Why are Japanese IT companies interested in Russia? How well do Russian startups fare at entering the Japanese market? What’s the difference between the business cultures in Russia and Japan? These questions were the key subjects of the roundtable discussion “Cross-Cultural Business Communications. Japan-Russia”.
During one of the 12th St. Petersburg International Innovation Forum’s first sessions, representatives of the two countries’ IT industries gathered to exchange experience and make yet another step towards developing their business relations. It appeared at first that the topic had not garnered much interest among the Forum’s guests, but by the middle of the discussion, all seats in the room were taken, proving once again that both nations’ businesses eye each other with great interest.
History of Russian-Japanese relations
The business relationship between Russia and Japan has a relatively short history: for the longest time, it was strained by political disagreements, the language barrier, and other circumstances.
“Despite all this, I believe that we should strive towards partnership and work on developing it further,” says Kenichi Sakaguchi, CEO of Technosolution. “There is still some strife between our countries, an “obstacle wall” of sorts, but I believe that the IT industry can help us overcome any challenge.”
The CEO of another Japanese corporation, Unixon Systems, Fumihiko Kimura is no less optimistic about today’s opportunities for collaboration.
“Now is the most appropriate time for partnership,” he says. “In terms of government support, the environment is just great. I’ve been to Russia three times this year, and I’m amazed we haven't worked closely earlier.”
In recent years, Japanese investors have begun to attentively watch over the development of Russia’s IT industry and visit its business incubators. The results are already here: Russian startups now have the chance to showcase their ideas in the Land of the Rising Sun.
“I came to the Demo Day at the Ingria business incubator,” speaks Theodor Belomoev, CEO of K.PRO, about his experience presenting communication devices for deaf-blind people in Japan. “There were members of a delegation from the city of Fukuoka there. They picked me and I went to Japan, spoke at a summit, and even won the first prize. When I came to Japan and saw the way they approach work, I was amazed by the level of thought, philosophy, perception of business. I was also amazed by the way they treat my target audience. It was then that I realized that I want to work with Japan.”
East and West: what’s the difference?
People from different countries and cultures can’t always find common ground during negotiations. There’s always a possibility that their professional traditions are so different that the potential partners are simply unable to come to an agreement. At least that’s what it seems like. But, according to many of the roundtable discussion’s participants, there is just as much in common between startup founders in Russia and Japan as there are differences.
“We live in a digital world, always online, and this lets us recognize that we’re becoming more and more alike. That includes business communications, too: the limits that existed 10 or 20 years ago are no more, and it’s much easier to approach each other in the business realm. I feel that, and so do my partners,” says Irina Rimecode, head of marketing at Uploadcare.
“I believe that Russia and Japan are similar in that personal relationships are valued above all,” notes Kenichi Sakaguchi. “Of course, there is an official aspect, but when we meet on a personal level, it instantly becomes easier to work together. From a Japanese point of view, some of the things that happen here are strange and difficult to understand, but I believe that personal relationships are always a top priority for both Russians and Japanese. There are no borders or distances in the IT world, which is why I think that our relationship with Russia will be a fruitful one.”
But still, admit some of the Japanese participants, it is difficult to do business in Russia until you’ve not been there and learned how things work and what the IT market is like.
“When I came to Russia, I realized that, indeed, you can’t understand this country’s beauty and the attractiveness of its market till you go there,” says Fumihiko Kimura. “At first, we thought that we might bring some of our products to Russia and introduce them here, but once we had come, we realized that we should be collaborating on research and developing the IT industry, inventing new things in Russia and using our colleagues’ experience to bring these ideas back to Japan. There are many IT startups in Russia, and they deal with IT in fields where us Japanese can’t for one reason or another.”
One of the biggest challenges in further developing their business relationships with Russian companies, say the Japanese, are the bureaucratic issues and legal differences.
“I understand that Russia is a massive nation and, perhaps, that’s why some of the regulations in Moscow differ from those in other regions. But I wish that things would have been brought to a standard in terms of trade relations and agreements,” notes Kenichi Sakaguchi.
To Russians, the most unusual aspect of business in Japan is the long preparation period for any project. When working on joint projects, it’s better not to expect swift decisions from one’s Japanese partners or instant profits from the endeavor itself.
Prospects
The final part of the discussion focused on the prospects of Russian-Japanese cooperation.
“Japan is such a strong technological brand that it might seem they shouldn’t need for more,” says Denis Stolyarov, CEO of Video360Production, an ITMO University SIE. “But any new technology is an ocean of possibilities and complementary competencies. Naturally, we see a collaboration with our Japanese partners as a way of complimenting each side’s technological competencies. At the same time, the market in Japan is sufficiently large, active, and receptive of high technologies, which makes it attractive for any high tech business.”
As Yellot founder Sergey Chukhontsev points out, there is great potential in the combination of Russian theoretical findings and Japanese scrupulousness and attention in regards to implementing projects.
“Our creed in Russia is to come up with impossible things and then forget them or leave them incomplete; there are always issues with implementation. What I like about Japan is the attention to detail and minutiae. Not once did I find that if you discover something fundamental, then the best implementation of it will be done in Japan,” he adds.
According to Hisato Matsuo, the CEO of Team AIBOD, Japanese companies will also likely be interested in collaborating with Russia on high tech energy and its clean production.
“We all know that Russia is a nation rich with resources, but we don’t know what’s going to happen in 30 or 40 years, and we should start thinking about it. This is my third time in Russia and I’ve learned that effective energy use is a priority here. I hope to work with you and see our collaboration result in each country adopting the most correct and vital approaches to energy production,” he says.
Upon the conclusion of the roundtable discussion, a collaboration memorandum was signed by the companies Unixon Systems and Uploadcare.
SPIIF 2019
The 12th St. Petersburg International Innovation Forum (SPIIF) took place at the St. Petersburg Expoforum on November 13-15, organized by the city’s Committee for Industrial Policy. This year, the event was sponsored by Russian Railways and RUSNANO.
