Last Updated: 15 Jul 2020 Are Japanese secretive?
Japanese seldom intentionally try to hide things from non-Japanese colleagues, but they often inadvertently create that impression through various habits and communication style differences....
Working with Japanese
Last Updated: 15 Jul 2020 Working for a Japanese company – Is it right for you?
Joining a Japanese company can either be a career plus or a career disaster. The distinctive features of the Japanese business environment can be positive or negative depending on...
Last Updated: 10 Apr 2021 Being acquired by a Japanese company?
There are some things that you can expect if your company is purchased by a Japanese firm…The more you know, the fewer surprises there will be when you start interacting...
Last Updated: 16 Jul 2020 Role clarity in Japanese organizations
Three common issues at Japanese firms –job descriptions, office layout, and correcting of work, may seem unrelated, but actually they all stem from the Japanese concept of organizational roles....
Last Updated: 31 May 2025 Phrases the Japanese love to hate
How you respond to inquiries that are not necessarily in your main area of expertise or responsibility will make a big impact on how you are perceived by Japanese colleagues....
Last Updated: 16 Jul 2020 Why do Japanese avoid detailed job descriptions?
In Japan it is rare for a company to use any job descriptions. In fact, many employees don’t even have titles…because Japanese companies do little external hiring, there are...
Last Updated: 02 Mar 2022 Japanese managers and performance recognition
Although it’s typical for American employees to expect recognition verbally from their supervisor when they are doing a good job, it’s not typical in Japan. Japanese tend to not...
Last Updated: 16 Jul 2020 Lost in translation
American clients visiting Japan on business, feel the translations they get are only a fraction of what they know was really said, and it feels like the most important parts...
Last Updated: 16 Jul 2020 Dealing with frequent rotations in Japanese companies
Take matters into your own hands. You may not be able to change the rotation system, but you can change what you yourself do about it. Accept frequent...
Last Updated: 31 May 2025 Persuading Japanese
There are certain things that Japanese tend to respond to and other things that they tend not to respond to. Knowing some of the dos and don’ts will help...