After a 41-year apprenticeship at Toyota Motor, Katsuaki Watanabe became its president in June। Best known for a cost-cutting initiative that squeezed suppliers and saved nearly $10 billion over five years, Watanabe, 63, takes charge at a time when Toyota (2004 sales: 7.5 million vehicles) is on track to eclipse General Motors as the world's largest carmaker. He spoke to TIME's WILLIAM GREEN and MICHIKO TOYAMA at his company's headquarters in Toyota City, Japan.
TIME How can you avoid the dangers of what you have called "Big Business disease"--of Toyota becoming too large and complacent?
KATSUAKI WATANABE Everyone should be dissatisfied with the present situation and should constantly try to improve or change things. It's important to realize that there is always something more we need to aim at. That's what needs to be recognized by every individual. When you're growing, you're satisfied with the status quo, and that's no good.
TIME What's your first priority as president?
K.W. Our present concern at our plants around the world is the quality and cost of production. We're concerned with what level each factory is at so we can assess its capability. If there's any gap, we have to fill it.
TIME You're renowned for cutting costs. Is there still a lot of fat to trim at Toyota?
K.W. There's plenty. Look, there are two p.r. people right here.
TIME So you're going to fire one?
K.W. Yes, one is enough ... Regarding costs for design, engineering, quality control, production, work force and management, there are still gray areas with waste and room for improvement. The next step is value innovation, where we're trying to make improvements in design that raise quality and lower costs.
TIME Toyota is more profitable than the U.S.'s Big Three carmakers combined. Why has it been so much more successful?
K.W. Everybody works as a team. We even call our suppliers our partners, and we make things that everybody thinks we should make.
TIME What's Toyota doing in car safety?
K.W. We're developing a night-system sensor that can see things a naked eye cannot. The system would automatically prevent a collision. Another system protects a car from spinning even after its emergency brakes are applied. In the future we can develop a sleep-and-drive-prevention system, whereby a device will tap the sleeper and wake him up. I want to make it happen quickly. My dream is a system that would pick up the danger of collision and save the driver or passenger from being [ejected] and suffering injuries--something like a net that rescues a person before collision because there are many cases where people are thrown and hit the road, an electric pole, a guard rail and die instantly.
TIME Toyota is enormously international, yet you don't have a single foreigner on your board. Do you plan to change that?
K.W. Yes, but not for the sake of change. Only if there's a non-Japanese I deem to be deserving.
TIME What kind of car do you drive?
K.W. In America, it's called Lexus LS and, in Japan, Celsior.
TIME Is there anything about it that annoys you, that makes you think, I must tell my staff to fix this?
K.W. As I drive my car, I get many ideas. On many occasions I notice things and tell my engineers. I test-drive cars too and share my findings with the engineers. Either the design isn't good, it doesn't sound good, or the way the car is built isn't to my liking.
TIME How do you retain this urgent sense that Toyota must keep changing and improving when you've worked there for 41 years? Aren't you tired of change by now?
K.W. I'm a very curious person by nature. My character leans toward aggressiveness, and I like it that way. I immediately recognize the problem, know right away that something is far too expensive, that something needs improvement. I notice things, and I don't resist change.
2008年4月22日星期二
Hollywood Chinese
John Kobal Foundation / Getty Images
Wow, this film is everything that the Anna May Wong film (which I wrote about here) was not. San Francisco director Arthur Dong’s documentary Hollywood Chinese, which won the Golden Horse Award (the Chinese equivalent of the Oscars) in December, chronicles the contributions Chinese-Americans have made to Hollywood films. But more than just a filmography, Dong interviews a rich range of actors and directors about their experiences, including Ang Lee, Wayne Wang, Amy Tan, Joan Chen and Nancy Kwan. Actress Tsai Chin says she’s not proud to have acted in five Fu Manchu movies, but she needed to put food on the table. Nancy Kwan describes how a woman accused her of shaming Asian women by playing a prostitute in The World of Suzie Wong.
