ビジネス日本語講座

Is learning a practical skill really enough to guarantee lifelong stability? In this episode, I question the traditional idea that having a trade will always protect us from unemployment. AI, automation, robotics, and changing industries can reduce the value of skills that once seemed secure. Choosing a job only because it appears safe may create another risk: spending decades doing work you do no...

I have started a new corporate interview project for Japanese companies that want to connect with Japanese-speaking international talent. In this episode, I explain why I created the service, drawing on my own experience working in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. Job listings can show salary, location, and responsibilities, but they rarely reveal how a company thinks, what kind of people it wants to...

Why did Japanese manufacturing once dominate global markets, and why has that advantage weakened? In this episode, I explore the strengths that made Japanese industry successful: quality, continuous improvement, long-term employment, close supplier relationships, and careful coordination. I also examine why those same strengths became less effective as competition shifted toward software, services...

What is the difference between “real business” and work built around ideas, media, and digital products? In this episode, I reflect on my years in manufacturing sales and compare that world with my current work creating podcasts, audiobooks, and ebooks. Physical businesses offer clear feedback: products are made, customers respond, and results are visible. Digital creative work is less tangible, b...

The internet makes it incredibly easy to find answers. Google, YouTube, and AI can explain almost anything within seconds. But this convenience can create the illusion that every problem has a clear answer somewhere online. In this episode, I explore the difference between collecting information and actually thinking. Some questions about life, society, success, happiness, and values do not have s...

Why are people so attracted to secret strategies and guaranteed formulas for success? In this episode, I explore the illusion of “winning methods” in business, investing, social media, and online publishing. Useful techniques certainly exist, but improving your chances is not the same as having a guaranteed path to success. When people feel anxious, frustrated, or desperate for results, simple ans...

The internet is rapidly filling with strange new forms of AI-generated content: virtual influencers, synthetic voices, AI films, artificial musicians, and characters that never existed. In this episode, I compare this explosion to the Cambrian explosion, when life diversified into many unusual forms. Most of today’s AI formats will probably not survive. Some will disappear, while others will adapt...

Why is inequality often difficult to recognize in modern society? In this episode, I explore how comfort, entertainment, success stories, and ideas of personal responsibility can make structural differences less visible. Wealthy people are often presented as aspirational figures, while poverty is treated as an individual problem. I also examine inherited advantages in politics and business, where...

Is the purpose of life simply to minimize costs and maximize happiness? In this episode, I reflect on the popularity of “small happiness” lifestyles: cheap meals, quiet weekends, modest homes, and few ambitions. There is nothing wrong with living simply, but reducing desire also reduces the risk of failure, disappointment, and pain. Drawing on Nietzsche’s idea of the “last man,” I ask whether happ...

As AI continues to reshape white-collar work, many people may eventually be forced to leave familiar careers and enter completely different fields. In this episode, I reflect on my own difficult experience in door-to-door sales after university and how that early hardship gave me resilience later in life. Losing a job is not only about income; it can also mean losing status, identity, and a carefu...

In the age of AI, saying the “right things” has become incredibly easy. Anyone can produce polished advice about success, learning, discipline, or personal growth in seconds. But as correct opinions become abundant, real experience may become more valuable. In this episode, I explore the inflation of conventional wisdom and the growing scarcity of lived experience. AI can tell us to learn from fai...

Why are people so attracted to the idea of being “first-class”? We hear the phrase everywhere: first-class universities, companies, hotels, restaurants, and even first-class people. But who actually decides what “first-class” means? In this episode, I examine how the label creates authority without clear standards, how prestigious institutions can make individuals appear more valuable, and why suc...

Why does advice about making money so often turn into self-help? At first, online business experts may teach practical skills: how to create products, use social media, write better copy, or build a sales funnel. But when customers fail to achieve the promised results, the explanation often shifts from the method to the person. Suddenly, the problem is your mindset, commitment, discipline, or envi...

Why are so many influencers obsessed with “living smarter”? They teach us how to quit our jobs, reduce expenses, invest efficiently, avoid bad relationships, and optimize every part of life. But behind these strategies lies a deeper idea: life can be hacked like a game. In this episode, I examine the rise of “smart living” influencers, the hidden role of luck and personal circumstances, and how so...

Corporate sales is not always just about selling products or solving customers’ problems. Sometimes salespeople are also expected to entertain clients, create a lively atmosphere, and represent the personality of the company itself. In this episode, I recall an experience in Ho Chi Minh City when my company president told me to stop sitting quietly and join people dancing at a karaoke bar. It made...

Every business needs sales, but not everyone needs to sell in the same way. In this episode, I explain why I have no intention of relying on offline networking events, business gatherings, or the constant maintenance of professional relationships. For some people, meeting new contacts, attending social events, and building relationships face-to-face comes naturally. For me, creating content and bu...

Should we simply treat work as work and separate it from what we truly enjoy? At first, this may sound like the mature and rational approach. We all need money, and not everyone can earn a living doing what they love. But being too good at tolerating work we dislike may create another problem: we can spend years following a path that never really belonged to us. Working for a company can teach us...

Everyone complains sometimes. We complain about difficult bosses, annoying coworkers, health problems, relationships, and the frustrations of everyday life. But listening to someone complain for hours can be exhausting. In this episode, I introduce the idea of “socializing” our complaints: transforming a private frustration into something that other people can recognize in their own lives. A perso...

Yesterday, I worked outside my home for the first time in quite a while. I drove to a shopping mall about ten kilometers away and spent several hours working in a small café. The change of environment was refreshing, and the background noise of people talking was surprisingly easy to ignore. At the same time, I rediscovered the limitations of café work: recording audio is difficult, sitting for ho...

What does it really mean to be strict with yourself but generous with others? In this episode, I reflect on different types of managers I encountered during my career. Some highly capable people expect everyone around them to meet the same standards they set for themselves. Others work extremely hard but give their employees surprising freedom. I share the story of an exceptional sales manager who...

Paying for someone else’s meal may seem like a small gesture, but it can reveal a surprising amount about a person. In this episode, I reflect on my experiences of being treated to meals and drinks while working in Thailand and Vietnam. Some people paid reluctantly or immediately expected something in return, while others simply paid for everyone without making a fuss. What impressed me was not th...

Should you turn what you love into your work? In this episode, I explore why our interests and preferences should matter when choosing a career. Following your passion does not guarantee success, and financial stability cannot simply be ignored. But choosing a job only because it seems safe may eventually leave you wondering what you actually wanted to do. Sometimes it is better to seriously pursu...

Can we really train ourselves to stop caring about what other people say and do? In this episode, I question the popular idea of developing a thicker skin. Perhaps sensitivity is not something we can simply switch off. Instead of trying to become less sensitive, I suggest another approach: becoming a little less demanding of ourselves. Modern culture often celebrates careful routines, tidy homes,...

Perhaps many people secretly want to withdraw from society more than they are willing to admit. In this episode, I reflect on my own tendency to stay home, avoid unnecessary social interaction, and struggle with conventional institutions. I talk about leaving high school, later going to university, and eventually discovering that corporate life was especially difficult for me—not because I dislike...

Customers have their own timing when it comes to buying. In this episode, I reflect on my years of experience in sales and a difficult truth every salesperson faces: sometimes you can explain everything clearly, answer every question, build trust, and still fail to close the deal. The reason may be surprisingly simple—the customer simply does not need the product right now. Salespeople have target...