Japan and IT

Recently, the explosion of spending on IT in Japan has raised the stakes with regard to direct foreign investment, notably in in outside investment in the financial sector of Japan—previously a “sacred cow” that could only be touched by outsiders under strict supervision, and following a complex set of regulations. With the recent relaxation of rules regarding banking, non-life insurance, etc., this area is much more receptive to approaches made by foreign investors.

However, even when mergers in this field are carried out as a purely Japanese affair, it is obvious that proper technical due diligence has not been carried out. The loss of customer service suffered by Mizuho Bank customers a few years ago as the result of incompatible computer systems is just one example. Another is the delay in the creation of another Japanese “megabank” from the UFJ and Tokyo-Mitsubishi groups (both themselves plagued in the past by technical issues resulting from the merger of incompatible systems) .

We have also witnessed in late 2005 and early 2006 a flood of problems associated with the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Future investors in the Japanese economy may well be asking themselves whether any Japanese investment relying on technology is safe, when such a major institution is unable to cope with the demands placed on it.

j-views helps resolve these issues by providing an independent team of technical experts with knowledge of Japanese working methods and practices. Naturally, j-views team members’ experience is not restricted to the financial services industry—with extensive experience of enterprises in the manufacturing fields, j-views can assess the IT assets here as well.

By working with j-views, not only do our clients receive professional reports in easy-to-understand English, they avoid much of the possible hostility encountered following an acquisition that can easily result in the “vulture capitalist” label being applied.