Communicating With Japanese In Business
Communicating withJapanese in BusinessYes, yes.We'll think it over.Forget it !!It's a done deal !
Copyright c JETRO 1999All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, inwhole or in part, by mimeograph, photocopy, or any othermeans, nor stored in any information retrieval system, withoutthe express written permission of the publishers.(For Distribution in the U.S.) This material is distributed by theU.S. office of JETRO (Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston,Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco) on behalf of JapanExternal Trade Organization (JETRO), Tokyo, Japan. Additionalinformation is available at the Department of Justice,Washington, D.C.
Communicating withJapanese in Business
Misunderstandings caused by different communicationstyles often lead to lost business opportunities forforeign businesspeople dealing with Japan. This bookletis intended to fill such gaps. We asked Dr. ErnestGundling, an intercultual specialist, to be the author toleverage on his extensive research and hands-onexperience in this field. We sincerely hope that thisbooklet will help businesspeople from all over the worldbe successful in doing business with Japan.International Communication DepartmentJETROIt is a pleasure to be able to offer this introduction tobusiness communication with Japanese. I hope thateach reader will find useful tips for his or her work, andquickly build bridges towards strong mutualunderstanding. The personal and professional rewardsof working with Japanese counterparts are well worththe effort.Dr. Ernest GundlingManaging DirectorMeridian Resources AssociatesSpecial thanks to:Ruth Sasaki (research and writing)David Dickey (research and writing)Masaaki Aoki (illustrations)2
Communicating with Japanese in BusinessTABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION42. CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF JAPANESE COMMUNICATIONSTYLEa. Group Orientationb. Hierarchyc. Form and Formalityd. Situational Behaviore. High Context Communication5567883. COMMUNICATION GAPS CAUSED BY BUSINESS CUSTOMSa. Decision-Makingb. Contractsc. Information-Sharingd. Customer Relationse. Meetingsf. Feedback and Issue Resolution101012141618204. COMMUNICATION GAPS CAUSED BY LINGUISTICDIFFERENCESa. Indirect or Ambiguous Expressionb. Unintended Tonec. Japanese Englishd. Grammar, Word Choice, and Pronunciatione. Nonverbal Communication2222242628305. CHANGING JAPAN: INCREASED OPPORTUNITIES FORBUSINESS32APPENDIX: TYPICAL BUSINESS IDIOMS IN JAPANESE333
1. IntroductionAs companies continue to expand beyond borders to develop globalmarkets and standards, we are living today in a kind of "virtual reality" -- onecan see the same products, the same logos, whether one is in London, Bangkok,or Rio de Janeiro. A French businessperson may work with a Japanese to sellproducts designed in Israel, manufactured in California, and assembled andtested in Malaysia. Add to this communications technologies such asvideoconferencing and e-mail, and the world indeed seems to be shrinking.In this climate of international collaboration, surrounded by the illusionof sameness, we may easily assume that "business is business," and that, whendealing with business associates in the same industry, we "speak the samelanguage" despite cultural differences. This canbe a dangerous assumption.Yes,yes.In fact, the more experience a nonJapanese has in doing business with Japanese,the more aware he/she becomes of thedifficulty of communication as an obstacle. AsJapan has become a key part of the intricateglobal business environment, the foreignbusinessperson working in Japan or withJapanese companies outside of Japan mayencounter a wide variety of communicationgaps arising from differences in cultural valuesand assumptions, business customs, andlanguage.We'll thinkit over.It's aForget it!done dealThis booklet is designed to provide practical insight and strategies fornavigating the seemingly opaque waters of business communication in Japan.The next section describes the underlying values and cultural foundations ofthe Japanese people. Such understanding will help readers to better assesstypical communication gaps arising from differences in business practices,which are described in the following section. Each issue is presented withactual case studies that have been collected from the real-life experiences ofbusinesspeople world-wide. The final section then introduces typical languagerelated gaps that occur when communicating with the Japanese.The foreign businessperson who understands the cultural backgroundof his or her Japanese customers, suppliers, and business associates will bebetter prepared to build strong partnerships and take advantage of expandingbusiness opportunities in the global market.4