While interesting, these themes are not new. One way Dong’s film distinguishes itself from other Asian-American films and books is when he interviews white actors who took on “Chinese” roles in the yellowface films of the 1920s-60s. German actress Luise Rainer, who landed the lead role (and an Oscar) as O-lan in The Good Earth (1927), based on Pearl S. Buck’s novel, defends the film’s yellowface casting, saying that being “true to the character” is “more important than being exactly right on the outside.” One of the most uncomfortable, yet brilliant moments in the film is when we see a close-up of Christopher Lee, a white British actor who played the maniacal Fu Manchu in the 60s, as he explains how makeup artists used latex glue to create the look of Asian eyes, or the “epicanthal fold.” Lee tells us how “uncomfortable” it was to have his eyes glued. Just imagine how uncomfortable it was for Asian actors to lose “Chinese” roles to actors in yellowface.
Besides interviews, Hollywood Chinese is also rich with archival materials, including casting notes from The Good Earth, showing that Anna May Wong failed to impress directors, a 1930s photo of a Chinese-American acting union, and footage from the Q&A session following Better Luck Tomorrow’s (2002) Sundance screening, when director Justin Lin was criticized for portraying Asian-Americans in a negative light. Film critic Roger Ebert stood up and shouted, “Nobody would say to a bunch of white filmmakers, ‘How could you do this to your people?’ Asian-American characters have the right to be whoever the hell they want to be.” It’s a powerful moment that makes one think, why do we still have to have this conversation? Dong also reveals clips from the earliest yellowface depictions of Chinese, such as Beheading the Chinese Prisoner (1900), Massacre of the Christians (1900), and The Heather Heathen Chinese and the Sunday School Teachers (1904). All show America’s fascination with and fear of the Chinese— issues that are still very relevant more than 100 years later. Hollywood Chinese is screening in various locations in the U.S. right now, but hopefully it’ll come to Asia again soon. If it does, be sure not to miss it.
Wow, this film is everything that the Anna May Wong film (which I wrote about here) was not. San Francisco director Arthur Dong’s documentary Hollywood Chinese, which won the Golden Horse Award (the Chinese equivalent of the Oscars) in December, chronicles the contributions Chinese-Americans have made to Hollywood films. But more than just a filmography, Dong interviews a rich range of actors and directors about their experiences, including Ang Lee, Wayne Wang, Amy Tan, Joan Chen and Nancy Kwan. Actress Tsai Chin says she’s not proud to have acted in five Fu Manchu movies, but she needed to put food on the table. Nancy Kwan describes how a woman accused her of shaming Asian women by playing a prostitute in The World of Suzie Wong.
While interesting, these themes are not new. One way Dong’s film distinguishes itself from other Asian-American films and books is when he interviews white actors who took on “Chinese” roles in the yellowface films of the 1920s-60s. German actress Luise Rainer, who landed the lead role (and an Oscar) as O-lan in The Good Earth (1927), based on Pearl S. Buck’s novel, defends the film’s yellowface casting, saying that being “true to the character” is “more important than being exactly right on the outside.” One of the most uncomfortable, yet brilliant moments in the film is when we see a close-up of Christopher Lee, a white British actor who played the maniacal Fu Manchu in the 60s, as he explains how makeup artists used latex glue to create the look of Asian eyes, or the “epicanthal fold.” Lee tells us how “uncomfortable” it was to have his eyes glued. Just imagine how uncomfortable it was for Asian actors to lose “Chinese” roles to actors in yellowface.
