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Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

bbc.com

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Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#161

Post by m4rtink »

fapjacks wrote: post #92
jdavis703 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in an old, converted GE lightbulb factory. I doubt the management around back in 1912 would recognize the company today. Imagine explaining that GE would make a thing called a “jet” engine that would let people fly between continents in a few hours. Or that they’d be building power plants that worked by splitting atoms. And then tell all the workers that all light bulbs they’re making will be made in China in…

Well, in 1912, jet-engine-powered aircraft and atomic energy would not seem like far-fetched ideas. Certainly not to educated research engineers at GE, anyway. People routinely underestimate how technologically advanced the world was prior to WW1. Aerospace was advancing rapidly, and chemistry was quite well understood in 1912. A jet engine requires precision manufacturing but otherwise is not a complex idea. Radiati…

Note that steam turbines share a lot with jet engines & have been in wide use in 1912, in powerplants and many major warships.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#162

Post by PopeDotNinja »

Xelbair wrote: post #135
erikpukinskis wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my favorite YouTube channels, Sampson Boat Co, is doing just that: a young shipwright is rebuilding the classic sailing yacht Tally Ho piece by piece, in a modest workshop by the sea up in Oregon. It will be all new by the time he’s done, minus some hardware, but he has never lost continuity with the original hull. This is just how wooden boats are, whether you do it bit by bit, or as a big project, eventually…

>This is just how wooden boats are, whether you do it bit by bit, or as a big project, eventually you replace just about all of it every 100 years or so. If you replace one specific part of the shit(Keel), it is by law a new ship. It needs to be accredited again if it is to be used commercially.

Reminds me of a story from a morning radio show. Guy calls in to say how he "legally" stole a car. Steals expensive car, strips it, abandons frame. Frame is collected and put up for auction. Thief buys bare frame and puts all the stripped parts back on.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#163

Post by icebraining »

Danieru wrote: post #43
droithomme wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even in the West we consider adoption to be legitimate.

Considering it is illegal in the UK and frowned upon by the IRS, it leads me to think you are confusing adoption of children with the adoption of adult men. Note how often these adult men are being adopted along with marrying the daughter of the family. I dare say outside of Japan such an arrangement would be considered weird.

> being adopted along with marrying the daughter of the family.

How does that work? They become both husband and brother to the same person?

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#164

Post by nkrisc »

tgflynn wrote: post #155
asjw wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now imagine being a worker at Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd and 14 centuries ago you told them that in the 21st century they would build skyscrapers... Oh, and that the 21st century is a way of counting centuries of the west, that was just being invented around that time, that would be implemented in Japan about 4 centuries later

I don't know if that would be so unimaginable. The pyramid of Giza is taller than many skyscrapers.

This is true. What is most impressive about skyscrapers is not how tall they are, but how thin they are.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#165

Post by nighthawk648 »

Xelbair wrote: post #135
erikpukinskis wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my favorite YouTube channels, Sampson Boat Co, is doing just that: a young shipwright is rebuilding the classic sailing yacht Tally Ho piece by piece, in a modest workshop by the sea up in Oregon. It will be all new by the time he’s done, minus some hardware, but he has never lost continuity with the original hull. This is just how wooden boats are, whether you do it bit by bit, or as a big project, eventually…

>This is just how wooden boats are, whether you do it bit by bit, or as a big project, eventually you replace just about all of it every 100 years or so. If you replace one specific part of the shit(Keel), it is by law a new ship. It needs to be accredited again if it is to be used commercially.

Is this a western or US based law?

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#166

Post by executesorder66 »

reustle wrote: post #99

If I own a reasonably successful business, and want the prestige / vanity of something like "Since 1953", could I buy a small / failing business in some small town and merge the companies? Would my company now technically be running since 1953? I have companies in both Japan and the US. It's a fun though experiment at the very least. I don't think I'd ever execute on something like this, but a software development ag…

In my opinion that would only count if the small company from 1953 bought out the larger company. Since in that case it is the older company absorbing the younger one.

In your example the younger company is absorbing the older one, so the old ceases to exist.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#167

Post by spoovy »

OJFord wrote: post #118
swampthing wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But in the West, even if you just gave your business away to another person who continued to run it, we would still consider that the same business.

Not always though, sometimes we say they've 'sold out' or are 'not the same'. E.g. Fuller's (London brewer) now owned by Japanese conglomerate, Church (Northampton shoes, was still in the family) bought by Prada.

The Churches clearly regretted selling after seeing what Prada did to their company (made it a parody of itself), so they now run Cheaney (a rival) and arguably make better shoes than Church's ever did. Still a sad story though.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#168

Post by rorykoehler »

pawelk wrote: post #119
rorykoehler wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 8 year old nephew told me my techno playlist sounded like old people's music...

To my daughter "The Fat of the Land" album by The Prodigy is exactly as old as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles to me (number of years between respective album releases and our birth years).

The Fat of the Land is old sounding to me too and I was in my last year's of high school when it came out. I'm talking about Berlin big room techno that came out in the 10s.

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#169

Post by JshWright »

jacquesm wrote: post #117
erikpukinskis wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my favorite YouTube channels, Sampson Boat Co, is doing just that: a young shipwright is rebuilding the classic sailing yacht Tally Ho piece by piece, in a modest workshop by the sea up in Oregon. It will be all new by the time he’s done, minus some hardware, but he has never lost continuity with the original hull. This is just how wooden boats are, whether you do it bit by bit, or as a big project, eventually…

That is one absolutely amazing job. Wonder what his timetable looks like.

He's two years away from launching, and has been for at least two years now (this is Leo's joke, not me criticising his project)

Re: Japan has 33k businesses at least a century old

#170

Post by hugofloss »

PopeDotNinja wrote: post #162
Xelbair wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This is just how wooden boats are, whether you do it bit by bit, or as a big project, eventually you replace just about all of it every 100 years or so. If you replace one specific part of the shit(Keel), it is by law a new ship. It needs to be accredited again if it is to be used commercially.

Reminds me of a story from a morning radio show. Guy calls in to say how he "legally" stole a car. Steals expensive car, strips it, abandons frame. Frame is collected and put up for auction. Thief buys bare frame and puts all the stripped parts back on.

I wonder how this is legal. I mean you might not be held accountable for car theft anymore, but being prosecuted for normal theft is still possible, right?
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