2. Cultural Foundations of Japanese Communication Stylea. Group OrientationIn Japanese society, the individual has traditionally derived identityfrom group affiliations including family, school, and company. In Japan,businesspeople will often mention the name of the company they belong tobefore their own name when meeting someone for the first time.In a country the size of California, with a population nearly equal tothat of Russia, the maintenance of relationships has been critical to survival.Without the "elbow room" of a frontier environment, where one could alwaysmove away if relationships soured with neighbors, Japanese have relied oninternal restraint in order to maintain harmony and the social order.Emotions, especially negative ones, are not openly expressed. This isnot to say that Japanese stifle individual opinions; but there is an appropriateway to discuss and resolve differences -- an indirect, private way that does notinvolve public debate, confrontation, or loss of face.Tendency to conformThere are many Japanese sayings thatadvise people to yield in the face of opposition.Nagai mono niwa makarero might be the Japaneseequivalent of, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."Goh ni ireba goh ni shitagae means somethinglike, "When in Rome, do as the Romans." Anindividual who disagrees too strongly or insistson maintaining a different opinion disrupts theharmony of group consensus and may bethought to be "immature." On the other hand,someone who considers the good of the groupbefore speaking or acting is considered aperson with character and maturity.Westerners sometimes interpret this tendency to conform as weakness or a lackof imagination -- but in Japan, a person who speaks out regardless of what therest of the group thinks makes him or herself look ridiculous and losescredibility.Honne and Tatemae (pronounced "hone-nay" and "tah-tay-mah-eh")Because of the collective nature of Japanese society and the need tomaintain relationships, Japanese often make a distinction between their truefeeling or personal opinion (honne) and what they know they should say inpublic because it is the appropriate thing to say in the situation (tatemae). Allcultures make this distinction in certain situations; however, many foreignbusinesspeople express frustration at not being able to distinguish which iswhich when doing business with Japanese. Strategies for distinguishing honneand tatemae will be discussed in the section on "Meetings."5
b. HierarchyThe Roots of HierarchyIn the collective relationshiporiented culture of Japan,respecting and maintaininghierarchical relationships isessential in society and business.The importance of hierarchy inJapanese culture is based in thesocial ethics of Confucianism, inwhich people are ordered invertical, hierarchical relationships,for example, customer (higher) andvendor (lower). A stable society depends on the proper maintenance of thesehierarchical relationships.Hierarchical Relationships in BusinessThe relationship between customer and vendor is one of the manyhierarchical relationships in Japanese business culture. Others are parentcompany and subsidiary, head office and branch office, manager andsubordinate, senior (a person who joined the company earlier) and junior. Inthese relationships each person has certain expectations of the other. Forexample, a manager is supposed to be concerned about subordinates' welfare,even to the extent of helping them in their private life. In turn, a subordinate isexpected to trust his or her manager's judgment and not question his or herdecisions. One problem in the contemporary Japanese workplace occurs whena manager and subordinate no longer share these same expectations. There isan increasing number of people in the younger generation who valueindividualism and prefer to keep some distance between their private lives andtheir work and employers.SeniorityAn important manifestation of hierarchy in Japanese business isseniority. Seniority has traditionally been an important criterion for promotion(although there is currently a shift away from seniority towards meritocracy).Here is an example: In negotiations between two companies, the Japaneseexpect each side to send people of the same age and position who literally sitacross from each other during the discussions. Such expectations based onhierarchy can make it difficult for Japanese to negotiate as equals, or withsomeone who is younger or older.6
