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TEXT & PHOTO: ERIK AUGUSTIN PALM

Over lunch at Dai-Ichi Hotel Ryogoku, just a short walk from the famous Ryōgoku Kokugikan sumo arena, Hajime Baba reflects on a career shaped by movement between cultures, companies, and ways of thinking. Ryogoku is also home for Baba, who lives nearby with his family - a fitting setting for a conversation about roots, change, and building something new in Japan.

 

Baba is the Founder and CEO of Clareza Partners, a Tokyo-based firm helping companies access experienced management talent beyond the limits of permanent hiring. Its core field is interim management: placing senior professionals into companies for a defined period to take on critical leadership or managerial roles. The concept is well established in Europe, including the Nordic region, but relatively new in Japan. Baba sees both the challenge and the opportunity in that gap.

 

His own background helps explain why. From the ages of six to twelve, Baba lived in New Jersey in the United States due to his father’s job transfer. The experience left a lasting impression - not only on his English, but on his values and outlook.

 

“It was not just the language,” he says. “The way of thinking, the way of working - everything was formulated in a very different way from traditional Japanese culture.”

 

Baba describes his own roots as “more American” in the sense that he came to value freedom, openness, and flexibility. At the same time, his career has been firmly grounded in Japan. That combination has given him what could be described as an inside-out, outside-in view of Japanese business: he understands Japan from within, but also knows how it appears to global companies trying to enter or expand in the market.

 

After starting his career at a traditional Japanese company, Baba soon realized that the culture was not the right fit. He moved into foreign-affiliated companies and spent around ten years as a consultant, eventually running a consulting practice. He later became Country Manager for Japan at an HR services company, where he led the business through a turnaround situation.

 

Across his career, Baba has built experience in revitalizing organizations, improving business performance, and helping global firms grow in the Japanese market. His work has involved not only top-line and bottom-line growth, but also customer satisfaction, service quality, and employee engagement. He describes himself as motivated by helping both people and organizations reach their full potential.

 

After four years in his country manager role, with the business stabilized and growing again, he began asking himself what should come next.

 

“I didn’t want to just go back to the same place - doing consulting again or running another business in the same way,” he says. “I was thinking about what to do next, and I thought: why don’t I start my own business?”

 

The idea for Clareza Partners came from two directions. During his consulting years, Baba saw clients struggle when senior roles suddenly became vacant. In one case, a client’s HR Director was leaving, and the company needed someone to step in temporarily until a permanent replacement could be found. A consultant was placed into the role for a limited period, and the arrangement worked well for both sides.

 

Later, while working in HR services and outplacement, Baba also heard senior executives express interest in more flexible ways of working. Not everyone wanted their next step to be another permanent position. Some were interested in taking on meaningful assignments on a contract basis. From those two observations - company need and executive appetite - Clareza Partners was born.

 

Talent when and how companies need it

 

In simple terms, interim management means bringing in a highly qualified professional to take on a management position for a limited period of time. This could be for six months, for a turnaround, for a specific project, or to bridge the gap while a permanent hire is being found.

 

“It is taking on a company’s management position for a limited period of time,” Baba explains.

 

The roles vary widely. Clareza Partners works across functions such as finance, general management, HR, and marketing. Manufacturing has been an important sector, including automotive-related clients, but the concept is not limited to one industry.

 

At the heart of Clareza Partners’ work is a belief that people are central to every company’s competitiveness. Japanese companies have traditionally relied heavily on full-time employees and long-term internal development. Baba does not dismiss that model - but he argues that in today’s fast-changing business environment, it is no longer enough on its own.

 

Companies increasingly need the ability to combine internal knowledge with external expertise. Sometimes the right person is not someone who should be hired permanently. Sometimes the right solution is a senior professional with specific experience who can step in, solve a problem, support a transition, and leave the organization stronger.

 

This is especially relevant in Japan, where English-speaking senior talent can be scarce and recruitment costs are high. For global companies operating in Japan, interim management can offer a flexible and cost-efficient way to fill urgent leadership gaps without waiting months for a permanent hire.

 

Around 90 percent of Clareza Partners’ clients are multinational companies operating in Japan. Baba says this is partly because foreign companies tend to be more familiar with interim management and more flexible in their approach to employment and leadership solutions.

 

Traditional Japanese companies, by contrast, are still more hesitant.

 

“Culturally, they are more hesitant because they think about long-term commitment,” he says. “Permanent employment and lifetime employment are still very much the standard.”

 

For many Japanese companies, the idea of bringing in an external person - not as a permanent employee, but as a temporary executive or senior manager - can feel unfamiliar. Baba notes that Japanese companies may be more open to using external specialists on project-based assignments, but are slower to accept interim professionals in executive responsibility roles.

 

Still, he believes the need is clear. Many Japanese companies have teams made up of people with similar backgrounds, often shaped by decades inside the same organization. That stability can be a strength, but it can also make it difficult to bring in new skills, external experience, and fresh perspectives.

 

“Companies are starting to realize that they have to have people from outside,” Baba says. “But still, often as permanent employees. In some cases, they might not need that skill for ten or twenty years. It might just be one year, and then they need a different skill.”

 

For Baba, interim management is not about replacing Japan’s employment traditions altogether. Rather, it is about adding flexibility. A company may still have core employees who stay for the long term, while also hiring external permanent talent where needed and using interim managers for specific periods or challenges. “There is a huge advantage,” he says.

 

Beyond placement

 

Clareza Partners’ role does not end once an interim manager is placed. Baba sees ongoing support as one of the main differences between interim management and executive search.

 

In executive search, he says, the work is largely completed once a candidate is hired. In interim management, the assignment itself must be supported throughout.

