Faculty of Business Administration Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology

1. BUS-363
Cross-Cultural Management
Japanese Cultural Perspective
山本 創造
S. YAMAMOTO

2. 1. OUTLINE OF JAPAN
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3. Administrative Map of Japan
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4. Population
Source : Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
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5. Population
Source : Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
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6. Religion
• The history of religion in Japan is a long
process of mutual influence between religious
tradition.
• The indigenous religion SHINTO has
continued as a part of the lives of the people
from the earliest days of an organized
Japanese state up to modern times.
• When Buddhism was introduced to Japan in
the 6th century, Shinto and Buddhist beliefs
began to interact. This is the defining
characteristic of Japanese religion.
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7. Religion
• The most striking example of this interaction is the
theory of “Honji suijaku（本地垂迹）” in which Shinto
kami were seen as the incarnations of Buddhist deities.
• Confucianism （儒教）and Taoism（道教） are two
other religious “imports” that have played important roles
in Japanese society over period of more than 1,000
years
• Confucian precepts had a major influence on Japanese
ethical and political philosophy in the formative period of
th Japanese state (the 6th to 9th century) 6

8. Religion – Life of Japanese
• Hatsu Miya mairi （初宮参り）
: the first shine visit of a newborn baby
• The Shichi-Go-San Festival（七五三）
: the shrine visit of three- and five-year-old
boys and seven-year-old girls
• Shinto Wedding ceremony（結婚式）
• Buddhist funeral（葬式）
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9. 8

10. Education
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11. Industry / Employment
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12. Monthly cash earnings by sex and Industry
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13. Monthly cash earnings by sex and age group
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14. Foreign Trade
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15. Government system
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16. Politics
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17. 2. CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF
JAPANESE COMMUNICATION STYLE
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18. 2. Cultural Foundations of Japanese Communication Style
a) Group Orientation – グループ志向
 “Nagai mono niwa makarero” 「長いものには巻かれ
ろ」
ｰ “If you can‟t beat them, join them”
 “Honne and Tatemae” 「本音と建前」
・Honne : what you really think or literally „the truth‟.
・Tatemae : what you actually show or literally „façade.‟
→ Don‟t interpret the use of Tatemae as “two-faced”!!
It is simply use to maintain harmony…
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19. 2. Cultural Foundations of Japanese Communication Style
b) Hierarchy – 階層制度
 The Roots of Hierarchy
- The importance of hierarchy in Japanese culture is based
in the social ethics of “Confucianism”
→ Vertical or Hierarchical relationships / EX. Customer > Vendor
 Hierarchical Relationships in Business
- Customer > Vendor
- Parent company > Subsidiary company
- Head office > Branch office
- Manager > Subordinate
- Senior (a person who joined the company) > Junior
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20. 2. Cultural Foundations of Japanese Communication Style
 Example of Hierarchy
- Exchange of business cards
・Higher level people exchange cards first
Ex. Director– Manager – section chief…
・Lower level people show cards first to higher level one
- Seating arrangements
- Order of speaking
・Highest ranking person speaks last
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21. 2. Cultural Foundations of Japanese Communication Style
c) Situational Behavior – 状況に応じた振るまい
 Example of Behavior
- Exchange of business cards
・Higher level people exchange cards first
Ex. Director– Manager – section chief…
・Lower level people show cards first to higher level one
- Seating arrangements
- Order of speaking
・Highest ranking person speaks last
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22. 2. Cultural Foundations of Japanese Communication Style
d) High Context Communication –場を読む
 High Context Culture
- The Japanese people
・relatively homogeneous
・sharing a long history of common values
・strong family ties
・standardized educational system
→ Not necessary to verbalize everything
explicitly
- “Hear one, understand ten” 「一を聞いて十を知る」
Ex. When the French want to say 100 things, they will verbalize
150 things. When Japanese say 70 things, they are trying to get
the other person to understand 100 21

