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Interview with Shintaro Hori, Senior Partner, Bain & Company Japan Inc., on the path to business success in Japan
 Is Japan’s current economic recovery sustainable?
Yes. As long as the US economy and the Chinese economy do not face a major collapse, Japanese corporations will continue their transformation efforts and refocus on growth.
What are the key characteristics of Japan’s most successful businesses?
High inspirational goals, social values and principles. A strong work ethic among employees and mutual loyalty between employees and management. An aggressive Kaizen culture (seamless revolutional efforts and advancement of technologies and products/services by all employees, with a full strategic degree of freedom to pursue customer-oriented targets), combined with a Genba (operations) focus.
What will play the biggest role in improving the pace and profile of innovation in major Japanese companies?
- Continued customer focus and aggressive target setting
- Transformation/growth oriented leadership
- Re-strengthening the role of middle management, with Kaizen oriented employees
- Strengthened R&D management skills/systems to encourage breakthrough initiatives and technologies
- Multidimensional systems to encourage breakthrough technologies (continued encouragement of venture initiatives, funds to support/accelerate commercialization of breakthrough technologies, and focused role of METI to encourage such activities)
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