Japan: Kohshi Kuwahara

Kohshi Kuwahara: TOKYO - In a shabby back-alley office in Shibuya, a Tokyo district known for youth culture and tech ventures, defectors from corporate Japan are hard at work for a little-known company they fervently believe will be the country's next big manufacturing success. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Kohshi Kuwahara, 26, worked for more than two years at electronics giant Panasonic Corp. before hopping to Terra Motors Corp., a little-known venture that pays far less but is out to conquer the world with its stylish electric scooters. As with his colleagues at Terra, he resiled from the hidebound culture of big Japanese companies and felt a deep sense of frustration at their eclipse by rivals such as South Korea's Samsung and America's Apple. In this Wednesday, July 24, 2013 photo, Terra Motors employees, Koshi Kuwahara, right, and Shimpei Kato work at its headquarters at Tokyo's Shibuya district. In a shabby back-alley office in Shibuya, known for youth culture and tech ventures, refugees from corporate Japan are hard at work for the company they fervently believe will be the countrys next big manufacturing success. Despite having some of the developed worlds least hospitable conditions for starting a new business, Japans near-monolithic salaryman culture of guaranteed lifetime employment at a household name corporation is facing erosion. Ventures are sprouting again after a decade marred by some high-profile failures and a striking aspect is their focus on manufacturing. Kuwahara worked for more than two years at electronics giant Panasonic Corp. before hopping to Terra, a little know venture that pays far less but is out to conquer the world with its stylish electric scooters. AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi Like a startup anywhere in the world, its bare-bones setup crackles with an optimistic energy and urgent sense of purpose. What's different, for Japan, is that this startup's talent is drawn from the ranks of famous companies such as Mitsubishi, Michelin and Nissan. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.