Although many components and core technologies are still leading the way, Japan's home appliances and other products have withdrawn from the front line. The spirit of craftsmanship is too much and not enough, which is also a realistic explanation for this contradictory phenomenon.
The Japanese, who have always been proud of their “domestic products”, would never have imagined that in recent years, “Japanese products” have become so closely associated with “counterfeiting” internationally; and the spirit of craftsmanship has never been stronger. The altar fell down and was discussed and dissected in the cruel reality.
Every time there is fraud, the Japanese will bow and apologize with the spirit of craftsmanship. In recent years, some senior corporate executives in Japan may have used up their lifetime bow count early.
Text | Liu Runsheng
This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Kan World Magazine" (ID: ksj-worldview). The original article was first published on April 6, 2021, titled "Japan Still here, but the craftsman is gone" does not represent the views of Outlook Think Tank.
On February 16, 2021, when Japan was still struggling with diplomacy and the Olympics, Japanese auto parts giant Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd. publicly admitted that four types of brakes and other parts produced by the company in its Japanese factory Among component products, more than 110,000 quality inspection data are artificially fabricated.
As early as 2015, the endless fraud scandals of Japanese companies have flooded the international media every now and then:
Investigating and comparing these fraud incidents, it is not difficult to see the extreme nature of Japanese companies’ fraud. : It lasts for a long time, involves a wide range of areas, and the company's top management turns a blind eye to it or even becomes a tacit perpetrator.
It is not difficult to understand that Japan’s successive counterfeiting incidents in recent years are inseparable from the most direct international background: China and other major emerging countries are developing rapidly, and consumers attach great importance to technology, product quality, price, service, etc. The relevant factors have all achieved relative balance through countless games and optimizations.
The rigid management of Japanese companies and the conservative concepts make Japanese companies insensitive to changes in the outside world. With the depreciation of the yen, product selling prices have dropped, costs have continued to increase, and previous profits have declined or even disappeared. In order not to go bankrupt, companies need to reduce costs. Obviously, the counterfeiting efforts of some Japanese companies in the past were indeed "successful" for many years.
So what is the reason for the sudden outbreak of fraud in Japan in recent years? Based on reflections from the Japanese media and analysis from the outside world, the main reasons are as follows.
1 The conservative and rigid "smile curve"
Japanese manufacturing lacks long-term planning and innovation driving force. The United States has the "Industrial Internet" and German manufacturing has "Industry 4.0". However, Japan is always in a passive position in the digital information age.
Most Japanese companies have a negative and wait-and-see attitude towards the development of digitalization. Even if there is a slogan, the final implementation is difficult, especially in the cultivation of software technology and IT talents. These are the keys to the current development of manufacturing and the Internet of Things.
Taking automobiles as an example, Japanese cars are relatively stable, because Japanese automobile companies generally adopt traditional and mature technologies, and the speed of innovation and change is also slow. German car companies sometimes apply new technologies, even without hesitation, and small problems inevitably occur from time to time.
In the short term, the reputation of Japanese products is more stable, but in the long term, the competitiveness of Japanese companies will inevitably be inferior to competitors who dare to continue trial and error feedback, and constantly revise and innovate.
In the manufacturing industry chain, there is a concept of "smile curve": the added value of intellectual property rights, technology patents, brands and services at both ends of the chain is relatively high, while the added value of the manufacturing and production links in the middle is relatively high. relatively low. Therefore, Japanese companies are not keen on working on innovative production and logistics technologies in the intermediate links. However, the source of an enterprise's competitiveness comes precisely from the transformation and leap-forward development of intermediate links.
The top management of Japanese companies is conservative and rigid. In Japan, the most popular management scientist in the Japanese business community is William Edwards Deming, whose main theory is "total quality management".
This theory emphasizes preventing errors through monitoring and improving the production process so that the product fully meets the standards.
"Fear of mistakes is the destruction of progress" is the best portrayal of the increasingly weakening competitiveness of Japanese companies.
In the 1980s and 1990s, when the global market environment was far less active than today, the Japanese business model followed Deming's "total quality management" not only without any problems, but also invincibly. What's more, the bottom-level employees in Japan are extremely capable of execution. Even if it is a process-oriented task, even if there is no supervision from the top management, all employees will complete it meticulously.
However, the current global market environment is changing rapidly, especially after China's accession to the WTO. The rapid development of China's economy and the continuous upgrading of manufacturing production have had an impact, and the international market has become more unpredictable. Companies that monopolize the market this year may be in crisis next year. Therefore, when the competitiveness of Japanese companies declines and profits are insufficient, they can only control costs.
Looking back at the fraud incidents of Japanese companies over the years, it can be seen that in addition to their long duration, wide range of involvement, and high-level fraud, there is also the problem of product quality under cost control. management issues.
Because of operating losses and the inability to reduce fixed costs such as salary expenses, rent, and equipment in a short period of time, Japanese companies can only focus on raw materials and product processes, which have relatively large room for manual operation.