Besides interviews, Hollywood Chinese is also rich with archival materials, including casting notes from The Good Earth, showing that Anna May Wong failed to impress directors, a 1930s photo of a Chinese-American acting union, and footage from the Q&A session following Better Luck Tomorrow’s (2002) Sundance screening, when director Justin Lin was criticized for portraying Asian-Americans in a negative light. Film critic Roger Ebert stood up and shouted, “Nobody would say to a bunch of white filmmakers, ‘How could you do this to your people?’ Asian-American characters have the right to be whoever the hell they want to be.” It’s a powerful moment that makes one think, why do we still have to have this conversation? Dong also reveals clips from the earliest yellowface depictions of Chinese, such as Beheading the Chinese Prisoner (1900), Massacre of the Christians (1900), and The Heather Heathen Chinese and the Sunday School Teachers (1904). All show America’s fascination with and fear of the Chinese— issues that are still very relevant more than 100 years later. Hollywood Chinese is screening in various locations in the U.S. right now, but hopefully it’ll come to Asia again soon. If it does, be sure not to miss it.
'Informal' Clinton China Adviser says Goobye to Campaign 08
Rick Baum, a professor of political science at UCLA and one of America’s more knowledgeable China scholars, has apparently had enough of the preposterous US Presidential campaign—in this case, specifically, Hillary Clinton’s China fantasies. I hadn’t known Baum—who runs an informative on line forum for China hands called Chinapol—was advising Clinton, however informally. But his departure from the campaign, revealed here http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9719.html on the indispensable Politico.com web site (indispensable that is if you’re interested in US politics and the 2008 Presidential campaign) is at least a small blow for what I’d call a reality based politics in the United States. One of the most striking things about this Presidential campaign has been the fact that so much of what the candidates say about the major issues—Iraq, the economy and trade most prominently—bears no resemblance, none, to real life, to how the world is actually working when it comes to the subjects being addressed. Campaign 08, particularly on the Democratic side, is the political equivalent of the `Truman Show.' It's all one big con. Barack Obama says he will pull American troops out of Iraq in 16 months, leaving only sufficient numbers there to “protect the US embassy.” That’s sheer fantasy. Similarly, Hillary says she not only is “the only candidate who isn’t just talking about cracking down on China, but I have a specific plan on how to do it.” And, she adds, “China should be our trade partner not our trade master.” Go to Hillary’s web site (www.hillaryclinton.com), click on “issues” and then on trade; China is directly mentioned once. The passage reads as follows:
Cracking Down on China’s Currency Manipulation. Foreign countries manipulate their currencies to make American goods look expensive on the world market and to make their own goods look inexpensive. This practice hurts American workers and it must end. Hillary is a co-sponsor of legislation that will require the administration to take definitive steps to stop China and other countries from harming American interests by undervaluing their currencies. Currency manipulation by our trading partners is also contributing to our trade deficit. Hillary has co-sponsored the Foreign Debt Ceiling Act, legislation that will require the administration to draw up an action plan to address our large trade imbalance.Yes, those devious Chinese currency manipulators have conspired to INCREASE the value of their currency, the Renminbi, from 8.1 to 6.9 to the dollar over the last 18 months, making their exports to the US MORE expensive, and US exports to China more competitive (ie less expensive.) In fact, the revaluation of the RMB is causing political problems here in China because a lot of factories in the Pearl River Delta and elsewhere can’t compete and are going under. Increasingly, exporters in China are putting ferocious, behind the scenes pressures on the government in Beijing to put an end to the RMB’s strengthening.But as on Iraq—where both Clinton and Obama refuse to acknowledge that, as Iraq blogger Michael Yon has written, the facts on the ground are virtually unrecognizable compared to what they were just 14 months ago—“miraculously” so, as Michael wrote here http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120787343563306609.html -- the Democractic candidates exist in a reality free zone when it comes to China. For one small voice related to the campaign, enough was finally enough. Kudos to Rick Baum.
Oh, and the thought occurs: on the campaign trail, Obama and Clinton and even John McCain go on and on about how the United States needs to `repair’ its tattered image abroad. The same is an article of faith among the Council on Foreign Relations crowd. Anyone else out there wonder how sticking it to China on trade—“cracking down” on them, in Hillary’s what’s-not-to-like phrase—might effect America’s ``image’’ in China? I mean, ok, it’s only 1.3 billion people—more than in all of western Europe and the middle east combined—but who’s counting? They're irrelevant because they don’t write anti American editorials in the Guardian or go to Council on Foreign Relations meetings. Memo to those involved in, covering or even just watching campaign 08 in the United States: there’s a big, real world out here. You might want to deal with it at some point.
