Laurent Wolff (E91), President of ESSEC Alumni’s Japan Chapter, tells us more about the local community – and the activities he offers to them. If you are a graduate or a student in the area, join their online group!

ESSEC Alumni: How strong is the ESSEC brand awareness in Japan?

Laurent Wolff: Japanese who are interested in France know the concept of Grande Ecole, and are likely to know our school – all the more since ESSEC has a long history in Japan, with institutional links dating back to the 1980s. So we have a strong reputation, as demonstrated by our partnerships and collaborations with top Japanese universities, such as Keio, Hitotsubashi and Waseda in Tokyo, or Osaka and Kobe Universities in Kansai. 

EA: What are the profiles of our alumni in Japan? 

L. Wolff: We have about 350 graduates, mainly from the Grande Ecole (50%) and the Luxury Master (10%). The community has been growing in the past few years, thanks to the new BBA double diploma with Keio. We also have connections with about 100 exchange students, mainly from Keio. Overall 60% are Japanese, but in recent years, we have seen many more Chinese and Koreans. Their 3 biggest areas of activity are undoubtedly finance, luxury and fashion, and automotive, followed by cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, hospitality, trade and consulting.

EA: How is the economics climate currently in Japan? 

L. Wolff: Japan enjoyed moderate GDP growth in 2023, at +1.2%, and is set to remain on that trend until 2025. This is still a good performance, given the fact that the population is actually shrinking, at a yearly rate around 0.4% (0.43% in 2023). A major shift in 2024 though is the evolution of the Bank of Japan position on the interest rates, on account of salaries increase and inflation: the average wages increase for unionized labor, in big companies, reaches over 4%, which is a level never heard off, and some companies have decided to raise the new employee salaries by 10% or more. So the Bank of Japan is abandoning its negative interest rates policies, although it will take time to fully normalize; a rate of 0.75% is expected by the end of the year, after several steps of increase. Meanwhile, unemployment remains low, with more open jobs than officially unemployed people. The latest book from Richard Katz, The contest for Japan’s economic future, gives many insights on the challenges and opportunities the country is facing. The government does not ignore the vital needs for Japanese companies to go digital and for startups to have a favorable environment, but in spite of some initiatives like Sushi Tech, a real and strong framework is still missing. Lately we have been seeing some evolution in politics, with CDP, the main opposition party, winning some partial elections. It could impact the power balance and favor real reforms. 

EA: With that in mind, what opportunities are there in Japan for alumni?

L. Wolff: There are opportunities in Japan, especially for jobs requiring high skills. Working visa for experts are getting easier to obtain, and for younger generations, the working holiday visa is also an option. Japanese language remains a strong requirement though; Level 2 at JPLT (Japanese Proficiency Language Test) is usually a minimum. Only a few sectors, including tech, might overlook the language barrier if you have the set of skills they are looking for. Mid career hiring is also getting pretty common in Japan, and of course it is a positive factor for entering the labor market, but also for changing jobs and pursuing new ventures. Further opportunities might also arise if financial companies distance themselves from Hong Kong at a higher pace. However for this to happen at a high scale, some modification of the legal framework are still required. 

EA: What advice do you have for alumni moving to Japan?

L. Wolff: Even for graduates with expatriation contracts, developing local language skills is a must, both to enjoy Japanese society and to develop relationships with colleagues and society. I very strongly recommend to acquire a good command both in reading and writing. My other advice is to get in touch with our local chapter, obviously! 

 EA: What is the offer of ESSEC Alumni's Japan Chapter?

L. Wolff: We keep in touch through our group on ESSEC Alumni's site, our LinkedIn group and our new Facebook group, and we organize a number of events throughout the year, mainly get-together dinners, networking events, and joint conferences with other French Grandes Ecoles alumni. Our aim is to offer at least one event per quarter, mixing afterworks, dinners, and meetings with content and learnings. We are lucky enough to welcome visiting ESSEC professors regularly, as part of the partnerships between the school, local universities, and the International French-Japanese Chamber of Commerce. Speaking about the CCIFJ, alumni get also invited to some of their events, such as the French Japanese Business Summit.

EA: What are the latest events you organized? What are the next ones?

L. Wolff: We had a networking dinner in January for start of the year, and a conference on the governance of digital platforms with ESSEC APAC associate professor Jan Ondrus in April. On June 5, we’ll be hosting a gathering in Kansai and hopefully launch a local group with the help of our exchange students from Osaka and Kobe universities. I am also discussing with Insead to join forces for events in the field of entrepreneurship and startups. 

EA: Who are the members of your team? 

L. Wolff: In 2023, Louisa Gaoua (E16) and I have led and organized most of the activities. Kiyoshi Sato (E92) remains our Vice President, however having been involved since many years, he is inclined to hand over – so we would very much like to find a Japanese graduate willing to reprise that role. Eric Wang (EXEC MBA 18) recently joined the team, as he just returned to Japan from an expatriation in Vietnam. It is really useful to be a handful so as to generate new ideas, find themes and content for our meetings, animate our various online networks, and of course launch new events. If you are based in Japan and want to join, you are most welcome! 

Join our Japan Chapter and our 125 clubs and chapters!

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni 

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