1. One needs to consider how one's own products will be affected by trends. If the lifespan of a product is short, then it is necessary to think about one's next products. Once in a distance learning teleconference, the representative of a certain Asian company said that he wanted to sell television stands to Japan, and gave an on-screen presentation. The company had a wide and varied lineup. In Japan, however, the switch to slim plasma and LCD wide-screen TVs will unfortunately eliminate the need for TV stands. While they may still sell for another two or three years, there is a strong possibility that they will no longer be needed after that time. Another time, we received an inquiry from a foreign company seeking to sell lubricants for cutting tools and other machine tools. Due to the pollution problems caused by the discharge of large quantities of lubricants during the manufacturing process, however, Japan is currently doing everything it can to switch to machining methods that do not require lubricants. One method entering use at the current transitional stage makes use of small amounts of oil applied as a mist. As this mist also generates pollution, "mist collectors" that remove the mist after processing have already appeared on the market. This is true also of the situation in other developed countries. Demand for both TV stands and lubricants may therefore disappear in Japan in the near future. It is thus important to design and manufacture products with a proper awareness of changes and trends in the times.
   
   
2. Something that often strikes one is how many representatives of foreign companies do not take any notes during talks with Japanese companies. While one might think this is because they have excellent memories and can remember all the details of discussions, this is by no means the case. Japanese people are unwilling to trust people who adopt such an attitude, and think as a consequence that they place little importance in business talks. It is essential to take down the main points of discussions. Taking notes is regarded by Japanese companies as a sign of enthusiasm and seriousness. Borrowing a pen and paper from someone is naturally therefore out of the question. Always carry writing utensils with you in order to take notes.
   
   
3. Catalogs need to be made more complete. Sometimes no details are given of the size or weight of products. Where it says "patent pending", sometimes no indication is given of in which country. Possibly afraid of information leaks, companies sometimes fail to give the patent numbers of patented products, and the warranty period may also not be indicated. It is in addition necessary to state details such as what color a product is. Catalogs are so important that they are known as "silent salesmen", and they need to be made more comprehensive.
   
   
4. The word "international", meaning "bilateral" or "between countries", is now hackneyed. We live in a borderless, global age where the world is our competitor, making it vital to make full use of IT and computers to track developments and information regarding competitors around the world in order to survive. Companies must collect up-to-the-minute information making use of all available sources of information.
   
   
5. Checking whether there really exists demand for one's products in Japan is a top priority. For example, compared with Europe and North America, there is still little demand for products such as candles, photo stands, coasters, luncheon mats and Christmas decorations. This is because they are used less frequently in Japan. It is a mistake to think that something will sell well in Japan simply because it sells in Europe or North America. Sizes of clothing and footwear also differ between Japan and Europe and North America. If you want to market to Japan, you will have to adapt to Japanese sizes.
   
   
6. I once visited a certain Asian country's textiles and clothing fair in Japan. Among the exhibits of materials, fabrics and clothing was a booth exhibiting artificial pearl accessories. I went to have a closer look and asked the booth attendant the price of a pearl necklace. It was an ordinary single-strand choker with beads and cut glass arranged between 6-millimeter pearls. The attendant answered that the FOB price was Ä3,000. Astounded, I asked whether this was per dozen, but she confirmed it was per necklace. Estimating the cost price in my head based on my past experience, I estimated it to be worth around Ä100. Asking if the price was really that high, she answered, "There are plenty of Japanese companies that will pay that much". While I fully realize that the price will change according to who the buyer is, the price increases the closer you get to the retailer. But Ä3,000 is certainly too much, even as a retail price, which really should only have been around Ä1,000 at most. The attendant was just spouting nonsense. Though me may have thought that I was not really interested, she should at least have made an effort considering how far she had come to Osaka at considerable expense.
   
   
7. As I have written in the past, the details of products must be accurate. We once arranged business appointments with Japanese companies for a business mission from a country in Asia when it was discovered that the actual product concerned was not the same as the product that they had told us about beforehand, so the talks were a waste of time for both sides. One of these products was a "security camera", which was taken to mean a surveillance camera. An appointment was therefore arranged with a leading Japanese manufacturer and distributor of surveillance cameras, and a security company that used such cameras. However, it turned out that what the company wanted to sell in Japan was a camera designed primarily for monitoring purposes. This could be hooked up to a personal computer to enable, for example, parents to see their children at kindergarten from work, people to check on the whereabouts of senile old people, and employers to check on how their employees were working. Cameras with this capability are already to be found on the market in Japan, and are hardly novel anymore. Had the company accurately stated from the outset that the camera's primary purpose was not surveillance, but rather that it was a camera primarily capable of monitoring, it would have been possible to arrange a meeting with more suitable Japanese companies. A further example is that of a company that announced that it wanted to sell "heat-treated steel strips", "cold steel strips" and "carbon steel for tools", and so it was put in touch with suitable companies. In reality, however, the steel was only suitable for saws. Had we been informed from the beginning that it was for saws, they would have been able to meet a more appropriate Japanese companies. These two examples vividly illustrate the importance of providing accurate information on products from the outset. The companies concerned as a consequence simply wasted a large sum of money on coming to Japan to no avail.
   
   
8. Foreign companies frequently come to us asking to be put in touch with companies from which they can parallel import well-known Japanese brands. Being parallel imports, they must naturally be genuine, which means they have to be purchased either from the overall distributor for Japan or a brand's designated regional distributor. However, these distributors are not interested in such an offer, even though they may desperately want to export if they have too much stock that they want to reduce. This is because they would be stripped of their license as soon as the maker of the brand found out. Furthermore, if overseas distributors of the brand in the country exported to found out, they would immediately report the results of their investigations to the Japanese brand maker. If this happened, the Japanese exporter would immediately lose its license. Foreign companies need to understand that Japanese distributors do not do things that would cause them to lose their hard-earned distribution licenses.