Guest Speaker
Business Seminar
For Osaka Innovation Hub: Expanding startup businesses in Singapore
Sep 2018
20 startup entrepreneurs and students from Osaka Innovation Hub visited WASABI Creation as part of their one week study tour in Singapore. Tong (Founder, CEO), together with Yuta Morita (Intern, SMU MBA student) conducted a seminar for the group on how they can expand their businesses from Japan to Singapore. They covered topics such as incorporation in Singapore, Singapore's demographic, consumer behaviour, influencer marketing, popup store marketing, etc. The participants were very interested in these topics and asked many questions such as "What are the common difficulties and errors Japanese companies have when doing business in Singapore." Tong was glad to have shared his experiences and expertise in these areas.
Japanese Lessons
For foreign domestic workers & caretakers
Sep 2018
WASABI Creation was requested by a nursing training school to conduct Japanese lessons to its students comprising of foreign domestic workers and caretakers. The students are attending the school to step up their skills in nursing care for the elderly. As Japan is seriously facing the hit of aging population, and lack of manpower in providing care to the elderly, they have opened up working opportunities in Japan to foreign caretakers.
In view of this, these foreign domestic workers are trying out learning Japanese to equip themselves with the language skill that will enable them to work in Japan in the future.
Guest Speaker
Seminar to Ryokoku University: How Singapore's policies have shaped a multiracial and international society.
2 Sep 2018
A group of 40 students from Ryokoku University, Japan visited WASABI Creation as part of their educational tour in Vietnam and Singapore. WASABI Creation founder, Tong conducted a seminar on Singapore policies that have shaped the country's multiracialism, and built an international society.
More and more Japanese companies realise the need to venture overseas market as its domestic market continue to string due to aging population and depopulation, however there is a lack of talent within Japan who has the experience, skills, and know-how to bring business across boarders. We hope the seminar will be able to share with the students some ideas and tips on how to be a global talent.
Guest Speaker
Seminars to Business Schools in Delhi, India
Aug 2018
WASABI Creation was invited by our partner, Intraversity in Delhi, to conduct talks to students of various business and management colleges in India. Over the week, we visited and met students from Jaipuria School of Business, JK Business School, Institute of Technology And Sciences, and Accurate Institute of Management & Technology. We shared with the students about our business, market trends in Japan and Singapore, and answered the students' questions on entrepreneurship.
WASABI Creation is also in talks with the schools to work with our partner in bringing students to Singapore for educational tour and internship.
Guest Speaker
"How SMU MBA Students can prepare themselves in working with the Japanese?"
6th Jul 2018
The Founder of WASABI Creation, Tong was invited by SMU MBA Class to speak at "Japanese Business Night". Tong shared about his experiences when he was working as a fresh graduate in Japan, and talked about Japanese business culture that is unique and special to non-Japanese people.
Tong also talked about basic Japanese business etiquette, such as exchanging business cards, and seating positions for Japanese business meetings. The MBA students shown great interest with many questions.
The event ended with a party serving Sushi for everyone.
Entrepreneurship Training Camp 2nd edition
"Partnership with SAI International College Bubhneshwar, India"
June 2018
WASABI Creation hosted 8 Indian students from SAI International College Bubhneshwar over 4 days for an intensive Entrepreneurship Training Camp at WASABI Creation's office. The students worked in groups of 2 on various topics such as coworking space business, India market entry, Japanese F&B market research, as well as overseas travel trends for India.
An extensive research in in these were done by the students, who also came up with creative proposals to implement new business into the fast growing market. Many presentations and discussions were held with the students to finalise the proposal.
At the end of the program, each student received a certificate of participation for their enthusiasm during the program.
WASABI Consulting
"What can Japanese students do to become international professionals?"
16th Mar 2018
The Founder of WASABI Creation, Tong was contacted by a group of students from Tokyo University, who are interested to learn about doing business internationally, as they planned their self-funded trip to Malaysia and Singapore. A sharing session was conducted over web conference, where Tong answered questions from the students, shared his own experiences, and gave advises to the students what they can do to groom themselves into international professionals.
Here are the reviews and comments from the students.
WASABI Insight vol.10
Business in Japan~
"Japanese Business Culture & Manners"
1st Mar 2018
The Founder of WASABI Creation, Tong held a seminar sharing his experiences and insights on doing business in Japan, in particular on the topic of "Japanese Business Culture & Manners".
Tong shared from his own personal experience overs the years while he has been working in Japan, and doing business with Japanese companies. As he grew up and went through the education system in Singapore, knowing the language didn't seem to have prepared him enough to work in Japan as a fresh graduate. Tong talked about the episodes he had encountered all these years, and cover some of the basics about "Japanese Business Culture & Manner".
Topics:
-
Japanese business culture 101, how are the Japanese thinking?
-
Exchanging business cards
-
Visiting & hosting a Japanese company
-
Useful Japanese expressions for business
More information: Business in Japan~ "Japanese Business Culture & Manners"
Guest Speaker
The Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, Singapore (CLAIR, Singapore)
Feb 2018
The Founder of WASABI Creation, Tong was invited by The Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, Singapore (CLAIR, Singapore) to share about WASABI Creation's business and its expertise in helping Japanese companies go global
Tong shared about his past, present, and future projects on how WASABI Creation is bridging Japan, Singapore, and the rest of Asia in terms on Business, Culture, and Tourism. In particular, Tong talked about his observation of how many Japanese companies are facing difficulty in presenting their products to the local markets overseas, and what could be so the solutions to better communicating with local consumers and making online connections for building relationships.
