Anthony Al-Jamie
Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie lived and worked as an educational administrator and journalist in Tokyo for over 20 years. His in-depth understanding of Japanese language and culture has allowed him to carry out interviews with many of the most renowned individuals in Japan. He first began writing for the Tokyo Journal in the 1990s as Education Editor, later he was promoted to Senior Editor, and eventually International Editor. He currently works in higher education publishing and serves the Tokyo Journal as Executive Editor.
The Man Who Brought Sushi to America
The Man Who Brought Sushi to America By Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie
This is the first in a series of interviews with Noritoshi Kanai, President of Mutual Trading, the man who coined the phrase “sushi bar”.
TJ: When did you become President of Mutual Trading?
KANAI: 1976.
TJ: Who was the original founder of Mutual Trading?
KANAI: Sadagoro Hoshizaki in 1926. He was a merchant in Little Tokyo from Odawara, Japan. At the time, it was difficult to bring Japanese food from Japan, so he created a co-op with other Japanese people in the area to import Japanese food to the U.S. When the war broke out in 1941, all Japanese had to go into internment camps. Most merchants in Little Tokyo were hawking their businesses and belongings, but near Mutual Trading on First Street there was a school called Maryknoll Catholic School that had a lot of Japanese students. The administrators said, “Just bring in all of your belongings and we’ll keep them in the basement.” The people at Mutual Trading were very lucky. However, the majority of the other people came back to Little Tokyo and found nothing. They had to rebuild and they needed utensils and cooking ware. So Mutual Trading had a purpose and was able to get back into business right away by helping many families in Little Tokyo get started with their lives again. I came into the business from the Tokyo side, with Tokyo Mutual Trading, which was the Tokyo-based export arm of Mutual Trading in Los Angeles (the import arm). I started Tokyo Mutual Trading in 1952.
Samurai #1: Akio Morita
Article by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)
AKIO Morita was born the eldest son of a sake brewer and was groomed from childhood to take over as the fifteenth head of what is now a 400-year-old sake brewery. Morita studied physics at Osaka Imperial University. After graduating in 1944, he joined the Japanese Imperial Navy, where he met his future business partner, Navy researcher Masaru Ibuka.
Samurai #2: Akira Kurosawa
Article by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)
Akira Kurosawa was born in Tokyo and from a young age was inspired by art and reading. He began his film career as an assistant director for the renowned Japanese director Kajiro Yamamoto. Kurosawa was well read, and Yamamoto appreciated his vast knowledge. Within five years Kurosawa was writing scripts and directing sequences for Yamamoto’s films. In addition to being a great filmmaker, Kurosawa had an eye for selecting actors. He chose people with strong emotions and distinct facial expressions. He went on to make some 30 movies, many featuring his favorite leading actor Toshiro Mifune.
Samurai #3: Soichiro Honda
Article by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)
SOICHIRO Honda was born in Shizuoka, Japan. His father, a blacksmith, owned a bicycle repair shop and Honda spent his early childhood helping him fix bikes. As a child, he was fascinated by airplanes and it is said that after he viewed an airplane demonstration by pilot Art Smith, Honda’s love for machinery and invention was instilled in him forever.
Samurai #4: Kisho Kurokawa
Article by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)
KISHO Kurokawa was born the son of an architect in Aichi, Japan. During WWII he was sent to live with his grandparents in a Buddhist temple. He bunked in a teahouse there that later served as an inspiration for his creative works.
Samurai #5: Osamu Tezuka
Article by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)
Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist and animator, a producer, political activist and a medical doctor who never practiced medicine. He is often referred to as “Manga-no-Kami Sama” (the God of Manga), and is best known as the creator of “Astro Boy” and “Kimba the White Lion”. Although he graduated from Osaka University with a medical degree, his professional career as a manga artist began while he was still at university. He decided to follow his heart and devote himself to manga. Later, in the sci-fi manga “Black Jack,” he was able to apply his scientific knowledge.
Samurai #6: Seiji Ozawa
Article by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)
SEIJI Ozawa began his music career as a piano student only to sprain his finger playing rugby as a teenager. Unable to continue the piano, his teacher at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo brought Ozawa to a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, a life-changing event that shifted his focus from piano performance to conducting.
Samurai #7: Ichiro Suzuki
Article by Dr. Anthony Al-Jamie (continued)
ICHIRO Suzuki likes to go simply by “Ichiro.” Since the age of 12, he has focused on building a career in baseball. His father mentored Ichiro with rigorous training from a young age, and it has been said that Ichiro built strength and stamina by hurling car tires and by hitting whiffle balls with a heavy shovel. These strenuous exercises helped to develop power and endurance for his thin frame. In high school he had an incredible batting average of .505 with 19 home runs. Despite these impressive numbers, Ichiro was not drafted until the fourth and final round of the Japanese professional baseball draft as teams were concerned about his physique due to his very light frame. Ichiro was with the Orix Blue Waves from 1992 to 2000, proving to be one of the best players in the game before leaving for the American Major Leagues to play with the Seattle Mariners in 2001.
ENGLISH IN JAPAN'S WORKPLACE
Japan’s leading entrepreneurial companies, Rakuten and Uniqlo, are taking a no-nonsense approach toward going global by adopting English as the official workplace language.
Speaking the Global Language of Business
Drastic times call for drastic measures
Two of Japan’s top entrepreneurial companies have adopted English as the official language of their workplace. This is in a country with companies known for avoiding risk whenever possible. So why would Rakuten and Uniqlo take such atypical measures at a time when English-language proficiency is low in the country? TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) score data from 2004 to 2005 placed Japan second to last in Asia in terms of English language skills with 191 points, only one point higher than North Korea. Not helping, the collapse of two of Japan’s largest English language school chains, Nova and GEOS, over the past six years has reduced the number of opportunities for adults to study English at private language schools. So this ‘sink or swim’ approach by Rakuten and Uniqlo to speak English in the workplace is a bold but strategic maneuver at a time when they are expanding to compete in the global marketplace where the official language of business is English.
Japan's Seven Int'l Samurai
Vol. 31, Issue #270's Feature Story identifies Japan's 7 most influential international trailblazers, many of whom have been overlooked by the Japanese public.
Japan's Most Influential Trailblazers
Japan has produced many outstanding individuals throughout its very long history, which dates back to 660 B.C. Visionaries and innovators have throughout history forwarded the efforts of this tiny island nation and due to these contributions, Japan has played a significant role in the region for many centuries. Pioneers such as Takatoshi Mitsui (1622-1694), advanced the way Japan did business through innovation after innovation in the textile sales industry. In the late 1800s, it was the first President of Mitsui & Co., Takashi Masuda, who sought out a global vision for exporting Japanese rice and other goods to Europe.
It is the efforts of global visionaries and innovators of post-World War II Japan that have made Japan a major contributor to the world in the fields of business, technology, film, animation, engineering, architecture, philosophy, art, music, and even athletics. The brand “Made in Japan” has become synonymous with quality, and in this article “Japan’s Seven International Samurai”, we identify Japan’s seven most influential, international trailblazers. These modern day samurai have set themselves apart from the crowd through their global influence and have helped to change the way the world perceives Japan.
It will not go unnoticed that many of Japan’s leading business figures and domestic heroes were left off the list. This is because they did not meet all of the criteria. The seven that were chosen were selected for their courage to enter unchartered waters, their desire to compete on an international scale, and their ability to be one of the best in the world at what they do.