TMT and Mr. Tom Nevins have been working closely with Federal Express since 1985. I have known Mr. Nevins for years, and just since I joined the company in July 1987, I have seen his signature on many invoices.

Whether it be initially setting up our Rules of Employment, salary and retirement practices back in 1985, or the many issues that we have consulted him on since, including the more recent merger of Federal Express with Flying Tigers here in Japan and around the world, he has always impressed me as a foreigner who really knows Japan. I have known very few foreigners who could really hold their own both in Japanese and against Japanese on questions of pay and benefits, employee relations, and the other areas in which we use his service. He is one of the few foreigners you can deal with who actually makes you forget that he is a foreigner.

I can see that Tom is a powerful ally who brings truth and understanding to otherwise unknowing expatriate managers who can easily lose their way in Japan or be taken down the primrose path by well meaning – or sometimes not so well meaning – Japanese advisers or colleagues.

You can’t get away with this when Mr. Nevins is around. He is tough, but he is fair. I have learned a lot, and he is a good, honest man you can trust whether you are a gaijin or a Japanese.

Yasunari Tamura
(Former) Personnel Director
Federal Express Japan K.K.
June, 1989