX).
Despite increased efforts to push DX,
Japan dropped to 29th place in the 2022
IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, an annual report published by the
Switzerland-based International Institutefor Management Development that assesses
and compares the digital competitiveness ofcountries based on their ability to adopt andexplore digital technologies.
More concerning is that Japan ranked
41st in the talent subcategory and 54th infuture readiness.
Overcoming this digital talent gap is amust. For companies, the required skill sets
are shifting, impacting not only talent acquisition and retention, but also the country’s education system and overall workplace culture.
To find out where Japan is on the roadto readiness, The ACCJ Journal spoke withcorporate leaders making DX possible, as
well as those helping companies and talent
come together for success in today’s digitaldriven world.

Widening Gap

Talent acquisition has become a pressing
issue for companies across Japan. In a 2022
survey conducted by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications (MIC), 67 percent of Japanese respondents cited a shortage of information and communications
technology (ICT) personnel as a roadblock totheir DX efforts.
Surveys conducted by recruitment site
Doda show a sharp rise in the monthly
number of job openings per candidate forengineers and other tech professionals—
from 3.44 in March 2019 to 9.54 in March
2022. The Ministry of Economy, Tradeand Industry (METI) projects a shortage of
450,000 ICT workers by 2030.
“We have a big problem. It’s a serious
talent crisis that is going to get much worse,”

said Daniel Bamford, associate director oftechnology for Asia–Pacific at specialized
recruitment agency Robert Half Japan.

25

Changing Workplace

Faced with a dwindling talent pool andfierce competition, the Japanese laborsystem must change within a few years if
Japanese companies are to acquire goodtalent, Megumi Tsukamoto, senior adviser at
global consultancy J.S. Held Japan LLC, told
The ACCJ Journal. The country’s traditional
human resources model, according to which
compensation is based on age and seniority,
has exacerbated the digital talent shortage.
A 2016 comparative survey by METI
found that the average annual salary of ICT
personnel in Japan was roughly half thatof their US counterparts. Workers in their
twenties in the United States earned an average of $77,990 per year, while their Japanesecounterparts took home just $31,300.
Tsukamoto noted that, in a bid to obtainand retain talent, some Japanese companies
are beginning to offer salaries two to threetimes higher than previous packages. Someare offering much more than that. This is
the result of ICT professionals either moving
abroad, or choosing to work for such foreigncompanies in Japan as Google.
However, higher salaries are just one
piece of the puzzle, said Victoria Ryo, associate director at Robert Half. In-demand ICTtech workers expect more.
“A company that provides workplace flexibility, along with benefits, interesting projects, and an international environment, isgoing to be more attractive,” she explained.
Ryo pointed to innovative initiatives thatcatch the attention of potential ICT workers.
As an example, she mentioned the financial
services organization Money Forward’s Culture Hero campaign, which awards employees who epitomize the company’s inclusive
culture. But Bamford warns that a good diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy is notenough to attract these in-demand talents.
“For them, it’s a base expectation, notsomething that will win them over,” he said.
“But if you’re not providing a diverse andinclusive environment, you will lose people.”

James Miller
Head of public policy.
Amazon Web Services
Japan G.K.
ACCJ governor andco-chair, ACCJ Digital
Transformation
Committee

Megumi Tsukamoto
Senior adviser,
J.S. Held Japan LLC
Vice-Chair,
ACCJ Task Force on
Economic Security

Victoria Ryo
Associate director,
Robert Half Japan

Looking Abroad

To address the domestic talent shortage,companies such as Fujitsu Japan Limited
have accelerated plans to hire non-Japanese

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

2022 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Rankings
26

1

Denmark

100.002

United States

99.81

3

Sweden99.81

4

Singapore

99.48

5

Switzerland

98.23

6

The Netherlands

97.85

7

Finland96.60

8South Korea

95.20

9

Hong Kong

94.36

10

Canada

94.15

29

Japan

76.84

engineering researchers in the wake of recent mass
layoffs in the US tech sector.
While skepticism remains that ICT workers fromabroad can thrive in Japanese workplaces, wherelanguage—and sometimes insufficient DEI culture—remains a barrier, Tsukamoto cites Mercari, Inc. as adomestic player that has found success hiring international talent.
The thriving e-commerce company began its fullscale efforts to recruit overseas talent in 2018. Today,
more than 50 foreign nationals are working at Mercari’s Tokyo office, according to their FY2022 sustainability report.
Last year, the company opened a subsidiary in
Bengaluru, a hub for IT companies in southern India,
with the goal of recruiting IT workers. As of last July,it had attracted 45 new graduates from the Indian
Institute of Technology.
The school has been a popular source of tech talent for Japanese companies such as Rakuten Group,
Inc., whose Bengaluru base grew from six engineers
in 2014 to more than 1,000 in 2020.
The Japanese government has responded to thistrend by launching two new visa schemes in April
that target highly skilled foreign workers, such as
researchers and engineers, as well as graduates ofhighly ranked universities.
The Japan System for Special Highly Skilled Professionals, or J-Skip, visa allows researchers, engineers,and business managers to bypass the points-based
system used to award visas to skilled professionals.
Meanwhile, the Japan System for Future Creation
Individual, or J-Find, visa allows graduates fromhighly ranked universities to live in the country for up
to two years while they find employment.

Evolving Workforce

The Japanese government also pledged last October to

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

spend ¥1 trillion over the next five years on reskilling
workers to address the shrinking pool of tech talent.
In January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio
Kishida said that guidelines will be drawn up in June
to increase labor market flexibility to encourage
workers to move to high-growth sectors.
Major companies are also contributing. Amazon
Web Services Japan G.K. (AWS) has invested morethan ¥1.3 trillion to help its Japanese customers modernize their IT systems and to overcome their digitalskills gap through education programs, training, andcertification.
“Cloud and cybersecurity skills will be the twomost sought-after digital skills by Japanese employers by 2025,” said James Miller, the company’s head of
public policy. “AWS has trained over 400,000 individuals in Japan with cloud skills since 2017, providingthem with in-demand skills and best practices to help
learners and organizations innovate in the cloud.”
Miller—an American Chamber of Commerce inJapan (ACCJ) governor who also serves as co-chair of
the chamber’s Digital Transformation Committee andvice-chair of the Secure Digital Infrastructure Committee—shared an example of how AWS extended a
21st-century hand to a 19th-century company.
In 2021, the company helped Toppan Printing Co.,
Ltd., the 122-year-old Japanese global juggernaut, embark on a full-scale digital transformation. More than
1,600 of its employees received AWS training overthree months and 1,050 pursued AWS certifications ina single year.