2 "Shame culture" advocates following the trend and making fake products
"Shame culture" is a double-edged sword. At a time when everything is at stake, the "shame culture" allows the Japanese to know their shame and then be brave. In modern times, Japan was opened to the West and its national power soared, which is the best example.
Nowadays, Japanese companies are obsessed with the concepts of "Japan's No. 1" and "Japanese products are synonymous with quality"; in the face of the unfavorable situation of international competition, Japanese business executives and decision-makers, in order to hold on, As Japanese products should look like, it is very likely that under the influence of "shame culture" they will choose to engage in fraud and malpractice for personal gain in order to maintain the so-called "respectability" both internally and externally.
On the basis of "shame culture", the concept of "village eight points" has appeared in Japan since the ancient village unity, which has made Japanese people always tend to believe that following the crowd is the only way to settle down and live in peace. The only method. Therefore, when senior executives of Japanese companies work overtime, everyone follows suit and no one dares to make an exception.
In the same way, when there is a precedent of counterfeiting in a certain industrial chain of a Japanese company, it later becomes an unspoken rule in the industry. When companies that originally did not want to counterfeit saw the "benefits" of counterfeiting, they will inevitably not follow suit.
3 "Craftsman Spirit" Ignores the Latest Demands of Consumers
Zhang Jifeng, deputy director of the Institute of Japan, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, wrote in "Why Japanese Family Businesses Stay Alive": " Due to the existence of the craftsmanship spirit, Japanese family businesses often devote themselves to making a unique product for decades, so that no company can surpass it. The craftsmanship spirit and corporate culture complement each other and form a synergy to ensure Japan's century-old success. A large number of family businesses survive. ”
The spirit of craftsmanship is indeed a profound inheritance of Japan and is the core spiritual pillar that made “Made in Japan” unparalleled in the world’s manufacturing industry in the early days. But people should also realize that the spirit of craftsmanship itself is also a behavior packaged by the times. If it is over-exaggerated, it will cause cognitive dissonance that cannot make mistakes. Every time a mistake is made, the craftsmanship spirit loses a little credibility.
In addition, superstitious craftsmanship will ignore the rapid development of the times and the changing needs of consumers. After all, technological upgrading is a "dimensionality reduction blow", and no amount of craftsmanship will help. Former Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa repeatedly advised Japanese corporate executives to lower their arrogance and old-fashioned obsession 10 years ago, and visit the Chinese market every six months.
He said: "If Japan leaves a market as big as China, there will be no way out; and if Japanese companies do not understand the needs of the Chinese market, they will not be able to do well." Unfortunately, his words did not It didn't cause much ripples. The current difficulties in Japan's manufacturing industry are caused by the increase in product manufacturing costs, which has led to the disappearance of competitive advantages in product prices, and by companies focusing on self-righteous quality standards while ignoring the upgrading of consumer demand, often missing opportunities.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese home appliances became popular all over the world. However, starting in 2008, Japanese home appliance companies began to suffer losses across the board.
In 2009, Japan changed from a home appliance exporter to an importer. Although many components and core technologies are still leading the way, Japan's home appliances and other products have withdrawn from the front line. The spirit of craftsmanship is too much and not enough, which is also a realistic explanation for this contradictory phenomenon.
When Japanese companies lose their keen sense of the latest demands of consumers in the international market, it is difficult to avoid a decline in sales of assembled products. After losses, companies are less able to support further investment and production. This is a vicious cycle. On the other hand, the "polishing" of certain parts and cutting-edge technologies by the spirit of craftsmanship can still keep the company in an invincible position at least for a long period of time.
Japanese companies’ collective fraud has been like opening Pandora’s box in recent years. What is certain is that in the not-too-distant future, there will still be Japanese companies whose management bows and apologizes for fraud.
However, even though the Internet is full of news that Japanese companies have been counterfeiting for 30 years, we do not need to gloat, nor should we deny Japanese products because of counterfeiting. This is one of the costs that every conservative economic power needs to bear, and it is also the result of the Japanese media's efforts to pursue Japanese companies. Companies in other countries also have this phenomenon, but to a certain extent they just haven't been liquidated so thoroughly.
Regarding Japan’s unique craftsmanship spirit, we are not denying its role. At different stages of development, the qualifications required by the country are not static. In the past, Japan needed the spirit of craftsmanship more, but now it needs innovation and change even more.
Different eras give a country’s enterprises different presentation images.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the reputation of "Made in Japan" in the world market was still a symbol of "shoddy manufacturing". This made the whole country of Japan "know shame and then be brave". Through the brand marketing of the country and enterprises, the introduction and re-absorption of high-tech, and ten years of hard work, the counterattack of the "Made in Japan" international image was achieved in the 1970s. and reinvention.
If Japan has overplayed its craftsmanship spirit, then China is still deficient in its craftsmanship spirit. Understanding the fraud incidents of Japanese companies is not to be complacent about other countries' mistakes, but to correct them and encourage others. 2025 is coming soon. What kind of business card will “Made in China” give to the world? We'll see.
Uncle Ku’s welfare