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During the middle of a three-day holiday break, I attended an event hosted by an organization that supports a particular country. Hearing reports on the real situation on the ground and how donations are being used gave me time to truly reflect on the weight of what "support" means. At the venue, there were people continuing to provide support in various ways, each doing "what they can within their own capacity…
It's been a while since my last post. These past few months have been incredibly busy, with work continuing from morning to night. That said, compared to when I first started my business with zero sales and couldn't see any way forward, this is nothing to complain about. This is all thanks to the support—both visible and invisible—from everyone around me. I'm truly grateful. ♪ Still, quite a lot has happened this year…
As of today, I have graduated from the business community that I have been part of for approximately 2 years and 5 months. I am truly grateful—I was able to grow from knowing absolutely nothing about business to at least reaching a level where I can keep things turning like a bicycle wheel. ♪ I made the decision to graduate in preparation for full-scale international expansion starting next year. However, I am...
When I was working as an environmental assessment specialist, I heard this story from a colleague. There was a time when the public was concerned about chlorine compounds in tap water becoming carcinogenic substances. During that period, a certain country decided in parliament that chlorine was the culprit and stopped chlorinating their tap water. So what happened next? Well, certainly...
Several years ago, while working in a Southeast Asian country, I took a vacation to visit my local colleague's family home. It was quite a remote village, but it was a place where the Japanese military had been stationed during the Pacific War. According to what I heard, all the Japanese soldiers died in combat with the Allied forces, but the village had a large tree planted there to honor their memory, and even now…
I've heard from several business acquaintances lately that if you want to grow your business, ultimately you have to keep at it—that's a must! That said, it's not easy to maintain consistency... So I decided to create a system for maintaining consistency using Chat GPT! I prepared about 20 tasks I wanted to do every day, and...
Recently, I've been posting on a certain business SNS in both English and Japanese. While ChatGPT can easily translate into English, I sometimes feel that the intent isn't getting across. To maintain my own English skills, I take the extra effort to follow this approach: 1. First, I draft the text in Japanese. 2. Then... (your text appears to be cut off here) Could you provide the complete text? I'm ready to translate the full passage once you share it.
I took a four-day trip to Miyazaki with Takachiho as the main destination, starting last Friday! As you probably know, Takachiho in particular is said to be the setting of Japanese mythology, with important shrines scattered throughout the area, including shrines related to the famous legend of Ama-no-Iwato. It's truly a paradise for shrine enthusiasts. By the way, when you visit shrines or temples, I imagine most people offer prayers or make wishes. I wonder what kinds of wishes people make...
While everyone else was enjoying their Obon holidays, I was glued to my PC at home working away. So now I'm taking some time off and visiting Takachiho, a place I've always wanted to see. I had a lot of things I was looking forward to, but on the first day, I experienced "Yoru Kagura" (Night Kagura), a nationally designated intangible cultural property. The performances—if you can call them that—were roughly presented in two parts. One was based on the famous legend of Ama no Iwato and had a solemn...
Recently, we had the opportunity to visualize the business workflow of a certain client. Their request stemmed from a challenge where detailed tasks that couldn't be handled by their core system were being managed manually through paper and Excel—creating complexity that they desperately wanted to resolve. Even mid-sized clients still rely heavily on paper and Excel on the front lines of their operations. Chat…
I participated in the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers about 3X years ago (that would give away my age...), and since then, I've consistently been involved with development issues in emerging countries. What strikes me is how much the players addressing social challenges have shifted over these past few decades. This is quite a broad observation, but I'd like to touch on it briefly. In the 1970s, the main actors solving social challenges were unmistakably...
Last weekend, I attended an activity report meeting for developing country support organized by a certain organization (as usual, I'm unable to disclose the country name). At the social gathering afterwards, I may have had a bit too much to drink and felt like I was about to spout ectoplasm, but setting that aside... About 20 people participated, and there was a live report from the field via online connection. Leading up to that...
In our previous post, we touched on social issues from the perspective of "externalities." As a continuation of that discussion, this time we'll explore the question: "How can business solve social issues?" The key concept is "internalization of externalities." I apologize for introducing another complex term, but essentially, it's about suppressing activities that have a negative impact on society, or for society...
Our company operates what is known as social business—approaching the resolution of challenges in developing countries through business activities. However, we sometimes receive feedback like this: "If a business is profitable, isn't it already contributing to society in a normal way?" It's true that all businesses provide valuable products and services, create employment, and through business…
Recently, I've been thinking that my eyes feel strained from looking at displays too much. Then Amazon released a Kindle device with Color E-Ink, which caught my interest. However, the thing is, you can only read Kindle books on it... You can't browse the web, and you can't read Smanyu or other e-books either...
I received this from my business peer Masaya Najo lol おまえらァァァァァァ！！！ ELIMINATE WASTE DAAAAAAA！！！！！
I was recently invited to a one-year anniversary event at a cross-industry networking gathering, so I decided to attend. Among approximately 30 participants, I exchanged business cards with 11 people. What surprised me was that 5 of those business owners were engaged in, or had some involvement with, socially responsible business initiatives in some form or another! To be honest, I had assumed that these kinds of efforts were something "large enterprises…
# A Country Without "Thank You"? Insights from East Timor This is a story from my time working as a JICA expert in East Timor. What surprised me first was that the local language (Tetum) has no word equivalent to "thank you." Instead, people use "obrigado," which comes from Portuguese, the former colonial power. When I first learned this, I thought, "There's no concept of gratitude here…
Our company operates a social business aimed at supporting developing countries. However, when people hear the word "support," many may have an image of one-directional donations or charity. On the other hand, in today's world, "connected support" based on empathy is gaining attention, with crowdfunding being a typical example. Let me do a little research...
