Why the Japanese construction industry looks like a closed country

This might be sudden, but what is the photo in the thumbnail?
I will write the answer at the end.

Following my previous post about not seeing Japanese general contractors in the US,

I did a little more research. It turns out that someone from a famous consulting firm wrote almost the same thing as I did.
Since the article had a link button to Note, I will post it here.

I know nothing about ODA, but as I researched, I learned that many of Japan's overseas construction projects are related to ODA.

In short, Japanese general contractors cannot make much money overseas in ordinary private sector projects. They rely on ODA. They rely on the government. That is why I hardly see any Japanese construction companies in North America. Because it is not ODA.

There are plenty of Japanese construction machines, though. Japanese products are active around the world, but isn't it a major problem that there are overwhelmingly few Japanese people who can work normally overseas?

Because they have always operated under the stance that "only Japan is special," they cannot keep up with the methods adopted by the world. With customs and contract methods that only work domestically, they cannot make a profit overseas, especially in developed countries. They cannot engage in bid-rigging like in Japan. They cannot pass the burden onto subcontractors through opaque contracts with the client. Discrimination against women or minorities is an instant disqualification. So, aren't they just using their brand name while leaving the actual work to local companies?

It was fine while there was work domestically, but they cannot enter the overwhelmingly large overseas market. The locations are limited. Because it is a country where it is the end if you step out of the salaryman path, engineers are forever bound to the Japanese style.

To the era when general contractors did not want to hire women as engineers, let me, a member of the baby boomer junior generation and the ice age generation, say this.
I'm so glad I took the plunge and left Japan!
Don't get angry. If you knew what it was like back then, you would understand, right?

Now then. lol

Although it is not written in the consultant's article above, the reason why the US is always leading in various fields is that the systems we are made to believe are "Japan's superior methods" were already considered problematic and outdated in the US decades ago, or even a hundred years ago, and they have repeatedly reformed them.

And the US will continue to move further ahead. The government and states actively adopt new methods and technologies, especially in construction related to defense and disaster recovery. And if companies cannot keep up with that, they won't get work. European companies are also quick to respond. Everyone speaks English, too.

Looking at Japan, I wonder how many laps behind we are in everything from education to politics.

This kind of problem isn't just in the construction industry, is it?

Let me tell you the answer to the thumbnail photo.
It is the school where John Manjiro learned his skills. It is a residence now, though.

Japanese people, we have no choice but to return to this spirit. Do your best.

Last year, I went to John Manjiro's house.

I thought that I would continue to do my best as a Japanese person.