AOTS Journal 2018 AUTUMN No.13 (ENGLISH)

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7No. 13 AUTUMN 2018we needed to conduct the work slowly but surely, rst having to introduce the company to others. By utilizing approaches such as registering with Japanese business-matching sites, I was able to also talk business with Japanese companies. One of the products featured an extremely unique fruit, and in order to export this fruit from Thailand to Japan, we had to visit farmers that could be potential points of purchase, order component analysis charts from the farmers, inspect factories where food-freezing was possible, go over issues that could arise in clearing the Japanese high quality standards and inspection, and had to inquire with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. What I was able to experience was not just the country’s cultural differences, but also the contrast in the way of thinking and working in a company of a different scale.Mr. Sato: For six months from October 2017, he was dispatched to a company that produces Vietnamese food products.This was the rst time I lived overseas, let alone in Vietnam, but even from before setting off I didn’t feel worried very much and was full of high expectations. The biggest hardship while I was living there was when I injured my knee while playing futsal in my spare time. I immediately went to hospital and had to commute there for a month, but in the end, as they couldn’t handle it within Vietnam, on the doctor’s recommendations I decided to have surgery done in Singapore. There I was told that I should have come immediately after receiving the injury, which made me realize the difference in medical standards in Singapore compared to Vietnam. On the ip side though, I learned a few things from this hardship. In Singapore, doing things like negotiating to have the costly surgery fees paid temporarily by another party, and also having to look up the components of anesthetic in English, were I think valuable experiences in some way.Within the internship work the biggest hardship I faced was that even though the goal was given there were no instructions regarding the method to achieve it. My assigned company was a large corporation that handled catering, with most of their sales coming from their catering business. However, they were selling health food products as a new business, and I was in the division related to that, in charge of sales of supplement products. Specically, I planned a publicity strategy for nding clients that the company had not had up until then and for raising the product’s recognition. Then I made my own monthly sales goals and worked daily towards achieving them. Through working in Vietnam, I gradually started to see the customs and circumstances upon which business is conducted there. For example, it was hard for me to gain the understanding of others within the company of my proposal for a publicity strategy; however the reason for this I think was that in Vietnam short-term prot is valued more than middle-to-long term prot. In talking with local employees and learning about the country’s history and social background, I realized that this way of thinking came about from the effects of the previous infrastructure and the Vietnam War. Also I learnt that in Vietnam when you want to urge or remind someone of something it’s standard to make a phone call rather than send an email. One time when I reservedly sent an email to a client my manager reprimanded me, asking why I didn’t phone them. On the other hand, Vietnamese people are not concerned about being late to appointments with clients. Everyday revealed new surprises concerning the different business practices.Toward the end of the six-month dispatch period I conducted a presentation in English to the company about my proposal for improvement. I was praised that it was “a proposal based on information gained by meticulous work and a good understanding of Vietnamese business practices,” and I was really thrilled with this response. It was the moment during the internship where I felt the strongest sense of accomplishment.What kind of skills did you attain through the internship program?Mr. Horie: This was the rst time I experienced an internship in an environment different from the place I was born and raised. However, I believe by more diversely understanding religious outlooks, controlling my stress, and living in a developing country, I was able to improve my mental toughness and ability to deal with an ever-changing environment. While it’s easy to talk about understanding different cultures, I feel that it was actually Mr. Daichi SatoWith coworkers of his assigned company at a business matching event (Mr. Horie is in the center)With coworkers standing in front of his assigned company (Mr. Sato is in the center)