Enterprises In Japan Research Articles

Staged Creativity and Co-creation of Meanings: The Commodification of Spaces for Cosplay in Japanese Cosplay Culture

Cosplay is a fan culture that involves dressing up as and performing fictional characters from popular media texts. Since the late 2000s, commercial enterprises in Japan have been creating and exploring new places for cosplay, such as rental studios and real-life locations, and marketing them to cosplayers for profit-seeking purposes. Based on fieldwork at cosplay events and rental studios, as well as interviews with staff, cosplayers, and chiefs of companies, I explore and discuss various ways in which spaces for cosplay are commodified in Japan. I argue that part of cosplayers’ creative spatial experience within rental studios and locations is predicted and staged by place providers. Still, cultural meanings are co-created by both cosplayers’ creative agency and place providers’ attempts to control cosplayers’ consumer behaviours. This co-creation is the result of the power dynamics between cosplayer users and place providers, along with the employment of cosplayers’ subcultural and online social capital by place providers. This study contributes to the understanding of how cultural meanings are co-created between cultural organisations and their users. It also broadens critical discussions on the collaboration between corporations and prosumers.

Adherence to national guidelines for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screenings in Japanese workplaces: a survey-based classification of enterprises’ practices into “overscreening,” “underscreening,” and “guideline-adherence screening”

BackgroundWorkplace cancer screening programs are determined as part of an employee’s benefits package and health checkups are perceived positively. However, the current status of workplace cancer screening programs in Japan is unavailable. This study aimed to assess the adherence to national guidelines for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screenings in the workplace among Japanese enterprises and identify factors associated with excessive or inadequate screenings.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was employed. Data were obtained from a survey conducted by the “Corporate Action to Promote Cancer Control” between November and December 2022 among registered partner enterprises in Japan. The survey included questions on background characteristics, cancer screening practices, and intervention approaches. The analysis included 432 enterprises that provided complete responses regarding colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screenings.ResultsThe guideline-adherence rates for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screenings in the workplace were 12.7%, 3.0%, and 8.8%, respectively. Enterprises had lower adherence to screening guidelines than local governments. Colorectal (70.8%) and breast (67.1%) cancer screenings were predominantly categorized as “overscreening” and cervical (60.6%) cancer screening, as “underscreening.” Factors such as enterprise scale, health insurance associations, and the number of interventional approaches were significantly associated with increased “overscreening” (101–1000: β = 0.13, p = 0.01; ≥ 1000: β = 0.17, p < 0.01; health insurance association: β = 0.23, p < 0.01; and approaches: β = 0.42, p < 0.01) and reduced “underscreening” (101–1000: β = -0.13, p = 0.01; ≥ 1000: β = -0.17, p < 0.01; health insurance association: β = -0.18, p < 0.01; and approaches: β = -0.48, p < 0.01).ConclusionAdherence to national guidelines for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screenings in the workplace was suboptimal among Japanese enterprises. Therefore, appropriate cancer screening measures and interventions to ensure guideline adherence and optimization of screening benefits while minimizing potential harms should be expeditiously implemented.

Association between workplace social capital and systolic blood pressure among 23 173 workers at 367 small-sized and medium-sized enterprises in Japan: a cross-sectional study

ObjectivesSocial capital (SC) has been shown to be inversely associated with elevated blood pressure. While SC in the workplace may also be associated with blood pressure, it has not been...

A Study and Implications on the Intermediate Support Organization’s Support System and Method for Social Enterprises in Japan

A Study and Implications on the Intermediate Support Organization’s Support System and Method for Social Enterprises in Japan

Disentangling prefectural similarities in the capital structure of Japanese SMEs through pairwise testing

We investigate the capital structure of small- and medium-sized enterprises in Japan during 2007–2019 to identify whether firm-specific determinants of leverage exhibit locational differences among Japanese prefectures. To do so, we propose a testing scheme that disentangles potential similarities across prefecture pairs. When we apply the proposed testing scheme by creating 1081 prefecture pairs, we find that the impact of the firm-specific determinants of leverage does not greatly differ between prefecture pairs in terms of both sign and magnitude in contrast to the significant difference found by conventional hypothesis testing. As a convenient tool for other geographical research, we also discuss that the proposed testing scheme is helpful for regional policy-making, specifically during period of external shocks, the latest of which could be regarded as the COVID-19 pandemic.

How do strategic networks help SMEs upgrade in global value chains? A cross-national analysis

This study investigates whether strategic networks in global value chains affect the upgrade of suppliers and describes alternative ways of overcoming the barriers to such upgrades. Using a cross-national analysis, we examine the complex upgrade process for suppliers from a long-term perspective by applying qualitative research. We conduct semi-structured interviews to survey small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan and South Korea. The results show that suppliers in global value chains maintain long-term cooperative relationships with lead firms and utilize strategic networks to supplement the management capabilities required for strategic goals. Our findings also indicate that strategic multi-partner networks play a crucial role in ameliorating major barriers to upgrading. This study proposes that suppliers can upgrade through alternative methods utilizing strategic networks. Our findings thus generate important implications for managers working for suppliers in current or potential global value chains.