Room for Movement

As businesses make DX a point of emphasis, having
a range of skill sets has become more important. In
terms of hard skills, such as cloud and DevOps, Bamford noted that recruitment has gone from a T-shaped
model, where someone has broad awareness andone deep specialization, to a V-shaped one,
where the candidate’s deep specializationis complemented by medium-depth knowledge in other areas.
“The other side is that the soft skills aspect is really focused on being able to bridge
global and local, while also bringing technical and people skills,” he added.
While senior managers who can leada company’s DX efforts are in demand,companies should look inward for potential
employees who they can elevate, according to
Bamford. He pointed to a client that was looking for a certified ScrumMaster and, rather
than hiring someone already at that level,
found success in ambitious young candidates
who the company could train to be certified.
“Since there will be that much moredemand, and that much more shortage, thesecret is to unlock the skill sets of the people
you currently have. Experience is nice, butlearning mindsets are even better,” he added.

“If your goal is to work at a company,
your pathway is going to be a lot different,”
he said, noting that the practice of job rotations at Japanese companies, in which employees are transferred from department to
department every few years, provides fewer
incentives to focus on specific fields.
Wilson also noted that Japan’s public
education system is “very conservative,
which is difficult to change,” but is optimistic that the government’s push for DX andthe advent of new AI technologies, such as
ChatGPT, the conversational large language
model developed by OpenAI, will acceleratechange.
“It’s going to force people to educate differently and to assess differently,” Wilson
said. “The point isn’t catching somebody
who just did their essay with ChatGPT. Rather, it’s how to educate somebody so they havethe skills and the knowledge they’re going toneed for a job five years down the road.”“Since there will be that much more demand, and thatmuch more shortage, the secret is to unlock the skill setsof the people you currently have. Experience is nice, butlearning mindsets are even better.”

Ryo noted that this can help companies
retain their technical talent. “I think thenumber one reason people leave an organization is because they don’t feel they havethe opportunity to grow.”

Preparing Future Generations

While reskilling offers companies a path toovercoming current DX issues, Japan’s new¥10 trillion national endowment fund toboost research at universities in strategic
priorities such as artificial intelligence (AI),biotech, and quantum technology is expected to help train the next generation.
However, Matthew Wilson, dean andpresident of Temple University, Japan Campus, believes that changing student mindsets is arguably more important to reversing
the tech talent drain.
He contrasted students in the UnitedStates, who define their future goals byjobs they want to pursue, with Japanese
students, who aspire to work for specificcompanies.

27

Daniel Bamford
Associate directorof technology for
Asia–Pacific,
Robert Half Japan

Matthew Wilson
Dean and president,
Temple University,
Japan Campus

Unified Response

Steps have been taken to reshape thecountry’s education system with last year’s
release of the Roadmap on the Utilization of
Data in Education. A joint statement issued
by the Digital Agency, MIC, METI, and theMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology states that, by 2030,
the government aims to create “a society
where anyone can learn in their own way,anytime, anywhere, with anyone.”
While Wilson recalls similar government
ambitions, such as former Japanese Prime
Minister Yoshiro Mori’s “one student, one
computer” initiative more than two decadesago, which had little success, he is optimistic
about the Digital Agency and Minister Taro
Kono, whom he praises for being “energetic
and constantly finding ways to challenge
processes and procedures.”
But he also noted that, while things arestarting to move, “it’s going to take a while
to get Japan to the digital utopia that they’vebeen talking about for 25 years.” n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

28

INTERVIEW

By C Bryan Jones

INNOVATIONENGINECIC CO-FOUNDER TIM ROWE SHARES HISENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY AND VISION FOR
COLLABORATION IN JAPAN.

Photo: ©CIC Tokyo

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

L

ike so many new graduates, Tim Rowe and his
friends from the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) left their Cambridge campus
with diploma in hand and took “ordinary” jobs. A few
years later, in 1999, they quit those jobs to build
start-ups.
But they needed offices—not the easiest thing foryoung entrepreneurs to pay for in a town that’s home
to two of the world’s most prestigious universities. So
they decided to share a space near MIT and Harvard
to lighten the financial load. At least one of their companies would make it, they thought.
The shared space led them down an unexpected
path, however, as more companies moved in and theywent from five to 10 to 50 to 100. The Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) was born.
Fast forward two decades and CIC opened its first
Asia facility in Tokyo, in the Toranomon Hills Business Tower. The ACCJ Journal sat down with Rowe inthe bustling networking hub to learn more about how
he went from sharing a space with friends to leading
a community for entrepreneurs that includes more

looking for a home for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and they toured St. Louis. They came toour center and said this is the kind of vibe they werelooking for. They actually testified before Congressthat they selected St. Louis because of their experience at our center. It was a $2 billion investment, a big
deal for the local economy. After that, as other peoplecame and knocked on the door, we said, “Sure, let’slook into it.”How has the view of start-ups changed?
If you survey new college graduates, they often say the
number one thing they want to do is go create a startup. I think it’s good for the world, because what we’ve
learned is that innovation has the power to make theworld better in so many ways. But what we’re findingis that innovation gets into the world, is adopted andspreads much more quickly, through new enterprises
rather than existing ones.
When we’re part of a larger organization, we want
to respect all the rules that exist in that organization. Doing new things becomes rather hard. We

They understand that it’s not about them so, when there’s something really new
and interesting that they have in their company, they push it out. It’s like asking
your teenager to move out of your house. It’s time now, it’s time to go off.

