Regarding the Japan market, there are
several issues in the IoT industry,
and one of the important issues to compete
in the Global (Japan?) market is human resources.
Though there are several news sources,
according to the International Data Corporation(IDC), the total sales reached 34.5 billion yen. And the 3D
printing market grew with 4.4 percent over 2015.
http://www.idcjapan.co.jp/English/index.html
So the Japanese market is growing, and
there are several opportunities to expand 3D printing business.But, there are 2 main issues for companies
targeting the Japanese 3D printing market.
First, there is a language barrier. In
almost all the prefectures, it is tough to communicate
in English. By the EF EPI(English
Proficiency Index), the ranking of Japan is 30/70.
http://mediakey1.ef.com/__/~/media/centralefcom/epi/downloads/full-reports/v5/ef-epi-2015-japanese.pdf
In the case of Tokyo, the situation is
different, but in other prefectures it is very tough to communicate in English. Many
factories are located not in Tokyo but other prefectures, therefore the problem
of language barrier is a serious issue.
Second, there is a problem of culture
differences. Japanese language is high context language.
As a result, in business settings
miscommunication happens easily. If business managers do not have a
JLPT(Japanese Language Proficiency Test) 1, it's not easy to communicate with the local market in Japan.
http://www.jlpt.jp/e/index.cgi
What's the solution? One important factor
is how to hire local employees who can communicate in English. Whether their contract is full time or not,
this will be helpful to drive business in Japan.
Sep 3,2016/By Masafumi Asakura