About CLAIR, Singapore
WASABI Enterprise~
a peep into Japanese Entrepreneurs & Business ventures in Singapore
Produced by WASABI Creation
"WOW!" the World, MURAYAMA Singapore
Text by Xu Lulu, MBA, Hokkaido university
Translated by Lim Shi Hui, Undergraduate, NUS School of Business
MURAYAMA was established in 1902 with 113 years of history in organizing exhibitions, ceremonies, and business related services for large production companies. MURAYAMA expertise lies in ceremonies, theme parks, large-scale exhibitions, etc., such as national sports events.
In entering the Singapore market, MURAYAMA hopes to continue the hundred years long of history and tradition by expanding areas of their business they did not in Japan. Some activities would include business promotion, organizational activities, as well as the consulting business. In fact, MARAYAMA aims to expand into the entire Southeast Asian market.
MURAYAMA choose Singapore as a launch pad into Southeast Asia for several reasons, mainly due to the number of activity contractors and international networks available in Singapore. Southeast Asia is MURAYAMA’s second overseas expansion after their entry into the Chinese market.
MURAYAMA is just at the beginning stage of business development in Singapore, and had not yet determined specifically the format of operations or the results they wish to achieve. The person-in-charge in Singapore will start to track and accumulate their performance results here.
Mr. Aso, general manager of the Singapore branch of MURAYAMA, said that as they introduce interesting aspects of Japan to Asia, they too want to assist Southeast Asian companies interested in Japan to enter the Japanese market. Hence, companies interested in working with MURAYAMA or open to any strategic partnerships should contact them in Singapore.
Regarding the development plans in Singapore, MURAYAMA aims to set up and gradually expand several main businesses within one to two years. Mr. Aso said that their biggest goal is to expand the business gradually in Singapore, starting with the establishment of the business in the first year, gradual expansion in the second year, etc., rather than delving into a large scale business model from the start.
Speaking of differences between operations in Japan and Singapore, Mr. Aso mentioned that Singapore is much more fast-paced. He felt that the pace of work was already quick in China, and even more so when he came to Singapore. Mr. Aso also realized that Singapore is a highly individualistic society, which entails more freedom, but in turn translates to higher risks as well, which he is slightly nervous about. Hence, one of the future issues MURAYAMA will face is how to integrate into Singapore's unique culture.
Of course, Mr. Aso noticed similarities as well. For example, he felt that that there was little difference in the Singapore service industry when compared to Japan. Although spending in Singapore is relatively high, it is similar to Japan in this regard. Overall, he feels that all Singaporeans are friendly, polite, hardworking and kind.
Mr. Aso was very surprised at the prevalence of smartphones in all aspects of Singaporeans’ lives. In fact, things get difficult without a smartphone. For example, one needs a smartphone to access his verification code at the bank. One might encounter a similar situation in Japan but manual operations are still more common there. He concluded that Singapore is developing very quickly in terms of technology, given the large and constant usage of smart phones, laptop computers, WI-FI and Internet.
If he had to mention a difference between Japan and Singapore, Mr. Aso would say that the lack of a drinking culture here is foreign to him, as the Japanese loves drinking, while Singaporeans appear not to enjoy drinking as much.
As for MURAYAMA’s future projects, Mr. Aso expresses that WASABI Creation is a young but professional and vibrant company, and hence would like to continue working with WASABI Creation when expanding in Singapore.
MURAYAMA would like to strengthen ties between Japan and Southeast Asia, including Singapore through their business. They hope to obtain the support of people who share the same ideas as them, or are interested in their work. MURAYAMA also plans to go into consulting and hopes to face any challenges and issues together with their clients. MARAYAMA assures that despite its fresh entry into Singapore, they do not lack knowledge about the workings here as they have many great partners, and people who are interested in MURAYAMA’s services can work with them in confidence. MURAYAMA welcomes any consultation and discussions!
Mr. Aso
He has always worked in MURAYAMA Japan.
Because Aso intends to develop businesses in Singapore that have not been done before in Japan, he will not only take advantage of this prior experiences, but will also make use of their unique experience in Singapore to establish a new business. He knows that there are big risks involved, but solving any problems and developing MURAYAMA in Singapore within the quickest time possible is his mission while here.
Mr. Aso enjoys taking photos during the weekends, and is good at capturing the beauty of nature in his shots.
Mr. Aso says that there is a long history between Japan and Singapore. Japan has certain attractive qualities, such as its cuisine, products, and safety that provides reassurance to consumers. As Singapore is very similar to Japan, both countries have engaged in economic exchanges since ancient times. Mr. Aso was able to experience the charm of Singapore in his stay this time, and hopes to leverage on his experience and knowledge in helping Singapore and Japan achieve deeper levels of interactions.
Mr. Aso hopes to interact and carry out exchanges with like-minded people.
MURAAMA Singapore will be organizing its first event in Singapore on 28th October 2015 at Suntec Convention Center.
“Japan’s Energy Risk Control Technology for ASEAN’s Environmental Sustainability”
http://eventregist.com/e/energyriskcontrol
If you would like WASABI Enterprise to cover the story of your company, send us a mail at hi@wasabicreation.com