Episode #73
Can India's Engineers Save Japan's Economy? A Conversation with the Founder of Mosaique, Hiro Ishida
In this episode of the Produck Podcast, we sit down with Hiro Ishida, founder of Mosaique, a Japanese serial entrepreneur who has spent over 30 years living and building businesses across Australia, Canada, Singapore, and India. He's on a mission to solve Japan's shrinking workforce crisis — not just by sending workers over, but by making sure they actually stay.Japan's workforce is aging fast, and most companies trying to fix it by hiring foreign talent are making the same critical mistake: teaching language without teaching culture. Hiro's institute in Bangalore goes far deeper, preparing Indian engineers in Japanese working mindset, punctuality, and unwritten workplace rules before they ever land in Japan. The result speaks for itself — 98 students dispatched, 93 still thriving there.What we cover:- Why "just learn Japanese" isn't enough — and what Hiro teaches that most language schools miss- The story of Hiro's first business: a Macintosh, a small Australian town, and zero money- What makes South Indian engineers such a natural fit for Japanese companies- Why it took Hiro six months to get a single bank stamp in India — and what that reveals about doing business there- The real reasons Japanese people are hesitant to visit or live in India- Hiro's longer-term goal: helping India build a domestic manufacturing sector so his graduates can eventually come home and buildHiro is one of the rare people who has lived in India for nine years while spending a career helping Japanese companies expand globally. His work with Mosaique sits at a genuinely underserved intersection — cultural readiness training at a moment when Japan's need for foreign talent has never been more urgent.Connect with Hiro Ishida on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hiro-ishida-3975b934/Check out Mosaique: https://mosaique.link/#produckpodcast #japan #india #japanesebusiness #crosscultural #entrepreneur #workculture #globaltalent #workforce #startuplife #indiajapanapan #serialentrepreneur