than 1,000 companies at centers in eight cities aroundthe world.
How did CIC expand?
For the first 13 years or so, we just grew right there
in Cambridge. I had little kids at the time and didn’t
really want to travel as much. And Cambridge is anamazing place for start-ups. So, we just kept taking
more space and filling it. It was really kind of a surprise to us. We didn’t set out to build a shared spacefor start-ups as a business. We were actually justusing it for ourselves.
My mother had been the ombudsman at MIT,and one of her friends who had been the provost ofMIT, Mark Wrighton, had become the chancellor of
Washington University in St. Louis, one of the top
medical schools in the United States. She said, “Markcalled and wants you to come to St. Louis.” I was about
to give all the reasons why I didn’t know if I could dothat, but then she was like, you gotta go. Okay, Mom.
So, I flew to St. Louis and met with Mark Wrighton.
He said, “Look, we want you here, and we’re going tohelp you figure it out.”
One thing led to another and we opened in St.
Louis. A few years later, the federal government washear things such as, “We tried that once and it didn’t
work,” or “That sounds interesting, but that’s 1/1,000of the revenue of this company, so we can’t prioritize
it.” That’s normal, and it’s been well studied. But thebottom line is that existing enterprises find it very difficult to introduce true innovation.
I think the smarter of the big organizations understand this. They understand that it’s not about them,so, when there’s something really new and interestingthat they have in their company, they push it out. It’s
like asking your teenager to move out of your house.
It’s time now, it’s time to go off. They do the samething and take those teams and move them out of
headquarters.
Why did CIC choose Japan?
There’s a personal reason and there are professional
reasons. The personal reason is that, in my youth, mydad said that if I studied Japanese for a while he would
help me get an internship here. And my grandmotherspent about 10 years in Asia in her youth, in the
1920s—mostly in China but some in Japan—and shetaught me kanji when I was a kid. That all got me interested in Japan, and I was fortunate to do an internshiphere during high school.

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

29

30

Photo: ©CIC Tokyo

Professionally, if you look at the most successfulcompanies in the world—and you can use any measure, but one would be the Russell 2000 Index—allthose companies were at one point start-ups. So,
another way to look at that list is that it is a list of the
2,000 most successful start-ups ever. When you breakthem down by country, you find that the United States
and Japan tie for the number of companies on the list
adjusted by population. So, historically, Japan ties
for number one as a place to build start-ups. That’s areason to be here.
Is the Japanese government doing enough to support start-ups?
Building a start-up ecosystem is a decade-long process. A piece can come from a supportive government,
and it’s really terrific that the Japanese governmentis leaning in. Other governments that have leaned in,such as Israel, have done really well. It’s clear that anational policy that pushes in this direction can pay
big dividends.
But it’s not the only thing that needs to happen.
You also need the entrepreneurs themselves. And I
think the Japanese innovation ecosystem is responding. These days, if you talk to young Japanese people—
and this is a change, perhaps just like what started to

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

happen a decade ago in the United States—you see
many more who say they want to build a start-up.
I see Japanese universities leaning into this, which
is important. They’re doing entrepreneur programs
like those US universities started a decade or moreago. I see a growing awareness of, and interest in, what
we call innovation infrastructure. This is things
such as shared wet laboratories, the physical infrastructure that allows for new start-ups in, let’s say, thebiotech field.
We’ve built shared workspaces focused on anumber of industries. The largest so far is the wet
lab for life sciences. We collaborated with others tofound a nonprofit doing that in Cambridge. It’s called
LabCentral and is, as far as we are aware, the largest
shared wet lab on the planet. It’s over 20,000 square
meters and has every possible piece of equipment you
would need in life sciences. Then we figured out how
to make that commercially viable and built a similar
facility, a commercial one, called CIC Labs in Philadelphia. It’s the largest commercial shared wetland
facility in the world, to our knowledge.
How can Japan and the United Stateswork together?
The good news is that the interests are very aligned

31

Photo: ©CIC Tokyo

for Japan, for the United States, for Japanese companies, and for US companies in Japan. Everyone in thiscircle benefits when they figure out how to get thesecollaborations to work well, and set a different way.
If you aren’t out there working with new technologies, which are often coming from start-ups, then
you’re at risk that you’ll be Airbnb’d or Uber’d. You’rein the hotel business and someone figures out anotherway to have lodging. You’re in the taxi business andsomeone figures out another way to get people aroundthe city.
This is core to the ACCJ itself. Really, what you’retalking about is brokering conversations. You’re getting people to know each other and to talk about what
they’re doing, and how they might help each other.
When I was a young person at the Mitsubishi Research Institute in the early 1990s, I was a member ofthe ACCJ, because I saw—and I convinced my bosses—that the connections that could be made weremeaningful and important. I think it’s no less relevant
today. And I think that, as many of these companies
have evolved, one of the things they’ve come to realize
is that, while the connections between larger organizations are important, the connections between
larger organizations and smaller fledgling ones arealso important. The challenge is figuring out how tofind those little companies and how to know which
ones to work with.
What’s next for CIC in Japan?
We were approached by Nishitetsu, the major private
railway company in Kyushu. They said, we like what
we see at CIC Tokyo and we’d like to work with you tobuild another one in Fukuoka. We have announced
that we’re in a formal collaboration and will soon finish all the due diligence to make sure this will reallywork. Then we can announce if, in fact, we’re moving
ahead with construction, but it’s looking very goodand we’re excited to be headed to the second site.
We’re also in several conversations about building
some of those shared wet laboratories, robotics laboratories, and other kinds of deep tech shared spaces
here in Japan.
We’d love to hear from Journal readers on this; ifthey have ideas, they should let us know. We think
there’s a lot of demand for this kind of innovation
infrastructure. Not only does it propel start-ups, but
it also creates an environment much like CIC Tokyo
does, where larger companies can interact with, andfind interesting, smaller companies. Those are our
two main areas in the future: more in deep tech andmore locations around Japan. n

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

RECRUITMENT

32

By C Bryan Jones

Cracking the Code
Recruiter Robert Half shares how to find the best cybersecurity talent.

