Foreigners Working in Japanese Companies
Speaking English Is Now Prerequisite on Business in Japan “Money talks,” they say. In Japan nowadays, many businesspeople believe money speaks English. Some prominent Japanese firms are adopting English as their official language, most notably Rakuten, an online retail service company, and Fast Retailing, the parent company of the popular Uniqlo chain of clothing stores. […]
What is 5S in the Japanese Workplace? (1)
Why the Japanese Have Difficulty Explaining 5S? Most non-Japanese business people especially factory workers must know something about 5S. A Google search will find multiple variations of the definitions of the five concepts, sometimes Seiri = sorting, Seiton = organizing, Seiso = cleaning, Seiketsu = sanitizing and Shitsuke = sustaining. Other times Seiri = organizing […]
What do you do to relieve stress at work?
Stress related to work is common in all countries. Japan is said to be particularly stressful at work. What are the ways to relieve stress in Japan? I think it's different between women and men, so let's see the answers of women this time. What do you do to relieve stress at work? 1. Eat […]
Japanese People Prefer Indirect to Direct and Hate Emotional People
Japan—a Nation of Indirect Talkers When we do teambuilding work with Japanese and non-Japanese companies, we ask our participants to do a self-assessment of their communication style. They discover their general preferences for direct and indirect speaking. They examine how they would communicate in different scenarios—for example, how would they let someone know they did […]
“People might betray a person. However, efforts will never betray a person.”
Shigenobu Nagamori is probably one of the most popular company executives in Japan now. So his business method and thinking is very influential among many business executives in Japan. Let us look at his thinking briefly. “People might betray a person. However, efforts will never betray a person.” (Shigenobu Nagamori, Founder, President & CEO of […]
Match Made: After a Long Engagement, Japan and India Tie the Knot
India-Japan Relationship BANGALORE—It’s a marriage made in heaven: The bride brings to the altar the world’s fastest-growing middle class—young, well educated and with money to spend—and the groom the world’s most advanced manufacturing technology and billions of dollars worth of soft loans to fund badly needed infrastructure projects. India and Japan need each other. Their […]
What is "Nengajo?" In Japanese business, it is essential practice.
Nengajo is translated as New Year’s Cards in English and its shortened form, “gajo,” is also used. The custom of sending nengajo traces back to the Meiji period (1868-1912), when postcards were first issued in Japan. Until then, people visited their relatives and acquaintances to greet them at the New Year, but nengajo enabled people […]
What is Japanese Style Presentation?
The Dynamite Presentation that Backfired In Japan a dynamite presentation just might backfire. As an interpreter, I have been in many sales presentations. I recall this one meeting between a small American firm and a large Japanese multinational. By American standards, the presentation was sensational. There was lots of white space, lots of photographs, and […]
What is Japanese people’s attitude toward work?
1. I can get something other than money. (2) 2. I have misgivings about the future of my work. (1) 3. I want to keep the same job for a long time. (5) 4. I am looking for a job that suits me or one I enjoy. (3) 5. I want to experience various kinds […]
Exploring the Source of Motenashi, Japanese-style Hospitality
Exploring the Source of Motenashi, Japanese-style Hospitality Why do Uniqlo’s services captivate people around the world? Japanese-style services are now drawing envious stares from many countries. Despite the fact that there are cultures of hospitality all over the world, why does only the Japanese one attract people’s attention? How different is Japanese hospitality from that […]