Kaizen Applications in the Garment Industry: A Case Study

Industry 4.0 helps companies be more flexible in the production process and the supply chain. Thereby creating quality products and services at low prices, saving time and costs in manufacturing. Kaizen is known as an advanced tool in the application of a series of methods to eliminate waste and improve the quality and efficiency of production activities in enterprises in Japan. However, in Vietnam, many businesses are still hesitant and consider the effectiveness of this tool in Vietnamese enterprises. In the article, the author mentions the implementation of Kaizen at Thuan Phuong Group. The method selected in the article includes describing the current problem of the enterprise, proposing solutions for the Kaizen application, designing and programming Kaizen software, and deploying Kaizen at the factory according to the PDCA cycle. Kaizen tools have been deployed to almost all departments at the enterprise such as the production department, mechanics, engineering, quality management, and maintenance. After 2 years of application implementation Kaizen, the total improvement time of the business increased more than 10 times, saving companies a large amount of money. The article is an example of the successful application of Kaizen in production and business activities in Vietnam. Therefore, this article helps other businesses have a more objective view of the application aspects of Kaizen in their businesses.

Challenges in acquiring support for employee treatment and work balance in small- and medium-sized enterprises in Japan during COVID-19

Challenges in acquiring support for employee treatment and work balance in small- and medium-sized enterprises in Japan during COVID-19

Conditions for Collective Land Use by Community-Based Organizations: Case Study of Community Farming Enterprises in Japan

The small scale of farms and scattered farmland plots in Japanese agriculture have hindered efficient farmland utilization. We used the spatial anticommons problem as the theoretical grounding to study the conditions for collective land use by community farming enterprises. We achieved this by constructing large-scale community-level data, on community farming enterprises and community characteristics, for six prefectures in the Hokuriku and Kinki regions (12,028 rural communities). Then, using regression analysis, we examined the relationship between the collective use of farmland through collective farming enterprises and the variables related to community functions, controlling for the characteristics of rural communities and dummy variables for former municipalities. The results of the descriptive statistics and econometric analysis indicated that the level of farmland improvement projects and the scale of community functions, such as the number of local meetings, are positively associated with the collective use of farmland by community farming enterprises. These factors affecting collective actions are similar to those in the case of common pool resources in the existing literature. This finding suggests that a community-based self-governing mechanism can play an important role for the governance of underused resources, i.e., the tragedy of the anticommons, as in the case of the tragedy of the commons.

Role of Financial Institutions on Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan

Small-scale enterprises highly influence the growth of a country. Small-scale enterprises are fundamental in creating employment opportunities for many people, notably in rural areas. Consequently, the study was determined to examine the role of financial institutions in the growth of small and medium enterprises in Japan. The study did a literature review to explore the findings from the preceding studies. The study findings from the majority of the studies showed that financial institutions play a critical role in the growth of small and medium enterprises. The financial institutions provide services and loans that spur the growth of small and medium enterprises. In addition, the financial institutions are involved in providing the startup capital and this increases the sustainability of the small firms. In some instances, the financial institutions provide capacity building to the small enterprises, increasing their skills and knowledge in the management process. The small-scale enterprises encounter many difficulties and the financial instructions become a channel for accessing funds. The factors that limit small and medium enterprises from accessing the loans from the financial institutions is mainly lack of collateral. The study concluded that financial institutions determined the growth of small and medium enterprises in Japan to a large extent. The study recommended that drastic and effective financial policies which directly increase accessibility to available credits from financial institutions ought to be set in Japan. The government needs to sale up a framework that will make the financial institutions increase their lending to the small and medium enterprises. A specialized borrowing system needs to be developed in the financial institutions to carry out small-scale lending functions. Keywords: Financial institutions, growth, small scale enterprises, Japan

State regulation and tools for stimulating investment in manufacturing enterprises

The article highlights the need to strengthen government intervention in the Ukrainian economy, which is justified by the deteriorating industrial potential, falling volumes of industrial production and the country’s growing dependence on imported products to safeguard the national security. The authors provide an overview of foreign experiences of using mechanisms of state regulation and various instruments for stimulating the investment activity of enterprises in Japan, USA, Germany, China and India. A list of measures is proposed that can help to restore industrial production on a new technological basis and significantly reduce the outflow of highly qualified specialists from Ukraine.