As digital transformation (DX) touches every
aspect of how we work and communicate,businesses face ever more complex challenges
when it comes to protecting data—whether it is theirown or that of customers. The evolution of cybersecurity means that companies must rethink how theyhire for this critical task.
Steven Li, senior division director for cybersecurity at recruitment company Robert Half, told The ACCJ
Journal that they see a lot of companies going throughdigital or IT transformations to shared service models, including for security.
“One of the challenges with security is that it’s allabout data, and it’s all about being able to see your entire ecosystem or environment using a single sourceof truth or a single tool,” he said. “And a problem you
may face is how to bring different business units thatyou’ve acquired onto a common platform for security
operations and vulnerability management, so thatwhen someone asks, ‘Are we impacted by this incident?’ you can answer with a degree of confidence.”

Robert Half advises clients on how to do just thatand helps them find the right people to lead thattransformation.

Expertise Matters

From a people perspective, previously siloed teams arebeing consolidated on a group level to create a centralized point of contact for cybersecurity that thenprovides support to each business unit, Li explained.
Instead of outsourcing technical tasks to consultants,
companies are now looking to hire specialists for theirinternal teams. But with much of this talent comingfrom outside Japan, domestic salaries are an obstacle.
“Employees here in Japan are typically rewarded
based on tenure and age instead of merit and skill,”
he noted. “To get around this, some companies havestarted to offer contracting solutions. They’ll say, let’s
do a fixed-term contract. And with this fixed-term
contract, we can step outside the bounds of our salarystructure and give the specialist what the [global]
market is paying, and a little bit more.”

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

Photo: Kayo Yamawaki

From left: Fabrizio Fumagalli, Steven Li, Kani Taeng, and Naoto Hamada

This is important as there is an estimated shortfall regulations. Fabrizio Fumagalli, Robert Half’s recruitof 190,000 cybersecurity professionals in Japan.
ing associate director for cybersecurity, pointed out“Japanese companies are not used to hiringchanges to ISO 27001, an international standard for
mid-career security professionals. They are used to
information security management systems.
hiring graduates, so to bring in someone mid-career,“This was updated in 2022, and companies havethey don’t know how to do it, where to find them,” Lithree years to comply,” Fumagalli said. “There are a
explained.
few notable requirements on code security and the“Good cybersecurity engineers don’t typicallycode supply chain. Companies need to be extremely
fit the traditional model of an IT person. They may
careful about what’s in their code and conduct appronot have finished university, but they are adept at
priate audits to assess where vulnerabilities may be.”problem-solving and seeing patterns that other people
On average, about 80 percent of the code in a typicalmight miss. We’ve placed people like this, and our cliapplication is open source, Fumagalli noted, so it canents have been absolutely happy with them,” he added. be difficult to know what vulnerabilities may be hiding
Recruiting Manager for Cybersecurity Naoto
there. As a result, companies will need people in secuHamada shared an example of how Robert Half sucrity who are proficient in software development.
cessfully placed a candidate who made a big difference“Instead of relying on documents from an external
for their client. But to do so, they had to overcome avendor, companies need a specialist who can checkchallenge common in Japan: hesitation to change jobs. the code to ensure it is secure. Teaching security is“It was for a key project, andeasier than teaching the develclosing the role was a high prioropment side, so that is where
ity. However, it’s challenging tocompanies’ priorities shouldfind this talent in Japan,” Hamada
Our clients are sharing
be,” he added.
explained. “We were able to find athat they need people
Specific to Japan, he said,
match, and he received a competwho are applicationis the need for mid-career
itive offer. But just one day before
security engineers andcybersecurity talent. “Youthe deadline, on a weekend, hecan dynamically test
cannot randomly reassign, or
messaged me and said, ‘I can’t
the code.
do rotations, as most Japanesetake this.’”companies do. Due to the speThe problem wasn’t the ofcific set of skills needed for thefer but that he felt sympatheticrole, there is an urgent need for
towards his current manager should he leave.
individuals who are experts in cybersecurity.”“After receiving the message, he asked me to comeLi added: “Our clients are sharing that they needmeet at his station in person. I outlined the benefits of people who are application security engineers andjoining this international company and how it would
can dynamically test the code, play around with it, seeprovide him the career growth opportunities in line
if they can break it. Or do static analysis by readingwith his goals,” Hamada explained. “In the end, thethe code itself and figuring out where the logic probkey element was that we helped him visualize hislems are. These skills are in extremely high demand.”priorities, then compare them to his current company. Based on this exchange, he decided to sign thePartner for Success and Security
offer and is now a key member in the newly created
In closing, Li said that Robert Half is working to change
incident response team at his new company.”
the perception of recruitment in Japan and to help
Working hands-on in this way is at the core ofclients look beyond the numbers and the next quarter.
Robert Half’s approach to recruitment. An important
If you are reassessing your cybersecurity, Li, Fumagalli,part of that are cyber risk meetups, which they host to Hamada, Taeng, and the Robert Half team are readybring together security professionals to share inforto expand upon this approach and partner with you tomation and experiences which can help bridge thebuild the best teams for today and the future. n
gap in cyber skills. A recent senior leaders’ meetup at
Deloitte focused on ransomware resilience, and a public security meetup at Microsoft focused on software
Presented in partnership with
supply chain security.
“If we all share best ideas, best practices, andexperiences, and implement those, perhaps we can
improve cybersecurity maturity in Japan,” Li said.
Register now to learn, connect, andget inspired by Robert Half Japan
Changing Regulations
networking events: roberthalf.jp
Another thing to consider is the impact of changing

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

33

TRAVEL34

Words and photos by Florentyna Leow • Presented in partnership with Fukui Prefecture

Fantastical Fukui

Nestled near the Sea of Japan, Fukui Prefecture is rich in cultural experiences.