# Lessons Learned from Trouble in Bali Recently, I've been seeing a lot of articles on platforms like SmartNews with titles like "Third-rate businesspeople do ○○, but first-rate ones do ??". It reminded me of something about what "first-rate" really means, so I thought I'd write about it. This is a story from when I was working in Southeast Asia as a JICA expert. When I was returning to Japan on temporary leave, I ran into some trouble in Bali...
Let's talk business for a moment... That vague sense of inefficiency in your workflow? Simply mapping it out as a flowchart reveals about 80% of the problem. "This step has way too many procedures." "We're repeating the same thing here and here..." "Do we really need this approval?" There are countless insights you'll only discover once you visualize it. Visualization = a cost-effective tool...
Yesterday, we successfully executed the second "Yuru Pota Business Networking Ride"!! Starting from Keikyu Misaki-guchi Station, we toured the scenic Jōgashima Island, then savored some incredibly hidden gem seafood cuisine at "Maruyoshi Shokudō" – absolutely satisfying! From there, we recharged our energy with soft serve ice cream from Sekiguchi Farm at Soleil Hill! And then all at once…
Thank you so much for all your messages♪ I also received kind words from my wife saying, "You've climbed another step into adulthood♡" Today, I've finally surpassed Isono Namihei, who eternally remains 54 years old, and turned 55. That said, living forever as a 54-year-old does seem like quite a hellish existence when you think about it, and I can relate to that...
Do you know about the "Pareto Principle"? It's an empirical rule that states "80% of all results are produced by 20% of all elements." For example, it's like saying that 20% of employees generate 80% of sales. The other day, when I attended a general assembly (or something like it) at a certain business networking event, someone announced "We generated ○○ hundred million yen in sales!!!" and I thought...
Tomorrow's "Yuru Pota Business Networking Meetup" has unfortunately been canceled due to rain... Rain, you troublemaker~!! We're planning a comeback event at the end of next month without giving up, so stay tuned! ♪ https://fb.me/e/7vECVGkaO
Yesterday, I went to see the documentary film "The Swimming Clown" starring Hisashi Fuwa with friends from my Guatemala days!! The film featured interviews with many people Fuwa had worked with over the years leading up to his retirement, as well as scenes from his visit to Guatemala for the first time in 30 years (I think?). It brought back so many memories! Fuwa is truly a...
A senior I greatly admired during my time with the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer program is releasing a film!! It's a documentary about Hisao Fuwa, who holds the Japanese breaststroke record and leads the underwater performance group Toritones. https://www.the-swimming-clown.com/ As a volunteer, he provided swimming instruction in Guatemala…
【To Small and Medium Enterprises in Shiga Prefecture】 Subsidy Information Exclusively for Shiga Prefecture! People of Shiga Prefecture, this is your chance to advance digitalization! Leave the complicated paperwork to our partner labor attorney and administrative scrivener! 💡 **Up to 2 million yen in subsidies!** **Subsidy Details** Standard Track: 1/2 subsidy rate, 150,000–1,000,000 yen Wage Increase Track ①: 1/2 subsidy rate, 150,000–…
【Casual Cycling Business Networking Event】 We successfully held the inaugural "Casual Cycling Business Networking Event" yesterday! ♪ It was a comfortable ride with no steep hills, parks along the way, and scenic riverside stretches—a great experience! Here's the route we took ↓ https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1HwIZi9r4jv2t1FFhrRAt…
Recently, I attended a charity event organized by a group. The beneficiaries are people from a certain country currently facing a politically difficult situation. I'm withholding the details here as the matter is sensitive, but there were individuals who felt compelled to dedicate their lives to ongoing support activities. What left a strong impression was a remark made by one of the speakers. …
# A Question from a Business Networking Event I attended a business networking event the other day and received a question, so I'd like to share it with you. At X-edutainment, we develop business applications that sit between Excel and full-scale systems—customized to match our clients' specific needs. If you were to build something like this through conventional methods, it could easily cost several million yen. However, we're able to deliver solutions at roughly 1/10th to 1/20th of that price. "Why is it so affordable? Are you outsourcing to engineers in developing countries…"
Friday was a business networking event called "Yuki-chu Kougun" (Snow March) in Nagaoka! By the way, there was barely any snow left, so we managed to skip the actual snow marching experience w The Niigata attendees included some really impressive members, and it was so much fun! ♪ It looks like some business opportunities are going to come out of this too. At the networking party after the event, things really heated up with "Tsunaga-do (Road)," a playground equipment developed by Masashi Shirakawa...
Business Summit in Nagaoka is coming tomorrow! Last-minute registrations are welcome, so if you live in Niigata or are in areas with good access like Takasaki, please consider joining us! At the networking reception, we'll serve delicious sake from Niigata, Japan's premier rice-growing region, and host an innovative game designed to enhance team building. We look forward to seeing you there!
I'm usually hesitant to post current events on social media, but this one had such a significant impact on me personally that I'm bringing it up. Many of you probably saw it because GACKT posted about it on X, but I'm referring to President Trump's decision to shut down USAID (United States Agency for International Development). USAID is, in Japanese terms, comparable to JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency)…
We're grateful to @[100002065212014:2048:Kayo Otsuka], who has always been so supportive, for stepping up to help the hair and makeup professionals who were affected by the recent television station situation. Why not take this opportunity to update your social media and website profiles? As a special offer, professional photo shoots are available for just ¥30,000—half the regular price! ♪
I'm also supporting this crowdfunding campaign, and it reached 100% in no time!! That's amazing, @[100003019029071:2048:大山 典克]! Well done!! https://camp-fire.jp/projects/820240/view?utm_campaign=reward_added&u…
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