Hello, I’m Leo Sato (@slamdunk772), the CEO of applemint, a digital marketing agency in Taiwan!
Today, I’d like to talk about the reasons why Japanese companies are losing their presence overseas.
Last night in Bangkok, Thailand, I had dinner with two individuals who are in charge of Japanese companies’ Thai operations. We talked for about four hours, and as I listened to their stories, I realized that there was no difference between the Japanese professionals they encountered in Thailand and those I’ve seen in Taiwan.
Well, not in a good way.
It struck me that despite the dire situation often described, Japanese companies seem to have plenty of leeway.
Today, I want to discuss the similarities between Taiwan and Thailand regarding this issue.
It’s Time to Stop Sending Playful Expatriates
Both Taiwan and Thailand have a significant number of expatriates. In Taiwan, the southern region primarily hosts expatriates who work for manufacturers (such as factory managers), while in Taipei, it’s mostly sales representatives.
From what I’ve heard, Bangkok seems to have a lot of expatriates from manufacturers like cars and semiconductors. However, the stories I’m about to share may not apply to all expatriates in Taiwan and Thailand, so please keep that in mind.
In conclusion, I believe it’s essential to seriously reconsider the system of sending unmotivated or young expatriates abroad for three years under the guise of “overseas investment.”
The two individuals I met in Thailand who are working hard are both striving to improve their company’s operations in Thailand without much support from headquarters.
What impresses me about them is their ability to speak Thai fluently. They recognize the importance of communication with Thai people to achieve results in Thailand, so they learned Thai.
One of them even went as far as to learn Thai by repeatedly going on dates with someone who spoke only Thai on Tinder (leaving aside the ethical implications of this action).
However, Japanese people who make an effort to communicate with local staff are truly a minority. Most expatriates in Thailand don’t bother to learn Thai and instead receive various allowances, including housing allowances ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 baht (250,000 to 350,000 yen), and indulge in golf and cabaret clubs.
Interestingly, Taiwan seems to have a similar situation. Expatriates in Taiwan primarily communicate in Japanese, even though it’s not their native language.
This presents several issues. Firstly, even though some Taiwanese can speak Japanese, only about 10% can express their feelings perfectly, making effective communication challenging.
Moreover, favoring Japanese-speaking talent in Taiwan, even though they’re in Taiwan, goes against the logic that Japanese employees should adapt to the Taiwanese environment.
Furthermore, the competition to acquire Japanese-speaking talent is becoming increasingly fierce. Relying solely on Japanese-speaking talent, no matter how much money you have, won’t be enough. At applemint, in addition to these reasons, we’ve set our internal language to Chinese from the perspective of understanding Taiwanese consumers.
Anyway, I’m concerned about the lack of effort to speak the local language. Without making an effort to understand local people, how can you understand their needs? I believe that without understanding local people, sales won’t happen, and performance won’t improve.
Of course, there are many American and European expatriates in Thailand who only speak English, and it’s not fair to say that they’re not producing results. However, I believe that the key is to value the thoughts of local people.
However, Japanese and Taiwanese expatriates are aware that they will return to Japan after about three years, which may be why they don’t bother to learn.
In that case, it might be better to further shorten the expatriate period, set strict KPIs, and extend the stay only if the results are achieved. Otherwise, they should return home immediately.
Unfortunately, many expatriates in Thailand don’t even have KPIs during their expatriate periods and just want to maintain the status quo. The same is true for Taiwan.
After hearing these stories again this time, I realized that Japan’s decline in national power and presence overseas is not just due to problems like a weak yen but also due to this lack of motivation.
Looking Down on Thai People
In Thailand, it’s often said that men don’t work. This isn’t entirely wrong, and there are indeed people who are not diligent. Additionally, Thailand doesn’t have all the infrastructures like Japan, and the roads are not always clean.
When some Japanese people go to such countries, they seem to have the misconception that they are superior (not just Japanese but also Europeans and Americans).
For example, many expatriates often have drivers, but it’s been reported that they look down on drivers who don’t speak Japanese and make derogatory remarks about them to other Japanese people.
For some reason, when I see such people, I get inexplicably angry. That’s because most Japanese people have grown up in environments where they can work much harder than them.
In my opinion, most people aren’t lazy because they want to be; it’s the environment that makes them lazy.
People who look down on those in professions or countries with lower conditions than themselves will eventually be undermined. I actually had a similar experience in Taiwan seven or eight years ago. At that time, people from Japan who came on business trips would make derogatory remarks about Taiwanese salaries, looking down on Taiwanese people.
Now, due to the weak yen, there are cases where the treatment between Taiwanese and Japanese people has been reversed. Despite this, some Japanese people still look down on Taiwanese people due to remnants of the past.
After coming to Thailand this time and hearing about the declining presence of Japanese companies and the stories of condescending expatriates from locals, I feel that Japan is increasingly being overtaken by other countries.
Apart from anime and food culture, Japan’s presence overseas seems to be weakening, as I’ve observed…
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