This book explains the essentials of Japanese culture for business people and the public service sector. It then relates this culture to the best ways of doing business in Japan and offers advice on successful negotiating with the Japanese.
Japan: Doing Business in a Unique Culture offers eleven chapters of advice about Japan, for business people. There are chapters on how to approach the market; the sort of people to send on your team; the early meetings and later negotiations; and what to expect when socialising in Japan. Other chapters cover how to treat Japanese visitors coming to your country; advice for those moving to Japan to live and work; and some special issues of concern to women visitors.
Boson Books, Raleigh, NC, USA 2006: ISBN 978-1-932482-32-4
AMAZON REVIEW
"5 Stars - Very informative and well
written....it is clear the author has a real and deep understanding of his subject and I would recommend anyone entering in business relationships with Japan to read this book carefully." (Johnny Zeven, Belgium)
Excerpt
Chapter Two: Some General Advice
Be sensitive to the culture save time and make money
An understanding of the culture will pay handsome dividends by allowing you to develop faster relationships and in this way achieve quicker and better results. Before going to Japan, it would be valuable to read a book or two about Japanese culture and history. In discussions, someone might mention things such as the Meiji Restoration: all those present will understand the allusion, examine it as a possible parallel situation, and pick up the message. Without such knowledge, you may remain in the dark and flounder, trying to understand what is in their mind. If this occurs, it will be clear to the Japanese that you know little about their country; they will then see you as rather uncivilized and perhaps not worthy of trust or a suitable person with whom to do business.
Helping you is the fact that the Japanese feel they are unique and therefore do not expect foreigners to understand them well anyway; a little knowledge on your part is always extremely useful and rarely a dangerous thing.
Politeness pays
Japan is a nation that takes politeness very seriously and youshould try to conform to their view of what makes up good manners. When dealing with the Japanese you will find an wareness and use of Japanese etiquette to be a quicker and easier route to success than simply doing what you would normally do. If you learn a few polite phrases, and behave in a polite Japanese way, people tend to be impressed and warm to you quickly.
More than in most countries, there are lots of things that should be done, and others that should not be done, simply for politeness' sake. Style, outward form, and "proper" behavior are drilled into children from an early age and any deviation from polite behavior is curbed, as is any individuality of expression. In Japan, there are rules for doing all kinds of normal daily things that have probably never occurred to you as mattering, and so you do them in your own individual way. Because foreign ways are usually different from the accepted Japanese version, the Japanese have learned to regard virtually all foreigners as being "bad mannered". On the plus side, as you will recall, most Japanese tend to accept your rude behavior because they know it is not your fault; you are unlucky enough to have been born foreign. Apart from that, Japanese ways are widely felt to be just too sophisticated and difficult for a foreigner to understand and follow properly.
Professional Reviews
5 Stars - Very informative and well written
"From the experience I have as a marketing manager of a small European high-tech company in dealing with Japanese counterparts (often very large companies!), to me it is clear the author has a real and deep understanding of his subject and I would recommend anyone entering in business relationships with Japan to read this book carefully BEFORE going there. In general books like these are rather boring to read. This one most certainly is not, which greatly adds to its value."
Books about Japan
"Kevin Bucknall's Japan: Doing Business in a Unique Culture is an excellent resource for people doing business in Japan."
