Right Balance Hays Japan Pushes Ethnic Diversity by Christopher S Thomas
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Right balance Christine Wright Hays Japan Generic drugs The best medicine for Japan’s economy? Insuring the future Ageing populace pressures premium industry Sweet music Euro nations support their own in Japan ISSUE FIFTY SEVEN SEPTEMBER // 2014 092014 THE MAGAZINE OF THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS COUNCIL IN JAPAN / THE EUROPEAN (EU) CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN JAPAN INS. COVER AD September 2014 1 18 8 Generic drugs The best medicine for Japan’s economy? By Martin Foster 10 Insuring the future Ageing populace pressures premium industry By Gavin Blair 18 Right balance Hays Japan pushes ethnic diversity By Christopher S Thomas Cover photograph Benjamin Parks 2 September 2014 10 22 12 42 COLUMNS 7 From the Editor 27 Executive Notes 42 Culture Shock Tom Elliott on the benefits of European Pilgrim’s progress: Shikoku guesthouse 12 Q&A fiscal union. welcomes walkers. Sustainable waters: Mike de Jong talks By Rod Walters with Eythor Eyjolfsson, CEO of Icelandic 31 Event Report Japan. SCCIJ: Japan’s economy and monetary 45 Brand Aid policy. Are women Japan’s saviours? 16 Sweet music By Allison Bettin By Dr Nancy Snow Euro nations support their own in Japan. By Steve McClure 32 In Committee 47 Upcoming Events Asset Management: Opening up Events for the European business 22 EBC Personality opportunities for investment. community in Japan. Jonty Brunner: UK Cricket and By Geoff Botting airline DNA. 48 Work Place By Mike de Jong 41 Green Biz Kazuhiko Chiba of ECOVIS APO. Sunny future: Ehime’s efforts to develop 25 Chamber Voice green technology. Hans van der Tang of the Netherlands By Rod Walters Chamber of Commerce in Japan. By Mike de Jong The Mission of the European Business Council To promote an impediment-free environment for European business in Japan. September 2014 3 Publisher Vickie Paradise Green European Business Council in Japan (EBC) [email protected] The European (EU) Chamber of Commerce in Japan Editor-in-chief Mike de Jong The EBC is the trade policy arm of the seven- [email protected] teen European national chambers of commerce Senior Editor David Umeda and business associations in Japan Editorial Assistant Allison Bettin Chairman Danny Risberg Creative Director Paddy O’Connor Senior Vice-Chairman Michel Théoval Art Director Cliff Cardona Vice-Chairman Carl Eklund Treasurer Erik Ullner Advertising Sales Executive Director Alison Murray Hélène Jacquet Akagawa Policy Director Bjorn Kongstad Now with Nicole Alarie Communications & PR Chantal Heiniger Tapo J Mandal [email protected] Subscription is free for members of the EBC even more and national European chambers of commerce. Production and distribution Subscription rates are: one year ¥9,000; two Daisuke Inoue years ¥15,000; three years ¥22,000; ¥800 per copy. Rates include domestic postage [email protected] support or surface postage for overseas subscribers. Add ¥7,500 per year if overseas airmail is pre- Published by Paradigm ferred. Please allow eight weeks for changes of 6F Daiwa Osaki 3-chome Bldg. address to take effect. Subscription requests just when you need it 3-6-28 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032 should be sent to [email protected] Tel: 03-5719-4660 Fax: 03-349-1202 www.paradigm.co.jp If you prefer not to receive this magazine, and for all matters related to distribution, please Published monthly in Tokyo. All rights reserved. send an email to [email protected] ECOVIS APO is proud to The views and opinions expressed herein (other than editorials by the EBC) are solely EURObiZ Japan welcomes story ideas from announce our association with the opinions and views of their authors. The readers and proposals from writers and Ecovis, and as an exclusive EBC is not responsible or liable for any portions photographers. Letters to the editor may be edited for length and style. partner we are delighted to thereof. contribute our part to the further EURObiZ is now available onboard Turkish Airlines business class, success story that is Ecovis. leaving Tokyo twice daily from Narita and once daily from Osaka. This international consulting firm, comprising tax advisors, certified accountants, attorneys Contributors and management consultants, “While Japan’s ageing demographics is a is represented by over 80 partner An ageing populace subject I’ve read and written a fair amount puts pressure on the offices around the world. insurance industry about, it was something I’d believed many according to Gavin ordinary people here were doing their best Blair, page 10. to ignore the ramifications of. However, it seems that people see the growing costs ECOVIS APO is committed to of ageing as a greater risk than the general Writing in and about Japan since 2000, economic situation or natural disasters. helping our clients realize their Gavin contributes articles to magazines, Now just for some practical solutions to be objectives, and with the additional websites and newspapers in Asia, Europe implemented …” and the US on a wide range of topics. support from Ecovis, to providing highly qualified bilingual Steve is a Tokyo-based freelance journalist specialists with extensive and broadcaster. A native of Vancouver, Steve McClure experience and knowledge of British Columbia, Canada, he has lived in reports on various Japan since 1985. Until 2008 he was Asia Euro nations that financial operations, payroll and Bureau Chief for Billboard magazine. In actively support tax services. 