I joined the AIESEC program because of my
desire to go to Japan for an internship and learn about the Japanese office
life and working environment. In Japan I spent two months with the international
trade and manufacturing company Tsuchiya.co.ltd. Tsuchiya is situated all over
the world with offices all over Japan and the rest of Asia as well as in the
USA and one in the Czech republic. The company is located in the city of Nagoya,
which is known for its history with Toyota and the Japanese automotive industry
in general. As with most companies in this region, Tsuchiya’s is mostly
involved in working with the automotive industry, Toyota being their biggest
client. Companies hire Tsuchiya to provide them with the components or parts
that they need. If Tsuchiya does not have the capabilities to create this they
search for companies that can. For the AIESEC program this company provides a
two month traineeship. Alongside me there was another AIESEC member whom joined
me from the Czech republic.
Tsuchiya has brought us to various companies’
manufacturing facilities as well as their own. Additionally, due to their high
involvement with working with Toyota they took me along to visit museums about
the history of Toyota as well as the Japanese automotive industry. However,
outside of company visits with the sales team there was no real work for us at
the office. As with a lot of (traditional) Japanese companies Tsuchiya is
hierarchically organized with a lot of seniority still present. This was
apparent in the office as the desks were ordered on seniority with the head of
the office sitting in the, where he has view over all the employees. Working in
a Japanese company involves a lot of routine and etiquettes. I had to be at the
office every morning at 8.30. being late, is generally not tolerated and should
be noted beforehand, even if it’s only for a few minutes. In the morning every
employee should be greeted by saying ‘Ohayou gozaimasu’! which means the same
as good morning. During the day when encountering other employees (for example
during lunch) you should say ‘Otsukure sama desu’ which loosely translates to
“I am tired” but is meant to be polite to each other. My day at the office
would end at 17.30 and upon exiting you should say to the boss (and your
coworkers) ‘osakini shitsure shimasu
otsukere sama deshita’ which translates to “excuse me for leaving before you I
have become tired”. This is the most polite way to say it but can be shortned
to just “otsukure same deshita”. The company has been very kind and caring to
us and we have been very well received by the coworkers.
AIESEC Japan showed great excitement for having
us. I have noticed however that my AIESEC members in Japan have very little
experience with being abroad and talking with foreigners. This is represented
by the majority of the Japanese that generally rather stick to their own
country and their lack of proficiency in English. At times this was quite troublesome as
Japanese are often afraid of making mistakes so they rather avoid conversation.
After our arrival AIESEC Nanzan picked us up and showed us to our residents. However,
after our arrival date, with the exception of our first day at the office, we
would not have contact with the AIESEC members until our kick off presentation
day a week later. This meant we had to explore the city on our own initially. I
have told them to not wait before the kick-off day to introduce the members but
doing it earlier. I have no problem figuring stuff out on my own but other
AIESEC members might have more difficulty with this. After this we had a lot of
fun with the members by going on various trips and they were helpful with
anything we had problems with. Most trips involved going to see historical
samurai castles that are in the area as Nagoya was an important city during the
Tokugawa period of Japan.
Japan is a very different culture compared to
the Netherlands and involves a lot more etiquettes and habits in society. This
is mostly due to the collective nature where the people are more concerned
about the society and how others view them. The Japanese are generally very
respectful to each other and also behave honorably. For instance, giving tips
is not accepted Japan and can actually offend. Additionally, it was quite
surprising to see such clean streets in such a big city and there was no
garbage bins in sight. A big and well known difference is the way the Japanese
great each other. Instead of shaking hands they bow to each other, the bigger
the bow the bigger the sign of respect to the other person. So if the person
you are greeting is at a higher social status you should make a deeper bow.
Within the office life giving business cards is also very important. The way of
giving cards is by holding the card with both hands with your name facing the
direction of the other person and introducing yourself. The other person will
do the same before the cards are exchanged.
All in all I highly recommend Japan and the
company of Tsuchiya for an internship. The people are incredibly kind and the
Japanese culture is very unique and interesting. However, there are challenges
such as the language barrier. It is highly recommended to study some basic
Japanese before going. Additionally, as interesting as the traineeship was at
Tsuchiya it was not very challenging for there was not “actual” work. But for a
two month traineeship it was very interesting and the good payment was also a
bonus. I came to Japan with the goal to learn about the culture and the
business environment which I think was a success. Unfortunately the two months
felt really short and I hope to go back there as soon as possible.
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