China threat

As a factor of deflation, the China threat has been more tangible these days. Western prospects located in China would call for information on my fees for an assignment in Tokyo and would decline the offer. I reduced my fees some 25% end of last year, reaching a level I never asked for even 20 years ago when Japan was far out of reach from now Euro based countries, far out in the mind and the wallet. But China and delocalization over there came in. Invariably, the inquirers are into retail and retail doesn't carry the budget for an interpreter unless she asks for peanuts. There are plenty asking for peanuts and even others asking for gold. The crunch is one factor but it doesn't tell the story. But the worst change was revealed when that prospect asked me whether my being a Westerner could be a minus factor when interacting with Japanese. I was speechless for a microsecond. Everything argumentative, everything in the untold story of why there are so few non-Japanese interpreters (of Western language), everything that is part of the local segregative mind set is now pervasive among the potential customers from the West. There is a need to further develop an argumentation for why your not being Japanese is still a competitive advantage. of course, calling it quit and going into French cuisine at a restaurant could be a way out of this joint.