Karl Stubbe
Born and raised in Germany, his education at an International School left him no other choice than to pursue his career on an international level.
Consequently he moved to London to complete his BA in Japanese Studies at the University of London with the one year experience of studying at a Japanese university. Following his graduation he spent another year in Japan, working his way through a number of multi-lingual companies and gathering experiences.
It is these experiences which have made him take his latest step: A Master's degree at a Japanese university with the focus on the Japanese perception and understanding of "work".
Alongside all of this, he has continued to work as a freelance writer on Japan and Japanese culture for major German magazines and is currently working on a novel.
Website:The Coconotes
Also by this author
Being an executive in Japan
When one hears the phrase, “Working in Japan,” nine out of ten times the average foreign resident of Japan would either assume this implies an English teaching position or living the life of an expat in a western style apartment in the heart of Tokyo
Avoiding the pitfalls
Japanese business customs are complicated. Here’s a "Top Five" for conducting business in Japan.
Foreign vs Japanese companies
Going to live and work in Japan? Read our introduction on managing your expectations, environment differences and company policies.
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The advantages of being a multilingual
This little episode of a language problem in our globalized world exemplifies two very important arguments for multi-lingualism. Westerwelle should have been able to answer a question in English. After all, he is the future foreign minister. However, at the same time, the BBC reporter should have been able to ask his question in German. After all, he is the BBC‘s correspondent in Germany.
If we keep this story in mind and transfer back to Japan, we are faced with similar experiences and moments like these on a daily basis. This is especially due to the fact that Japan as a country, is still a far cry away from being a place where one could be able to get by just on English.
Some might say, “I work in a foreign company, and therefore don‘t have the urgent need to learn more than a few bits and pieces of Japanese here and there“. Fair enough, but today I would like to introduce a few undeniable advantages of investing a bit of time to learn Japanese, or any other language that you think may come in handy, to become a complete multi-lingual.
First of all, you will be able to save your company the time, money and hassle to organize interpreters or translators when you are planning to have meetings with Japanese speaking business partners. This fact alone is enough to give your CV or your standing inside your company a massive boost.
Secondly, small talk outside of business meetings is just as important as, and at times even more effective than, the actual conversations that are carried out inside meeting rooms. For example, the ability to have a chat with your Japanese business partner in Japanese on say, the lunch menu at a restaurant, last night‘s J-League game or, yes, even the weather, can be of enormous assistance to improve business climate and form successful relationships with Japanese companies.
Last but not least, something that has come up again and again when talking about working in Japan; there simply is no better key to understanding the culture of a country, their society, as well as their companies and business culture, than learning and mastering its language. It’s that simple.
Being multi-lingual is less of a bonus on your CV and more of a requirement. However, if you accept not only the necessity, but also understand the advantages that come with it, your experience in Japan, or in whichever other country you may find yourself someday, will become that much more memorable, exciting and successful.