Uchikura & Co Blog
2026-08-09
Zero Lost Luggage — The Japanese Standard of Service Japan’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) opened in September 1994. Since then, it has reportedly maintained an extraordinary record: zero piec...
2026-08-09
Loyalty vs. Effort — 一所懸命 and 一生懸命 In modern Japanese, 一生懸命 (isshō kenmei) means to work very hard, give your best effort, or devote yourself completely to something. But the expression has an in...
2026-08-09
How Do You Multiply? In Japan, elementary school students are expected to memorize multiplication from 1×1 through 9×9. It is called kuku (九九). We repeat the tables rhythmically until answers such as...
2026-08-08
Namakeru — Use It or Lose It The Japanese word namakeru (怠ける) is usually translated as “to be lazy.” But there is another way to think about it. Anything left unused begins to deteriorate. Food l...
2026-08-08
Knowing How to Behave The Japanese word hajirai (恥じらい) is difficult to translate perfectly into English. It can mean shyness, modesty, bashfulness, or reserve, but there is something more behind it...
2026-08-08
Be a Pioneer Great companies do not always begin with a grand business plan. Sometimes they begin with a single experience. Pioneer’s story began with Nozomu Matsumoto (松本望), born in Kobe, Japan, i...
2026-08-08
Do It Now. Make Sure It Gets Done. Keep Going Until It Works. Shigenobu Nagamori, founder of Nidec ( https://www.nidec.com/en/ ), is known for a simple but powerful management philosophy: “Do it ...
2026-08-07
"Father, Mother… Kokichi Is Completely Exhausted and Can No Longer Run."Some words become part of a nation's memory. On January 9, 1968, Japan lost one of its greatest distance runners, Kokichi Tsu...
2026-08-07
Ippon — Do Your Best Every Time In Japanese martial arts, a decisive score is called ippon (一本). But why hon (本)? Why not simply call it a point? In Japanese, hon is traditionally used to count lon...
2026-08-06
Where to Read My Posts I regularly write about business, technology, Japanese culture, history, leadership, and observations from both Japan and the United States. My original posts appear on Blogu...