As many foreign residents of Japan know well, settling in, developing your own network, and finding your footing in the business world can be challenging, especially at the beginning. Succeeding often requires superhuman effort and determination.

Recently, Real Gaijin was pleased to introduce someone who persevered through difficulties to found and lead one of Japan’s leading IT and network support service providers for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Who is he?

Meet Biju Paul.

Originally from Kerala, India, he arrived in Japan 31 years ago. He worked in a variety of management roles at foreign-affiliated companies in Japan’s investment banking sector before starting his own company, TopTech Informatics. TopTech provides IT and network support services to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan and currently has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and India. Biju has a proven track record of developing and implementing high-performance global projects and achieving high customer satisfaction. He currently consults with various industries on cybersecurity.

Biju has never taken his success for granted and has always been committed to giving back to the communities in which he lives. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, he led teams of volunteers from Tokyo to clean up houses and public areas in the Tohoku region. Over the course of one year, more than 1,000 volunteers participated in these cleanup operations.

In Kerala, India, Biju established the Thoppil Charitable Foundation, a charity that helps poor students meet their financial needs to complete their education.

Talented at Getting out of “a sticky wicket”

Outside of work, Biju is an avid cricket player and the current president of the oldest Indian cricket club in Japan, the Indian Engineers Cricket Club. Biju is also one of the founders of the Tokyo Cricket Association, where he currently serves as president.

Off the field

Biju is one of the founding members of the Indian Malayalee community in Tokyo and has held various leadership positions within the community. As a fluent Japanese speaker, he has built a strong network of contacts and partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region. He is also an active member of various chambers of commerce in Japan. As a long-term resident of Japan with cross-cultural and intercultural experience, he regularly consults with Japan Railways and Japanese banks to improve their services for foreigners living in or visiting Japan. Biju is also a guest lecturer at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo.

Key Takeaways

Although Biju is usually very modest, during the podcast, we convinced him to open up about his personal journey to Japan. Some highlights include the following:

* Overcoming Adversity: As American author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker Tony Robbins said, “Life happens for you, not to you. It’s in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” After being laid off following the dot-com bubble burst and being unable to find a new job right away, Biju took the bold step of founding TopTech Informatics. While it naturally took a lot of hard work and determination to make this new venture a success, Biju says that hitting rock bottom in his business career provided the impetus to start again and thrive in ways he never dreamed possible. It’s interesting how many successful entrepreneurs become business leaders after being fired from a steady position.

* Sage Advice for Achieving Success in Japan as a Foreigner: In addition to striving to master the Japanese language, Biju emphasizes the importance of patience, active listening, paying close attention to clients’ needs, and taking a long-term approach to building lasting relationships based on mutual trust. This translates into offering fair prices, which has helped Biju attract and retain a large base of repeat customers, many of whom provide him with referrals.

* The Importance of Giving Back: Biju has balanced his life between his devotion to his family, his role as leader of TopTech Informatics, and his commitment to philanthropy. Biju is well aware of how much he has gained from the support of many people in Japan. Thus, when Japan was in dire need following the 3/11 “triple disaster” in 2011, Biju sprang into action. He mobilized a concerted effort to provide relief to victims of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Tohoku. However, Biju did not simply collect money for this worthy cause. For over a year, he devoted his weekends to leading groups of volunteers from his church in cleanup efforts.

Timeline

Substack does not yet have the functionality to allow you to use a link to jump to a specific section like YouTube’s “chapters.” Please refer to the times listed below to navigate through our hour-long conversation. Thank you for your understanding.

Key Contacts

* Website for TopTech Informatics: https://www.toptechinfo.com/

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bijupaul/

#BijuPaul #TopTechInformatics #WorkingInJapanAsAForeigner #ビジュポール #トップテック #トップテックインフォマーティックス #RealGaijin #リアル外人

Please note that you can subscribe to Real Gaijin for free. If you are so inclined, you can also purchase an annual subscription for a relatively small fee.

However, I understand that even the lowest level of annual subscription allowed by Substack may seem too high for many. If you just want to buy a coffee for Real Gaijin (or maybe a green tea), you can also make a small donation here:

https://buymeacoffee.com/realgaijin

In addition to offering a way to make a one-time, small donation equivalent to the price of a cup of coffee, Buy Me Coffee now supports recurring donations. Real Gaijin has three levels, including the following:

Pine or sho (松) in Japanese (gold level) for US$10/month

Bamboo or chiku (竹) in Japanese (silver level) for $5/month (same as a regular subscription via Substack)

Plum or bai (梅) in Japanese (bronze level) for only US $1/month

In Japanese, shō-chiku-bai (松竹梅) literally means “pine–bamboo–plum.” As is often the case for course meals in certain restaurants, on sake menus, or box lunch bento sets, shō-chiku-bai is often used instead of “gold–silver–bronze.”

For readers with some knowledge of Japanese, yes, the word for “pine” is “matsu.” In this case, however, the on-yomi (音読み) is used. Similarly, the word for bamboo is “take,” but the on-yomi is “chiku.” Similarly, the word for plum is “ume,” but the on-yomi is “bai.”

No Need to Pay Me: All levels of support - including just liking a particular article and/or leaving a comment - are very welcome. Thanks again for reading.

While Real Gaijin lives in Substack, you can also find Real Gaijin on a few other platforms (listed in alphabetical order).

https://www.instagram.com/real_gaijin_on_substack/

https://www.threads.net/@real_gaijin_on_substack

https://www.tiktok.com/@real.gaijin

https://x.com/Real_Gaijin_

https://www.youtube.com/@RealGaijin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-kennedy-5b50b71/