Swedish School—Lessons for Life

Sweden School teachers and assistants; Susanna Suematsu second from left

Every Friday afternoon, a young and ambitious crowd gathers at Tokyo International School in Mita for a two-hour session of Swedish. Be it reading, writing, singing or playing, there is just one theme: Swedish. “We have a lot of fun,” says Susanna Suematsu, head teacher for the junior high group of 12 students. “The Swedish School is perhaps more of a club than a regular school.”

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Jon Thunqvist | 2009-06-22

Turning Around in Troubled Times

The telecom market has gone from a period of high growth to today’s slight decline and extreme competition between different players. But while some companies are really hurting, there is one exception. Less than a decade ago, Ericsson was looking into the abyss, and there were fears that the company would not survive. In 2009, the situation is quite different, says Fredrik Alatalo, President of Nippon Ericsson K.K. “During the extreme growth period in the 1990s, the focus was on how to manage growth and less on costs,” Mr. Alatalo says. Today the company is slimmer, and there is agreement on what needs to be done and how it should be done.

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Jon Thunqvist | 2009-06-15

New Member Company: FORA Inc.

After about four years working with the import of some well-known Swedish sporting wear into Japan, Hideki Shibata decided to step out on his own. The resulting company, FORA Inc., only opened in Augusts of 2008, but became an SCCJ member company by January, 2009. “I had attended SCCJ meetings in the past, but the guys in charge of the company weren’t interested in becoming SCCJ members,” Mr. Shibata says. “So when I started my company, I joined right away.”

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William Ross | 2009-06-09

Making a Mark

Marcus Ericsson (from his blog)

He was a professional race driver before he even had a driver’s license; now 18-year-old Marcus Ericsson is taking the Japanese Formula 3 championship series by storm. Despite heavy rains, Mr. Ericsson earlier this month won one race and finished second at the Suzuka Circuit. Mr. Ericsson is from Kumla, as is the late Ronnie Petersson, the legendary, crowd-pleasing Swedish F1 driver known for his aggressiveness on the track—and whom Mr. Ericsson is often compared. “Of course, I am flattered by the comparison,” he says, “but first and foremost I want to be myself!”

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Jon Thunqvist | 2009-05-29