e-Jan! Work Style
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 -.
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
In search for a new domicile: getting a house
Renting for a place can be tedious and nerve-wrecking, as I mentioned in my previous post. However, once you are equipped with the simple ‘how-to’s, gathered the requirements, and found a reliable real-estate agent, the process runs smoother. In regard to purchasing your own place, it’s more or less the same.
The apartments I’ve stayed at were not too shabby, some were even outstandingly nice. However, I’ve always wanted to have my own house; extra rooms for some mini house-projects, a wide living room, garden and barbecue place, a garage, and such.
>>Read more
年賀状 (New Year’s cards)
日本では「年賀状」を新しい年の初めに、親しい人、お世話になっている人へ送る文化があります。
西洋文化における「クリスマスカード」と同じ様なものです。
Much like the Western concept of Christmas cards, Japan has a tradition of sending New Year’s cards to close friends/family and others who have taken care of you during the past year.
成人の日(Coming-of-age Day)
今週1月8日は、日本の祝日「成人の日」でした。
日本では大人になる年齢（成人年齢）と20歳と定義しています。
「成人の日」は、その年（※）に20歳になる人をお祝いする日です。
（※日本の学校の年度期間に合わせ、原則、「成人の日」の前年の4月から翌年3月までの間に生まれた人が対象となります。）
This past Monday, 8 January was Japan’s Coming-of-age Day.
In Japan, adults come of age at 20 years old.
‘Coming-of-age Day’ celebrates everyone who comes of age during the year*.
(*The year is in line with Japan’s school year, which begins April of the year before the Coming-of-age Day and ends the following March.)
正月飾り (New Years decorations)
新年、明けましておめでとうございます。
Happy New Year!
今回のWorking Japan blogでは日本の正月文化の一つ「正月飾り（しょうがつかざり）」についてご紹介します。
This Working Japan blog will cover one aspect of Japan’s New Year traditions: ‘New Years decorations’.
正月飾りは、正月を迎えるに際しての飾り物です。
色々な種類がありますが、家の玄関を飾る代表的な正月飾りを２つご紹介します。
New Years decorations are set up to welcome in the new year.
There are many different kinds, but this time I’ll be introducing two kinds.
Christmas in Japan
Christmas is obviously a major seasonal, cultural, and retail event for many Christian-majority countries. Japan does not designate Christmas as a public holiday, as some countries do, but Christmas has transcended its theological roots and become a purely social holiday. And while people do not get the day off from work, many people celebrate Christmas or get into the spirit through decorations and activities.
牛久大仏 (Ushiku Daibutsu)
This week’s post is by a guest writer, a Japanese employee ‘Y.T.’, and translated into English by ‘N.M.’. The post is an introduction to the Ushiku Daibutsu, a famous Buddha statue in ‘Y.T.’’s home prefecture.
Enjoy!
In search for a new domicile: getting an apartment
Moving to a new area is a thrilling adventure and at the same time an intimidating change, especially here in Japan. Thinking about the location, transportation, budget, etc. is stressful on so many levels, but beyond the stress of logistics, the start of something new brings with it conflicting feelings of eagerness and anxiety. Whirlwind of decision-making can be an emotional rollercoaster, but extremely exciting.
Tori-no-Ichi festival
In November, e-Jan employees visited Hanazono Shrine for the Tori-no-Ichi festival. Over the years, this has become an e-Jan tradition to give thanks to wish for prosperity in the coming year.>>Read more
e-Jan Networks entrance board
When visitors enter the e-Jan Networks headquarters in Japan, visitors are greeted by an entrance board with a chalk art illustration. The chalk art is drawn by artists within the company, and is changed monthly.
Essential steps for moving in
So you have put down that deposit, paid your upfront rents and are all excited about moving into your new place. Yay! Phew! One of life’s greatest challenges accomplished; you’ve moved to a new country, found a job and settled down.
You thought all the hurdles were now behind you, since you finally have your own place. However, there are some “small things” that Japanese do when moving to a new place that might stumble or annoy new foreigners here.
This short write up attempts to save you the embarrassing moments and awkward situations, and to help foster a good neighbourhood relationship with your neighbours.