Galápagos syndrome (ガラパゴス化, Garapagosu-ka, / Galápagos effect) is a term of Japanese origin, which refers to an isolated development branch of a globally available product. The term is used as an analogy to a part of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Darwin encountered in the Galápagos Islands isolated flora and fauna, which led to evolutionary changes. This phenomenon was a key to the development of evolutionary theory. Darwin stated that in the biological isolation species have evolved to develop different characteristics, allowing adaptation making them more viable in the local environment. Similarly, a development of goods "in relative isolation from the rest of the world because of a focus on the local market" can lead to similarly differing products.
Contents
- Mobile phones
- Cash machines
- Wallet phone
- Kei cars
- Handling the Japanese Galpagos syndrome
- Reasons for the issue and associated implications for businesses
- Future threats
- United States
- Europe
- China
- References
The term "Galápagos syndrome" has been used as a metaphor outside the field of business jargon. The term "Galápagosization", referring to the process of the isolation of Japanese "Galápagos-thinking", links this process to the Japanese island mentality.
Mobile phones
The term "Galápagos syndrome" was originally coined to refer to Japanese 3G mobile phones, which had developed a large number of specialized features and dominated Japan, but were unsuccessful abroad. Whilst the original usage of the term was to describe highly advanced phones that had no use outside Japan, as the mobile phone industry underwent drastic changes globally, the term was used to emphasize the associated anxiety about how the development of Japanese mobile phones and those in the worldwide economy went along different paths. A derived term is Gara-phone (ガラケー, gara-kei), blending with "mobile phone" (携帯, keitai), used to refer to Japanese feature phones, by contrast with newer smart phones.
Cash machines
Across Japan, the majority of the 190,000 ATMs do not accept bank and credit cards that have been issued outside of the country. Currently, only about 20,000 post offices and convenience stores allow retrieving cash using non-Japanese bank cards. Due to pressure from the Japanese government concerning this issue, by 2020 the number of ATMs that accept cards issued outside Japan is estimated to increase from 48,000 to 80,000. Despite increasing numbers of international tourists in Japan, the country still attracts relatively few tourists according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, which ranked Japan 27th in the list of most visited countries 2013.
Wallet phone
In 2004 the wallet phone was introduced in Japan as a means to allow mobile payment alongside numerous other applications. In some ways the wallet phone can be seen as a predecessor of mobile payment tools that are to be released on the global market such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet. The complete integration of multiple tools served to make the classical wallet redundant as the phone allows all types of payments, having train tickets or other everyday needs to be organized on the phone. In many ways the Japanese contactless infrastructure has been and is superior as compared to the current state in rest of the world.
Kei cars (軽自動車)
Kei Cars ("light cars") are small four-wheeled vehicles/cars that have an engine of less than 660cc and enjoy preferential treatment in terms of tax advantages and insurance cost. The Japanese government encourages the use of those "light cars". This category of cars features a number of different car types including sport cars, minivans and commercial vehicles. However, Kei cars are not seen as profitable in export markets and therefore are only part of the Japanese automobile market. Despite no significant global success, major Japanese car manufacturers such as Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu and Honda still produce models belonging into the Kei car category.
Handling the Japanese Galápagos syndrome
There are many associated issues with the inability to compete on the international export market. In order to revive the parts of the Japanese economy that have suffered from the "Galápagosization", affected businesses had to find the reasons responsible for the development.
The Galápagosization of Japan continues. According to a survey released today, a shocking two-thirds of the country’s white-collar workers said they didn’t want to work abroad ... ever.
Reasons for the issue and associated implications for businesses
Furthermore, this has led a number of Japanese companies to adapt their business strategies. Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of e-commerce company Rakuten, sees the exclusive use of Japanese in workplaces at the centre of the problem. Following his belief that "a language will open your eyes to the 'global', and you will break free from this conventional wisdom of a pure Japan", the co-founder and CEO of Rakuten made English the main language to be spoken in the company. Dr. Gerhard Fasol, working for Euro Technology Japan and only European member of the "Galapagos study group", stated that another reason for the non-success of some innovative Japanese products is Europe's conservative standpoint when it comes to certain standards. In the belief that it will improve international competitiveness Tadashi Yanai, the founder and president of Fast Retailing, has decided to change the way the firm works against classical Japanese business methods. A shift of the production of some textiles out of Japan to Southeast Asia was a move to the low-wage-labour market, that aimed to enable to price compete on the international textile market. Another factor which McKinsey & Company points out is the need for Japanese companies to adapt to stronger competition when entering global markets. This should be done by accepting to think in "new and unfamiliar ways about organization, marketing, and strategy", whilst the traditional practices that helped the companies to become a big player in the Japanese market shall be discontinued. Despite the fact that companies have started to address the issue, which could have a link to the total value of exports increasing over the past five years, there are concerns about the future Galápagosization of Japan.
Future threats
With the aging and shrinking Japanese population, the fact that fewer and fewer students study abroad to acquire a more internationally oriented university education is reason for concerns over the future of the Japanese economy. Furthermore, there is a conception that the younger generation could enhance the Galápagos effect due to a lack of interest in international education and work placements. Kiyoshi Takeuchi, sociology professor at the Sophia university, describes the young generation to have less "ambition and motivation" as a result from the fear that a wrong move could have negative effects.