For several years now on a variety of issues, Mr. Nevins has been a big help to myself and the Japanese side of our operation and to people from our head office.

Most recently we did what Mr. Nevins calls “strategic partnering” with new Rules of Employment, and a helpful explanatory manual and documentation for myself and the head office back in Canada. The retirement benefit was a fairly complex issue, because we had to convert from the Canadian-based program to a Japanese-style benefit that our local Japanese people would not feel uncomfortable with.

I think Nevins-san is fair and tries to look out for everyone’s interests. Since we are in trading, the English of our senior managers is pretty good. Still it is nice to be able to do our work with him in the Japanese language.

I guess he is a pretty rare foreign person in Japan. Maybe some kind of a national treasure that will help people of all nations. (It takes the national treasure to pay him – just my joke).

Hajime Amano
President, Representative Director
Falconbridge (Japan) Ltd.
November, 1992