Time: November 1994
Place: A large Japanese electronics firm basic research lab, Tokyo, Japan
Characters: Peter, an MIT Japan Program intern Ichiro, a young scientist
employed by the Japanese firm
Peter was really confused now. Having just arrived in Japan six weeks ago, it seemed that he was already involved in a situation that had no right answers. And it wasn't that anyone had openly expressed their displeasure with him, or explained to him the dynamics of the office group. He knew that his boss, Hayashi-san, was purposely avoiding eye contact with him, which became clear yesterday at the research meeting where he presented his report.
Probably it has to do with Ichiro, because the aloofness he is feeling from the work group seemed to have begun right when he began to spend some time with Ichiro. It wasn't clear to Peter how everyone knew about Ichiro's plans, or why they seemed to be turning away from him, but even he could tell that what Ichiro was thinking was not acceptable to the group. Peter was aware that three out of ten employees left companies within the first three years for start-ups or other companies. That was recent news. Several years ago this would have been unheard of. Yet Peter would probably be tempted to make the same Faustian bargain if he had been raised in this society. Given Ichiro's background, which Ichiro had told him about in detail, it seemed like the only survival route open to a Japanese scientist who wanted to make a contribution. Japan was changing. Ichio should be part of that change. Ichio must be part of the new society. He thought about the life that Ichiro had and how Ichiro had been raised.
What Peter had learned over the past few weeks about Ichiro's upbringing and education was not shocking, in fact it was pretty typical for a young man who managed to enter Tokyo University. Ichiro's early childhood was spent in a very creative and permissive environment, where he was allowed to do just about what he pleased. Beginning at age 4, he attended Kumon (an after-school mathematics program) after his nursery school, in order to learn math principles, but he never minded it as the worksheets were fun and he was allowed to play with the other children after his lesson. Ichiro entered kindergarten at age 5, and continued with Kumon, though he was already two grade levels ahead for his age. He had a keen interest in airplanes and machinery of any description, and his father would spend time with him on Sundays putting together models and going to science shows. In second grade, Ichiro switched to a Soroban (abacus) after-school program He was very adept at the abacus, reaching the ni-kyu (second highest rank) level, but the repetitiousness bored him. He would often sit at his desk and dream his time away, or fold airplanes from his worksheets, to his soroban teacher's dismay.
As is typical in upper middle class families in Japan, in fourth grade Ichiro began to attend juku, where the pace of study began to intensify. Ichiro again had trouble with the repetitive nature of the lessons, but made a strong connection to Yamamoto-sensei, his juku instructor. Yamamoto-sensei would spend time after hours and on vacations with Ichiro and a small group of boys, discussing their interests and ideas about math, science, and life. Ichiro thrived in these group meetings, where he was allowed free rein to explore his ideas. In the juku class, however, ideas were irrelevant, and the job at hand was to cram in as much information as possible in preparation for the junior high entrance exam. During this time, Ichiro's father spent three years living in Hiroshima, only visiting the family on the weekends, and then often only one or two weekends a month. Ichiro knew the reasons for the move, his father's company dictated it and it meant a higher position and more money, but he resented it nonetheless. However, Ichiro noticed that his father stoically accepted the transfer, and was without exception respectful and grateful to his company. Ichiro dreamed about his career at a large Japanese company, where he would have position and respect like his father.
Ichiro passed the entrance exam to Haru jr. high without killing himself. Actually the exam was a little easy after all his time in juku preparation. He knew that getting in to Haru was the first step on the way to Tokyo University. He was very excited, as was his mother and Yamamoto-sensei. Of course, he would need to increase his juku hours to continue to progress towards his dream. The next step involved the entrance exam for Haru's sister institution, Naniwa High School. A high percentage of Naniwa's students passed the Tokyo University entrance exam, and Ichiro's parents were sure that he should try for Naniwa.