T

here are many reasons to visit Fukui, a small
tadpole-shaped prefecture facing the Sea ofJapan. It’s home to a bevy of traditional crafts,
including washi papermaking and knife forging, aworld-class dinosaur museum, magnificent temples,rugged landscapes, and some of Japan’s best freshlycaught winter crab and sweet shrimp. Situatedbetween tourist favorites Kanazawa and Kyoto, it’s an
obvious pit stop when visiting either city.
All this begs the question: Why isn’t Fukui better
known? Call it a serious case of middle-child syndrome. Although Fukui has all the ingredients for a
fun weekend getaway, it’s often overlooked in favorof its glamorous neighbors. But this makes it ideal
if you’re looking for travel minus the crowds. Whenplanned right, a visit to this ferociously underrated
prefecture offers an eye-opening look into Japanese
crafts, cuisine, and culture.

Paper Matters

Paper rarely merits a second glance in our daily lives.
Money, flyers, utility bills—paper is just there in the
background. But a sheet of washi is a different story.
From uchiwa (summer fans) to wrappings for wagashi(Japanese sweets), handmade paper has a warmth andelegance unmatched by most machine-made papers.
If Fukui has a signature craft, it’s Echizen washi
paper. There are many varieties, all beautifully
textured and supple, delicate yet durable. With its
1,500-year history of washi production, Echizen City
is one of Japan’s top washi producers in terms of
quality, quantity, and variety.
To appreciate washi, there’s no substitute formaking a sheet yourself. I visited Ryozo Paper Mill,

Ryozo Paper MillTHE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

a family-run business in the Imadate district, toexperience the production process.
It was early winter, and the snow was startingto pile up. Winter is the best season for papermaking, I was told, because the raw material in the pulp
doesn’t spoil as quickly in the cold.
I quickly realized two things: handling paper pulp
feels like plunging your hands into a vat of ice-cold
egg white; and papermaking is bloody hard work.
Made the traditional way, tesuki washi (handmade
paper) involves quickly dipping a large wooden frame
fitted with a bamboo screen into a tub of paper pulp,
then swishing liquid pulp back and forth until thescreen is evenly coated. I made a sheet of rakusui-shi,or “water-dropping paper,” an uncommon variety
of washi made by very few craftspeople in Japan.
I couldn’t believe how much fun I’d had making it.
Suddenly, every sheet of washi I’d seen in Fukui
made sense, each the result of skill and techniquehoned over a lifetime.

Sharp as a Knife

If paper is best made in the cold, the fiery process ofknife-making feels like its thermal opposite.
Once known as Takefu, Echizen’s history of knifemaking stretches back 700 years, beginning withsickles and fighting swords to bonsai tools and chef ’s
knives. One small facility in particular attracts a steadystream of knife enthusiasts from all over the world.
Started as a cooperative between a dozen local
independent manufacturers, Takefu Knife Village
is something of a curiosity. You can shop for knives,
but also learn about local knife-making history, takepart in a workshop, and watch the artisans at work.

Takefu Knife Village

Because it’s a cooperative by name and in practice, the craftspeople from all the different knife
companies share equipment and make their products in the same space. There’s no secretive squirrelling-away of technique and know-how; it’s an unusually democratic operation compared with manyother industries.
I tried out a treadle hammer to flatten vaguely
blade-shaped bits of steel. Using a treadle hammer,
if you have never tried it, is an awesome and challenging feat of hand-foot-eye coordination plus somephysical strength (neither of which I possess). You
heat two steel molds in fire until they’re bright red,
remove them with tongs, and set them under thehammer. With your right foot, you gently press apedal to activate the murderous pulverizing hammer while simultaneously moving the blades counterclockwise, making sure the hammer pounds thesurface evenly while the steel is hot and malleable. It
was one of the coolest things I’d ever done in my life.

35

Seikogani-zukushi

Disappearing Art

Trading metal for wood, Oyanagi Tansu, the fourthgeneration maker of tansu (Japanese storage chests
or cabinets), offers a workshop tour that provides
incredible insight into the disappearing art of tansumaking, which requires a mastery of three separate
crafts: sashimono (wood joinery), lacquering, andmetalwork. A dwindling number of craftspeople specializing in each of these tasks means that Oyanagi
now handles the entire process from start to finish.
I’d never been so dazzled by cabinets, and had
to leave hastily before I shelled out several hundred
thousand yen for a karakuri tansu full of hidden trickmechanisms and secret drawers—perfect for hiding
my stack of diaries.
Also near Takefu Station is Urushiya, a buckwheat noodle restaurant set in a traditional wooden
house. Its claim to fame is having once served
Echizen oroshi soba (soba with grated radish) to theShowa emperor. We ate our way through plates ofpressed sushi, tempura, and an array of bite-sizedappetizers. The noodles alone were worth the wait.
Maybe you’re only in Fukui for a lunchtime traintransfer. In that case, drop by Fukufuku Chaya in the
Tourism Promotion Building next to Fukui Station
for the Echizen Seikogani-zukushi, a winter-onlysnow crab-themed feast. A crab-stravaganza, if you
will. Wedged between two souvenir shops, Urushiya
is hardly the most atmospheric restaurant, but whocares when lunch consists of four crab dishes, several sides, and soba to finish?

Morning Mantra

However, if I could only choose one experience worth
the extra trek out of central Fukui, it would be joining

Prayers at Eiheiji

the morning prayers at Eiheiji; its name translates to“Temple of Eternal Peace.”
Ensconced on a cedar-covered mountain slope
15 kilometers east of Fukui City, this 13th-century
Zen Buddhist temple complex is one of the largest,
most-visited temples in Japan. It’s not far, but withmore forest than buildings in its vicinity, this serenemonastery is remote enough to feel a world away.
In 2019, Eiheiji and tourism corporation Fujita
Kanko teamed up to open Hakujukan. The 18-room
inn, located in front of the monastery, embodies
traditional Japanese aesthetics. The facility caters
largely to foreign tourists interested in experiencing
the world of Zen without forgoing comforts such as
multicourse dinners, alcohol, and hot spring baths.
At 5:30 a.m., we gathered in the lobby and followed our guide up the slope to the temple, trudging
through ankle-deep snow in the dark.
At half past six, dozens of barefoot monks cladin black robes filed into the hall, sat in orderly rows,
and began the morning prayers. I was raised in a culturally Buddhist environment, so listening to monks
chant sutras wasn’t new; but listening to about 60of them do it in perfect unison was. It shifts yourperspective, when you can see yourself taking part ina centuries-old practice of people coming together topray. It felt good to feel so small.
Was this worth the trip to Fukui? I certainly
thought so. Only time will tell if Fukui receives theattention it deserves. In the meantime, I’d pay it avisit before everyone else finds out. n

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TRAVEL36

Words and photos by C Bryan Jones • Presented in partnership with Kanagawa Prefecture

Past Meets Future

Kanagawa offers travelers a gateway to Japanese culture, tradition, and nature.

