PROGRAM

The session creates a forum for open dialogue regarding the practical dimensions of anthropology-business collaborations, encompassing client communication, project implementation, and value creation. This session, jointly convened by Meshwork (an anthropological consultancy) and the Japan Research Institute (a business consultancy), builds on our three-year integrating anthropology with business consulting in Japan. We welcome participants to share their own experiences in applying anthropological insights into business contexts, including the challenges encountered. Through collective sharing and discusion, we aim to explore diverse approaches to successful collaboration between anthropology and business.

Animation has become a pillar of the Japanese economy, with an immeasurable influence on the modern global pop culture scene in recent years. As the demand for animated content continues to grow worldwide and the value of the greater anime industry rises, we must not overlook the fact that the lack of skilled workers is becoming more evident in the core sections of the production – without which all other derivatives would suffer, as the quality of the animated content itself is the main driver of the intellectual property’s potential prosperity, and thus the key to future revenue.

We would like both researchers and business managers to understand what the life and work of an animator in the Japanese animation industry specifically entails, what some of the hurdles looming in the horizon for the animator workforce are, and how a reorganization and training regime could potentially benefit both those in executive positions and creators within the industry.

In the context of the Internet and the digital age, the "tradition-modern" transformation of old-brand enterprises is not only an urgent practical problem, but also an academic issue of contemporary significance; it requires both problem-oriented research to reach a detailed analysis of the basic level in the field of anthropology, and it can also be extended to discipline-oriented research to promote the deepening and construction of the sub-discipline of enterprise anthropology. The article posits that a series of conceptual groups,including "four-level analysis," "four-structure analysis," "binary social analysis," "bottom-up and up-bottom bi-directional analysis," and neo-classical "structural-functionalism theory" which has emerged from the study of the organisational changes of complex modern enterprises in the context of the transition of modern economic and social structure, are not only theories and methods of enterprise anthropology, but also theories and methods of the broader field of anthropology. These phenomena are not limited to the field of Chinese anthropology but also have implications for the broader discipline of anthropology. In light of these considerations, it is evident that the research perspective must be further upgraded to a higher level of anthropology. This entails a shift towards the third level of anthropology, which is based on empirical research on the "tradition-modern" transformation of old-brand enterprises. This research should explore the creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional Chinese culture and Chinese modernization. This will enable the construction of a new conception of and methodology for the anthropology of enterprises and even the discipline of anthropology as a whole.

This session explores the localization of management practices within Japanese-owned firms operating in the United States. Based on interviews with Japanese managers, locally hired American managers, and workers in Japanese transplants in the southeastern United States (Virginia and North Carolina), as well as Japanese managers at corporate headquaters in Japan, this research centers on the recruitment and retention of locally hired American employees.

My primary concern is how these transplant companies navigate and blend Japanese corporate culture--characterized by long-term job tenure, consensus-based decision-making, punctuality, and a work-centered lifestyle--with American corporate values, such as career mobility, short-term time orientation, mily life. This blending of cultural elements creates a unique "third-culture" plant, reflecting a sysnthesis of Japanese and American practices.

This research seeks to create heightened awareness, understanding, and consideration pertaining to the global significance and influence of racialized myths across business and society created by marketing communications depicting Afro-Descendants in Japan and China.

Through this research, we hope to promote an increased awareness and sensitivity to the cultural legacy of racialized myths in marketing materials among anthropologists and business leaders involved in the development of marketing communications.

Our research will strive to assess how classical racialized myths in Japan and China have informed contemporary depictions of Afro-Descendants in marketing communications.

This research aims to explore innovative methods with regards to representation of Afro-Descendants within Japanese and Chinese mediascapes by examining how various art forms reflected in marketing communication (1) challenge stereotypes, (2) promote cultural appreciation, and (3) foster deeper understanding across communities through visual, auditory, and tactile dimensions.

The goal of this session is to analyze and possibly explain the social mechanisms that made Japanese companies dominate interna:onal business tops during the late 20th century, a rapid ascension followed by a similarly abrupt “fall from grace” in the beginning of the 21st century. We shall try to correlate Japanese business trends with social characteristics, in an attempt to clarify how cultural aspects influence business models—a phenomenon that held in the Western world a significance similar to that of the Japanese art on the art trends of the 19th century. The “original” Japonisme was represented by Europe’s and America’s discovery of an entirely new form of art, a different aestheic perspective that changed the evolution of Western art. Our objecive is to elucidate whether Japanese business models can sill affect a correspondingly powerful influence on the business world.

Recently, there has been growing interest among management scholars and entrepreneurs in learning from religious practices for business management. However, this perspective is not entirely new. This presentation examines the relationship between religion and management from three perspectives: (1) the similarities between religion and management, (2) religion as a model for management, and (3) religion as an operating system. Through these three viewpoints, we aim to provide a structured analysis of the relationship between religious and managerial practices.

