The Delphi Roar: September 21st, 2025
Dear Members and Advisers,
The temperature in my study is an amazing ten degrees cooler than yesterday, the AC is off for the first time in months, and hopefully all the sinus and respiratory ailments which AC seems to bring with it, will end!
We are once again in that mad rush until the end of 2025 - at least, I am, and those who use the calendar year as their reference point. Somehow, the pace of business always seems to accelerate 300% after the leisurely summer break - partly because we all feel re-energized, I’m sure.
We are experiencing an exciting cascade of new Silver-level membership (details here), including a husband-and-wife artistic team, Baptiste Tavernier and Naoko Mikami.
We also have Maïa Maniglier from Exprime, a true polymath; Colin Silvester from Eire Systems, a highly experienced and intelligent executive; and a new Gold member (for country managers), Charlotte Oudin who replaces Nik Gupte as Country Manager of Barilla in Japan. Barilla is the biggest pasta maker in the world, but like so many other big brands, struggles to make headway against local competition. It’s ironic that the Japanese pasta makers are more successful than the “original”, and that is something Charlotte is keen to change.
Anyway, along with lawyer Akiko Yamakawa from Vanguard (Silver) and Kevin Steinberger from Vibram (Gold), we are having an unusually large number of new members, which can only be a good thing.
The Shifting Sands of Entrepreneurship in Japan: Navigating New Realities
The landscape for foreign entrepreneurs in Japan is undergoing a significant transformation. Recent changes to the Japan Visa Rules, particularly concerning the Business Manager visa, are creating new business challenges and forcing a re-evaluation of strategies for both aspiring and established foreign business owners. This shift affects everything from initial investment requirements to the long-term viability of Foreign Startups. Understanding these new rules is paramount for navigating Japan's evolving economic currents.
Seen in the Network
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Delphi Cocktails September 2025
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Heard in the Network
“It’s shocking that we are the biggest (redacted) company in the world, but that we have so little market share in Japan. We have been unable to become part of the daily, emotional landscape of the Japanese consumers. This is a huge failure on our part. I see it as my job as country manager to reverse this.”
“I speak Japanese, so I decided to “wear two hats” and do the sales director’s job, as well as the CEO’s job. Oh my goodness - it was a real challenge! I could not understand why nothing I said seemed to filter down to the shop floor. I would say something, and nothing would change. I am seriously constrained by my CEO duties, and while I was able to save several months worth of sales director salary (since I was doing it myself), I have to wonder if I can carry on like this.”
“We had one incident when a colleague wore a somewhat revealing outfit to a meeting with a client. She is in her 20s. The other staff were annoyed and reported it to HR. HR then criticized her very harshly, which I tried to tell them was quite unjustified. Let’s be kind and respectful!”
“Before loyalty, used to be taken for granted in Japan. But at my company, we have lost four staff in quick succession. And I’m 100% certain it’s simply that other companies offered more money.”
“One of my preoccupations taking up my new country manager job is: how much can I realistically expect to change the company’s performance? What can I promise HQ?”
“Having worked in poorer countries, I sometimes get a smell of the mafia in Japan: you have to work through certain designated gatekeepers, or else you will fail (or so they try to make you believe). A lot of these decisions cannot be resolved by looking in business text books. These are decisions about risks and courage.”
“As a leader, I struggle with bringing my company to the next level. I adore my staff, they have been with me for decades, but they are comfortable in front of their computer screens. And they are old! I desperately want to revitalize my staff and bring new energy to my business.”
“The average age in my company continues to rise. It’s unfortunate for the younger people we hire. They are difficult to hire in the first place, and even hard to keep! Because they told me that having lunch with people 20 years older than them is just no fun. Different interests of course, and also because the older staff insist on an exaggerated level of respect, at least in my opinion.”
“What I find quite surprising is that even colleagues with just a few years difference in their age, have very different outlooks on life. It’s hard to create a harmonious atmosphere in that environment.”
“We have tried to keep staff by doubling our “cost of living” allowance. But as it’s only from ¥5,000 to ¥10,000 I am not sure it makes much difference. Hopefully, it has a certain symbolic value that we care for our staff?”
“We have a distributor whom I told internally is completely useless. Why are we going through him? It’s one of those mysteries of doing business in Japan! The distributor was changed a decade ago, the country manager from that time has long gone, and I just don’t understand the motivation behind the action. I wish there was a way to create an “institutional memory”, to help incoming expat country managers.”
