When I came back from China with the new corona, I could see more about China.

So far, the only company in NOMURA GROUP
Overseas (China) Resident Planner

nice to meet you. Moe Murakami is 32 years old.
I'm telling you that age is easy to imagine for people who read the article.

When I joined the company, I was working at the Osaka office.
After being transferred to the Tokyo head office, he flew to Shanghai, China at the age of 30.
I was seconded to "Nomura Beijing Architectural Design Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Nomura Beijing)", a group company of NOMURA Co., Ltd., Ltd.

The impetus for moving to Shanghai
I like Chinese food too much and I want to work overseas for the time being.
Nomura Beijing has bases in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chengdu, and was stationed at the Shanghai branch office for about two years.
In February 2020, I returned to Japan due to the influence of the new coronavirus, and returned to my post (Tokyo head office).

my favorite shanghai crab

It's a shame because I wanted to be active in China for a longer time,
What I felt during the two years was a lot of important realizations for working in Japan now.

This time, I would like to introduce the "differences in the work of 'planning' between Japan and China" that I felt among them.
I would appreciate it if you could be interested in work and planning work in China even a little.

*Please note that this is only the viewpoint of "NOMURA Co., Ltd. 's planner".

After returning from China, I felt the difference in planning work between China and Japan

Are planners in demand in China? !

The role of the planners in China is straight development work.

“Development” means explaining the appeal of our company to undeveloped customers (solution sales activities),
It's about creating jobs.
In a competition format, the work that is selected and won by competing with other companies on the content of proposals can also be called “development”.

Since I joined the company, I have been in charge of planning mainly for corporate PR facilities and exhibitions.
In China, I felt that there was a lot to think about beyond the framework of the “planning” that I had been involved with.

This is because there are very few “planning” tasks in China.
I often had the opportunity to start by explaining the meaning of what the planning business does, and getting them to understand it.

From Nomura Beijing Architectural Design Co., Ltd. Corporate Information 2020

Before the “planning”, there were also scenes that were unclear from the front.

When a request for a showroom from a real estate development company came in, the customer
“What kind of steps does a showroom go through? What do you plan?
I was told that, and I had the opportunity to explain carefully from the role and work content.

Perhaps because of that, I was able to get into the position of "NOMURA Co., Ltd. will help you with anything you ask."​
We are able to work on an equal footing.

If the industry is different, I think that there are many people who do not know how to proceed with work.
Perhaps there are also cases where Japanese clients are proceeding without transparency.

It is always important to start by alleviating the customer's anxiety, regardless of the country, when proceeding with work.

In order to make a proposal, you should proactively extract information from the customer!

When starting a new business, there is always a “given condition”.
According to the Advertising Design Industry Glossary,

There is.
For example, it includes not only the deadline and budget, but also the purpose of the facility you want to create and what you want to convey there.

For projects in which we are involved in Japan, we receive the above information from our customers in advance,
Proceed to the planning proposal.

However, customers in various fields (real estate, transportation, food, retail, etc.) that I have been involved with for two years,
Most of the companies provided little information in advance.

In a commercial section renewal project in a large station,
"The construction scope is undecided, the tenant is undecided, and there is no current tenant sales.
But I want you to make a proposal that will increase sales more than now! ”
I received a very difficult request. smile

In such a case, it is also important to have the research ability to interview new projects.

If you don't tell me, I'll listen more and more.
I sometimes consider quitting jobs that I don't understand much about.

It's self-evident, but if we take too much of an attitude that "it can't be helped because it's China," we'll be in trouble.
At first, it was effective to get through by proposing general options, and then to draw out their thoughts gradually.

Emphasis on image! Sense of speed until the picture is completed

Although they understood the importance of the “planning” phase, the power of images is still great.

The image here refers to CG and hand-drawn perspective.
I was often asked before the concept or direction was decided.
* Perth is an abbreviation of “Perspective Drawing”, which is a three-dimensional representation of the exterior and interior of a spatial structure using a certain projection method.

At the first meeting, I was often asked, “What about Perth?”

Design now! Shape more and more and Nambo! The company side that has been proceeding with
While understanding that the planning part (concept and story of the exhibition) is important,
It seemed that he was frustrated when the image did not come out immediately.
I think there was a part that was hard to imagine with just letters and words.

Based on that, so that it is easy to imagine even in the planning part,
The number of proposals including expressions using image photos and illustrations has increased.

On the other hand, in the case of domestic work, I would rather immediately present an image.
There are times when I'm told, ``I want to think about the contents properly before moving on to the image.''
in china Simultaneous progress to fill in from the core of the contents while roughly holding a concrete image feels important.

Planning and design are carried out together, and software and hardware are always built up as a set.

That may be why the speed of completion is so fast in China!

Do you really need this job? confirm in advance

Construction in Japan
Thorough quality that "we are doing carefully to this point",
I think that there is a place where I am proud of such a part.

However, sadly, if there are people who do not care that much,
"Courtesy" and "dedication" are not conveyed, and it becomes a wind of excessive meddling.

When I look at restaurants and commercial facilities in Shanghai, I see some facilities with rough construction, but at first glance I don't care much.
It does not mean that it is okay to be rough,
I feel like I was able to see that not all people find value in "politeness" or "dedication".

In other words, even if you sell with the same sense of value as in Japan, there are times when people won't buy it.

So, first we need to decide the amount and the level of deliverables and agree with the customer.
Same with planning
“NOMURA Co., Ltd. thinks and proposes in the planning phase so far.
So this is the amount. Do you agree? ”
This is the interaction.

In this way, it is possible to properly match the level requested by the other party and the deliverables.
I realize that it is very important.

It is absolutely impossible to complete in this period! momentum to complete

I think this is a well-known fact, but the speed at which things can be done is really fast.

This is not only the speed of construction, but also the speed of deciding the exhibition content and blueprints and drawing them.

from an appliance manufacturer
“I want you to plan, design, construct and deliver a 2000㎡ showroom in four months.”
I had a request.
It was a big and new attempt, and it was an attractive job.
No matter what I did, the schedule and the amount did not match, so I declined.

But then another Chinese company did it, and four months later it was really done!

Regardless of the contents of the facility, the breakthrough power and momentum that can absolutely complete what you really decided,
I think it represents the growth of China.

And now, the possibilities and ambitions of planning operations in Japan

This is my personal impression, but Nomura's track record in Japan is
I think we are in an era where any kind of work is already evaluated outside of the “Japan” brand.

People from famous Chinese companies often come to see various properties in Japan.
I felt that many of the requests came after having first-hand experience there, and then evaluating the achievements and results so far.

Although I have returned to Japan, I am still involved in many Chinese projects.
By being involved in a wide range of China, such as corporate communication facilities, commercial facility planning, and science museums,
We will continue to build on our achievements in China.

personal ambitions are
Based on my endless desire for Chinese cuisine, I am involved in the planning of a brand facility for a local food manufacturer in China.
Aiming to be involved in a job that can spread the new possibilities of Chinese cuisine to the world...

China is still chasing us!