Impressions of China in Japan

[azimao529]

What are the main impressions of China and Chinese people in Japan?

How do Japanese think of IT industry especially Internet industry in China?

If a Chinese IT company want to enter Japan makt, can Japanese accept it (say want to try it) or they do not think it will be a good service at all?

[bill]

Honestly speaking, it's mixed.

There are several recent political issues with the Japanese Prime Minister visiting Yasukuni Shrine that have caused tensions among other nationalistic issues that have raised issues between the countries. Opinion polls seem to be split 50/50 in many cases. Whenever you get nationalistic issues you get heated debate and some tempers flaring.

However, when it comes to Chinese products there are certainly quite a few consumed here. Many Japanese companies are heading over to China, so I don't see the problem with Chinese companies coming here.

There will always be people who don't care for another country/race/people/ethnicity anywhere you go. I don't think I see an insurmountable barrier to Chinese companies working in Japan, but there are certain stigma that will have to be faced.

[azimao529]

Thanks!

If a Chinese SE wants to enter Japan makt, is the relationship with China a good or bad thing for Japanese to use the service?

If compete with a U.S. background SE, which one will the Japanese prefer?

[bill]

I do know some people whose decision to use a service would be affected by the country of origin. (I don't think that's right, but some people do think that way.)

If compete with a U.S. background SE, which one will the Japanese prefer?

I would have to say that I would give the edge to the US company if that were the only criteria you were considering.

[azimao529]

:-) Thanks!

So, if a Chinese SE want to enter Japan, what kind of entrance strategy is more suitable? Acquire a company or FDI or set up a joint venture company with a strong local company?

[a2ztranslate]

i think if you turned the question around you may me able to answer it yourself. if a japanese SE wanted to enter the market in china, what would be the best strategy?

hmm, a totally localized, native chinese look and feel, including branding and interface, as well as the logic that underlies that? or keep the japanese look and feel and try to "sell" that into the chinese market. which do you think would succeed?

regarding "nationality" of the product/service, i am not sure that online it is of such concern. if people are buying product/paying for a service, then yes the "nationality" would be an issue, but if they are using a free search service then maybe it wont be such an issue.,

[dragonthoughts]

As with any multi-national, multi-lingual venture, it is a good idea to see how things are already done in the target market, and to use those as a basis for progression.

In general, people are less concerned with the origin of a product if it works well and has a familiar or natural feel.

The biggest problem of moving into a foreign market is doing something that may cause offence or be wrongly interpreted.

A major area for minsinterpratation includes use of colours. Many cultures use particular colours connected to particular concepts and fail to realise that they are culturally specific. A good example is that White is often used for weddings in England, whereas, I understand that Red is more appropriate in China, as white is associated with funerals (Black being the UK equivalent).

Good luck.

[azimao529]

Thanks all of you!

I saw Google is almost the same style all over the world rather than localized, why Japanese also accept it?