Communication is a powerful tool
Communication can be a powerful tool especially when combined with a proactive and positive attitude.
Learning a new language is not just memorizing vocabulary and words; it’s about opening up your mind to a whole new perspective on life.
When you’re open to learning, not only English but, learning anything, you’re more likely to see opportunities arise. Those can be business opportunities, new friendships and even relationships, etc.
Chinese traditional holidays/festivals in Japan
On June.18th, 2018, May.5th by Chinese lunar calendar, many Chinese people in Tokyo celebrated one of their traditional festivals, namely, Duan Wu (端午), or Dragon Boat Festival in English.
Traditionally, people shall eat zongzi (a kind of rice dumplings), and do dragon boat racing, in memory of the tragic death of one of the most influential poets, writers in China, Qu Yuan. >>Read more
BIG John's BIG Picture
If you're one of those employees thinking, "Man, that bonus isn't enough to make me study English. It's too hard. It's too time consuming. I don't need English. I've lived this long just fine without it." Or something similar to this, to make you want to give up before you start. Then I have the following blog advise for you.
Dress code at a workplace in Japan
Many people may have such an image in their minds when talking about a business dress code in Japan, that male employees usually wear a formal suit in black or navy blue, with a button-down shirt inside; whereas female employees tend to dress themselves in a business casual style, which consists with a shirt and a skirt without patterns, often in white, grey, black or blue colour.
会話の姿勢
私は４月から新卒採用によりe-Janネットワークスで働き始めました。
かれこれ２か月が経とうとしていますが、ダイバーシティの考えを実現しているe-Janネットワークスは、日々目新しいことでいっぱいです。
例えば釣り、農業、登山、旅行、皇居ラン、食べ歩き、コーヒー挽き、猫の写真、車、電車、音楽などなど、バラエティに富んだ趣味の話が、周囲で繰り広げられています。
また社員の約2割が外国籍であるため、日本語以外の言語を用いて会話している姿をよく見かけます。
e-Jan Kitchen
e-Jan Kitchen is a monthly event at e-Jan in which a healthy dinner bento is provided for only 500 yen. The bentos are all handmade by a staff member at e-Jan, and every month are made in a different theme.
e-Janの「空気」
４月からe-Janネットワークスで働き始めて、一か月が経ちました。
日々感じるのは、空気がとてもおいしい場所だということです。
『空気』と一口に言っても、意味は色々ありますが、大きく分けて
生き物が生きていくために必要不可欠な『空気』という意味
そして、その場の雰囲気や流れといった『空気』という意味
の二つがあります。 >>Read more
Why telework(telecommuting) is becoming important to Japan?
The world has witnessed Japan successfully transform herself from a land of ruins after WWII to a prosperous, highly developed country, with an amazing growth rate in her GDP for decades throughout 1960s to 1980s.
>>Read more
Taking time off in Japanese companies
Japan has a reputation for being a culture of workaholics, but there are of course many allowances for taking time off. Paid time off is given to employees, and companies encourage their employees to use their vacation days.
Trip in Chennai, India: Business feel
About a month ago, I was invited to visit India, and go on numerous client visits together with our colleagues in India. This would be an opportunity for me to see firsthand the Indian market culture and how it runs. I was quite excited but wasn’t exactly sure on what to expect.
April, a time for beginnings
Different cultures mark the beginning of the year in different ways. There is the calendar year, for example set by the Gregorian calendar or lunar calendar. There is the academic school year, the start date for which differs vastly by country and region. Japan uses the Gregorian calendar to mark the start of the year as 1 January, but it is one of the countries where the fiscal year starts in April. (Other countries that follow this schedule include Australia and New Zealand.) The academic school year also starts in April; this is thought to coincide with the fiscal year.
Accelerate Communications via A Study Session
We have an activity called study session which is created by me. It was made only around three months after I joined e-Jan. It was quite impressive because people were open to ideas even though it was from a new employee like me. I would like to explain more about the study session.
Before I explain what the study session is, I would like to write about its background. I got a motivation to create study session from my team leader. Once every two weeks, my team leader and I will have a “one on one” meeting for an hour. In the meeting, the leader couches me to become better professional. He asked me what my dreams are when we had our first meeting. One of my dreams was to become senior-level developer. Next, he asked me what to do to achieve my dream. I said I need to read books, write code frequently, and have many discussions as well as communications. Everything else is fine, but a lack of communications is the problem. My leader gave me a homework that I need to start discussions somehow. To fulfill this mission, I created the study session. >>Read more
特色を生かした採用活動に取り組んでいます！ (Are you looking for a good place to work in Japan??)
先日、「東京カイシャハッケン伝」という冊子に弊社のことが紹介されました。この冊子は、「中小企業しごと魅力発信プロジェクト」の一環として東京都産業労働局が発行しているものです。
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A leaflet name “Kaishahakkenden (Discovery of companies)” was published last month. This leaflet introduces small and medium-sized enterprises in Tokyo and is used for recruitment purposes.
