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International House Cultural Training Doing Doing Business in Japan International House Cultural Training International House. 16, Stukeley Street, London WC2B5LQ Tel: +44 (0) 20 7611 2461 Direct: +44 (0) 7785 975550 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.ihlondon.com/executive-centre/cultural-training Doing Business in Japan Five Ways to Succeed Five Ways to Fail • Spend time building a good • Forgetting you are part of a relationship team • Be a good team player - consult • Trying to rush things • Work hard and earn trust • Ignoring collective negotiation process • Show loyalty to boss and to • Not building trust organisation • Value Karaoke and socialising • Not delivering on time and to as a chance to get to know required standard people personally. © Copyright 2007-04-14Tomalin B and Nicks M ‘The Worlds Business Cultures and How to Unlock Them’ London Thorogood 1997 Doing Business in JAPAN 2 Overview The development of Japanese society has been influenced by two factors: population density and isolation. In Japan’s islands 3% of the world’s populations live in just 0.3% of the world’s landmass. Moreover, three-quarters of the landmass is mountainous and two-thirds forested, so only about 3% is habitable. Japan therefore has one of the world’s highest population densities. For two centuries, from 1639 to 1854, Japan was cut off from Western and other Asian trends. This isolation, together with the crowded living conditions, has produced a society with carefully evolved social rituals marked by high degrees of politeness and consideration. After Japan began to modernize, a strong work ethic, a mastery of high technology and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped it advance with extraordinary rapidity from 1955-89. Then its bubble burst, and stock market and property prices slumped. Since then economic growth has recovered, but now Japan faces similar problems to those of Western European countries: a contracting workforce (estimated to fall by 20% in the next two decades), and heavy expenditure on pensions and healthcare. The country remains, however, the second most technologically powerful in the world, and the third largest in economic terms, behind the USA and China. Values and attitudes Japan society is based on the principles of Confucius, the Chinese philosopher who taught that the family was the basic unit of society and that the father was its leader. From this developed a social model which includes these values: • We are members of a group, not individuals; • The father is the leader, and relationships are unequal; • Save, stay calm, avoid extremes and shun indulgence – maintain moderation in all things. The Japanese respect age and experience. Listeners are careful not to disagree with teachers or presenters, and the relationship between a mentoring manager, or Senpai, and the learner, the Kohai , is important in Japanese business. Gaman is the quality of endurance, of which the Japanese have great amounts. It implies following orders without question, and not complaining but ‘gritting it out’ and getting on with the job. It is this quality in the workplace explains why the Japanese will work long hours, remain late, and stay up all night if necessary to complete projects and sacrifice themselves for the group. An interesting manifestation of Gaman is the endurance TV shows that Japan is famous for. © Copyright Tomalin B and Nicks M The World’s Business Cultures and How to Unlock them. London Thorogood 2007 Doing Business in JAPAN 3 What the Japanese hate What the Jap anese admire Mavericks (unless very successful) Loyalty individualists Good teamwork Loss of face Hard work Behaviour profile Japan is relationship focused, formal, very time conscious and reserved, whereas the UK is more task focused and more informal. British business needs to spend time building the relationship with Japanese colleagues and partners and need to be more formal in public business dealings. Communication Communication in Japan is subtle and much is left unspoken, although it is perfectly understood by the Japanese. It’s easy for Westerners to cause offence where none is intended, so until you are attuned to Japanese nuances always check that you’ve clearly understood instructions. The Japanese think it is wrong to get emotional or lose your temper. Rather than saying ‘No’ outright, they will convey disagreement through silence, hesitation, or responses such as, ‘Yes, but …’ or ‘The situation is delicate’. They often refuse by saying, ‘Thank you. We’ll study that.’ The presentation style tends to be quiet, and the presenter should be soberly dressed. The Japanese are polite and attentive listeners. They avoid steady eye contact, and maintain an impassive expression. Some may adopt a posture of deep concentration, and may appear to be asleep, although they’re not. They prefer hard facts rather emotional persuasion, visually presented. The Japanese take time to consider, and are comfortable with silence for reflection, which can unnerve Western visitors. If the room falls quiet, resist the urge to burst into speech.. Signal any questions you wish to ask before you ask them. Don’t assume that because Japanese managers are hesitant in speaking English, they do not know the language. The Japanese can usually read and write it, but they can’t always speak it or understand spoken English. Find ways, unobtrusively, of helping them to understand you. Give them more than one opportunity to grasp your message by using different ways to say the same thing, and always support any oral presentation with written backup. Japanese managers often introduce themselves by identifying their company, their department and finally their name. This is because they think of themselves as a ‘we’ society and not an ‘I’ society. They have a strong group mentality, which shows in their social life, in the way they get together after work, and in © Copyright Tomalin B and Nicks M The World’s Business Cultures and How to Unlock them. London Thorogood 2007 Doing Business in JAPAN 4 their working life through collective decision making. So use ‘We’ and not ‘I’ when talking about your department or company, and socialise with your Japanese colleagues after work when you can. Contrary to a widely-believed myth, bowing is not necessary for foreigners, but the business card ritual is. Offer your card so that the receiver can read it, study his card, keep it on the table while you’re talking, and then put it in a business card holder, not your pocket. Your card should carry your company’s name, your name, your job title and department. It should be in Japanese as well as in your own language. They will hear one thing (the content), but understand two, (content and your feelings). Ice -breakers Ice -makers General business Home and household – until you get to know people well Japanese language and culture The second world war and Japan’s role Organisation The Japanese value hard work and long hours. Working hours are from 8-6, and although Saturday working doesn’t exist everywhere, many executives go in on Saturday to get noticed or to put themselves in line for promotion. It is considered respectful to leave the office after the boss. Executives usually have a one- or two-hour hour commute, and leave home early and get home late. They often don’t see their children until the weekend. Punctuality is essential in Japanese culture, and suggests organization and respect. Office dress is quite formal, usually a dark suit, white shirt and dark tie. Women tend to wear dresses or a suit. Japanese women tend to have separate lifestyles to men, and control the household. They still tend to give up work on marriage, and promotion for them is therefore restricted as they are not expected to stay in the workforce. This may change with the younger generation adopting more of an American lifestyle and the end of the job-for-life ‘salaryman’ tradition in Japanese business, leading to a greater need for double-income families. The Japanese are extremely sensitive to what others think of them. They value a good image, and harmony with those they deal with is important. They achieve this by being obsessively polite and by showering you with compliments. You can return the compliment by being polite and respectful to them, especially in the early stages of a relationship. © Copyright Tomalin B and Nicks M The World’s Business Cultures and How to Unlock them. London Thorogood 2007 Doing Business in JAPAN 5 The Japanese have a dread of losing face. To lose face means that you cannot be trusted. Extravagant gestures, loud voices and aggressive behaviour are signs of a lack of control and can cause loss of face. It’s not good to be critical of colleagues or managers. Much Japanese reticence with foreigners is due to the fear of them losing face through Western unawareness of their culture. If you lose face by failing on a task or deadline, simply apologise: explaining the reasons is seen as making excuses. Accept responsibility, and work hard not to repeat it. WA, the preservation of harmony, is another feature of Japanese office life. Keep calm in the face of provocation, and do not show anger or impatience. If Japanese colleagues get drunk in evening drinking sessions, no mention is made of it the next day. Japanese offices are quieter than British and continental ones. The Japanese are happy with silence, so just be aware, watch and soak in what’s happening. Seek ‘adoption’ by senior Japanese managers to get your ideas accepted. In a hierarchical structure such as Japan’s, it’s important to address questions and suggestions to the next level of management, who will then direct it to the appropriate level.
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