- Toasting with drinks is an important part of Japanese culture used to relieve business stress. Punctuality is not expected and it is customary to be fashionably late. - Proper etiquette during meals includes saying "itadakimasu" before eating and "gochisou-sama-deshita" after. Slurping noodles exhibits enjoyment of food. - Gift giving is important for both business and personal occasions. Gifts should be nicely wrapped and not in odd numbers or four. Gifts are given at the end of a visit.

1. Japanese Behavior
• Toasting (kampai) - Drinking is an important part of
japanese culture. it is a way to relieve business
stress.
• When drinking, never pour a drink yourself.
• Let the host order the meal and pay.
• Japanese business men often drink in karaoke or
"hostess bars.
• punctuality is not expected. It is the custom to be
"fashionably late."

2. • always say "itadakimasu" at the beginning of a meal,
and "gochisou-sama-deshita" at the end.
• It is perfectly acceptable to slurp your noodles.
Doing so will exhibit your enjoyment of your food.
• Do not openly display money. It is important to use
an envelope to pass money.
• Tipping is not expected.
• Gift giving is very important both business and
personal gifts.

3. • Always wrap gifts.
• Do not give gifts in odd number or the number four.
• Gifts should be given at the end of a visit.
• The most popular gift giving occasions in Japan
are oseibo, which falls at the end of the year and O-
chugen which falls during the middle of the year.

4. Japenese Personality
• Happiness in Japan- , 88 percent of the Japanese said they
were happy. Only 10 percent said they were unhappy.'
• Losing Face - The Japanese like many Asians are very
conscious of face. Face is essentially respect in a community
and is a crucial underpinning of society.
• Morality and Logic in Japan- The Japanese, some say, see the
world in terms of clean and dirty rather than good and evil.
Under this construct there is little difference between criminal
acts, sinful acts and pollution and thus committing a murder,
cheating on one’s wife and being dirty and not that different in
a moral sense.

5. • Embarrassment in Japan- Japanese hate feeling shame or
being embarrassed. For Japanese there is nothing worse
than haji o sarasu (“expose one’s shame in public”) and a haji
shirazu (“person who knows no shame”) is regarded as the
lowest of the low.
• Hard Work and Gambaru in Japan - Gambate and gambaru are
arguably the most often said words in Japan. They roughly
mean “don’t give up,” “keep trying” and “go for it”.