Japan, Persuasion, Thorough Case

A Thousand Questions

Before its general meeting of shareholders in June, Hitachi prepares sōtei mondō , anticipated questions and answers. The company writes that their number reaches about 1,000. Preparation starts around March, and rehearsals are held repeatedly from about a month before the meeting.

The legal site Business Lawyers defines sōtei mondō as questions that shareholders could raise, with draft answers, put in writing in advance. It warns of the risks of answers that fall short. The company can be accused of breaching its duty to explain, and the resolutions themselves can be challenged.

Bad Precedentism

At his first press conference as prime minister, on September 16, 2020, Suga Yoshihide made a promise: Gyōsei no tatewari, kitoku ken’eki, soshite ashiki zenrei shugi o uchiyabutte kisei kaikaku o zenryoku de susumemasu. “I will break through the vertical divisions of the administration, vested interests and bad precedentism, and push regulatory reform with all my strength.”

No Track Record, Lower Rank

In 2024, a government document on public procurement from startups, posted by the Cabinet Secretariat, described a problem. Companies are ranked for public tenders by a score. Setsuritsu mamonaku jisseki no nai sutātoappu wa tensū ga hikuku natte shimai, teii no ranku ni nariyasuku, kibo no ōkii nyūsatsu ni sanka ga seigen sarete shimau. “Newly founded startups with no track record get low scores, tend to be ranked low, and are restricted from large tenders.”

A document released in June 2024 on the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry added that a startup must bid at a lower price to beat the overall score of A- and B-ranked companies with a track record and capital.

Sony the Guinea Pig

In 1958, a weekly magazine wrote that large companies now made more transistors than Sony, the company that had developed them. “So Sony is the guinea pig of the large companies.” One account attributes a similar jibe, casting Sony as Toshiba’s guinea pig, to the critic Ōya Sōichi in Shūkan Asahi. His own wording is not confirmed.

Sony was angry at being compared to a laboratory animal. Some years later, its founder Ibuka Masaru is reported to have said in an interview that there were still many things to create. If opening them up one by one and turning them into products was the guinea pig spirit, then the guinea pig spirit was a fine thing too. Employees gave him a golden guinea pig.

The Vocabulary of Caution

Ishibashi o tataite wataru (石橋を叩いて渡る): to tap on a stone bridge before crossing it. Even a bridge that looks solid is checked for safety first. Doing things with caution on top of caution.

Sonae areba urei nashi (備えあれば憂いなし): if prepared, no worries. A person who is always ready for an emergency need not worry when one happens.

Nen ni wa nen o ireyo (念には念を入れよ): add care to care. In important matters, take great care that no mistake happens, and then check once more.

The Vocabulary of Preparation

Dandori (段取り): the order and steps for doing something, and the preparation for it.

Dandori hachibu (段取り八分): preparation is eighty percent. Good preparation is eighty percent of success.