5.1 Understanding business communication with Japanese people

Author: Kim Christian Botho Pedersen (Memorizeitall / Japan Trade Advisor)

© Kim Christian Botho Pedersen / www.japantradeadvisor.com 

Published on April 27, 2017

Recently, an article claimed that 99% of all expats in Japan fail. If your company is either expanding into the Japanese market or trying to access it for the first time, this is something you might want to take seriously. A lot of articles across the internet also claim that most of all business failures in Japan are related to poor-, lacking-, or miss-communication.

You might turn the question around and ask yourself:

• “What are the expats who succeed in Japan doing differently?”

• “What did the businesses that succeeded do differently in terms of communication?”

When the cause of failure is known, the solution should be straightforward. Simply put, either learn the culture, the language, and how to conduct business in Japan, or hire people who knows how to communicate with Japanese, rather than hiring someone for technical skills or product knowledge. By doing so, you place your company in the top of whom, who does things correctly. It’s actually very simple. Yet, a lot seem to get it wrong. How come?

In this article, I will share insights on why so many expats fail in their communication efforts, and what can be done about it.

Golden rule for business

One critical point to keep in mind in business, whether your opponent is Japanese, Chinese, European, American, African or any other race, color, nationality or religion is this:

You cannot proceed with:

• “I think they meant so and so…”

• “I’m sure they want to buy this quantity. They just didn’t say it exactly.”

You need facts. That’s what business is all about, and this applies to Japan as well. Japan is no different. If you don’t know how to get those facts from your Japanese counterparts, your company could face significant struggles in Japan.

You cannot start production or make specification changes based on vague assumptions. In the West, we ask for clear answers, written confirmations, and even signed contracts. Decisions made without specific promises or confirmations often lead to costly errors. This still happens all the time in Japan due to a lack of understanding of how to extract clear commitments from Japanese companies.

Sometimes, it feels as though Japan is so difficult that you simply cannot get specific answers from businesspartners. No wonder many expats fail.

This article focuses on communication, but effective communication in Japan requires a deep understanding of the culture. I have explored these issues in previous articles in the “Looking into the Japanese Mind” series, which I will continue as time permits. For now, let’s focus on “bulletproof” communication. If you still havent read the previous articles, please check them out.

Should I communicate in Japanese or English?

The first decision you may face is whether to use English or Japanese as a communication language with Japanese people. If you don’t speak Japanese, you’ll need to use English (or another shared language). But even if you do speak Japanese, is it the smartest thing to do?

Each option has pros and cons that you must understand before deciding on your communication strategy.

Adopting English as the communication platform

If you adopt English for business communication, the scenario immediately becomes “non-Japanese”. You will be seen as a “non-Japanese businessperson,” which implies you likely don’t understand Japan’s unwritten business rulesets (more on that later). Some things can’t be said to you, some things you’re assumed not to understand. Choice of language defines a lot of the environment you will encounter and the way you will be treated and looked upon.

Using English, you will never reach the trust level of a native Japanese businessperson. But this can be both an advantage, or a disadvantage. You can act more freely, if English is the selected communication language, and even if you make social mistakes, it may be ignored, since you are “just a gaijin” (“gaijin” is a somewhat discriminatory term meaning foreigner). Your position is different from the start. You are an outsider. Often, you’ll feel Japanese counterparts are withholding information from you or not trusting you fully. You’ll feel like an outsider. You ARE an outsider.

But there’s a major advantage using English: there are fewer social expectations. Japanese is a hierarchical language, and you are expected to use specific forms to show respect. In English, those social obligations are removed, and communication feels more equal and simpler. Japanese people also struggle to express subtle ideas in English, which means they are more likely to speak directly, leaving less for you to read between the lines. It is much harder to imply something subtly in English than in Japanese.

On the downside, many Japanese do not speak English well. Despite improvements during the last decades, most export managers and directors, still have limited English proficiency. Funny thing I have noticed is that depending on the industry, and company type, the general English varies but is similar across the same industry.

Communicating in English is a major challenge for both sides and often causes misunderstandings. In fact, language-related misunderstandings are one of the biggest reasons expats and businesses fail in Japan.

Adopting Japanese as the communication platform

The best way to communicate with Japanese people is, of course, in Japanese. They are more comfortable, express themselves more freely and also more accurately, and avoid the anxiety of speaking in a foreign language. Adapting Japanese as the language of communication between you, makes you the preferred business partner from the start.

However, if you use Japanese, your language skills must be extremely high. Japanese differs from English not only in structure but also in what is expressed and how. If your Japanese is on a lower level, you may unintentionally offend someone, and you definitely dont want to do that, especially not in a business situation.

Most readers know to add “san” to a name, Sato-san, Tanaka-san, Hayashi-san, but few foreigners realize that while doing it correctly goes unnoticed, omitting it is glaringly obvious. You have to understand, it is absolutely rude. Also, Japanese use family names in business, not given names. Using a given name is for family, spouses, or lovers, not business. Even if a young, Western-oriented Japanese suggests using a nickname like “Tom” it’s not something you should initiate as a foreigner, and you may not want to go along with it. It feels unnatural, and possibly disrespectful, and more importantly, the day you have to defend your company in relation to a big complaint, you may truly regret you got used to a very friendly tone in business, without having any clue of how to get back to a more formal tone.

I am fully aware, that the Japanese language is also evolving. All languages evolve. Nothing odd or wrong in that. However, most Japanese C-level executives is not young people. Its typically people over 50, at least for the largest companies in Japan. Sometimes its people at an age where you wonder why they did not go on pension 15 years ago... Don't make the mistake and think the Japanese language has changed since the younger generation is using a more unformal Japanese. You will realize it will become the biggest mistake you have made.

Selecting Japanese as communication language, simply raises the bar considerably

If you choose Japanese, you will have to follow Japanese rules. It's funny to observe and realize, how a shift in the spoken language between two people also changes the person's attitude, behavior, mental state etc. If it doesn't change, it's because you are not native in that language. If you say "hello!" to a person, your natural reaction will be to reach out your hand for a handshake, whereas if you say "Konnichiwa" (こんにちは), you naturally will tend to bow, and so do your opponent. Changing the language not only changes attitude and mental state, it also changes the rules completely.

Selecting Japanse as the communication language, raises expectations dramatically. You are expected to understand hierarchy, etiquette, unwritten norms, and to follow them, whether you like it or not. Your personal opinion doesn’t matter. Japanese are very easily offended. Using the wrong way of addressing another person, or laughing at the wrong things, can easily end your business. If you don't feel confident you master Japanese on this level, you may want to stick to English, at least for the business part.

Selecting Japanese as language, may be a double disadvantage. Not only are you expected to master the language, but you are also expected to follow at least basic "kizukai". The bar just went up much further.

Why I can share these insights

• I (Kim Pedersen) grew up in Japan and attended ordinary Japanese primary and secondary school, learning the culture and language at the same level as Japanese children. I have a very solid background what concerns Japanese language and culture

• Throughout my career, I have interacted with thousands of Japanese and non-Japanese companies across many different industries.

• I have held various professional positions in Japan, including manager in a Japanese company, being Danish diplomat, self-employed entrepreneur, MD for a French company's office in Tokyo and much more.

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