In a few days, I will be arriving to Tokyo, Japan. I was there in 2001 as part of my Management of Technology International Study Program. We had a blast visiting numerous companies in Japan and Singapore (Japan Productivity Center, NTT-DoCoMo, Kao Corporation, Sony Corporate Research Center and more). Our purpose was to compile American Practitioners’ Views of Technology Management in Japanese and Singaporean High-Technology Organizations. 

However, this trip is all about having fun! I am taking my 11-year-old to see Tokyo, Nikko, Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji, Hiroshima and surrounding areas. He is looking forward to visiting all the electronics and anime stores in Tokyo.  

Here is a quick look at our observations from 2001. Overall, we summarized our views of Japan and changes Japanese institutions were experiencing as such:

• Governmental reorganization and consolidation;
• Universities attempting to become more relevant to industry needs;
• Large industrial firms lessening their ties to keiretsu suppliers and to policies such as lifetime employment;
• The beginning of entrepreneurial-driven startups and small businesses, of spin-offs and entrepreneurial activities in large businesses, and of financial and economic reforms in the Japanese economy.

• Establishing more R&D operations in foreign countries;
• Systematically seeking foreign alliance partners to collaborate on R&D programs/projects;
• Seeking relationships with foreign universities, research institutes, venture capital groups, and high-technology startups;
• Establishing foreign outposts aimed at identifying small companies with valuable technology for possible equity investment or acquisition.

We also noted some significant differences between the Japanese view of technology management techniques and the US:

• Although the Japanese appear to be recognizing shareholders rehetorically as an important stakeholder group, customers and employees remain a focus of management attention;
• Although low-value-adding manufacturing is being moved offshore to low-cost countries, domestic manufacturing operations remain integral to perceived strengths;
• In contrast with the R&D model of buying technology through the acquisition of small, high-technology companies, popularized by Cisco and others, the Japanese continue to prefer internal development, even if it takes longer;
• In contrast with the popular US view of the desirability of narrowing and focusing on core businesses and competencies and selling off or outsourcing the rest, these firms remain more convinced of the value of large size, diversification, and vertical integration. 

At the end, I don’t know how much opportunity I’ll get to observe changes in the business environment since 2001. However, I am looking forward to our adventure.

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