An Empirical Study on Cloud Accounting Adopted by Small and Medium-Size Enterprises in Japan

An Empirical Study on Cloud Accounting Adopted by Small and Medium-Size Enterprises in Japan

A Study on Basic Accounting Concepts for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Japan

A Study on Basic Accounting Concepts for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Japan

Social Enterprise in Small Hydropower (SHP) Owned by a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) between a Food Cooperative and a Social Venture Company; a Case Study of the 20 kW Shiraito (Step3) SHP in Itoshima City, Fukuoka (Japan)

There was an unprecedented growth of SHP (small hydropower) in Japan during recent years because the government has provided a high FIT (USD 0.32/kWh) for SHP development projects of less than 200 kW. The public and private sectors are committed to harnessing this natural energy to achieve the renewable energy goal as well as to improve local communities social and economic conditions. This paper will discuss about renewable energy initiatives by a food corporation enterprise (FCOOP) based in Fukuoka prefecture of Japan to reduce their net carbon emissions. A detailed approach for social enterprises-based SHP development has been discussed which will be a role model concept for other social enterprises in Japan and in the world that are willing to reduce CO2 emissions. Also, this kind of project connects urban stake holders with local community where resources are available and it leads to development of the local community living standards. As a demonstrated example, a case study of a 20 kW SHP installed in Japan by a FCOOP has been discussed.

The Emergence and Development of Lean Thinking in Transport Services

The purpose of this work is to study the evolution of lean thinking and optimize the value stream in the transport provision of enterprises. An overview of the creation and development of lean thinking is presented, a historical and genetic research method, methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis are implemented, and a mathematical model of the optimization criterion for implementing lean transportation is proposed. It is established that the creation of lean thinking should be associated with the development of scientific management methods, which were implemented in Ford Motor Company. Adapting the principles of the American automobile industry to the specifics of enterprises in Japan in the late 1940s allowed Toyota to create a production system. It was significantly different from the American experience, although it was based on it. The peculiarity of technological processes of Japanese enterprises provided high efficiency. When describing the Japanese experience, American researchers in the late 1980s used the term lean. Under this name, experts from the United States have studied and popularized the achievements of Japanese managers. Analysis of the value stream has shown the difference between this concept and the concepts of the value chain and use value. The analysis of the value stream has a separate specificity when considering the transport support of the company’s activities. For these purposes, an optimization criterion is proposed that requires coordinated management of cargo flows and reserves.

Analysis on the Innovativeness of Social Enterprises in Japan: Focusing on Start-ups

Analysis on the Innovativeness of Social Enterprises in Japan: Focusing on Start-ups

A study on reform of local public enterprises in Japan

A study on reform of local public enterprises in Japan

CO-DESIGN OF SERVICE INNOVATION THROUGH PROBLEM BASED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION INCORPORATING LIVING LABS

The aim of this research is to propose a model of problem based learning to develop service innovators. This model futures empirical finding for problem solving by implementing with enterprises and higher education institutions. This study focuses on craftsmanship in the manufacturing small enterprises in Japan. It is because the management of a small enterprise is tight and it is difficult to demonstrate the value of excellent craftsmanship. This study shows a model of co-design of service innovation and the execution process of the model by enterprises and higher education institutions incorporating living labs which is one methodology to practice open innovation.

Productivity Drag from Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Japan

Productivity growth in Japan, as in most advanced economies, has moderated. This paper finds supportive evidence for the important role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in explaining Japan’s modest productivity growth. Results show a substantial dispersion in firm-level productivity growth across sectors and even across firms within the same sector. SMEs, on average, exhibit lower productivity growth than non-SMEs in Japan, with smaller and older SMEs showing particularly low productivity growth. Estimates suggest that boosting productivity growth in all of the worst-performing SMEs could improve overall productivity growth by up to 1.8 percentage points. The SME credit guarantee system, SME financing constraints, demographic factors, and lack of intangible capital investment are discussed as contributors to the slow productivity growth of Japan’s small and old SMEs.

Risk factors for occupational accidents in agricultural enterprises in Japan.

In Japan, the agricultural working environment has undergone significant changes from self-employment to enterprises and employees. As the structure of the agricultural industry changes, there has been a growing interest in occupational health and safety because agriculture is a hazardous industry. However, the public is not aware of the actual situation regarding occupational accidents in agricultural enterprises because most Japanese farmers are not necessarily required to report occupational accidents. The aim of this study is to explore the risk factors regarding occupational accidents for Japanese agricultural employees. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1,606 employees at 101 agricultural enterprises in Japan. Information on occupational accidents, personal characteristics, and working conditions was collected by questionnaires. A total of 337 valid responses were obtained. Of these respondents, 104 (30.9%) experienced occupational accidents. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that permanent employment (OR 3.67, 95% CI, 1.84–7.33), pesticide use (OR 2.61, 95% CI, 1.52–4.47), and long working hours (OR 1.76, 95% CI, 1.15–2.68) were associated with the risk of occupational accidents. This study revealed the risk factors for occupational accidents for Japanese agricultural employees. It is suggested that work-hour restrictions for permanent employees might contribute to reducing occupational accidents.