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Motivating Japanese subordinates

Articles, Leadership, Working with Japanese by Rochelle Kopp

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Within the same culture, individuals vary as to what they find motivating. Finding motivators that work for the individual and understanding the culturally-determined aspects of motivation will...

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Why do Japanese fall asleep in meetings?

Articles, Meetings by Rochelle Kopp

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Japanese don’t have the custom of maintaining eye contact with the person who is talking. They believe that by closing their eyes, they can hear more effectively, because they...

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Why don’t Japanese share more information?

Articles, Cross-cultural communication, Working with Japanese by Rochelle Kopp

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Due to their struggles using and understanding the English language, Japanese often get exhausted trying to express themselves, and give up before they have communicated all the necessary information. ...

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Breast cancer awareness in Japan

Articles, Life in Japan by Rochelle Kopp

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Did you know that Japanese women are less likely to get annual gynecological exams than American women? And that annual gynecological checkups are not covered by Japanese health insurance?...

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5S in the Japanese workplace – shitsuke: sustaining through discipline (part 5 of 5)

Articles, Japanese business keywords by Patricia Pringle

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Once processes and attitudes are internalized, workers voluntarily carry out the 5S activities without having to be reminded. Shitsuke means not just following the rules, but using the brain...

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5S in the Japanese workplace – seiketsu: sanitizing and standardizing (part 4 of 5)

Articles, Japanese business keywords by Patricia Pringle

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Seiketsu standardization gives a systematic, consistent approach for getting tasks done. A system that maintains and supports ongoing and consistent seiri, seiton and seiso activities....

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5S in the Japanese workplace – seiso: seeing, sweeping and shining (part 3 of 5)

Articles, Japanese business keywords by Patricia Pringle

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Well-implemented seiso programs also have long-term benefits when it comes to employee morale. Not only are workplaces cleaner and more efficient, but caring for equipment on a daily basis increases...

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5S in the Japanese workplace – seiton at the ready (part 2 of 5)

Articles, Japanese business keywords by Patricia Pringle

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Organizing. Set all necessary items in a neat orderly fashion so that they can be located and retrieved safely and quickly. Determining where and when items are needed, and placing...

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5S in the Japanese workplace – sorting out seiri (part 1 of 5)

Articles, Japanese business keywords by Patricia Pringle

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Seiri involves taking a fresh look at the workplace and identifying unnecessary items. This means coming to terms with the now and eliminating what is not now. Denying the possibilities...

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Top Tips for Japanese Localization

Articles, Japanese business, Marketing by Japan Intercultural Consulting

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In this guest blog post, Acclaro's Hiroko Yuki discusses some of the key things to consider when commissioning a translation into Japanese....

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