Panasonic MD wants to reclaim the mojo

He never interrupts, and apologises before stating an honest opinion. Earnest, proper and polite, Mr Yorihisa Shiokawa is, on first impression, the quintessential Japanese businessman.

But you do not get to be the worldly-wise Managing Director of Panasonic Asia Pacific by being nice. Tough-talking was all too necessary when dealing with all manner of business partners over 28 years in Europe —including “troublesome” Godfather-esque individuals in Sicily.

“I was Director of Panasonic’s Consumer Division in Italy between 1992 and 1996,” he says. “Sicily had a thick mafia influence, and let’s just say some of my associates certainly behaved like one. But I had no problem collecting outstanding payments or negotiating deals with them.”

It was, in fact, Mr Shiokawa’s aggressiveness that got him the transfer to Europe in 1983 in the first place. “The President of our office in the United Kingdom then, Mr Tony Nishigaki, heard me shouting to a dealer over the phone. He liked my style and thought it would be useful. He even gave the nickname of ‘kenka-John’ —barking John, John being my English name then.”

His tour of duty over nearly three decades spanned five European countries — Britain, Italy, Poland, Austria and Germany — before he returned to Asia to take up his current position last year.

HIDEBOUND

JAPANESE CULTURE

As he shares these stories over lunch at The St Regis Singapore’s Yan Ting restaurant, the 60-year-old notes that business communication is all about flexibility, which is sorely lacking in Japan’s corporate culture.

“You may find us Japanese afraid of breaking rules and inflexible at times. And that’s not a good thing. When you stick to a rule just because it’s a rule, that means you don’t know what it is for. You should be able to reason and justify,” he says.

He is fully aware of how limiting the Japanese corporate culture can be in a fast-changing world.

“In an overseas office of a Japanese company, it’s common to find a small group of Japanese managers just making decisions among them. No proper communication with the rest of the staff.

“Worse still, these decisions are sometimes made without knowing the reality on the ground! Such management surely cannot be effective,” Mr Shiokawa says.

“Most Japanese companies still rely on Japanese to head overseas management — but we cannot continue to rely on that model. Opportunities should be given to locals or talent of other nationalities — as long as the person is capable.”

STILL CREATING NEW THINGS

But when it is put to him that Japanese tech companies have lost their once-commanding innovative edge in the global competition — or so the pundits say — Mr Shiokawa jumps to the defence of the industry he has devoted his whole life to.

“It has been said that Japanese technology companies have trouble innovating products — I don’t agree. Take for example some Korean manufacturers. Have they really developed and introduced new products and ideas? I don’t think so, and their ideas often originated from Japan,” he says, quietly, but not bothering to mince words.

“For the last few years, when Japan didn’t introduce any breakthrough, did Korean or Chinese manufacturers step up? The answer is no. For instance, OLED TV. Because of financial problems, Japanese companies have had to scale back on investment in the technology. And while Korean manufacturers introduced smaller OLED TVs in early 2012, they didn’t roll out the big sizes. Why? Because the basic technology involved had not been finished in Japan.”

“So I don’t think Japan has a problem of innovation. I still believe that the ability to develop new products and create new solutions for the market is something that Japan and Japanese companies can be proud of.”

PANASONIC’S PUNGGOL TEST BED

And if the tech industry in Japan has not lost its mojo, then neither has Panasonic. The group is now gearing up for a new era after decades of selling electronic products to consumers.

Ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2018, Panasonic will expand its business-to-business portfolio globally with a strong focus on green energy solutions. In Asia, Mr Shiokawa is in charge of the initiative.

“Asia is a region where energy consumption has been rising for the last decade, especially in emerging countries such as Indonesia, India and Vietnam. There will be a demand for solutions that improve energy efficiency, and that’s a growth sector for us,” he says. “As part of that push, Panasonic is conducting an Eco Town test-bed project in Punggol, where our solar panels and batteries are powering common facilities like lifts, water pumps and lighting in HDB flats.”

“For me personally, I also want to see myself being part of something that contributes actively to society. I’ve been with Panasonic all my life, and if we, as a global manufacturer, can go beyond making products and instil environmental consciousness within the community — to be part of that will be another great achievement for my career.”

FIRST-TIME CULTURE SHOCK

Mr Shiokawa speaks of his career with the quiet confidence of one who has spent most of it in far-flung places and learnt much.

But it all began ordinarily in Mishima, right at the foot of Mount Fuji, where he grew up. His fondest memory was swimming in rivers that ran fresh and cold with snow-melt during summers. “Until the day I joined Panasonic in 1974, my life was mostly about getting myself into a good university and finding a nice job. I can’t remember many interesting things from my early years,” he chuckles.

He does recall his first overseas trip to New Zealand in 1976, when he was part of Panasonic’s team managing sales and marketing for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands from Japan.

“As you know, the English taught in Japan is American. So when I met those dealers, I couldn’t understand what they said at all, with their British English — especially not when many of them would speak with a pipe in the mouth! I had to ask my local colleague to translate.”

On that trip, he also encountered his first airport strike in Australia, which affected their return flight. “After being stranded for several days, we found another way home, and it was a detour through Hawaii ... I ended up taking a walk down Waikiki beach, the only man in a three-piece suit and a suitcase,” he smiles.

The disorientation of that first overseas experience prepared him for living abroad later, and it was less difficult a transition when he moved to the UK with his wife and daughters, who were aged six and two then.

“Italy was a bigger challenge. I went there not knowing how to speak Italian at all! So between facing those difficult clients I mentioned and other fast-talking Italians, I had to pick up 10 or 20 words of vocabulary every day. I’m proud to say that I could communicate comfortably in three months.”

APPRECIATING THE ‘GRAND TOUR’

As he moved from one foreign land to another and yet another, the Japanese boy who grew up at the foot of Mount Fuji eventually came to appreciate the ‘Grand Tour’.

“Overcoming all those language and cultural barriers was challenging, but looking back, I think the experience — to be able to learn and understand the differences, and to be able to joke about those differences with my European friends and clients — that’s ultimately good fun to be had.”

As a younger man, he “had enjoyed Italy more, with its good food, interesting places and vibrant culture”. “But I also loved England, where my children could have a clean, green and English-speaking environment to grow up in.”

“And as I grew older and mellowed, Vienna was fantastic for me, a place for peace and quiet and appreciation of fine art,” he adds.

Yet he remains very much a Japanese at heart, says Mr Shiokawa, who describes himself as “shy and gentle ... I only raise my voice when my work calls for it”.

His daughters, on the other hand, have been more strongly marked by their years abroad. “My eldest, who is working for a pharmaceutical company now in Japan, often surprises her peers with the way she talks. More than once, she’s shocked her boss with very direct responses and questions.”

“But I don’t think it’s a problem. My only regret is that their Japanese is quite poor. To think my younger daughter is a teacher in Japan! Fortunately, she teaches English at an international school.”