 

“We are like an intermediary,” he explains. “In case of any issues or potential issues, that is why we exist. We speak with both sides and make sure the problem does not grow into a huge breaker.”

 

Clareza Partners also provides access to executive coaching for interim managers during their assignments. Baba sees this as important because interim professionals often enter sensitive situations. They may be managing teams, reporting to headquarters, and handling internal challenges, while not being permanent members of the organization. Sometimes they need a confidential sounding board.

 

“It can be difficult for these individuals to speak honestly about everything inside the client environment,” Baba says. “With a coach, they can discuss issues and try to find solutions.”

 

This reflects Baba’s broader view of the business: it is not only about matching people with positions, but about helping both the company and the interim manager succeed. Clareza’s services are designed to help internal and external talent work together more effectively - whether through interim management, executive coaching, or, increasingly, executive search.

 

Japan, seen from both sides

 

One of Baba’s strengths is his ability to translate Japan’s business realities to international companies. Having worked for foreign companies in Japan for 15 to 20 years, he has often found himself explaining why Japan is different - and why surface-level understanding is not enough.

 

Many global executives, he says, have experience working across countries and may assume that Japan is simply another market with local variations. But Japan often requires a deeper adjustment. “They say they know it is different country by country,” Baba says. “But Japan is totally different.”

 

He gives a simple example: a headquarters executive might ask why the Japan team does not simply contact the CEO of a major Japanese company through LinkedIn. In many markets, such an approach may be worth trying. In Japan, Baba says, it usually does not work that way.

 

For Swedish and Nordic companies interested in Japan, this is an important lesson. Japan remains attractive, with a large population, major economy, and sophisticated market. But succeeding here requires more than enthusiasm and a good product. It requires people who understand both the global expectation and the Japanese reality. “You really need someone who knows the Japanese market,” Baba says. “Not just on the surface.”

 

This is also where interim management can play a role. A company entering or expanding in Japan may not immediately know what kind of permanent leadership it needs. An experienced interim executive can help bridge that uncertainty, guide the company through a transition, and bring market knowledge into the organization at the right moment.

 

Nordic connections

 

Clareza Partners is also connected to the wider international interim management community through Valtus, a French-headquartered global network of interim management companies. Clareza Partners serves as the Japan partner, while Nordic Interim represents the Nordic region within the same broader network.

 

Through this connection, Baba has already begun building links with Nordic counterparts. He notes that one colleague at Nordic Interim had previously lived in Japan and helped introduce him to contacts in the region.

 

Baba also sees interesting cultural overlaps between Sweden and Japan, particularly in leadership style. While Japan is generally more hierarchical than Sweden, he observes that both cultures can value consensus and communication rather than purely top-down decision-making.

 

In his experience, many companies are not looking for aggressive leaders who simply issue instructions. They want people who can communicate with headquarters, understand local teams, and build trust across cultural lines. “They want people who can communicate with the headquarters, and also with the members,” he says.

 

This makes the Swedish and Nordic business community a natural place for Clareza Partners to deepen its network. Baba says Clareza already has some clients from the Nordic region, including a Swedish company in Japan that has used its interim management solution. By joining SCCJ, he hopes to expand those connections further.

 

Joining SCCJ

 

For Baba, joining the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan is both a networking opportunity and an educational one. “Our business is connecting people with people, and people with companies,” he says. “The more people I know, the more that benefits our business.”

 

At the same time, he hopes to use the SCCJ network to raise awareness of interim management among Swedish and Nordic companies in Japan. Some may already know the concept from Europe, but may not realize that there is now a company in Japan that can provide this service locally. “They might know about interim management, but they might not know that they can actually use it in Japan,” he says.

 

Baba looks forward to attending SCCJ events, meeting new people, and gaining new perspectives. A year from now, he hopes the membership will have helped Clareza Partners build relationships, broaden its Nordic client base, and contribute new ideas to the Swedish-Japanese business community. “Meeting new people gives new perspectives,” he says. “That helps improve my business and other things.”

 

Building the profession

 

Alongside Clareza Partners, Baba is also involved in the Interim Management Association of Japan, a non-profit initiative launched to support the development of interim management as a professional field in Japan. He works part-time as a director of the association.

 

While Clareza Partners serves client companies, the association focuses on the interim managers themselves. Baba says that because the concept is still new in Japan, professionals who want to work independently at a senior level often lack a community where they can exchange information, learn from one another, and understand how to navigate this way of working.

 

“Many people don’t even really know how to work as freelancers in this area,” he says.

 

The association aims to create a community for people who want to work in this more flexible way, while also promoting interim management as a valuable option for companies. It is another sign of Baba’s broader mission: not only to build his own company, but to help create a new market in Japan.

 

Now entering its fourth year, Clareza Partners is growing. Baba plans to hire full-time team members to lead new business initiatives and expand the company’s services to include executive search alongside interim management. Many clients need both: a temporary leader to address an immediate need, and a permanent hire for the longer term.

 

For Baba, that combination reflects the changing needs of the Japanese market. Companies require flexibility, but also stability. They need local knowledge, but also global perspective. And increasingly, they need leaders who can move between those worlds.

 

Having lived in the United States as a child, worked inside Japanese and foreign companies, led Japan businesses through difficult growth and turnaround phases, and now founded his own firm, Baba understands those worlds from more than one angle.

 

That may be exactly what makes Clareza Partners relevant - not only to companies looking for interim management, but to Nordic businesses trying to understand Japan more deeply.

 

As SCCJ welcomes Clareza Partners as a new member, Baba’s message is clear: Japan is changing, even if slowly. And for companies willing to think differently about leadership, timing, and talent, that change creates opportunity.