JETRO Spotlight April 2011

Welcome to the latest edition of JETRO Spotlight USA, JETRO USA's national e-newsletter featuring the latest articles and events on our website. Each month JETRO brings you relevant and timely articles highlighting business opportunities between the United States and Japan along with updates on JETRO seminars and events.

Contents in this newsletter:

• After Opening Japan Office, Coverity Grows Customers Seven-Fold, Doubles Staff, Opens Second Office
• Pacific-Link Consulting Earns 40% Revenue from Japan, Works with JETRO to Establish Japan Company
• Stoke Advances at Fast Clip in Japan, Sets up Subsidiary through JETRO
• Biomedical Consulting International Aims to Triple Japan Consultants by Year's End

• Room to Read Sees Japan Donations Grow Nearly 50% Each Year
• Silver Peak Seeks to Grow Global Revenue in Japan

• Cloud computing management platform provider RightScale establishes Japan subsidiary, supports new Amazon Web Services cloud

• Handouts and useful websites from the JETRO briefing "The Current Situation of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant and Effects of Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake"
• New Japan Earthquake Information page

• Japanese Sake Tasting & Seminar

• The Asian Marketplace: Driving America's Economic Growth
• CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase

JETRO Past Client Experiences

After Opening Japan Office, Coverity Grows Customers Seven-Fold, Doubles Staff, Opens Second Office

In 2009, we interviewed Rich Cerruto, managing director of Asia-Pacific for Coverity, about the opportunities that attracted his company to Japan, and working with JETRO to establish the company's first Japan office. We caught up with him again to see the progress that has been made since establishing the office and were surprised to learn the extent of the company's progress in just a year- and-a-half's time.

>> Read more


Pacific-Link Consulting Earns 40% Revenue from Japan, Works with JETRO to Establish Japan Company

Founded in April 2007, Pacific-Link Consulting (PLC) provides a comprehensive range of consulting services to clients developing medicinal products in the U.S., Japan and Europe. PLC recently established a Japan company to provide its services to the growing number of spin-outs coming from Japanese universities. PLC founder Richard Lowenthal spoke with us about establishing the company in Japan and working with JETRO to set it up.

>> Read more


Stoke Advances at Fast Clip in Japan, Sets up Subsidiary through JETRO

Stoke, Inc., the mobile broadband gateway vendor whose investors include Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital and Docomo Capital, Inc., has made significant advances in Japan during a mere two years of being there. Vice President of Finance, Venkat Prabhala, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Barry Hill, sat down with us to talk about what led the company there, how they did it and their experience establishing a Japan subsidiary through JETRO.

>> Read more


Biomedical Consulting International Aims to Triple Japan Consultants by Year's End

Biomedical Consulting International (BCI) helps biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies develop their products faster and register them with regulatory authorities around the world. Founded in 1999, BCI recently opened a Japan office to help Japanese companies prepare their products for overseas markets and to help overseas companies prepare their products for Japan. President of BCI, Dr. Satish Tripathi, spoke to us about how he started the business there and how working with JETRO helped BCI begin its business in Japan sooner than it would have on its own.

>> Read more

Feature Articles

Room to Read Sees Japan Donations Grow Nearly 50% Each Year

Founded by John Wood, who famously left Microsoft at the height of his career to "change the world", Room to Read transforms the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. In 2007, after Mr. Wood's story spread to Japan, a volunteer chapter of the nonprofit organization was created in Tokyo, and the following years saw nearly 50% annual growth in donations. We spoke with Chapter Representative Ms. Kaho Matsumaru about the relatively short but very successful history of Room to Read in Japan.

>> Read more


Silver Peak Seeks to Grow Global Revenue in Japan

Founded in 2004, Silver Peak recently established a Japan office to provide more customers with its data center class WAN optimization solutions. We spoke with Ichiro Yamaguchi, Japan Country manager for Silver Peak Systems G.K., about the opportunities the company saw in Japan, how it entered the market, some tips on doing business there, and its outlook for business.

>> Read more

News Update: Company making progress in Japan

Keep an eye on what companies are doing in Japan with this monthly news update.

Cloud computing management platform provider RightScale establishes Japan subsidiary, supports new Amazon Web Services cloud
March 7, 2011

RightScale?, Inc. announced the establishment of a wholly-owned Japanese subsidiary based in Tokyo. RightScale is providing support for the new Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure region in Japan in addition to companies such as NTT DOCOMO. "Japan is a fast-growing market for cloud computing, and demand for RightScale has been high in the region, especially for local presence and support," said CEO Michael Crandell, quoted in a company press release.

Sources: Company press release  and company representative

See how you can use JETRO's free services to establish your company's office in Japan.

 
 

Japan Earthquake Information

• See handouts and useful websites from the March 31st JETRO briefing held for foreign companies on "The Current Situation of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant and Effects of Tohoku-Pacific Ocean Earthquake".
   
• Get information on the nuclear power plants, electricity supply, water supply and food, and fisheries products affected by the March 11, 2011 earthquake, as well as countermeasures, on our new Japan Earthquake Information page.

Upcoming Events

JETRO-Organized Event

Japanese Sake Tasting & Seminar

Date:	Thursday, May 12, 2011
Location:	Kendall College
	900 N. Branch St.
	CHICAGO, IL 60642
	Japanese sake tasting and seminar for food industry professionals.

Third-Party Events

The Asian Marketplace: Driving America's Economic Growth

Date:	Thursday, April 14, 2011
Location:	The Palmer House Hilton
	17 East Monroe Street
	Chicago, IL 60603
	U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk will discuss American strategy for continued economic engagement in East Asia.

CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase

Date:	Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - Thursday, June 30, 2011
Location:	Santa Clara Convention Center
	5001 Great America Parkway
	Santa Clara, CA 95054
	The 15th annual CONNECTIONSTM: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase, hosted by international research firm Parks Associates, attracts over 500 executives focused on innovative consumer technology solutions.

We welcome your comments or suggestions for future article topics. Feel free to contact us at www.jetro.org/contact