[sumo] [ex-sumo] Konishiki gives tip for foreign businesses to succeed in Japan

["ozora ozora" <ozora@hotmail.com>]

Konishiki gives tip for foreign businesses to succeed in Japan
Ko Hirano

Konishiki
TOKYO ? Television celebrity and former sumo wrestler Konishiki has offered 
a tip for foreign businesses on how to succeed in Japan.

Konishiki, a roly-poly native Hawaiian who retired from sumo in 1997, said 
positive-thinking, flexibility and camaraderie are the key to getting 
business moving here, especially with a view to pleasing customers.

"Look at customers all the time. Salesmen and saleswomen should look around 
the side of things to see what a customer is expecting," Konishiki said 
during a recent business seminar organized by the Belgium-Luxembourg Chamber 
of Commerce in Japan.

Konishiki is the owner of "Unbalance," a Tokyo restaurant featuring Hawaiian 
cuisine along with sushi and "chanko" ? a stew-like dish traditionally 
served to sumo wrestlers. He occasionally stages humorous live performances 
there to entertain customers.

"Look beyond the customers' attitude, and you will see how to make them feel 
at ease," he said.

His comments could provide potential foreign investors to Japan with food 
for thought at a time Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has vowed to double 
Japan's stock of foreign direct investment in the five years through 2006.

Konishiki was one of four keynote speakers at the seminar, along with 
Masamoto Yashiro, chairman of Shinsei Bank, Thomas Novohradsky, artistic 
director at the New National Theater in Tokyo, and Yukihiro Akimoto, 
president of Guerlain KK.

Konishiki stressed the importance of ensuring flexibility in conducting 
business, saying managers should be flexible enough to change the music 
depending on the type of customer.

He said it is also important for managers to make their workers feel 
comfortable while giving them greater motivation in their jobs.

"I am the leader of my team, but not ahead of them," Konishiki said, 
referring to his camaraderie with the workers in his restaurant and people 
at his office. "I like to feel them around me, making them happy so we 
understand the same things."

Konishiki was the first foreign-born sumo wrestler to attain the sport's 
second-highest rank of ozeki. He became a Japanese citizen in 1994. (Kyodo)

June 16, 2004

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[EndPost by "ozora ozora" <ozora@hotmail.com>]