1998 he published Nippon Pop, the first their musicians in book in English on Japanese pop music. Japan, page 16. “I’ve been consistently impressed by the Enabling you to compete way European governments and industry groups get behind their own musical acts to support the ’content’ industry, as well as better and accomplish and promote them in key music markets to break down cultural borders and further your goals. like Japan. This is a great example of how international understanding.” Rod has worked as a writer and translator ECOVIS APO Rod Walters writes in Japan since 1991. about a foreign-run “Inbound travel to Japan is at its highest Iidabashi Building 1-18 Ageba-cho guesthouse along level ever, and with interest growing in Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 162-0824 Japan’s most famous Shikoku’s unique Buddhist pilgrimage, pilgrimage route, more foreign visitors are finding their way Tel: +81 (0)3 5228 1820 Fax: +81 (0)3 5228 1830 page 42. to Japan’s least-visited island. When they get there, it can be hard to find a place to Working from a solar-powered home on stay. But Sen Guesthouse in Matsuyama is W W W .EC OVIS.CO.J P Shikoku, overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, there for them.” September 2014 5 6 September 2014 FROM THE EDITOR Health, banks and Finnish metal Now that summer is over and most fiscal integration — or fiscal union — of us are back at work, we face the between the major EU countries would sobering reality that the economy is allow for a faster recovery after banking sputtering again. Consumer prices have sector shocks. Elliott argues that EU risen while GDP growth stalled following fiscal union would put into place this spring’s consumption tax increase. measures that could also substantially It now appears the government’s 2% mitigate future crises. inflation target might have been too Finally this month, we also focus optimistic. on cricket and music. High-flying In all, the shine might finally be Jonty Brunner of British Airways tells coming off Abenomics. us about his fondness for bowlers On the positive side, the govern- and batsmen in our EBC Personality ment is doing something to reign in (page 22) feature. Meanwhile, former rising healthcare costs. According to Billboard magazine bureau chief Steve estimates, medical costs will rise from lower-cost, generic drugs. But, as Martin McClure (page 16) explains why Finnish ¥35.1 trillion (fiscal 2012) to ¥54 trillion Foster writes (page 8), the plan is not heavy metal comes with a stamp of by fiscal 2025. But starting next year, going over well with brand name drug government approval. bureaucrats will begin analysing patient companies who, of course, want to Enjoy! healthcare data, with the goal of setting protect their turf. We’ll see how this fight expense reduction targets by prefec- plays out. ture. This data could identify areas of Our Executive Notes columnist this Mike de Jong waste and inefficiency. month, Tom Elliott, has an interesting Editor-in-chief With that in mind, the government take on the recent European banking [email protected] would also like to increase usage of crisis. He suggests (page 27) that closer Welcome to Japan Three ways of Living Eight lives in Tokyo Come home to the ease of Oakwood living in Asia. For details and reservations, please visit Oakwood offers three brands of serviced apartment our website at oakwoodasia.com solutions in seven locations in Asia’s most cosmopolitan city, Tokyo – Aoyama, Akasaka, Ariake, Azabujyuban, Tokyo Midtown, two in Roppongi and Shirokane. BANGALORE BANGKOK BEIJING CHENGDU GUANGZHOU HANGZHOU HONG KONG JAKARTA MANILA MUMBAI PUNE SEOUL SHANGHAI TOKYO Generic drugs The best medicine for Japan’s economy? Text MARTIN FOSTER Japan has a health-spending problem, and part of the cure could be generic drugs. However, the big name brand makers, including some European companies, are fighting to protect their turf. rug costs account for more than 20% of the country’s total med- ical expenses (21.1% GENERIC DRUGS VS ORIGINAL BRANDS out of ¥37.4 trillion in BY COUNTRY (2010) 2010), and reducing USA (in %) Dthis burden has become a cornerstone 91 GERMANY of Japan’s health administration policy. 9 With forecasts of a shrinking tax base 82 — supporting the 40% of the Japanese UK 18 population that will be 65 or older by 73 2060 — the task for the Ministry of ITALY 27 Health, Labour and Welfare takes on 64 FRANCE 36 new urgency.