The Do’s and Don’t’s of Doing Business in Japan

 

A. Look carefully at the title of the article and choose the description you think is closest to the likely content of the article.

1. The peculiarities of business in Japan

2. The advantages and disadvantages of doing business in Japan

3. Statistics about doing business in Japan

4. How you should behave and what you should know if you decide to do business in Japan

B. Read the article to make sure your choice is right. Give the main point of each passage in a sentence.

While westerners preparing for their first business trip to Japan make painstaking preparations in every area from market research to memorizing the Tokyo subway system, woefully few seem to be doing their homework in understanding Japanese sensitivities. The back-slapping extrovert with a floral tie, who can make a big impression in his native Florida, is unlikely to score many points in Tokyo if he adopts the same behaviour.

A survey of the Tokyo subways at rush hour reveals an endless stream of brief-case carrying businessmen in somber dark suits and ties to match. Business for the Japanese is a serious business, and any attempts to brighten the atmosphere will almost certainly be interpreted as frivolous. The lighter side of the company life is conducted with colleagues at a favourite local drinking shop, well outside of working hours, and where normally stern company elders turn a blind eye to their underlings’ occasional excesses.

Whether an outsider is a Japanese from another company, or a foreigner, the first step in developing communication with potential customers is the exchange of the all-important name-card. Westerners often make the mistake of handing the Japanese highly-coloured, novelty-shaped cards that are as off-putting as the floral necktie. Furthermore, the cards are generally printed only in English, which proves embarrassing for those Japanese executives with a limited grasp of the language. Within a few days, typical Japanese name cards can be printed with Japanese characters on one side and English on the other. It’s considered proper that the individual’s name should be in smaller letters than the name of the company; what the person you exchange cards with wants to know as quickly as possible is what your position is within your organization; how much authority you have to do business, and the opportunity to determine who in the Japanese organization is the most appropriate person for you to negotiate with.

While the vast majority of Japanese businessmen are prepared to shake hands with foreigners, foregoing the customary bow can be a startling experience if the overseas visitor is a hearty hand-pumper. In Japan, a softer handshake will not be seen as weak, but sensible and, well, rather more civilized.

Exchanging gifts is part of every day Japanese life, and foreign visitors should come armed with a number of charming – if useless – knick-knacks and souvenirs from their own company or country. The space they occupy in the suitcase will be well and truly filled on the return journey with similar souvenirs from the Japanese. But a word of warning: A common mistake made by foreigners is to tear off the elaborate wrapping in front of the giver, like an impetuous child on Christmas morning. This for the Japanese is a horrifying spectacle; a polite “thank-you” is expected, and the unwrapping should be saved for the privacy of the hotel room.

Export missions to Japan sometimes express frustration that they never seem to receive a final and binding decision from their Japanese customers. When the Japanese are interested, they arrange a further meeting with more senior colleagues and the same ground is covered again. Later, perhaps another meeting with still more senior executives.

The Japanese “tatamae” (form) and “hone” (substance) govern most interaction and sometimes produce a “yes” that means “no.” Even sometimes confusing for the Japanese themselves, the tatamae is justified in that it spares one the terrible experience of being told an unpleasant truth. Those critical of this tradition, however, argue that such an explanation is itself a tatamae. The hone may be that the individual is honourably able to avoid giving a direct answer. So deeply in-grained is the idea that being direct is impolite that writing a contract in Japanese is an extremely tricky task if one doesn’t want to cause offence.

The year one joins the firm almost certainly determines status, and the ability to cooperate with the team is considered a far greater asset than an exceptional individual skill that may threaten other employees and promote rivalry. Arriving on time, staying after-hours and not taking all of the holidays owing are indications of a dedicated and trustworthy employee.

The individual who chooses to return early to his wife and family instead of joining his colleagues at the drinking shop is likely to be criticized for being selfish. While it is a great rarity in Japan to be fired, it carries with it all the trauma of being rejected by a God. After all, many corporations begin their day with the almost religious recital of the company motto, and some firms even maintain spaces in temples for the ashes of deceased employees. The individual finds his identity in the group. Hence criticism and praise of the individual’s company or country is taken personally.

For the foreign businessman, there is also a positive benefit in the lingering traditions of Japanese commercial practice. Once relationships have been established, they are likely to be long-term and intensely loyal. Even when economic advantage can be gained elsewhere, the Japanese company, unlike its western counterpart, is less ready to sever the established tie.

Japanese companies are interested in importing foreign goods. This sometimes means adaption for the peculiar needs of the Japanese market, which is generally sufficiently lucrative to justify the extra attention. As one veteran Tokyo executive likes to put it “Other countries often lay the golden egg, but we Japanese have the best kitchen for cooking it!”

Observer. 2005

 

С. Connect your sentences by using link words to make asummary of the article. Start with the main idea.