Cracking Down on China’s Currency Manipulation. Foreign countries manipulate their currencies to make American goods look expensive on the world market and to make their own goods look inexpensive. This practice hurts American workers and it must end. Hillary is a co-sponsor of legislation that will require the administration to take definitive steps to stop China and other countries from harming American interests by undervaluing their currencies. Currency manipulation by our trading partners is also contributing to our trade deficit. Hillary has co-sponsored the Foreign Debt Ceiling Act, legislation that will require the administration to draw up an action plan to address our large trade imbalance.Yes, those devious Chinese currency manipulators have conspired to INCREASE the value of their currency, the Renminbi, from 8.1 to 6.9 to the dollar over the last 18 months, making their exports to the US MORE expensive, and US exports to China more competitive (ie less expensive.) In fact, the revaluation of the RMB is causing political problems here in China because a lot of factories in the Pearl River Delta and elsewhere can’t compete and are going under. Increasingly, exporters in China are putting ferocious, behind the scenes pressures on the government in Beijing to put an end to the RMB’s strengthening.But as on Iraq—where both Clinton and Obama refuse to acknowledge that, as Iraq blogger Michael Yon has written, the facts on the ground are virtually unrecognizable compared to what they were just 14 months ago—“miraculously” so, as Michael wrote here http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120787343563306609.html -- the Democractic candidates exist in a reality free zone when it comes to China. For one small voice related to the campaign, enough was finally enough. Kudos to Rick Baum.
Oh, and the thought occurs: on the campaign trail, Obama and Clinton and even John McCain go on and on about how the United States needs to `repair’ its tattered image abroad. The same is an article of faith among the Council on Foreign Relations crowd. Anyone else out there wonder how sticking it to China on trade—“cracking down” on them, in Hillary’s what’s-not-to-like phrase—might effect America’s ``image’’ in China? I mean, ok, it’s only 1.3 billion people—more than in all of western Europe and the middle east combined—but who’s counting? They're irrelevant because they don’t write anti American editorials in the Guardian or go to Council on Foreign Relations meetings. Memo to those involved in, covering or even just watching campaign 08 in the United States: there’s a big, real world out here. You might want to deal with it at some point.
Sign of the Times
Couldn't resist posting this, a sign in the back of a taxi in Qingdao city in the coastal province of Shandong. It refers of course to the infamous sign that supposedly was posted during the 20s and 30s in a park in one of the foreign-administered areas of Shanghai that read: "No dogs or Chinese allowed" (狗與華人不得入內). As I recall there has never been any proof that the sign actually existed, though the racist sentiment behind it certainly did. The one reference to it I remember was in a Bruce Lee movie (Fists of Fury?) in which Bruce does a flying kick that demolishes the sign.
Anyway, all this is right up there with the U.S. Congress renaming French Fries "Freedom Fries." It's also not entirely clear to me why the French got singled out. There was the much denied rumor that Carrefour investors somehow funded the Dalai Lama. And of course the chaotic progress of the torch through Paris and the attack on Jin Jing, the "wheelchair angel "paralympic athlete who protected the torch. (and of course is now under attack as a traitor" on the internet for suggesting that a boycott of Carrefour might actually do more damage to Chinese than the French). But all in all London was just as messy, or appeared to be. Jin Jing, incidentally, has now been invited by French President Nicholas Sarkozy to revisit France for a holiday, which she may well need. The President has also sent two former prime ministers as special envoys to China, apparently trying to patch things up. Their job will be made considerably harder by the fact that the Paris city council voted Monday to make the Dalai Lama an honorary citizen of the city. (And at the same time, as one commenter has pointed out to me, also awarding the same status to imprisoned dissident Hu Jia: do you think maybe someone on the Paris City Council is planning to run for office down the line?)
订阅：
博文 (Atom)
