Welcome to Japanese Technology from the Future Friday!
It’s already Friday west of the international dateline – here in Japan, it’s totally the future. The weekly JTFF is our somewhat technosnarky coverage of 2-5 particularly important, specifically Japan-related tech stories. Get yourself hip to the micro & macro that went down while North America was sleeping – check in every Friday morning and BOOM! Ahead of the game, you win.
Why Japan and J-Tech?
First, Anthrobotic has geographical superiority. In the future.
Second, Japan has lots of super hott (and odd) technology stuff going on.
Third, deliciously cathartic opportunities make fun of the Japanese invariably crop up.
:: JTFF – May 10, 2013 ::
• Struggling yet Endlessly Gung-Ho Japanese Tech Giants – Part I: Sharp
Forgive a quick digression, but one has to mention the dictionary definition of dysfunction among the giants of J-tech: Sony. Spend 10 minutes studying Sony and you’ll already understand what’s going on with here with Sharp and Panasonic (Sony even makes robots sad). So yeah, Sharp’s going to cut 5000 jobs, including overseas workers and, admirably, some high-up suits at the Osaka headquarters. Of course they’re publicly optimistic, but what else can you be when your massive, ailing tech company owes $US billions and forgot how to make cool stuff? Best of luck!
[SHARP CUTTING 5000 JOBS AND TRYING TO MAKE MORE RELEVANT STUFF – ZDNET]
• Struggling yet Endlessly Gung-Ho Japanese Tech Giants – Part II: Panasonic
The modern company we all know as Panasonic has existed for around 100 years (under different names, divisions, depending on who you ask). We’ve all seen the name across a broad spectrum electronic devices for decades and decades, but seems we’ll likely see less now they’re keen to beef up the bottom line: the plan is to move away from gizmos & gadgetry and focus on their more profitable home appliances, machinery, and OEM-type stuff. They too have to do something, because like their buddy above (but not as bad as Sony!), they’ve also devalued by over $US 1 billion in the last two fiscal years. Best of luck!
[PANASONIC TO ABANDON GADGETS TO MAKE A BIG PROFIT MAYBE – REUTERS]
That was the JTFF, and live from the future – that is all!
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