Writing reports the Japanese want to read
In any business setting, reports are a crucial tool. When writing reports for your Japanese colleagues, using a few key strategies can decrease frustrations and help you meet your...
Free Resources
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 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...
Japanese acquisitions overseas – Building a hybrid culture
The concept of a hybrid culture is to take the best of each corporate culture and blend them together into a stronger whole....
Japanese international acquisitions – What’s different this time?
While each M&A situation poses its unique challenges, and thus requires unique approaches, the common element is that careful attention needs to be paid to the complex people issues involved....
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...
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....
Why do Japanese work such long hours?
Many younger Japanese would workers prefer shorter working hours and more time with their families. The question is whether Japanese corporate culture will become flexible enough to make this possible....
Oseibo winter gift-giving in Japan — a fading tradition?
Oseibo is one of Japan's two traditional gift-giving seasons. Has it been supplanted by Christmas?...
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....