T

he glass panel separating the Enoura Observatory’s gallery from Sagami Bay erupts in anorange glow. It’s the summer solstice and thesun rises in perfect alignment with the long, narrowgallery designed by Japanese contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. The fiery spectacle, a cornerstone ofthis extraordinary project which intertwines art andnature, illuminates Sugimoto’s famous series of blackand-white seascape photographs, which lines the walland leads you to the edge of the water.
Visiting this gallery is an incredible start to ourtour of four stops in Kanagawa Prefecture that take us
through time, capturing deep tradition and forwardlooking vision. While Tokyo may top the list for travelers exploring Japan, neighboring Kanagawa once
played the same role and today is home to some of thenation’s most beautiful scenery and opportunities tocome face to face with Japan’s deep history.

Enoura Observatory gallery

This first stop, the expansive facility nestled in the
Enoura district of Odawara, is on the outermost edgeof the Hakone Mountains. It opened in 2017 and, ashome to many of Sugimoto’s works, is managed by the
Odawara Art Foundation.
Exploring the observatory is a contemplative experience—and that’s by design. “[Sugimoto] didn’t wantpeople to just stay inside, looking at his artwork, so hedeveloped this concept,” explains Odawara Art Foundation Director Haruko Hoyle. “People can come here,
get away from their busy life, and contemplate where
they came from, where they are going, and their ideal
relationship with nature.”
The architectural alignment that allows the summer solstice spectacle is an example of this intentional reconnection with nature. So is the design of a70-meter-long tunnel of stone and rusted corten steel
which runs underneath the gallery and creates a similar view of the winter solstice. A light well at its center
provides a refuge for contemplation. This reflection
on how ancient people looked to the sky and built astronomical markers, such as Stonehenge in England,is part of Sugimoto’s philosophy.
Another reflection on Japan’s past, and a reprieve
from modern life, can be found in the Uchoten
teahouse. Its style was inspired by that of a nationaltreasure in Kyoto, and it was designed by 16th-century
tea master Sen no Rikyu. But Sugimoto gave the small
space a local touch.
“As this was an abandoned citrus grove, there wasa small storage [shed] which was used for harvesting,”
Hoyle explains. “He took the corrugated tin roof off
and placed it on top of the teahouse. Today, when it
rains, you hear the ‘ton, ton, ton’ sound of the falling
drops, so he named it Uchoten, ‘rain-listen-heaven’.”Here, Sugimoto has created a loving and visionary
tribute not only to nature and art but to nature as art.
It’s well worth a trip to Odawara to traverse the tunnel, stroll through the groves, and sense the pulse ofhistory presented in unexpected ways.

Okada Museum of Art

Uchoten teahouse

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

From the coast of Sagami Bay, we wind our way along
mountain roads into the depths of Hakone to visit the
Okada Museum of Art.
The facility welcomed its first guests in 2013 andis celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. With an
exhibition area of 5,000 square meters, it is the area’s
largest museum.

37

Kotaro Fukui’s Kaze/Toki

The first glimpse of art can be seen from outside.
At 30 meters wide by 12 meters high, it is difficult to
miss. Kotaro Fukui’s enormous mural entitled Kaze/
Toki (Wind/Time) depicts the Wind God and ThunderGod, painted on 640 gold-ground panels.
As we make our way around the exterior, wecome upon trails running up the hillside. The area isparticularly beautiful in the fall, when the foliage isablaze with fiery colors, but also tantalizingly tranquil
in winter, when snowfall casts the sloping hill in ethereal white. A mix of wooded areas, trickling streams,
delicate waterfalls, and picturesque ponds, the entire
path can take 10–20 minutes to fully traverse.
But the true delights are inside the five-story
museum, where you’ll find an extensive collection of
more than 450 treasures from Japan, South Korea,
China, and other East Asian countries.
Learning about the art is easy, thanks to the LCD
touch screens placed in front of many pieces which

Sketch of the Ihoan tea hut

Museum of Art’s 10th anniversary celebration, it continues through June 4. Part 2, featuring Utamaro and
Hokusai, will run from June 11 to December 10.
On the fifth floor are pieces of religious art,
including sutra manuscripts, paintings, and Buddha
statues from Japan’s Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura(1185–1333) Periods. The craftsmanship of these woodcarved figures is astounding.
With such a wealth of art on display, it takes about
two hours to view the entire collection.
Admission is ¥2,800 for adults and university students and ¥1,800 for elementary through high school.

