Ryan Ginstrom wrote:

> > Did the Japanese working
> > in the US not have Japanese documents, or were they all expected to speak
> and
> > write English, as it was the Americans' home country in which the Japanese
> were
> > doing business and hoping to benefit?
>
> But of course the situation is totally different. In the case of the
> banpaku, the cost of entry into the bidding is the ability to do business in
> Japanese. If you can't do that, then you don't get to play, sorry.
>
> I would like you to please tell me how it would be in the interest of the
> government of Aichi to allow bids to be submitted in English?

It is not. It is in the interest of the English speaking foreigners wanting to
do business, as it would be in the interest of the Japanese wanting to do
business in the US, to have documents and other communications in Japanese.

> When you are
> going after a government contract, the burdens are on you. You are trying to
> sell your services, the prospective buyers aren't going to do your work for
> you.
>
> When companies like Toyota go into joint ventures with foreign countries,
> they would generally like their interfacing employees to learn English, or
> even hope (but not very strongly expect) the foreigners to learn a bit of
> Japanese. This would
> a) save translator costs (a Toyota employee gets a massive hard on when he
> thinks he can save 1,000 yen -- what do you think he would do to save a
> $60,000-year translator's salary?)
> b) speed the development process (a Toyota employee gets a massive hard on
> when he thinks he can get from drawing board to mass production 0.25 days
> sooner. How much time do you think is lost waiting to have documents
> translated/looking for an interpreter/etc.)
>
> But Toyota has other goals for its employees as well, so generally its
> employees go overseas for a year or so, then head back to the hive. The ones
> who stay behind long enough to learn English and American/local ways are
> generally forlorn losers who have been cast out from the hive.
>
> As a result, they need to use translators/interpreters. Not an ideal
> situation, but it pays the salaries of budding translators.

And why should every foreigner or business who comes to Japan be expected to
know Japanese, though it is the ideal?

> > Guess which language they use in spoken and written communication?
>
> Whichever is most expedient.

No, English. It is I who tell them they should communicate with Chinese or
Koreans for example, in their own language, and the Japanese who claim that
English is the most useful.

> I got to speak with the president of Nokia Japan once. He told me he wanted
> to do all business in Japan in English. He wanted his (Japanese) engineers
> to read his company's English docs, and wanted internal communication to be
> in English. Unfortunately, his engineers and other employees weren't up to
> the task, so he was having to pay big bucks to get all Nokia documents
> translated into Japanese. This was costing him money and time. But there was
> no alternative. Had he had an alternative, everything would have been done
> in English -- in Japan -- just like he had done during his prior assignment
> in Thailand.

Then as you say, his staff were not up to the task like Mazda or Nissan
employees are expected to be. They get people like the former presidents of
Mazda in Hiroshima to lead the company, not study or speak Japanese.

> > And considering the history of Japan and education of post war Japanese,
> it is
> > not unreasonable to expect large Japanese companies or the government to
> > communicate in English for the convenience or benefit of foreigners.
>
> They will if it is expedient for them to do so. Most of the foreign ministry
> boys speak decent English. The problem in their case is that they think
> their English is better than it is, and they ensconce the shitty English of
> their sempai as "teiyaku," but that's a different story.
>
> > This does not mean that I support the prevalence or dominant position of
> > English in the world. It is best to use the native language in each
> market, and
> > it is I who tell Japanese that they should not place so much importance on
> > English and only English, particularly when dealing with people such as in
> > China and South Korea.
>
> That is not limited to Japan. When I was traveling in Chile, the Isrealis
> used to get royally pissed when hotel staff couldn't speak English (which
> was usually), while the sepponians and canuks would good-naturedly get by
> with what Spanish they knew.

Again, I am not claiming or promoting English *should* be the dominant or most
prevalent international language. It just is. I don't care if all people have
to learn Esperanto or some other artificial language to communicate
internationally.

> > > So basically, the impression I came away with after working with
> American,
> > > Japanese, and German auto engineers is that if you buy a German car, you
> > > know you're getting a good car. You buy a Japanese car, you know you're
> not
> > > getting a lemon. You buy an American car, it's pretty much a crap shoot.
> >
> > Yes, that's the impression you got, and it is quite common among Japanese
>
> Yes, that's the impression I got. And I would still buy a Mercedes instead
> of aToyota if I could afford it and wasn't too damn cheap to pay for it.

I've been in a top of the line Mercedes, and it was great. But owners of
current models compare it and current Mercedes quality in general unfavorably
to the old (pre 92) S class, for example, which are called "battleships" often
strong for hundreds of thousands of miles. Then there is the matter of last
year's JD Power and Associates survey which was reported in a newspaper, but I
cannot find online. It appears Japanese drivers cast off their Benz cars as
easily as they cast off a Suzuki light truck.

If I were willing to spend the money on a mere car, for my family, I'd get a
pre 2004 BMW 540i. For me, I'd get something like this:

http://tinyurl.com/2wudr

and screw reliability and durability.

You can buy Benz and BMW for considerably less than a million yen, used. I
don't often see Ferrari go under five million.

--
http://www.mercycorps.org/
http://www.mercycorps.org/items/1398/
http://www.mercycorps.org/mercykits.php

Mercy Corps' goal in Iraq is to work with conflict-affected communities to meet
their urgent needs while also providing a firm foundation for the future
development of economic opportunities and civil society.

Efficiency
Over 92% of our resources go directly to humanitarian programs.

Excellence
Worth Magazine named Mercy Corps one of America's best charities.

High-Value
Every dollar you give helps us secure $12.71 in donated food and other
supplies.