Back Number 2009

The 17th Leader's Talk @ KAI, Friday, Sep 18th, 2009

"Japanese Textile Industry and Fashion"

Lecturer: Mr. Nobuyuki Suzuki, Deputy Manager of Kojimachi Branch, Bonjinsha Inc.

Born in Saitama in1947. Graduated from Business Dept., Waseda University. Mr. Suzuki joined the textile company Teijin Limited and worked in the Advertising and Marketing Dept. for 18 years. He left Teijin at the age of 40 to further pursue a career in a textile trading company and IT related foundation. In his mid-50s, he started studying Japanese teaching method, during which he made another career change to join Bonjinsha, a publishing company specialized in Japanese language education. Mr. Suzuki now works as a Deputy Manager at Bonjinsha, Kojimachi Branch.

Outline

About textiles
· Historical background and development of textile industry in Japan. Mr. Suzuki explained materials, fabrics and technology.
Japanese Fashion Industry Today
· Japanese people are good in working with hands. The highly sophisticated techniques have led Japanese fashion industry to a fast and steady development.
· The fashion trend in Japan has changed from high-end labels to cheaper brands such as UNIQLO.
· Almost all the domestic manufacturing has been transferred to China for lower cost.
· Business has limitations in domestic market. Today and in the future, apparel industry must seek to develop business on a global level.
· Today, a number of foreign apparel makers have come into Japanese market, producing new designs at very low cost. The survival race for the apparel makers has become increasingly fierce.
· More and more Japanese designers are getting recognition in the global market.
Today and the Future
· In the worsening environment today with less natural resources available, development of new materials are needed.
· New technology such as adhesive joining has been developed for swimwear etc.
· Recycling of resources will be needed for the fashion/textile industry even more in the future.
· Though most of the manufacturing in the textile industry has been transferred to foreign countries, Japan still has the technology. It is now left for the Japanese to succeed the technology to the manufacturers overseas.
· As long as there’s civilization, there will be demands for new fashion. Innovative styles free of trends will be expected in the coming years.

Thank you, Mr. Suzuki!

The 16th Leader's Talk @ KAI, Friday, June 12th, 2009

"Tourist Industry in Japan" - for better understanding of tourist industry

Lecturer: Mr. Takuya Katagiri, Managing Director, ST World, Inc.

1982　Graduated from Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University
　　　　Joined Nippon Travel Agency Co., Ltd., worked in the sales department, mainly in
　　　　charge of corporate sales, school trips, and technical visit.
1990　Joined ST World, Inc. Managing Director of ST World and board member of
　　　　related companies. 2008 annual sales: 256 billion yen (including group
　　　　companies). 283 employees.http://www.stworld.jp/

Outline

Tourist Industry Today
· Traveling is a broad industry closely associated with leisure, culture, art, sports, etc, and has many possibilities. It is also an industry easily influenced by economy, natural disasters and international situations.
· Traveling industry has changed dramatically in the recent years. For one, traveling is becoming cheaper and cheaper each year. Some agents have surprisingly cheap offer such as 5900-yen trip from Tokyo to Seoul. Another major factor was the Internet. The number of people making online travel reservation has increased rapidly in the past 5 years. Travel agents must be flexible and adjust their marketing strategy in accordance with the market's needs.
People most wanted in travel industry
1.Open-minded people who are skilled in communication.
2.People who can plan inspiring tours.
3.People who are willing to learn new things and create new from what's learnt.
4.Service minded people with hospitality spirit.
About ST World
· Founded in 1987, ST World was one of the first to have diving resort tours to the Maldives and other beach resorts.
· "Travel + Emotion" - Each staff plans tours based on their own inspirational experience.
· Marketing props such as company brochures and posters are all handmade by staffs - less cost and better content.
· Has offices abroad for better services.
Travel Industry in the Future
· Internet will be more widely used and the world will become borderless.
Message to students
· To keep on doing one thing is certainly not easy, but very important. Be positive towards whatever you do and always try to make yourself a better person. It is a wonderful coincidence that you met your classmates and teachers at KAI. Continue and nurture each relationship and be open to new things so that you don't miss to catch good fortunes when they come along.

Thank you, Mr. Katagiri!

ST World uses an illustration by a popular artist on the company envelope.
Having this cute image in the centre, the company logo sits small in the
corner - "There's no correct answers or rules in market development.
What's most important is to challenge new ways," says Mr. Katagiri.

Mr. Katagiri and the students.

The 15th Leader's Talk @ KAI, Friday, March 13th, 2009

"Being an Interpreter"

Lecturer: Ms. Yukari Hiratsuka,Interpreter/Translator (Japanese-Chinese)

Born in Tokyo,Ms. Hiratsuka studied in China for one year as an exchange student. After graduating from a university,she joined a trading company where she experienced interpretation as well as other positions such as sales,management,etc. Influenced by her Chinese teacher,she later decided to become a freelance interpreter/translator.

Outline

Self-introduction
Types of interpretation
·Business interpretation,corporate interpretation,tourism interpretation,broadcasting interpretation,etc.
Abilities required to be an interpreter
·To have common knowledge as well as broad knowledge and expertise knowledge
·To have the ability to understand the speaker’s intention,process information,memorize,express,concentrate,analyze,collect information,understand different cultures,etc.
Motivation for becoming an interpreter
·Meeting interesting people has influenced Ms. Hiratsuka to become an interpreter.
Becoming a freelance interpreter
·After graduating from university,Ms. Hiratsuka joined a trading company,where she experienced various positions such as sales,management,interpretation and translation.
·Influenced by her Chinese teacher and classmates,she becomes interested in other types of interpretation besides business interpretation and decides to become a freelance interpreter.
Experiences as an interpreter
·Ms. Hiratsuka learned a lot from making mistakes or experiencing unexpected events on duty.
·Being an interpreter,one must always take new challenges. It can be nerve wracking at times,but one will also experience wonderful encounters with interesting people and learn new things.
What one must do as an interpreter
·Interpret speeches correctly without adding one’s own opinion
·Make a clear interpretation for the audience
·Speak in a proper language and manner suitable for each occasion.

Report from The 15th Leader's Talk @ KAI

Today,we invited Ms. Hiratsuka,an interpreter/translator as our guest speaker. Ms. Hiratsuka explained interpreter's job and talked about how she became an interpreter/translator. She also talked about how meeting people and challenging new things have influenced her life and career as an interpreter.

It all begins from meeting people...

Wonderful encounters with people have influenced Ms. Hiratsuka to become an interpreter. "We should be open to meeting new people. Meeting new people and speaking with them has certainly inspired me to find my dream and targets. I don't know what I would be doing had I not met all the wonderful people I encountered in my life",says Ms. Hiratsuka.

Don't be afraid of mistakes and challenge!

"Always keep your mind open and challenge what interests you. Don't be too afraid of making mistakes,because mistakes are great opportunities to improve and do better the next time. So go ahead,take risks and challenge!" Ms. Hiratsuka's message gave us a great courage.

Thank you,Ms. Hiratsuka!