Jochi-ji Houan

An hour from Tokyo, hidden in a forested valley
behind Jochi-ji Temple in Kita-Kamakura, is a quaintlittle tea house that time forgot.
Built in 1934 by journalist Tai Sekiguchi, Houan ishome to three tea rooms—one an eight-tatami space[People] used green tea as a sort of stimulant to keep awake during meditation.
Green tea was [also] a favorite of samurai warriors before going into battle.

offer notes in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean.
Each of the first two exhibition floors has adistinctive flavor and story to tell as you stroll thetimeline of artistic and cultural history.
The first houses ceramics from China’s Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), Tang Dynasty (618–907), andQing Dynasty (1644–1911), as well as Korea’s Goryeo(918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1910) Dynasties.
The second features Japanese art, primarily
screen paintings from the Momoyama (1573–1600)
and Edo (1603–1868) Periods. Taikan Yokoyama’s 1926
work Mt. Fuji, a sprawling 94x873-centimeter hanging
scroll, is a centerpiece of the floor’s collection and ison display through June 4.
The third floor is reserved for special exhibitions.
At the time of our visit, Jakuchu and Isson • Transcending Time, an exhibition featuring Edo-Period
painter Jakuchu Ito and Isson Tanaka, an artist fromthe Showa Period, is on display. Part 1 of the Okada

that accommodates eight to 10 people and a smaller
room of four mats which looks out onto the garden
behind the house. Smaller still, a separate tea housebased on the famous Ihoan tea hut inside Kyoto’s Kodai-ji Temple offers an intimate space for two people.
Houan was designed by Bunzo Yamaguchi, one of
the leaders of Japan’s modernist architectural movement, and is an example of the sukiya style of Japanese architecture, which dates back to the Momoyama Period. Based on a natural aesthetic and rustic
simplicity, sukiya is intended to exist in harmony withthe surroundings; and Houan certainly does.
We explore the house on arrival with Southi
Yokoyama, a professor of the Omotesenke school oftea ceremony. Yokoyama shares about the connection green tea has to the area, and some of its roles inJapanese history.
“Kamakura had a lot of Zen temples and many
people practiced Zen meditation, so they used green

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

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tea as a sort of stimulant to keep awake during
meditation,” she explains. And on a fiercer note, she
adds that green tea was a favorite of samurai warriors
before going into battle.
As we prepare to take part in the tea ceremony, welearn the proper way to wash our hands in the basinoutside before entering the tea house.
Hands cleansed, we take our positions, kneeling on the tatami, and Yokoyama explains each stepof the ceremony, including how to sip the tea andenjoy the delectable wagashi (Japanese sweet) whichaccompanies the tea to take away the bitterness.
Savoring these flavors through the silent steps of thiscenturies-old tradition is a momentary escape into
tranquility.
A mix of historical perspective and cultural immersion, our hour-long visit to Houan made for apeaceful and memorable morning in this beautiful
city that served as Japan’s capital for almost 150 years.

statue of Benzaiten, the Goddess of Water and Wealthand the only female among the Japanese Seven Godsof Good Fortune, before entering the darkness of the
Bentenkutsu Cave. Inside, Benzaiten and her 16 followers are chiseled out of rock walls.
As our guide explains, legend says that Kobo Daishi(775–835), known as Kukai during his lifetime, traveled
across Japan to spread Buddhism and secluded himself in this very cave. Here, he meditated and attained
a state of spiritual communication with Benzaiten,
and carved a wooden statue of the goddess.
Up the hill is Kannondo Hall, which houses the statue of the Kannon Boddhisattva, said to have washedashore in 736. Standing an astonishing 9.18 meterstall, it is one of the largest wooden Buddhist statues inJapan. According to legend, it has been enshrined here
since the temple’s founding 1,300 years ago.
In the Kannon sutra, Kannon appears in 33 different forms to best appeal to the nature of eachIn the Kannon sutra, Kannon appears in 33 different forms to best
appeal to the nature of each individual whom they are guiding out
of suffering and toward enlightenment.

Hasedera

individual whom they are guiding out of suffering
Just a short walk from Hase Station on the quaint and and toward enlightenment. We come face to face withhistoric Enoden train line is Hasedera, an eighththese 33 avatars in the form of exquisitely detailed,century Buddhist Temple that is one the oldest andlife-size carved wooden statues in the museum whichmost significant in Kamakura. Formally the Kaikozan
adjoins the chamber where the centerpiece Kannon
Jishion Hasedera, it is believed to have been founded
Boddhisattva resides.
in 736 after an 11-faced Kannon Boddhisattva statue
We also examine the bonsho (temple bell), made in
washed ashore on Nagaiura Beach in Sagaminokuni
1264. Now preserved in a glass case, it is the third oldand was brought to Kamakura.
est bonsho in Kamakura and bears the earliest known
Hasedera is the fourth of the four temples on theinscription of the name Hasedera. It was replaced in
Bando 33 Kannon pilgrimage route. As we arrive, a1984 after an astonishing 720 years of service.
group of visitors is gathering near the entrance to
As our tour comes to a close, we make our final
conclude their own
stop at the onsite
journey.
Kaikoan ResWe’re greeted bytaurant. And as
one of the temple’s
we unwind bymonks who will
the window, thelead us on a guided
panoramic view
tour of the beautiful
across Yuigahama
grounds featuring
Beach and Sagami
koi ponds, rock
Bay is enchanting.
gardens, waterfalls,
It is easy to see why
and a variety ofKama­kura drew
trees and flowers.
so many seeking
As we stroll
connection withthrough this trannature all thosequil setting, we see
centuries ago. n
Carved wooden statues depict the 33 avatars of Kannon.
the eight-armed

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

39

Tailor-made styleMade-to-measure business and smart casual wear
by Hong Kong tailor Vinod Bahrunani

Schedule a free consultation and receive a complimentary shirt, no obligation.
Appointments at: Tokyo American Club ( July 5–9)
ANA InterContinental Akasaka ( July 9 –12)
Note that non-members can also have fittings at the Club.

Email: sales@eutailors.com
www.euromerican.com

TAX

By Eiji Miura • Presented in partnership with

2023 Tax Reforms

How changes to gift tax rules and audits will impact you.

On December 16, 2022, the Government ofJapan released its 2023 tax reform proposals.
The amendments contain changes to the rules
related to gifts and inheritance tax. The proposals
have been promulgated into law and entered into force
on April 1. Here is an overview of the changes.

