Why Did I Leave My Secure Job And Started Ian LLC

How it all started…

I was offered a full-time job at a Japanese IT company in 2018 as a systems engineer. Daily tasks involved attending meetings with Japanese clients and writing specification reports. These were then sent to engineers in China. I always thought that I would end up in a car manufacturing company in Japan since I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree. Engineer during the day…drifter at night.

via GIPHY

I left my stable full-time job in a Japanese company. Not like many others, I did not quit my job to be a Youtuber nor did I quit just to laze around and do nothing. It took a lot of courage to hand in my resignation letter.

Things I found out after working in a Japanese Company

1. Long… meetings

Having a meeting is not a bad thing right? Well technically yes, but meetings in a Japanese traditional company is not what I imagined it to be. Before a meeting is conducted, very often you have to go through these steps.

1. 相談 ( Discussion )
2. 打ち合わせ ( Appointment )
3. 作戦会議 ( Strategy meeting )
4. 会議 (Meeting )

Usually everyone in the team will sit (in a meeting) and discuss the agenda for (another) meeting. During the appointment meeting, they will discuss the contents of each agenda. Then during the strategy meeting all the final details will be fixed before the meeting is conducted. The process repeats itself when you meet with clients.

2. It is almost impossible to leave work before your boss

If the boss is still at his/her desk, everyone still sits on theirs quietly facing their computer screens. Even though if you have finished your work, you cannot leave. It is unheard of to leave before your boss. Leaving work on time will be seen as being individualistic and a form of divergence in the company.

I once tried finishing tasks given to me as fast as I could hoping to leave on time. I focused and did not take breaks in between. However the faster I finished, the more work was assigned to me. Many Japanese companies do not evaluate employees based on individual performance but evaluate the whole group as one. Therefore, I do not see my value being appreciated by the company.

The other reason why Japanese do not leave work on time is because of the overtime pay. Due to strict labor laws in Japan, companies are required to pay a 25% increased hourly rate for overtime. Some companies also pay for the taxi fare if there are no more trains. Therefore many people (especially those who are single) try their best to stay late to be able to get overtime pay. I have a friend who works till 11-12 every night and his overtime pay is more than his actual monthly pay.

3. Japan is a collectivistic society

Although research has shown that Japanese culture has become more individualistic over the past few years, collectivism is still seen in many companies. Simple tasks are done and checked over and over again by many people in a group before it is done. Many tasks and decisions are not made by a single individual but made by a group of people. This is called （無責任の体制）which translates to a non-responsible system.

This is why tasks are given to a group and not an individual. They do not wish to be the outstanding one in the company. They only wish that when something goes wrong, nobody gets blamed. Since the group/company made that decision, the group/company bears the responsibility.

4. Emails > Talking

While talking at work is a hot-button issue and can lead to decrease in productivity, the Japanese tries to keep talking at work to a bare minimum. Though your colleague or supervisor might be right in front of you, they will choose to email you instead of talking to you directly.

I once received an email asking me to go for dinner+ drinking with my colleagues. They made sure to C.C the boss to inform him that we were going out for dinner so that he did not ask us to stay back for work.

I love to talk. Trying to suppress the inner talkativeness in me for 8 hours a day was pretty hard.

As Japanese is a collectivistic society, emphasis on cohesion among individuals is a very important factor in surviving in a Japanese company. Social drinking after work is seen as an integral part of work to understand their colleagues better in Japan. Since that is the only time they get to mingle with their colleagues, Japanese treasure this moment to release the inner beast in them.

5. Indirect communication style

Although I have spent 5 years in Japan studying before I started working, this still bothers me quite a bit. The reluctance to saying “no” in the Japanese culture often causes misunderstandings and miscommunication at work. For non-natives, it is hard to pick up the negative signs the Japanese send and it is like playing a guessing game every time you talk. The reluctance to confront people directly has also caused many troubles.

For instance, during a meeting, a task was given to a group.

“So who is supposed to do it? “

“Shhhh… do not ask. Someone will do it? “

“So… who is going to do it? “

“Someone. “

(Okay I get it. I will do it..)

I do not mind doing it but please at least tell me if I am supposed to. What if I am halfway through and if someone says that they have already finished it?

An eye opener

After entering the company, I was sent to China for training. During that time we were divided into groups to code a web application from scratch. China’s has grown been growing rapidly in the last 20 years in various industries. Technology has improved so quickly. I did not expect myself to be part of the technological growth in China. I was fortunate to be able to work with various tech companies in the software park in Dalian, China.

Being able to speak Mandarin was an advantage for me. I was able to exchange lots of information with the lead programmers, tech advisors and team leaders in China. I was exposed too many new technologies I never knew existed. AI, Big Data, IoT are all terms we have all heard of but few really understands.

The game changer

After returning to Japan, I was tasked to develop an accounting system for a bank in Japan. As you might already know, banking is Japan’s most traditional industry. Many of the rules and regulations were set years ago and there is very minimal flexibility and freedom. I tried to propose many new ideas during work but many got rejected.

“Ian-kun, I know that this is a very good idea and it is workable but if there is any problems who is going to be responsible for this?”

I could not have said more because my team leader/manager would not approve anything new I said. Although there is a better/faster way to do things, new things are not really acceptable in this society.

After the economic bubble in the 80s, real estates and stock market prices inflated. During that era, everything new was seen as the trend and were widely accepted. Since the bubble burst in 1992, Japan’s economy has not been growing. The Japanese calls it 失われた二十年(The Lost 20 years). Since then, everyone tries to only do their part and not stand out because of the fear of failure.

A new beginning

Japan does not welcome this kind of individualism. Although things are changing in Japan but working in the most traditional industry in Japan was not something I had imagined. I am an adventurous person always looking for exciting things and new challenges.

I stumbled upon an opportunity to work in Deep Learning industry. I heard of Deep Learning but at that time it was just one of the many trending words. Deep Learning is a sub field in machine learning and is one of the most important technology in recent years.

I am tasked to prepare for tests and examinations for Generalists and Engineers in Japan. I hope I can share what I have learnt in this field and share it with people all over the world. This is my first post and hopefully more will come!