盛宴--为壹匠的青春十八 (e-Jan's 18th anniversary)
在许多文化里，从私人的结婚纪念、毕业纪念到国家或政治性质的建国纪念、独立纪念。“周年”似乎总被作为一个重要的“计量单位”出现在这些大大小小的场合里。而公司的成立纪念，自然也不会是例外。
2018年3月6日，e-Jan迎来了她十八周岁的生日，而纪念晚宴则选定在同一周的3月9日周五晚上，在六本木举行。
It is assumed that in many cultures, anniversary is something needs celebrating in memory of an event, which could range from private occasions to national ones, such as a wedding, or the foundation of a republic, or the Independence Day of a nation. That makes no exception for a company, neither.
On March.6th, 2018, our firm, e-Jan turned 18, and we had an anniversary dinner party at Roppongi on March.9th, Friday in the same week.
日本での育児と仕事の両立 (Balancing child rearing and work life in Japan)
日本では、育児をしながら働く女性が増えています。
家計に必要なお金を稼ぐことはもちろんのこと、好きな仕事を続けたい、キャリアを積みたい等、理由は様々です。
昔は妊娠後は退職し育児に専念する女性が多くいましたが、現在は夫婦で働き、育児や家事は分担する家庭が増えていると感じます。
政府も企業も、人口が減少する中、労働人口を確保する改革を進めており、出産後も働ける環境づくりや女性の就労支援が広がりつつあります。
>>Read more
稲荷祭 (Inari Festival)
先日、稲荷祭に参加してきました。
稲荷祭は、弊社が入っているオフィスビルの一階で、年に一度行われています。
この一帯の氏神様(うじがみさま)である日枝神社（ここは首相官邸の隣にある有名な神社です）より神主様がお二人いらして、神事を執り行ってくださいました。
でも、何故にオフィスビルで稲荷祭？？と思いますよね。
The Inari Festival was held the other day.
The Inari Festival is held every year on the first floor of the office building that e-Jan resides in.
Two Shinto priests from Hie Shrine (a famous shrine next to the prime minister's official residence) for this region’s ushigami-sama(*1) came to perform Shinto rituals.
But you might wonder, why would Shinto priests come to an office for an Inari Festival??
2018 Winter Olympics office game
The Winter Olympics, while perhaps not as popular as the summer Olympics, still generates a buzz of excitement.
J.O., the organiser of the office event ‘English Game Night’, is an Olympics enthusiast, and has developed another game for people at the office to communicate in English about shared topics: 2018 Winter Olympic Games - Medals for Japan -.
春节在日本
又是一年旧岁辞，又是一年新年来。
在国内，当千家万户张灯结彩，合家欢庆农历新年；又或是近年来越发流行的举家同行，借着这难得的全民长假去外地旅行的时候。对于因为各种原因而无法回国回家的在日本的海外华人又是如何看待和度过这个节日的呢？
说农历新年（春节）是一个特殊的节日，是因为这或许是全世界仅有的几个，不基于西历日期，而是随着旧时的中国农历而每年变化的节日。时而在一月底时而在二月初。因为“闰月”的出现，2018年、农历戊戌年的新年更是比以往更加来得晚，2月16日才终于进入了狗年新春。
春节的另一个特殊性，在于它时至今日依然在很大程度上左右着华人对于“新年”的概念。似乎只有过了农历大年三十，才代表着一年收官。也只有到了正月初一，才终于意识着新的一年终于开始。
春节更为重要的另一层含义，是在于与家人的团聚。在这一天，无论是奔波在天涯海角的哪一方，我们都会回到自己家里，和父母亲人团聚、共叙家常。
>>Read more
In search for a new domicile: being a good neighbour in Japan
Any area around the world, once residing at a new location, it is imperative to understand that each location would have a certain custom or tradition of which you would have to learn, even if it may seem strange. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.'
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have recently moved into a house in a suburban area of Saitama (a prefecture beside Tokyo). The area is a quiet neighbourhood, mostly composed of retired folks. Just to paint a picture, every single day, at around 7:30 pm, the streets are dead silent, with hardly any cars or people passing by. Somehow, with a ‘local’ feel that comes with the territory, I felt that I would need to be extra conscious of the local ‘ways of doing things’.
Valentine’s Day memories
In Japan, there is an established tradition of women giving men chocolates on Valentine’s Day. There are two ways that chocolate is given: Honmei-choco is chocolate given to a romantic partner, while Giri-choco (‘obligation chocolate’) is given to friends and coworkers and has no romantic meaning.
On the flipside, unique to Japan is March 14, White Day, in which men who have received chocolates on Valentine’s Day give gifts in return.
This week’s guest post is written by ‘Y.I.’on her past experiences of Valentine’s Day while working at a different, more traditional Japanese company.
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>>Read more