Newsletter No 3, October 1998

The third general assembly of the AJ will be held on Thursday, 26th November 1998 at the EPFL (room EL112). The members will receive a convening by post or E-mail.
This assembly will allow an overview of AJ's projects and will be an opportunity for all the members to meet each other.

On Saturday 20th June about twenty members gathered, with spouses and children for the traditional picnic. It was a hot sunny afternoon in the forest of Sullens.
The atmosphere was very friendly and it was a pleasure for the members to meet new members just coming back from Japan or others who want to go there. After an apero offered by the association, the members made a barbecue and ate some excellent Japanese specialities + salads + cakes. Thank you for all the participants of this wonderful journey and let's meet again in a similar party next year. Don't miss it !!

The redaction of the annuaire is going ahead: about 40 members have responded to the call for information. People who are late have still the possibility to send their information to Nadia Nibbio. The final result will be presented to the members at the General Assembly in November and the annuaire should be available in December 98.

Our site is under permanent evolution and has been considerably developed this year. Its structure has been improved; a list of links towards various sites concerning Japan can be found, as well as a guide dedicated to the potential "expatriates" in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The content and form of our site will continue its quick development. A call is made here to all members who have information to share with the association. All suggestions can be communicated via the feedback page.
And, last but not least, our site is now bilingual : French and English ! ! In this way, it will be understandable for all our Swiss members and our Japanese friends.
Don't forget to visit us and to send your info, mails and comments.

On 26th November, AJ will organise a three parts conference on :

This conference will take place in the EPFL, Department of Electricity (DE), room EL 112, at 18h15. Everybody is cordially invited.

A few words about the talks:

The first seminar tells you where to start when you plan to introduce a new product into the Japanese market. Medical products need special care when introduced in Japan. Besides the import license, most devices need approval of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Implants and disposable products need furthermore clinical trials with Japanese patients. Where can you find a distributor? What expect Japanese distributors from a European manufacturer ? What are the paying modalities? How to deal with the general Asian crisis etc. All these questions need to be addressed before sales can be started.
The second seminar will relate the academic experience of a Japanese engineer in Switzerland and in Japan. A comparison between both systems will be proposed.
The final seminar is a presentation of the work performed at the University of Tokyo, especially neuro-ethological experiments with insects.