Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Thomas A. Beckett" <thomas AT tbeckett.com>]

        Some of y'all may have heard that I recently travelled to Japan on
business.  I was fortunate to be invited to participate in the Invest in
Japan Study Program (ISJP) sponsored by the Japan External Trade
Organization (JETRO).  This was a "junket" to the extent that JETRO
footed almost all the cost; it was no junket in that JETRO kept us very
busy, introducing me and the other participants to several different
areas of the country, having us give presentations on our businesses and
meeting IT businesspeople everywhere we went.  (My presentations were
evidently well met:  I often found myself unable to partake of the
lovely food provided at some of the receptions given for us because so
many folks wanted to come up and talk with me about catalogue.com!)  

        The other IJSP participants came from around the world:  India,
Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands and even California.  Everyone spoke
English well except the Californian, who spoke Sarcasm, but could still
make himself understood.  The businesses represented were fairly diverse
as well.  Catcom was the only Internet development services company in
the bunch.  

        In addition to presentations and meetings in Tokyo, the program took 
us
to Sapporo in Hokkaido, the northermost island of the Nipponese chain,
and to Koriyama and Yamagata, two cities in northern Honshu (the main
island).  

        Hokkaido was the most impressive of the lot.  The prefectural (state)
government has been focusing on high tech and particularly info tech
industrial development for several years, and have quite a few companies
already established there:  names like Fujitsu and IBM.  The real
surprise was that they have adopted -- in one business park at least --
the moniker "Research Triangle North", after a similar successful
research park in North Carolina.  That triangle comprises the cities of
Sapporo, Ebetsu and Chitose, and includes quite a bit of infrastructural
and economic support from the national and local governments.  One big
part of the Japanese government's efforts at rescuing their economy is
heavy investment in infrastructure.  In Hokkaido and other places this
seems to have taken shape in a "build it and they will come" approach,
resulting in a number of attractive business campuses and research
facilities and financial incentives for businesses to establish
facilities there.  It seems to be working.  And the architecture is
incredible; the new buildings were very imaginitive, much more so than
the boring boxes going up all around here.  

        I'd like to say that JETRO gave us some time for fun in Sapporo as
well, but it didn't work out that way.  On our original schedule they
did include a visit to the Sapporo brewery, and I was prepared to give
them a lot of credit for recognizing the strategic importance of beer in
the IT industry.  However our little group was apparently so much in
demand with the local business developers that they cancelled that in
favor of more facility inspections.  I can tell you truthfully that the
sushi in Hokkaido is better than anywhere else, and they make a mean
bowl of ramen.  

        I was also amused at how defensive the locals there were about the
winter weather.  They get something like 7 meters of snow each year, and
we were welcomed to town by an early sprinkling of snow -- about 5
inches -- which was quite beautiful.  Almost every presentation by local
representatives began with a remark about the snow and the weather, and
then "but we really have a lot to offer in the way of xyz...."  

        Hokkaido has a lot to recommend it for establishing a business 
presence
in Nippon.  The costs there are so much lower than Tokyo, the natural
surroundings and quality of life offer so much more.  The offsetting
factor may be one of credibility, as Japan is so Tokyo-centric that if
you're not there, or at least in Osaka or Kyoto, you risk not being
taken seriously.  I suppose one solution would be to put your operations
in "Research Triangle North" and keep a marketing team in Tokyo.  

        Well, I've probably gone on too much for one sitting.  I'd like to
continue relating my experiences, if there's interest on the list. 
There's a lot more to tell, especially about the people and the *food*. 
My god, the food....

Tom Beckett