This presentation explores the concept of “Producership” as practiced by parallel career professionals at NPO ZESDA to facilitate glocal (global + local) business development. From the perspective of Business Anthropology, it examines how diverse professionals, including government officials, academics, and entrepreneurs, collaborate to generate innovative business solutions that transcend regional and national boundaries.

Unlike traditional business models, ZESDA’s Producership approach leverages the unique expertise and networks of parallel career workers to bridge cultural and economic gaps. This process involves identifying local business opportunities, adapting them to global markets, and fostering sustainable collaborations between Japanese and international stakeholders. By applying anthropological insights, the presentation highlights how social structures, cultural narratives, and informal networks influence business development and international expansion.

Through case studies, the presentation showcases successful initiatives where ZESDA’s members acted as catalysts, enabling local businesses to internationalize while maintaining their cultural authenticity. This approach underscores the potential of Producership as a scalable and adaptable framework for fostering cross-border entrepreneurship. Ultimately, it demonstrates how interdisciplinary collaboration and parallel careers contribute to business innovation and global connectivity, offering new insights into the evolving landscape of glocal business development.

At one point, his life took a dramatic turn—his girlfriend took his job and money, leaving him stranded in the U.S. To make things worse, he lost his credit card and ended up homeless. With no resources, he turned to street performances as a means of survival. Through sheer resilience, he managed to earn enough to continue his journey, eventually crossing the entire country with zero funds. This experience taught him the incredible potential of human adaptability and perseverance. He realized that limitations exist only in the mind and that people can achieve the impossible with the right mindset and connections. Inspired by this hardship, he founded Shining Inc., a Gen Z marketing company dedicated to bridging ambitious young talent with fast-growing businesses. His mission is to create opportunities for the next generation by connecting passionate individuals with companies that foster growth and innovation. He believes that the future belongs to those who dare to take risks, step out of their comfort zones, and seize new possibilities. Through Shining Inc., he continues to empower young people, expand their potential, and drive meaningful change in the business world.

During the summer of 2018, my second life as an entrepreneur had started without my knowing it. I had wanted to become an English teacher from a young age. To improve my English, I studied in Palm Beach, FL. My whole perspective towards life had changed overnight thanks to my host family. After coming back to my hometown, Okinawa, Japan, I started my own English school. Since then, I have created dozens of businesses within a few years. In this session, I will discuss my personal experience as an entrepreneur. I hope to be a good model for students so that they can become entrepreneurs with potential to make meaningful change in the world.

“The Market of the Gods,” by French anthropologist Dominique Desjeux, Professor Emeritus at the Sorbonne, Université Paris Cité, offers a strategic anthropological examination of how monotheism emerged and expanded. It studies the social pathways that enable any invention, whether sacred or secular, to gain acceptance or encounter resistance, especially in contexts where cultural differences may be significant. This perspective applies to innovations in technology, services, or organisational structures and emphasises how constraints arising from crises can drive social change.

Historically, four major disruptions influenced the shift from polytheism to monotheism: the copper crisis in the 12th century BCE, the Jewish exile in the 6th century BCE, the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and the Roman currency crisis of 313 CE. In each instance, the “market of the gods” adjusted in a manner comparable to modern market behaviour. For example, the acceptance of Christian doctrine rested on adapting and simplifying existing Jewish regulations.

Desjeux’s strategic anthropological method also draws on more recent global crises and their effects on corporations, retail structures, consumer choices, and recycling practices over the past 25 years. These include the worldwide expansion of the middle classes since 2000, the 2008 monetary crisis, social movements in the Middle East and France between 2011 and 2019 (including the yellow vests), the 2020 health crisis, the logistical and inflation challenges of 2021, the 2022 military crisis involving Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian region, and the political disruption linked to the Trump/Musk digital coup in 2025. These events indicate that we are indeed navigating an uncertain environment. Discussions between Lucia Laurent-Neva, Carsten Claus, Julia Gluesing, and Desjeux suggest viewing the future as a “new exotic anthropological world.” At the same time, marketing can serve as a contemporary belief system, emphasizing enchantment and meaning.

Drawing from the conceptualization made by José Ignacio Cabrujas and Fernando Coronil of the Venezuelan state as a "magical state," this saloon proposes to borrow the word "magic" to ask how modern business corporations use enchantment and artifice to produce collective hallucinations. In particular, this session aims at unveiling myths and realities of businesses by paying attention to the ethnographic study of corporate rituals. Myths, discourses, and performative sequences are often used to transform uncertainty and chaos into safe and harmonious horizons, ordinary individuals into powerful creatures, and working relationships into filial and intimate ones. This saloon proposes to examine these modern rituals as exotic spaces through the classic lenses of the anthropological discipline.