Client Testimonials

I attended the Japanese Business Etiquette training and found it to be valuable and informative. Paul was knowledgeable, experienced, articulate, and gave lots of real-life examples. The session was open and interactive – and we were able to ask questions and discuss many things in depth. The training materials were well-organized and informative, providing a great introduction to the key factors that influence and are important to Japanese people.
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I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Eri Dennis of Shinka Management for her support with our week-long engagement in regional Australia facilitating a visit to our Australian partner and providing Japanese-English interpreting support.

Despite the challenging circumstances, Eri handled the situation with great flexibility, and even went beyond her regular duties. We were impressed by Eri’s energy and work ethic, and it was thanks to her tremendous efforts that we were able to achieve our difficult objectives within the very limited time we had available. Further, the trust we built with our Australian partner is something that could not have been achieved without Eri’s facilitation.

We cannot express our gratitude enough in words. We look forward to continuing our relationship in the future.
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Shinka Management (Paul Smith in particular) is fantastic. My team participated in an informative Japanese Etiquette Training Session which was not only quite enriching, but very useful. Their material, assistance and professionalism were top notch and we greatly appreciate our time spent with them. Thank you Shinka/Paul!
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I found the Japanese Business Etiquette training session very informative and engaging. Paul was able to convey his extensive knowledge clearly while providing meaningful and honest recommendations for how to interact with prospective Japanese partners.
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I appreciated the organization of the training – starting with general information about Japanese culture, and then followed up with a focus on doing business with a Japanese company. It helped put everything in context, so it all made more sense. Good visual graphics and effective use of slides without saying everything on the screen.
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Instructor was very knowledgeable about the topic and had credentials to support. The program was well-organized with audience in consideration, and kept the audience engaged. Loved the videos and visuals that were incorporated into the training!
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A real tour de force today and yesterday – such great interesting insight. I’ve learned a lot and it’s put a lot into context for me. Thanks so much!
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The content and delivery of the session was ideal, and as a “first timer” to Japan I think it was pitched perfectly. We had great interaction throughout the training, and the background information on topics such as Japan’s school system etc was very useful to give context to the wider session. There were many useful transferable points for supporting social interactions in Japan which we have since been putting into practice.
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Paul very clearly explained the way the Japanese run things with helpful video examples and demonstrations as well as a very useful presentation.
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Everything was great. Excellent job delivered in a very relaxed atmosphere where you were able to learn about Japanese business culture.
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I recently attended a virtual workshop on Japanese business etiquette conducted by Shinka Management which ran for two 3-hour sessions over consecutive days. While I have conducted business in Japan in a very limited way in the past, I was essentially starting with zero knowledge of Japan and Japanese business etiquette. My first thought when registering for the workshop was that it was most probably going to be too long and tedious over Zoom. How wrong I was! The sessions were informative, extremely interesting and very beneficial for anyone not familiar with Japan or the Japanese market. The workshop covered a wide range of aspects of Japanese society and business practices including a basic rundown on Japan’s demographics and education system, insights into the Japanese way of life, cultural “dos and don’ts”, and very practical advice on a wide range of social and business interactions including how to greet Japanese people, business hierarchies, Japanese gift giving, exchanging of business cards, meeting protocols, dining and drinking, etc. In particular, Paul and his team gave an excellent insight into the processes and ways in which Japanese businesses make decisions and the importance of being able to read the subtleties and responses of Japanese counterparts in business situations. On an individual note, having completed his high school and university education in Japan and having dealt with Japanese businesses for many years, Paul was able to give clear insights into Japanese society and business practices which otherwise would take years to accumulate. He did this in an intelligent and informative way which was very engaging and interesting. Again, a fascinating and extremely valuable workshop which I would strongly recommend for anyone planning to enter or new to the Japanese market.
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The training was fun which also leads to people becoming interested and remembering alot of the content. The delivery and the way the session was run were also excellent. Great presenter, great execution.
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The training was highly informative. The topics regarding Japanese culture will be of great help to our staff who are new in Japan. The topics on working within a multicultural environment were also informative and gave me a good overview of the differences of each culture.

 
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We really enjoyed the training and got a lot out of it! Just understanding those little things helps – we didn’t realise quite a few things about the life of a Japanese person which was very interesting! Thanks for pulling this all together for us.
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We would like to thank Shinka Management for an effective and enjoyable learning experience. Paul tailored a program to meet our specific needs, and was well prepared on the day to take us through important information and advice to help us successfully navigate cultural differences, particularly in a business context. Our small team were highly engaged throughout the session, and appreciated Paul’s interactive and responsive style of delivery. We hope to work with Shinka again in the future, and highly recommend them as a great resource for companies looking to conduct business in Japan!
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Thank you so much for yesterday. I just wanted to pass on some feedback from everyone this morning because they were all overwhelmingly pleased with yesterday’s training. We all agreed it was extremely helpful.

My colleagues mentioned that the way you delivered and also the information provided was exactly what we needed. Comments were made such as you were real but at the same time appropriate and informative for a delegation visit to Japan. Madam Mayor and the team are much more comfortable with this visit thanks to the guidance you’ve provided.

I just wanted to send a big thank you from us for putting this together on such short notice and also for the extreme help that you’ve been not only yesterday but in all the other support you’ve given. We really do appreciate it and I just wanted to pass on the positive feedback.
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The training gave us a great opportunity to develop relationships between us and our Japanese colleagues. Paul presented the culture of the country and behaviors of the Japanese people in an easy and attractive manner.
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We were recently purchased by a Japanese company and used Shinka Management to assist our Senior Leadership team to get a better understanding of what it is like doing business in Japan. Shinka Management conducted a great workshop that provided the team with more than just the social and cultural differences but also key insights on how to work with Japanese leaders within the business environment.

Topics that we explored were decision making, stakeholder management and communication. Paul’s real life experience in working in Japan made this session really informative and valuable for the team, which set them up with some great tips on how to work with our new owners. Shinka Management come highly recommended.
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Sekisui Rib Loc Australia engaged Shinka Management to support a proposal to engage with a Russian investor in the development of the Russian waste and fresh water pipe rehabilitation market. The plan incorporated the Japanese group’s international portfolio of technologies and products; and presented verifiable data on the Russian pipe rehabilitation market and its potential development. The plan needed to be instructive to the Russian client in a manner acceptable to the Japanese shareholder.

The business plan and related presentation was successfully delivered in Moscow. Paul Smith was directly engaged in the project with support from Ben Sparrow, to ensure the presentation was congruous with Japanese business norms. Shinka Management provided services to a very tight deadline. Paul worked seamlessly with the international group to draft the business plan for the Russian market.

Paul accompanied the team to Moscow, then from local advice modified and made an effective presentation to the target client. Shinka Management developed the business plan and related market development presentation delivered in Moscow to a highly professional standard, working to a very tight deadline for a unique market opportunity supported by Japanese stakeholders.

Their commendable work proved a critical element in our engaging a large corporate group in Russia.
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