Seven Year Lookback for Gifts

Currently, gifts bestowed within three years of the giver’s death are added back to the estate of the deceased
for Japan inheritance tax (IHT) purposes. The valueof the assets is reduced by any gift tax paid at the time
the gift was received, and this amount is then subject
to IHT along with the other assets of the deceased.
To offset this, one aspect of long-term estate planning is to make small annual gifts which are taxed at
gift-tax rates lower than the effective IHT rate that would
be levied if the gifts had remained part of the estate.
The reforms increased the lookback period to sevenyears for gifts made on or after January 1, 2024. This
brings Japan in line with countries such as the UK.
Unlike the UK, however, there is no gradual reduction in the value of the gift over the seven-year period.
One hundred percent of the gift’s value is added backto the taxable estate, regardless of whether it wasmade seven years or one day prior to death. A ¥1 million deduction is allowed for gifts made between threeand seven years prior to someone’s passing.
This has a major impact on lifetime estate planning,as gifts made on or after January 1, 2024, will be subject
to a seven-year lookback for inheritance tax purposes.
For expats, discussion about Japan IHT planningwith overseas parents can be difficult—especially
if being subject to the Japanese rules would impact
overseas planning. However, these changes will accelerate the need for gift planning during 2023.

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

Valuation Methods for High-Rise Apartments

Although there are no specific amendments, anotherissue that needs to be considered in the near future is
the government’s discussion of amending the rules surrounding the IHT valuation of apartments in high-rises.
Currently, due to the use of various tax valuations,
there can be a large disparity between the fair market value of an apartment and its tax basis for IHT
purposes. For apartments in certain parts of Tokyo,
the IHT value can be significantly lower than the fairmarket value. This disparity can be used to reduce thevalue of an estate considerably for IHT purposes.

Tax Audit Statistics

The government also released tax audit statistics inDecember, covering audits conducted between July
2021 and June 2022. Direct comparisons with previous years are unreliable, due to the impact of the pandemic on the tax authority’s ability to conduct audits.
However, the number of audits involving overseas
assets increased 20 percent on the year, and is nearing
pre-pandemic levels. About two-thirds of the cases
involved undisclosed assets in North America or Asia.
The number of simple inquiries, where the tax
office contacts a taxpayer by post or phone, increased
by eight percent and is 40 percent higher than prepandemic levels. This indicates a shift to less formal
inquiries to identify taxpayers who require a full audit.

Summary

The increase in the lookback period for gifts accelerates the need for planning before the end of the year.
Current planning utilizing high-rise apartments may
also need to be revisited. As always, with any informal
contact from the tax office, it is wise to consult withyour tax advisor before submitting a response. n

Year of passing
2028
2029

2030

2031

2032

2033

2034

2035

Year of gift

2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
Gift brought back into estate:under previous three-year rule

under new seven-year rule

For more information, please contact Grant Thornton Japan at info@jp.gt.com.
www.grantthornton.jp/en
THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

41

Corporate Sustaining
Member Companies
The ACCJ thanks these organizations for their extensive participation, which provides a cornerstone in thechamber’s efforts to promote a better business climate in Japan. Information as of May 23, 2023.

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE

3M Japan Limited

Fortinet Japan G.K.

NetAppAbbott Laboratories/Abbott Japan LLC

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Tokyo

Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd.

AbbVieGE JapanNissan Motor Co., Ltd.

Aflac

Gensler and Associates/International, Ltd.

Northrop Grumman JapanAIG Companies in Japan

Gilead Sciences K.K.

Novartis

Amazon Japan G.K.

Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd.

NTT

Amway Japan G.K.

Google Japan G.K.

Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc.

APCO Worldwide G.K.

GR Japan K.K.

P&G Japan G.K.

AstraZeneca K.K.

Hard Rock Japan LLC

Pattern Energy Group LP

Bank of America

HiltonPfizer Japan Inc.

The Bank of New York Mellon

Hines

Prudential Financial, Inc.

Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd.

IBM Japan, Ltd.

PwC Japan

Boeing Japan K.K.

Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies

Qualcomm Japan LLC

Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K.

KPMG

Randstad K.K.

Carlyle Japan LLC

Kraft Heinz Japan

Robert Half Japan

Caterpillar

Lenovo Japan Ltd.

Robert Walters Japan K.K.

Chevron International Gas Inc. Japan Branch

Lockheed Martin

Salesforce Japan Co., Ltd.

CIC Tokyo

Mastercard Japan K.K.

Squire Patton Boggs

Citigroup

Match GroupState Street

Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., Ltd.

McKinsey & Company, Inc. Japan

Stryker Japan K.K.

Cummins Japan Ltd.

MetLifeThomson Reuters

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC

Micron Memory Japan, G.K.

TYO Inc.

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.

Uber Japan Co., Ltd.

ELC Japan K.K.

Mitsuuroko Group Holdings Co., Ltd.

Visa Worldwide (Japan) Co., Ltd.

en world Japan

Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP

The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd.

EY JapanMorgan Stanley Japan Holdings Co., Ltd.

Western Digital Japan

Facebook JapanMSD K.K.

White & Case LLP

Federal Express Japan Godo Kaisha

Naigai Industries, Inc.

Zimmer Biomet G.K.

Want to join the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan?

We offer membership programs for entrepreneurs, executives, individuals, and companies of all sizes—from small and medium-sized enterprise to multinational companies.
For details: accj.or.jp/join-us

THE ACCJ JOURNAL • SPRING/SUMMER 2023

A Night
of Stars &StripesThe
Celebrates
the Fourth of July
Festive food& drinks!

Live
music!

Independence Day is just around the corner, andwe’re thrilled to bring together ACCJ members,
special guests, and friends for our second annual
celebration at Tokyo American Club. You don’t
want to miss this red, white, and blue evening!

July 3

6:00–8:00 p.m.

Facing Post-Covid challenges?
We have been in Japan for 60 years.
We can help you – call us.


Sales



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Communication

Leadership



♀♂♀♂

Presentations

Diversity, Equity& Inclusion

Dr. Greg Story,
President, Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training
Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training
Akasaka 2-chome Annex 5th Floor, 2-19-8 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052
TEL: 0120-987-099, 03-4563-1963 weekdays 9:00~18:00, closed Sat/Sun/Holidays
FAX: 03-4563-1964
Full details on all courses and training schedules at DALE-CARNEGIE.CO.JP/EN