Deficiencies of Japanese......
I am going to write about something interesting but yet frustrating which I have found out from my experience over my past 2 years. Bearing in mind that my life is more or less 60% surrounded by Japanese so I guess it gives me every right to write out something like this. It's open for debate but please fuck off from debating about soccer facts if you aren’t a die hard soccer fanatic like me. Here goes.........
Japanese Soccer Team
After World Cup 2002 and 2006, I have branded Japan’s soccer team’s results as fucking poor. Why? A team with so much skills from the likes of Nakata, Nakamura, Kawaguchi and many more, they can’t even do Asia proud and advance past the 2nd round of the tournament. From what I observed, I do believe the Japanese have the continental skills and teamwork of the Europeans; however it is their damn culture which let their soccer down. Many a times, their strikers such as Takahara will rather pass the ball than to shoot regardless of being in a good position. Their defenders do not fight fiercely against calls by referees nor do they mark opponents aggressively out of the game. Their overall game play is too careful. They will rather walk the ball into the net than to simply take a good pot shot. When you watch the Japanese play as compared to the Koreans, they do not fight for their life for every ball unlike the South Koreans. Final verdict: the Japanese lack passion and are too careful and polite in competitive soccer. Will they go to semi-finals or even win the World Cup? If they do, pigs will fly. I will gladly take on any bets with anyone.
The Japanese Company I work for
The company that I am working for currently is Singapore Kitamura Industries Pte Ltd of Metek Kitamura Group, which is a MNC, whose forte is in electro semi conductor plating. Recently this company’s semi-conductor business is facing a decline; hence they decided to move into a new business in order to keep the company in Singapore. This new business is in the interactive digital media technology market. I was employed as a product engineer. My task was to push this technology out into Singapore’s media market as well as make sales and marketing plans as well as setting up business partnership with prospective partners to move this new business ahead. I was placed under a business development team in the company. For the past 2 years, I will not consider this new business a success. Why? I always believe in business is about investment and gamble, however the initial investment put in by my company to develop this new business is close to ZERO. My Japanese boss has always asked us to work on low cost and constrained us to follow several ideas which in my honest opinion are not viable in developing a new business. I was holding this fort together with my direct boss and some colleagues, all Singaporeans. My boss has since quitted in July due to a conflict of ideas with our head office regarding the direction they wanted us to move in for this interactive technology business. My company’s will rather do direct sales for this new technological product which cost up to $50,000 SGD. The product isn’t a necessity even in our human lives. In order to earn the fast buck to sustain this business on the long run, I had written a proposal and fought with my head office, trying my best to convince my head office to invest in buying these technological products and working in partnership with an established media firm such as JC Decaux in Singapore to sell interactive media advertising spaces instead. The return on investment can be achieved in a short time span of 1 year. But of course every investment, there will be risk as well. This company is not keen to take the challenge of this risk taking. They are too careful in approaching the business as well. In recent times, more and more similar products are showing up in the market which is cheaper and serving the same purpose as well. I can foresee this new business will die out sooner or later but I won’t be here to see it through as my last day is 28th November. Why? This is because I have decided to throw in the towel and call it a day. Final verdict: the Japanese in this company simply are too careful and not courageous as well as lack of passion in approaching this new business.
My Japanese Linkshell in FFXI (Juventus)
Recently my Japanese linkshell (LS) is finding it hard to get people to hunt Ground 3 Kings. People are just not turning up. Talk about the lack of passion, I guess it is simple to see from here. Just 2 days ago at 2300hrs JST, Tiamat popped, so we decided to warp from turtle camp and head to Attohwa Chasm with 14 people in alliance to try claim it. The RDM/Nin was on his way but not ahead of us. American LS SpikeFlail had only 5 at that time. The moment I saw Joyo put up his reraise and food items, I knew they were ready to pull even if it is just 5 people. With 14 people, I felt we had enough elemental seal sleep to keep Tiamat slept till Xeno comes. Bearing in mind, he was in Shakrami almost approaching; the Japanese still didn’t want to pull. All they said in LS channel was “wait… and wait…”. SF pulled with 5. Honestly I ain’t crying over this problem. But a huge whine then took place in LS Chat. Final verdict: The Japanese in my LS are simply too careful, and not courageous. Quoted from Graeson of SpikeFlail: “Americans are like Spartans……..” Quoted from Thaumboy of SpikeFlail: “No mule = too slow = no pull.” Without a mule in Tiamat’s area and with their attitude to be overly careful and their lack of passion, this LS is no longer the old and powerful LS of Ragnarok. Eventually yesterday, only 3 people turn up in turtle camp. The sack Vino told me to pull. I returned the careful sarcasm of “pull even with 3?” she replied “pull even with 1”. Such funnies eh?
My conclusions from my observations:
1) Japanese lack of passion
2) Overly careful and lack of balls
3) Unwillingness to take risk
It’s fast becoming like a disease to their society and culture. Maybe in 10 years down the road, more and more Japanese companies will decline, just like how the linkshells are declining in FFXI, just like how their soccer team who will never excel nor be on par with the Europeans nor South Americans or even their own nemesis South Koreans.