Case A

In September, 2008 I was contacted by the City of Osaka, Chicago Office, regarding opportunities to establish an office in Osaka. As we were planning on visiting Tokyo, Japan through the U.S. Commercial Service, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two programs before making a decision as to which route we would choose. Soon after, I was paid a visit from the Director of the City of Osaka, Chicago Office who outlined the Osaka program in more detail.

My overall impression of the City of Osaka program was that they offered more essential benefits such as Japanese translation services of marketing brochures and the assistance of a Japanese translator during their visit. In addition, the City of Osaka also sponsors a business incubator at the World Trade Center in Osaka. The U.S. Commercial Service does not offer either of these important benefits, so we made the decision to apply to the Osaka program. During the months of October and November, we worked with the City of Osaka, Chicago Office in translating our marketing material and generating business leads for our product, which is business forecasting software.

I was very impressed with the diligent work of the City of Osaka in their translation of some very technical product material. In addition, their relationship with the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry allows them preferred access to some of the largest business enterprises in the Osaka Region.

The largest business culture shock is that everyone apparently enjoys and takes a lot of pride in their work. The baristas at Starbucks sing in unison as they froth your cappuccino. Every cab ride becomes a limo ride in a spotless car with white linen headrests. Petite women bellhops wrestle your heavy bags from you at the front door of hotels and lug them cheerfully up great flights of stairs as you strain to keep up with their pace. And no one will accept a tip, no matter how much they've done for you.

After the meetings, we went to Osaka City Hall to meet with the local officials. From there, we went to the Osaka World Trade Center, which is on an artificial island in Osaka Harbor across from Kobe, Japan. The Osaka WTC is one of the most impressive office buildings I have had the pleasure of visiting. Most business incubator spaces in the Boston area are in old factories or textile mills that have been gutted and converted to inexpensive office space. In fact, our office in Boston is in a building that was once the world's largest shoe machinery factory. For a city to place its business incubator in one of the tallest and most modern buildings in Japan is a strong statement to their commitment to support international trade and business.