Making Connections
Tokyo-based executive Allan Takahashi makes a hobby of helping Hawaiians network in Japan
TOKYO - By day, Allan Takahashi is an executive in Japan's burgeoning asset-management industry. Away from the office, he is known to a growing number of people as a networking guru for Hawaiians living and doing business in Japan. Takahashi, vice president of the hospitality division of Capital Realty Inc., the asset-management arm of Lehman Brothers Japan Inc., says his role in helping people expand their social and professional connections began with a casual chat in 2002, with two friends, about holding a gathering for Tokyo's Hawaiian community. "I knew there were a lot of people from Hawaii here," Takahashi says. "We thought, 'Wow, it would be really nice if we could all try to get together.'" They sent out invitations to everyone they knew, and asked the recipients to spread the word. The event, held at a restaurant, drew 30 participants. Takahashi and his friends had clearly tapped into a need. Before long, people who attended the get-together began asking when the next one would be. By the time Takahashi had enough free time to start planning the second party last fall, the two friends who had worked with him on the first one had already left Japan.
However, Takahashi had a database of names and contacts for all the guests at the initial gathering, and used that to compile an invitation list. Once again, he encouraged everyone he contacted to bring friends. Round No. 2, a Hawaiian barbecue, was held on a Saturday evening in mid-October on the rooftop terrace of Takahashi's apartment building. A total of 91 people attended, more than triple the number the first time around. The parties are quickly becoming an annual highlight on the social calendar for Hawaiians in Japan. What makes Takahashi equally happy is that they have helped him and other participants make new business contacts. That is helpful in Japan, a country where it is sometimes difficult to meet people in casual situations and without a formal introduction. "The one thing about Hawaiians is they introduce friends to friends all the time, whereas, in Japanese society, I think people want to protect their own friends, they don't want to share information with others," Takahashi says. "With us, everything's open - if we can help people, great. I think that's the attitude of all Hawaiians out here." Plans are underway for the third gathering, which is tentatively scheduled to coincide with an annual event held in Japan in November by the University of Hawaii's MBA program. The idea is to help newly graduated MBAs expand their professional networks. "If we can make this an annual thing with the University of Hawaii, I think it will be a wonderful opportunity for their graduates to meet businesspeople here from Hawaii," Takahashi says. He also encourages Hawaiians traveling to Japan on business to contact him with questions on anything from breaking into the market to opening a factory, adding that, if he doesn't know the answer, he's confident that another Hawaiian in Japan can help. His email address is: atakahashi@capitalrealty.co.jp. "I can point them in certain directions, introduce them to certain people and then they just need to take the ball from there," Takahashi says. "Hawaii people are really open and willing to help each other. A Hawaiian helping a Hawaiian is a given." n Dawn Matus is an American journalist who has lived in Japan since the late 1980s. She can be reached at dmatusjapan@yahoo.com. |
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