Lands of opportunity

For two years, Portland State’s Center for Japanese Studies has presented a speaker series focusing on Americans who have set up profitable businesses in Japan.

The next talk, to be held Thursday, will be the opposite: “Japanese Success Stories in Doing Business in Oregon: The Case of Ajinomoto,” featuring Haruo Kurata, senior vice president of Ajinomoto Frozen Foods USA. Ajinomoto sells Asian frozen foods in the U.S., such as fried rice and pot stickers.

“The company has been hugely successful. In many ways they’ve created a market,” said businessman Doug Smith, one of the former speakers in the series. “Mr. Kurata was instrumental in transforming their business and making Asian food available for mainstream American consumers.”

Kurata said he will be giving an overview of Ajinomoto and explain what the business has done in the last five years to create such growth. He believes that Oregon is one of the best states in the U.S. for a processed foods business.

“It is easy to get everything, especially labor and raw materials such as vegetables, wheat flour, rice and meat,” Kurata said. “My family and I loved living in Portland.”

Kuruata was transferred to Torrance, Calif., when he was promoted to his current position last summer.

“We’ve had about five lectures now about the experiences of Oregonians who have been successful in doing business in Japan,” said Ken Ruoff, director of the Center for Japanese Studies. “Ever since we started this series, we’ve wanted someone to give the flip side.”

The first speaker was Bruce Brenn, who established Nike in Japan. He also led Continental Bank into Asia. He spoke about the challenges he faced while doing business in Japan, such as changing shoe sizes and shapes to fit Japanese bodies and style. He also had to be conscious of how Japanese businessmen work.

“Japanese people travel along a vertical path, starting from school and then making their way straight to the top. They have a very narrow, but complete, line of relationships,” Brenn said. “Americans are more relaxed with many connections, and we function on a more horizontal basis.”

Dick Knight, the interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has done business in Japan and has attended some of the talks in the series.

“I have found these lectures to capture many of the unique aspects of doing business between two very different cultures,” Knight said. “These real life examples make some of the challenges, opportunities and rewards spring to life.”

Knight believes it is increasingly important for students to understand other cultures.

“This series of talks is on business topics, but they typically provide a window on a wide range of subjects relating to culture, societal values, international relationships and the challenges and rewards of developing the ability to function in a multicultural environment,” Knight said.

Doug Smith praised the speaker series.

“The talks give practical examples of how what students are learning in their coursework will make a difference, and how they can implement it either in business or in any of their future careers,” Smith said.

Brenn agreed.

“The value of this lecture series is that including cross-cultural sensitivities applies to business and contributes to success,” Brenn said.

Governors Mark Hatfield and Victor Atiyeh both encouraged Japan-Oregon business exchanges, helping to foster the good relationship that now exists between the country and our state.

“One of the things that distinguishes this region, Oregon in particular, is there is a sensibility and sensitivity in things Japanese,” Doug Smith said. “We’ve been fortunate to have leaders in Japan who’ve had the foresight to strengthen that business-to-business relationship.”