Brastel employees are from over 20 countries. Diversity is what brings them together!
Brastel’s head office is located in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, facing the Sumida River and the Sky Tree. Here, staff from over 20 countries speak in various languages, starting with Japanese and English. The two presidents, Brazilians of Japanese descent (2nd generation), lead the company with a wide variety of staff and services. Today let us introduce you Brastel.
It is almost like a melting pot of staff from all corners of the earth. The staff of different origins, faiths, and cultures.
With the diversification of services and multinationalization have been progressing, the number of Japanese users, who were only about 10% at the time of Brastel establishment, has been increasing year by year after IP phone application service was introduced together with a cloud-based IP business phone for corporate users.
How did they make expensive international calls affordable? Business tips found by the 2nd Generation Japanese Brazilians.
Starting from the Brazilian market the services continued spreading by word of mouth and very fast Brastel has grown into a company with a high recognition among foreign residents in Japan.
Brastel started as an international phone company. Utilizing its know-how as a leading company in international communications in Japan, Brastel has offered a cloud-based business IP phone service for corporate users and “050 Free” IP phone application for individuals. With seeing through the change of the market and customers’ needs Brastel has been providing new services since then.
In 2012 Brastel also entered an international remittance business by utilizing its customer base of foreign markets with high demand to send money abroad.
Peru, Philippines, Thailand, Nepal, China, Korea, Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia - to accommodate customers from these and other countries Brastel has been providing a thorough professional customer support in the customers’ mother tongue.
The company is proud of its multilingual customer service where native speakers attend in over 10 languages.
Thus it became possible not only to bring customer service support closer to the customers by understanding their cultural values and needs, but also to incorporate each staff’s opinions and make different strategies for each market.
In tune with each country's national day or a religious event, Brastel launches a special campaign limited to that specific market, joins social gatherings and party events of each community. For example, every year Brastel participates in Brazilian festival at Yoyogi Park.
Another vivid example of having multicultural native staff in the company is that once the design of a service pamphlet that was originally created to be used as a common design for all markets was actually inappropriate in a certain religion. It was noticed by a staff on time before the pamphlet could reach the customers and was sent back for redesign.
Respecting a postulate “Culture = (equals) different way of thinking" is a key to the success of optimizing the working environment.
This is how Brastel staff gather in a circle and talk by respecting each others’ culture.
This is what Kawai and Tanabe, who grew up in a multiethnic Brazil that accepted immigrants from all over the world, always say.
A customer or employee is your ASSOCIATE. And CULTURE refers not only to the culture of a particular country or ethnic group but also to the idea and values of each ASSOCIATE.
On December 2nd, 2016, Brastel celebrated its 20th anniversary.
In 2018 for the 22nd year anniversary the company set a new goal "to contribute to the ease of living of the foreign community in Japan and globalization of Japanese companies”.
▲The photo was taken in 2017. The top floor of Brastel building.
“Hello!” “Otsukaresama!” “Bom dia!”
The Sumida River and the Sky Tree can be seen from Brastel head office, located in Sumida Ward, Tokyo. Over 100 employees (as of March 2017) from over 20 countries work here, speaking in English, Japanese, Portuguese, and many other foreign languages.
Although the basic conversational language is Japanese, notifications by email or messages in a notice board are written in three languages: English, Japanese and Portuguese. If you visit the company’s cafeteria during lunchtime you’ll smell spicy foreign cuisine as well as you will see people eating Japanese obento.
The diversity here is not limited to nationality and origin. There are employees here with different educational backgrounds and ages, with different beliefs about religion, race, customs, and traditions.
Since its very beginning in 1996, when the company was established, Brastel has been contributing to the ease of living of the foreign community in Japan and the globalization of Japanese companies.
Following the prepaid calling card, providing cheap calls to over 240 countries and regions worldwide, from 2012 the company started offering international remittance services that became very popular among the foreign community in Japan.
The Sumida River and the Sky Tree can be seen from Brastel head office, located in Sumida Ward, Tokyo. Over 100 employees (as of March 2017) from over 20 countries work here, speaking in English, Japanese, Portuguese, and many other foreign languages.
Although the basic conversational language is Japanese, notifications by email or messages in a notice board are written in three languages: English, Japanese and Portuguese. If you visit the company’s cafeteria during lunchtime you’ll smell spicy foreign cuisine as well as you will see people eating Japanese obento.
The diversity here is not limited to nationality and origin. There are employees here with different educational backgrounds and ages, with different beliefs about religion, race, customs, and traditions.
Since its very beginning in 1996, when the company was established, Brastel has been contributing to the ease of living of the foreign community in Japan and the globalization of Japanese companies.
Following the prepaid calling card, providing cheap calls to over 240 countries and regions worldwide, from 2012 the company started offering international remittance services that became very popular among the foreign community in Japan.
With the diversification of services and multinationalization have been progressing, the number of Japanese users, who were only about 10% at the time of Brastel establishment, has been increasing year by year after IP phone application service was introduced together with a cloud-based IP business phone for corporate users.
▲The photo was taken in 2018. Wilson Kendi Kawai (left) and Renato Junji Tanabe (right).
The reason for the multinational environment is related to the fact that both co-founders are Japanese Nikkei born in Brazil. Kenji Kawai (2nd generation Nikkei), one of the co-founders and co-owners, was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. After studying electronic engineering at Sao Paulo University, at the age of 25 he came to Japan for the first time as an exchange student on a subsidiary by Gunma prefecture program in 1983.