Other Examples of HierarchyWhen Japanese exchange business cards, a formality which takes placewhen businesspeople first meet, the higher level people exchange cards first.When a card is received, the title on the business card is always checked toestablish relative status. Employees of higher rank such as a general manager(buchoo) are often addressed by their title ("Buchoo") or their name and title("Tanaka-buchoo"). When Japanese bow to each other, the person of lower statusbows more deeply.Seating arrangements are based on hierarchy. In a taxi, the seat behindthe driver is for the highest ranking person while the seat next to the driver isfor the lowest ranking person. Order of speaking is also hierarchical, in thatoften the highest ranking person speaks last. Japaneselanguage itself reflects hierarchy. A person of higherstatus speaks polite or casual speech, whereas the personof lower status uses "super-polite" or "respectful" speech(keigo).c. Form and FormalityAlthough many modern Japanese are notparticularly conscious of their religious heritage, theShinto religion is the origin of many rituals that survivetoday. From Shinto comes the concept of kata, or form -the right way to do something. Those who have studieda martial art such as karate know about the painstaking,repetitive practice of kata (basic forms) which must bemastered before one even throws a punch.In business, the importance of form can be observed in the attentionthat is given to correct procedure when Japanese exchange business cards. Theprescribed way is a way that is the result of long tradition and experience, andtherefore something to be mastered. When all members of society understandand conform to the kata, ambiguity is removed.This shared understanding breaks down when Japanese interact acrosscultures. As an example, many Southeast Asian factory workers have beenfrustrated when their Japanese supervisors say, "Do it this way," withoutexplaining why that way is best. If questioned, the Japanese may say, "BecauseI have thirty years of experience and I say you should do it this way."Foreign businesspeople from results-oriented cultures are often baffledby the Japanese emphasis on form and process. An Indonesian businesspersonin the clothing industry gave the example of a product that was returned by aJapanese customer because of one wrinkle. Frustrated by Japanese customers'rejection of semiconductors with cosmetic defects on the package, an Americanfactory manager exclaimed, "If it works, what's the problem?" Cosmetic defects,7
to the Japanese eye, signal defects in process, which in turn indicate that theoverall quality of a product may be low.The importance of form in business customs can also be seen in theformality of initial meetings in the early stages of a business relationship ornegotiation. Sometimes very little of substance is actually discussed in thesemeetings, but they are critical to getting off to the right start with a Japanesebusiness partner.d. Situational BehaviorIn Japanese culture, behavior tends to besituational. Appropriate behavior is tied to many factors,including the place, the rank or relative status of otherpeople who may be present, and one's relationship tothose people. Understanding how these factors influencebehavior can help the foreign businessperson avoidmisunderstandings.For example, a common complaint fromforeigners who do business with Japanese is thedifficulty of getting input or opinions. The Westernmarketing manager of a manufacturer of medical devicesvisited Japan and complained that the sales manager of amajor Japanese account "had no strategy." It was laterdiscovered that this judgment was formed when theWestern manager asked the Japanese sales manager, who was driving both ofthem to the customer's headquarters for a meeting, "So how are things going atCustomer X?", and the Japanese manager's only response was, "Things aregoing very well." The Japanese manager was later astounded to hear that theWestern manager had expected a briefing in a car en route to the visit -- he hadtaken the query as small talk only, and had thus offered only a generalresponse.The use of honne and tatemae, discussed in the section on "Collective,Relationship-Oriented Society," is another example of situational behavior inJapanese business. People from cultures with deep roots in Christianitysometimes feel that tatemae is a kind of dishonesty, and that Japanese are "twofaced." In Japan, however, tatemae is simply a necessary lubricant that enablesindividuals to maintain harmony with the group.e. High Context CommunicationJapan is what cultural anthropologist Edward Hall, in his work SilentLanguage, refers to as a "high context culture." The Japanese people arerelatively homogeneous, and share a long history of common values a
Japanese language itself reflects hierarchy. A person of higher status speaks polite or casual speech, whereas the person of lower status uses "super-polite" or "respectful" speech (keigo). c. Form and Formality Although many modern Japanese are not
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