Monday, March 21, 2011

Excellent Voice of Reason and Dedication in Tokyo Timo Budow

IT'S BEEN A ROUGH WEEK BATTLING IT OUT WITH MASS MEDIA SENSATIONALISTS AND TWITS WHO FOLLOW THE PARTY LINE.  I'M TIRED AND NEED A BREAK. MY DAD HAD A HEART ATTACK AND I'M NOW CHECKING IT OUT. PLEASE FORGIVE MY SPORADIC POSTINGS AS I'M IN A PLACE THAT HAS NOT INTERNET... IT'S LIKE A FLINTSTONES MOVIE HERE...


Timo Budow, A professional in Tokyo chimes in about his experiences after the earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident:


Mike,


Keep the articles coming.  Kudos to you. Your blog and posts have been a huge source of reassurance for me during this - most likely the biggest crisis in our lifetime.  I forward lots of them around as well.

Two days after the biq quake - on Sunday - a Canadian camera/reporter crew enlisted my help to interpret and coordinate logistics, etc. for them in a trek up north to Fukushima.  I naively thought I could help out in some way while handling interpreting duties up there. 

The mission was aborted by the time we got to Mito, Ibaraki, as we realized we needed to conserve our gas to be able to return to Tokyo.

I followed all their movements and heard all their conversations for those two days, and started to understand how the media work, think and I fully realize now (kinda late I guess) that they have no humanitarian objectives at all. "If it bleeds, it leads," and they deliberately omit details and embellish. Not telling you anything you don't already know. But seeing all news reports and articles through a totally different lens now.

Out of work since last Dec., as of last week I was in the midst of looking for a job here in business development. But some of the interviews/opportunities I'd lined up are on hold indefinitely because the foreign managers are still overseas. Also I've been busy with a friend et al arranging relief supplies and donations, so my job search has been hindered a lot.  Not a big deal, because that is the small stuff compared to what the Tohoku folks have been/are going through.  


But I want to stay in Japan, am running on very limited resources currently, and flat out do not want to run out of dough and have to move back to the US. My life and friends are here! I've been reading about loads of expat managers who have abandoned their staff in Tokyo.  Not to sound like a crass opportunist, but I see perhaps a chance to get in with foreign firms in Japan that need solid leadership now. If you hear of anything, please let me know. Have been trying to start my own consumer goods business, but that is on hold due to supplier difficulties, so no income from that now or for a while.

Anyway, just wanted to offer my appreciation for your voice of reason in all this, and look forward to a beer with you sometime soon.

Best regards,

Timo Budow
timobudow@ybb.ne.jp
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Here is a snippet from Timo's profile:


"...extensive international sales and marketing experience, interpersonal and bilingual skills, 17 years experience in Japan and knowledge of its culture, M.B.A. education and experience working for foreign capital and Japanese companies, as well as establishing a startup firm." 


Not only the above but Timo has permanent residence in Japan so he is the perfect conduit for a foreign company in Japan and the Japanese. If anyone is looking for professional services from this fine gentleman, please contact him directly (timobudow@ybb.ne.jpand tell him that Mike in Tokyo Rogers sent you. 


Not only that, but Timo draws great comics (manga) in his spare time!






This recent experience shows us that there are not enough people like Timo in management positions in Japan and he would be an asset to any company. 

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