“I was just planning to visit Japan for a year or so, to explore a bit my origin roots”, says Kawai, - “But 30 years have passed since then and I am still in Japan (laughing). In 1990 there was an amendment to the Immigration Control Act that influenced this “one year stay” planning”.
Japanese descendants who came to work in Japan have been increasing rapidly. At that time, the Japanese Brazilians were coming to Japan to earn money leaving their families in their hometowns, and the international telephone calls were the only and the most important means of communicating with their families.
However, an international call to Brazil at that time cost 360 yen per minute. It was a luxury to spend money on expensive calls and have long conversations with your family about your daily routine in Japan or asking for advice over the phone.
“I started searching for a way to help Brazilians and all other foreigners to afford to communicate with their families abroad freely”, - Kawai says.
Thus, together with another co-founder, Junji Tanabe, he found a way, known as a callback system, that allowed to make international calls to Brazil at half price - 186 yen per minute. For that time it was a revolutionary cheap price.
Kawai and Tanabe together with one more part-timer started the business. Without any advertising, the service, which the rumors said was not expected to last more than half a year, turned to gain popularity very fast and already in three years they got on track.
What is natural to us might be a tabu in other cultures. It is important to understand various cultural backgrounds.
▲Brastel International Food Festival.
Brastel started as an international phone company. Utilizing its know-how as a leading company in international communications in Japan, Brastel has offered a cloud-based business IP phone service for corporate users and “050 Free” IP phone application for individuals. With seeing through the change of the market and customers’ needs Brastel has been providing new services since then.
In 2012 Brastel also entered an international remittance business by utilizing its customer base of foreign markets with high demand to send money abroad.
Peru, Philippines, Thailand, Nepal, China, Korea, Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia - to accommodate customers from these and other countries Brastel has been providing a thorough professional customer support in the customers’ mother tongue.
The company is proud of its multilingual customer service where native speakers attend in over 10 languages.
Thus it became possible not only to bring customer service support closer to the customers by understanding their cultural values and needs, but also to incorporate each staff’s opinions and make different strategies for each market.
In tune with each country's national day or a religious event, Brastel launches a special campaign limited to that specific market, joins social gatherings and party events of each community. For example, every year Brastel participates in Brazilian festival at Yoyogi Park.
Another vivid example of having multicultural native staff in the company is that once the design of a service pamphlet that was originally created to be used as a common design for all markets was actually inappropriate in a certain religion. It was noticed by a staff on time before the pamphlet could reach the customers and was sent back for redesign.
▲A recent photo of co-founders and co-presidents
International calls, telecommunications, international remittance, corporate business, inbound…
Of course, a miscommunication may also occur naturally in such an environment with different staff operating various services: one of the staff did not properly grasp the question, another staff did not properly pass the full information about the case to the other colleagues…
In order to solve such problems, the company created in-house a sophisticated database of customer information management called "Cadastro", which made it possible to share internally individual customers’ requests and feedback as well as project summaries with corporate users.
With this in order to raise the staffs’ awareness of the protection of personal information, the company conducted training to acquire a "Privacy Mark" certificate that approves business operators who handle personal information appropriately. At present, after undergoing a field examination in March 2018 Brastel is waiting for the result.
For smoother communication among Brastel staff, it was decided to increase internal gatherings.
Of course, a miscommunication may also occur naturally in such an environment with different staff operating various services: one of the staff did not properly grasp the question, another staff did not properly pass the full information about the case to the other colleagues…
In order to solve such problems, the company created in-house a sophisticated database of customer information management called "Cadastro", which made it possible to share internally individual customers’ requests and feedback as well as project summaries with corporate users.
With this in order to raise the staffs’ awareness of the protection of personal information, the company conducted training to acquire a "Privacy Mark" certificate that approves business operators who handle personal information appropriately. At present, after undergoing a field examination in March 2018 Brastel is waiting for the result.
For smoother communication among Brastel staff, it was decided to increase internal gatherings.
“How can we get to know each other better? Through the food!” - proposed one of the staff.Thus the Brastel International Food Festival event appeared.
Each staff is bringing a special typical dish in his country that is being tried by the other staff in the company’s cafeteria. Brazilians cook rice pudding, Malaysians treat spicy curry, Japanese don’t step aside either by offering a miso soup, nimono (simmered dishes), and futomaki (thick roll of makizushi)...
“Oh, ○○ san, I did not know you are so good at cooking!”
“This food is so delicious. I want to learn how to prepare it. Can you give me the recipe?”
... ...
This is how Brastel staff gather in a circle and talk by respecting each others’ culture.
This is what Kawai and Tanabe, who grew up in a multiethnic Brazil that accepted immigrants from all over the world, always say.
A customer or employee is your ASSOCIATE. And CULTURE refers not only to the culture of a particular country or ethnic group but also to the idea and values of each ASSOCIATE.
On December 2nd, 2016, Brastel celebrated its 20th anniversary.
In 2018 for the 22nd year anniversary the company set a new goal "to contribute to the ease of living of the foreign community in Japan and globalization of Japanese companies”.
“We want to connect people to people, and feelings to feelings!” - with such thoughts in mind, Brastel's challenge will continue.
Brastel Co., Ltd.
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