What lessons have European and Japanese businesses learned from each other? There are many, but a main area is planning. Japanese companies tend to spend more time with greater detail in advance of strategy implementation; European firms tend to spend more time after the strategic route is determined. This means Japanese companies take longer to agree the way forward but once the decision is made, can move very quickly, with the whole company aligned. European companies can take quicker decisions upfront but need to spend more time handling the consequences and politics around the implementation. There is no right way but, dependent on the size of the decision, at times a more considered Japanese approach is appropriate and at others an intuitive European style is needed.

Why has Canon become Japan’s most profitable large electronics company? Because of good-quality products and our brand reputation for quality, but one of the main reasons has to be our approach to R&D. Globally we invest nearly 9% of revenue in R&D and have been in the top five of the US patent register for the last 18 years. In our sector, innovation is essential to always have something to bring to the market. Even during the global recession, our prudence during previous years meant we were able to maintain this investment. Our ability to tightly manage inventory and take quick action, like altering production levels, meant we maintained profitability.

When do you predict a meaningful upturn in business conditions in Europe? Major indicators for the eurozone point to a slow recovery, trailing behind US and Asia. We expect 2010 to be weak and are yet to see if the recovery will be self-sustaining, especially given unemployment ratios and some of the fiscal problems of southern Europe. I think it will be well into 2011 before we can be sure of a meaningful upturn and agree with the European Central Bank on this issue, that recovery will be “bumpy”.

Crawling out of a recession, what practical steps can large companies do to retain the trust of their consumers and clients? Question the value your business is providing. In tough times consumers and businesses want to be sure that what they buy is good quality and if things go wrong they will be dealt with professionally. This means acting on feedback from customers and sales people, and ensuring product and marketing groups are working together to provide alternatives so consumers and businesses have more choice.

How do Japanese firms, with their tradition of hierarchy and secrecy, regard the new business buzzwords such as ‘wikinomics’ or ‘crowdsourcing’ and ‘co-innovation’ between rivals or the supply chain? In an era of customisation it is practically impossible for one company to design and manufacture everything themselves. For many years we have been collaborating with third parties in solutions and as we move along a more services-oriented path, we will do more in the future. Our philosophy is to combine in-house competencies with complementary external competencies. What is important is that the end result creates business value and that the originators are correctly protected in the design process.

What will the recent acquisition of the Dutch printing firm Océ mean for Canon? The Océ deal is of major importance. With Canon’s strength in office imaging and Océ’s strength in production printing, Canon is now the leading global print company. Our product portfolios are complementary; Océ brings new printing technologies and its consulting expertise will be beneficial as we establish the Printing Service business in regional sales companies. Océ has business operations in the US, Asia and Europe, so the deal strengthens Canon as global company.

Will there be other M&As and business tie-ups for Canon in the next few years? Yes. In line with our global cross media imaging strategy – linking and integrating Canon’s internal resources with alliances and partnerships to build customer value – we are looking to work with other firms.

What new areas is Canon looking at to create new operations? We are targeting areas with growth potential and where we can build from our imaging and manufacturing competencies. There are three promising areas: medical imaging, intelligent industrial robotics and security & safety. In medical imaging we are pursuing joint R&D projects with universities, working to facilitate diagnoses through image recognition; we also recently bought a Polish company, OPTOPOL, which has ophthalmic technologies. In the fields of robotics and safety & security we are developing advanced recognition technologies to create new generation of intelligent robots, which will not only perform tasks but also learn and correct their actions.

Are you still happy that Canon Europe has moved its HQ to London in the light of the UK’s recession and its tax situation? Canon EMEA’s strategic HQ has been in the UK since 2001. Our recent decision to move some roles from the Netherlands was to bring people together to improve communication and speed-up decision making. I am pleased; our business is now more agile. The UK’s economic and tax situation had no bearing on the decision to relocate some sales and marketing roles.

What is the most important lesson that you have learned in business and in life? I am a firm believer in taking control of your own destiny and having the self-motivation to improve. Even top sportspeople continue with coaching. You should not close off your thirst for knowledge, even if you employ experts. You need a level of understanding, in order to have a point of view.