23. 3. COMMUNICATION GAPS CAUSED BY
LINGUISTIC DIFFERENCES
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24. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
a) Indirect or Ambiguous Expression ｰ 曖昧（あいまい）
- The Japanese desire to maintain relationships by avoiding confrontation often
leads them to give ambiguous responses which are misinterpreted by
foreigners, causing misunderstandings and sometimes bad feelings…
 “Yes”
（×）”Agree with you”
（○）”I‟m listening to you” or “I understand what you‟re saying”
 “I understand”
（×） “I accept” or “I agree”
（○） “I have listened to what you have to [want to] say”
 “We will consider it”
This type of response is sometimes used as tactful way of ending a
discussion while avoiding a direct negative response… If there is no follow-up
action after this discussion, then taken together, the Japanese response may
be interpreted to mean “NO”.
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25. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
b) Japanese English
- The Japanese have made foreign words their own, incorporating “Loan
words” from other languages such as French or German, giving certain English
words unique meanings that are not recognized by people from other English-
speaking countries, and creating catchy buzzwords from abbreviations of
English terms.
[ Loan words]
 “Do you return the an-keito?”
”An-keito” (← enquête / French word) → “questionnaire”
 “He took a arubaito to help with expenses.”
”Arubaito” (← arbeit / German word meaning “work”) → “part-time job”
 “What is the tei-ma of your presentation?”
“Tei-ma” (← das thema / German word) → “topic”
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26. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
[ Unique meanings]
 “She is very smart.”
Rather than meaning intelligent, or fashionable (as in “smartly
dressed”), the Japanese often use the word “su-mah-to” to mean “slim” or
“thin”, referring to a person‟s physique.
 “This is service.”
”Sah-bi-su” is used to mean “free” or “complimentary”.
 “We must appeal our product‟s quality.”
“a-pee-ru” is used to mean “emphasize” or “promote”
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27. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
[ Abbreviations]
 “He is waiting at the front.”
“Fu-ron-to” is short for “front desk”. Foreigner sometimes misunderstand
the above statement to mean “in front of the hotel (i.e., outside)”.
 “They are concerned about sekuhara.”
”Se-ku-ha-ra” has been created by abbreviating a long English
phrase, “sexual harrassment”.
 “How about your new pasokon?”
“Pa-so-kon” is used to mean “personal computer”.
The Japanese often ask, “How about X ?” to mean “How do you like X ?”
→ “How do you like your new P.C.?”
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28. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
[ Direct translation]
 “You must work harder.”
The Japanese is mistranslating the expression, “Gambette kudasai”, which
is an empathetic phrase meant to encourage another person, and means
something like, “Hang in there!”
 “Please take care of me.”
The Japanese intends to say is “Yoroshiku onegai shimasu” which is
common phrase used in Japan when meeting someone for the first time.
“Yoroshiku onegai shimasu” expresses the wish for good future relationship.
In the West, an equivalent expression would be, “Nice to meet you” or “Looking
forward to working with you.”
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29. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
c) Nonverbal Communication
 Choosing Nonverbal Communication over Verbal Communication
- People from high context culture will sometimes choose implicit, nonverbal
communication over explicit, verbal communication. They may feel that verbal
communication is too blunt or unnecessarily obvious, whereas expressing
yourself nonverbally is more subtle and considerate.
- 『 目は口ほどにものを言う (Me wa kuchi hodo ni mono wo iu) 』
→ “The eyes are as eloquent as the tongue.”
 Laughter “Aisoo-warai（愛想笑い）”
→ “Polite laughter”, “Diplomatic laughter” or even “Fake
laughter”
- Meaning of the “Aisoo-warai” is that
1) the person does not understand the English being spoken, therefore the
laugh may indicate confusion or embarrassment, and even a hope that the
speaker will clarify.
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30. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
 Drawing in air through the teeth （ため息）
- When a Japanese businessperson draws in air through his/her teeth, it indicates
complete disagreement or an immovable “No”. It can be better interpreted as
partial disagreement or an “I cannot say yes.” In other words, there is something
that the Japanese doesn‟t agree with, or there is some reason he or she cannot
say yes.
 Silence（沈黙）” -
- Japanese silence is often interpreted negatively. For example, it could be thought
to indicate lack of interest, inattention, day dreaming, confusion, lack of
confidence or lack of intelligence. But silence may be a more neutral or positive
message.
・I‟m translation or processing the English which I‟ve heard. (Please wait!)
・I‟m thinking about how to respond to what you said. (Please wait!!)
・I really don‟t know. (Please suggest a course of action and save my face…)
・I trust you, and we don‟t need to say anything else right now. (Please remain silent.)
・I partially disagree with you but want to avoid direct confrontation.
(Please consider my position and reconsider your position…)
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31. 3. Communication Gaps caused by Linguistic Differences
c) Nonverbal Communication
 Drawing in air through the teeth （ため息）
- When a Japanese businessperson draws in air through his/her teeth, it
indicates complete disagreement or an immovable “No”. It can be better
interpreted as partial disagreement or an “I cannot say yes.” In other
words, there is something that the Japanese doesn‟t agree with, or there is
some reason he or she cannot say yes.
 Silence（沈黙）” -
- Japanese silence is often interpreted negatively. For example, it could be
thought to indicate lack of interest, inattention, day dreaming, confusion, lack of
confidence or lack of intelligence. But silence may be a more neutral or
positive message.
・I‟m translation or processing the English which I‟ve heard. (Please wait!)
・I‟m thinking about how to respond to what you said. (Please wait!!)
・I really don‟t know. (Please suggest a course of action and save my face…)
・I trust you, and we don‟t need to say anything else right now. (Please
remain silent.) 30

32. [For Reference]
Common errors which should be avoided when exchanging cards
• Do not stuff the card into your pocket like a Kleenex. That
would be considered extremely rude. Take your time to read it
and then put it into a business card holder.
• Do not make notes in blank areas of the card
• Do not bend or damage the business card in front of its
owner. This is considered a direct insult.
• The card should not be cribbed to reconfirm the owner's
name. This is considered extremely poor etiquette.
• There is no excuse for running out of business cards on a trip
to Japan. Keep in mind that you may have to hand out as
many as 40 or 50 cards at a larger meeting - and you may
also have to give your card twice to the same person - for the
sake of etiquette.
• Do not carry your cards loosely in a pocket. Carry them in a
distinctive business card case. 31

33. [For Reference] The seating protocol - Meeting Room / Restaurant/ Car
Entrance Entrance
Entrance
Driver
Entra
Entrance nce

34. [For Reference] The seating protocol – Train / Bus / Elevator
Entrance
Entrance
Entrance Entrance

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