Listeds takes a peek into different markets. In this article, we go through Miki Aho’s insights on the Japanese market. He distills a simple message for Nordic leaders: if you want to succeed in Japan, or simply learn from it, start with rigorous planning and uncompromising quality.

Few Finnish executives have led major consumer businesses in both Tokyo and Copenhagen, but Miki Aho has. Now based in Sydney, he has spent nearly a decade with Danone, managing operations worth over €100 million in Denmark and Norway, and previously leading a 170-person sales organization in Japan. Earlier in his career, he held roles with Fazer and McKinsey & Company in Finland.

When Aho, currently a sales director for Australia and New Zealand at the French multinational, moved to Tokyo in 2019 to head Danone’s sales in Japan, it wasn’t just a new market; it was a new rhythm.

Born to a Finnish father and Japanese mother, he grew up hearing Japanese at home but never speaking it fluently. “I could handle everyday interactions, but business language in Japan was a whole different world,” he says.

More than three years later, and now in a broader Asia-Pacific leadership role, Aho distils a simple message for Nordic leaders: if you want to succeed in Japan, or simply learn from it, start with rigorous planning and uncompromising quality.

“In Japan, planning is the work”

“One thing that really struck me was the difference in tempo,” Aho says. “In Denmark or Finland, we might plan for a few weeks to a month and then improvise. In Japan, you plan for six months, and when it launches, everything runs like clockwork.”

He laughs, recalling his early days in Japan. “I was used to speed and flexibility. But in Japan, a launch scheduled three months ahead is already considered late. Nothing happens ‘roughly right’, it’s about getting every detail right.”

That patience isn’t accidental; it’s institutionalized. Japanese companies often build consensus through nemawashi—informal, behind-the-scenes alignment—and sometimes formalize decisions through a bottom-up process in which a written proposal circulates for review. It takes longer to decide, but execution is rapid and unified once consensus is reached, echoing Toyota’s management philosophy: Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly.

Aho thinks that the weakness of the Japanese system is agility. Pivoting is hard because decisions are hierarchical. “The initiative for change rarely comes from lower levels. In the Nordics, we can change direction fast. In Japan, once the train leaves, it doesn’t stop.”

The strength, on the other hand, lies in precision. “When a launch finally happens, it moves fast and flawlessly; every detail has been anticipated, every stakeholder aligned.” It’s a level of readiness that Nordic organizations could learn from. Yet, he adds, perfection has its price: too much structure can make Nordic-style spontaneity look like chaos to Japanese eyes. “The ideal is probably somewhere in between. The Japanese discipline of preparation combined with the Nordic courage to adapt on the go.”

“Quality is not a metric, it’s honour”

Aho recalls a case when a delivery delay of just one or two days prompted a formal letter of apology to customers – explaining exactly why the error happened and what corrective actions were taken to ensure it would never happen again.

In Japan, quality is not simply a KPI; it is a moral commitment. Rooted in concepts such as monozukuri (craftsmanship) and kaizen (continuous improvement), companies have long institutionalized defect prevention and pride in precision. Consumers expect near-perfection in both function and presentation, down to the straightness of a label or the alignment of a package. Miss the standard, and trust can be lost for good.

Apology, too, plays a defined role in business culture. It signals respect, responsibility, and dedication to improvement, not necessarily admission of legal fault, and serves to restore the moral balance after a failure of service.

“The contrast with Nordic pragmatism is stark,” Aho observes. “In the Nordics, we might accept small mistakes as part of the process. In Japan, consistency is credibility.”

Trust through consistency (and lunch)

“Everyone in my sales team in Japan was older and had a longer tenure than I,” Aho recalls. “Trust didn’t come from my title; it came from proving that I could make their work easier and their results stronger.”

In Japan, relationships aren’t built only in meeting rooms. Socializing after work is part of the job. “We had lunch with team members every day. It wasn’t just about eating, it was about showing commitment to the group.”

The country’s long-standing nomikai tradition, after-hours dinners or drinks to deepen bonds, has softened since the pandemic, but remains a key social glue within teams and with partners. Nordic cultures, by contrast, often value clear work-life boundaries and egalitarian informality. Both models have something to teach each other.

“Surface-level interaction is easy,” Aho reflects, “but when you invest the time, genuine connection comes more naturally than it often does in Finland or Denmark.”

Aho points out that Japan admires the Nordic reputation for purity, design, and responsibility. “The appetite to experiment is there. But we have to meet their standards, not expect them to lower theirs.”