Ichiro's father returned from Hiroshima when Ichiro was in seventh grade. He seemed more serious and also more distracted with his job. Ichiro overheard many heated discussions between his mother and father concerning juku, entrance to Naniwa, and Ichiro's future. One Sunday, when Ichiro and his father were putting together a model airplane, Ichiro was told that he needed to start another juku, one with an excellent reputation for placement in Naniwa, and in fact was run by former Naniwa teachers. Ichiro was shocked and very sad; he would no longer be able to see Yamamoto-sensei regularly or participate in the after-juku group. But he acceded to his father's request and began at the new juku the next week. The pace was grueling, and Ichiro often did not get home until 10:30 at night, with another hour of review ahead of him. His mother looked worried, and again his father was involved in frequent overnight trips. Ichiro's life became a steady series of reviews, tests, and drills.
Again, Ichiro passed Naniwa's entrance exam without much difficulty. He really enjoyed the environment and teachers there, and for the first time discovered the computer. Naniwa, an advanced high school in Japan, had actually invested in several computers and made them available for students' use. Ichiro quickly became proficient in Basic programming and other computer functions. He frequently read computer magazines, and was fascinated with the possibilities of 3D modeling and advanced computer graphics. How better to design airplanes than to actually see your model in three-dimensions! Ichiro felt he was getting closer and closer to his goal.
Preparation for the university exam for Tokyo University was more difficult than anything else Ichiro had done in his life. However, strangely enough, having established his pace with study and his tolerance for lack of sleep long ago, Ichiro had little difficulty with the rigor of exam preparation. He managed in his little free time to meet with a group of friends who shared an interest in computers, and lately they had gotten access to a computer system with 3-D modeling software. Ichiro enjoyed these meetings more than anything else, and certainly more than memorizing arcane facts about world history! Just as his parents expected, Ichiro passed the entrance exam to Tokyo University. His father was glowing at the exam results announcement ceremony, and tears were in his eyes. Ichiro thought that if he died that day, that would be fine. He had fulfilled his obligation to his parents and had done the best he could. Even his old juku teacher Yamamoto-sensei was there to congratulate him.
Life at Tokyo University was generally good for Ichiro, but he was also disappointed by a few things he'd discovered in the course of his studies. His professors were generally uninspired, and seemed to have little interest in teaching students. Half the time he would ride his bike to campus only to find a small note on the chalk board indicating that class had been canceled that day. When class was held, one-third of the students were not in attendance, and those that were there talked or slept during the lectures. Yet Ichiro did make a good connection with one professor, Professor Yoshinaka, who taught mechanical engineering. In Yoshinaka's lab, Ichiro experimented, more like play to him, with several modeling techniques on a computer system Yoshinaka borrowed from a big corporate lab. Ichiro devised a system for modeling on that computer that he patented with Yoshinaka's help. This was quite an achievement for a young university student, and Yoshinaka was very proud of him.
Another shock to Ichiro was the state of the facilities at the labs. Not only were the buildings decrepit, but the computers were generations old, and were improperly maintained. Fortunately, the computer club, of which Ichiro became president in his junior year, had a couple of great systems with the latest games and modeling software. Increasingly, Ichiro spent his time on club activities and computer modeling software design.
Ichiro was recruited heavily by several Japanese companies, starting before the official starting date. They sent him gifts and brought him in to their computer facilities, many of which were quite impressive. Under Professor Yoshinaka's advice, though, he chose a large electronics firm that had a reputation for creativity and allowing young scientists a lot of freedom. It happened to be the same company that provided Yoshinaka's lab with advanced computers. Also, with one patent under his belt, Ichiro was given a higher entry salary and promised incremental increases for further patentable work. Ichiro couldn't believe that his dream was actually coming true now. All that he had studied for and been prepared for by his parents and teachers was now happening ... to him! His pride in Japan and in Japanese company life was at a high point.
Ichiro began at the company like all other new employees, and spent several months in new employee training. He learned about the company, its history and philosophy, and the numerous business units it had around the world. It was an exciting organization to be a part of, and the possibility for international travel and advancement were excellent.
