【Company Profile】
【Company Name】Pacific Dreams, Inc.
【President（CEO）】Ken Sakai
【Address】8532 SW Saint Helens Drive Suite 220 Wilsonville, OR 97070
【E-mail】info@pacificdreams.org
【Tel】503-783-1390
【Business Hours】Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.（US West Coast Time）
【Message from the President】
The employment challenges in the U.S. have long plagued executives and managers of Japanese-owned companies, such as “difficulty in hiring the right candidate” and ” quick turnover of skilled employees even after they are hired.
To solve these problems and become a company that continues to be chosen by qualified employees, it is crucial to understand the differences in the employment environment between Japan and the U.S. and take diligent and continuous action to address these differences.
In the past, Japan had a long history of lifetime employment, meaning that employees did not quit so easily once hired. In the U.S., however, the employee turnover rate is high, and it is common for people to move from one job to another. Employees leave jobs for reasons such as unsuccessful relationships with managers or colleagues.
Even if a Japanese company invests a large amount of capital to construct factories and stores in the U.S., it is not easy for a company without a firm brand name to attract qualified employees.
In such circumstances, Pacific Dreams, Inc. has been serving Japanese-owned companies across the U.S. for more than 30 years, providing HR consulting services based on the cultural differences and communication differences between Japan and the U.S.
Through our decades of experience, we are deeply convinced that the fundamental HR challenges and issues that Japanese-owned companies face in the U.S. cannot be solved with a one-time effort. This is especially important because expatriates at the management level will return to Japan after an average of five (5) years upon the expiration of their working visas.
Ongoing problem-solving and expatriate training are essential because with every change in expatriates, what has been built up goes back to square one.
Our mission is to continue assisting executives and managers of Japanese-owned companies experiencing HR challenges in the U.S. so that they can focus on their core business with peace of mind.
We sincerely hope that our extensive experience and expertise in the U.S. will contribute to the business success of Japanese-owned companies in the U.S.
Pacific Dreams, Inc.
President & CEO
Ken Sakai
【Origin of the Company Name】
In the early 1990s, I started a small business shipping American antiques, handicrafts, enthusiastic (mainly high-performance) U.S.-made automobile parts, and wines from the West Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington) to Japan upon request from friends and former customers in Japan at the time.
At that time, the yen was strong against the U.S. dollar, unlike today, and using U.S. dollars to purchase goods in the US was advantageous. So, in June 1992, I officially made my side business a company, as it was beginning to generate a certain amount of business volume. Since my wife, Eileen, and I created the company as a private company, it was registered as an S-Corporation in the State of Oregon for tax purposes, and this form has remained unchanged to this day.
We had many ideas about the company’s name, but it didn’t take long for Eileen to suggest Pacific Dreams, Inc. The name was inspired by the fact that the Great Pacific Ocean, the world’s largest ocean, lies between Japan and the West Coast of the U.S. We hope our business will help people on both coasts fulfill their dreams.
Over 30 years have already passed since the company was established, but our aspiration and vision, which we named after our initial goal, have not changed at all. We also believed that this company name would be able to support a wide range of dreams and businesses. In fact, our core business at the time of our founding was shipping goods to Japan. Still, in time, semiconductor and IT-related technical translation took over, as well as providing seminars and training for management and employees, and now HR consulting services for Japanese companies in the US.
Today, HR consulting services for Japanese companies in the U.S. are our core business.
I strongly feel that the company has been connected to the present day as a continuous stream, skillfully shifting its business and operations occasionally. I believe this was possible because Pacific Dreams, Inc. is a company name that can do anything. Who knows if we will ever shift our business to something else in the future, but I believe that HR consulting was a lifelong encounter that we were able to reach after many years.
【Brief History of the Pacific Dreams, Inc. logo】
When we started our business, our mission was to build a bridge between the U.S. and Japan, and we envisioned our company to be a beacon. When we decided to create a logo appropriate for the name Pacific Dreams, Inc., the first image that came to mind as a symbol was a lighthouse.
A lighthouse brightly illuminates the darkness of night and foggy seas. It is a beacon that guides ships on a safe course so that they do not run aground. One of our creative staff members beautifully incorporated our idea into the current logo design.
Although that staff left our company a long time ago, I am still filled with gratitude, thinking that without her, the company logo would not have been created as it is today. There were several logos to choose from, all inspired by lighthouses. When I look at these logos again, I realize that the company has grown with the support of talented employees and succeeded in overcoming obstacles and challenges. And it reminds me that I never got this far on my own.