Ichiro next began a series of rotations through various departments at the corporate headquarters. Though he knew that this was a part of his training, he was anxious to get a lab assignment and begin work. The first rotation was in the marketing department. It was thankfully brief. Most of the time Ichiro spent there was in reading journals and clipping articles about competitors, and then taking them to the copy machine and putting them in files. He couldn't believe that the company didn't have a database for this type of information, and trained operators to handle this information as a service to the managers. It was archaic! On top of that, each person in the department seemed to be always competing for the kacho's favor, and passed up no opportunity for one-upsmanship towards the others, all of course in the name of kaizen and the group's "harmony."
Ichiro couldn't believe the hypocrisy. Having spent his whole life with teachers or peers, it was a real shock to be in a world where authority was wielded by people who not only knew less than Ichiro, but felt that they were better than him due to their years of service to the company. After hours, Ichiro would commiserate with other new employees about some of the bosses, but on the job everyone maintained the pretense of company spirit and cooperation. It gave Ichiro a headache. He stayed in the computer room, sometimes until 1 am, playing with the modeling programs and computer games.
Finally, after four months of this charade--it was worse in the accounting office where Ichiro was expected to check figures against computer printouts using an abacus!-- Ichiro got his first assignment in the Second Engineering Design Section of the central lab. He was very excited at the prospect of actually starting to do some real work, but also had a nagging sense that something was horribly wrong. He thought back to all his parents had told him about goals for the future, and how working for a large Japanese firm was the best path possible for a young man. He shook off his foreboding and began the new assignment with hope. One thing that fed his optimism was the fact that an intern from MIT named Peter was joining the group. He had met Americans before at Tokyo University, but never had a chance to work with one, especially one from MIT. He was eager to make friends with Peter and find out about life and computers in America from a native.
In the first week that Ichiro began the lab job, Ichiro attended a meeting on "computer breakthroughs" held at a local hotel. It was sponsored by a company Ichiro was not familiar with, named Saitya, but the literature looked really interesting. As it turned out, Saitya was involved with some really cutting edge research on visualization. Ichiro was impressed, but come Monday he was back on the job and fully focused.
Hayashi-san, Ichiro's new boss, was a pleasant man, but tended to be very indecisive and careful. Ichiro, as the new member of the group, was again given menial jobs of updating software, doing maintenance, and generally being an errand boy for the group. Ichiro's disappointment returned, as he realized that the grand promises of the company for creative freedom and authority were just a sham. The Japanese company could never offer those things, thought Ichiro, as long as the system of seniority and lifetime employment were the cornerstones of the company's reputation. Ichiro felt desperate as he considered his future: would he ever be able to do independent work and be appreciated for his technical contributions? Probably not. But his parents' faces would float up before his eyes, and he realized it would be impossible to quit. Ichiro's only source of pleasure, besides the computer room, was his budding friendship with Peter. He often spent lunches with Peter, flipping back and forth between English and Japanese, laughing and discovering in Peter someone who understood his dilemma.
Representatives from Saitya called Ichiro that next week to invite him to another session. As it turned out, the session was actually a meeting, where the Saitya people, young brilliant researchers like himself, laid out a proposal for Ichiro: come work with us. Be part of a start up that could really go somewhere. You have to take charge of your life. We have start up money, Japan is changing, you will be part of that change. We will build something together that is unique and that will use your talents.--decide for yourself what kind of life you want to have. Work with us for three months, then make the transition to Saitya. Why live an unfulfilling big company-life like your father? The arguments were persuasive but Ichiro felt like a traitor even listening to their offer. He left feeling terribly excited and scared.
When Peter heard about the Saitya meeting, he was excited for Ichiro, too. It sounded incredible, and reminded Peter of the entrepreneurial spirit of a Silicon Valley start-up. That kind of environment would allow someone like Ichiro to thrive. Ichiro might even decide to start his own company in ten years' time. The possibilities were wide open. Then of course, there's that obligation thing. Ichiro feels it would be a tremendous disappointment to his parents if he left the company, and also would betray the efforts of Professor Yoshinaka, even that juku teacher he talks about from the fourth grade! This is a strange country, thought Peter, how can I best advise Ichiro according to what I believe and understand is best for him? Also, if Ichiro does leave, will Hayashi-san and the rest of the team blame me? What a fix!