Are Japanese secretive?

“Secretive” is one of the most commonly-held stereotypes of Japanese. In my work as a consultant, I frequently hear the following types of comments from non-Japanese who work at the overseas operations of Japanese companies:

·         “I never know what’s going on.”

·         “The Japanese conceal things.  It seems like they don’t trust us.”

·         “I’m never able to get the full story from my Japanese counterpart.”

·         “There are things happening under the surface.  I always wonder
what I’m missing.”
 

·         “It seems like the Japanese don’t want to give us all the details, don’t
want to share information with us.”

·        “The Japanese don’t let me in on things.”

These emotions are strong ones.  And the lack of information flow that these concerns reflect surely has a negative impact on business effectiveness. 

What is behind these common complaints?  Why do non-Japanese often suspect that important information is being withheld from them by the Japanese they are working with?  In most cases, Japanese are not really keeping big secrets and actively plotting to keep non-Japanese colleagues in the dark (the recent Olympus case being the exception rather than the norm).  The language barrier and differences in communication style are the most usual culprits in creating the impression of secretiveness.

The language barrier

“We were having a meeting, when all of a sudden one of the Japanese says “Just one moment” and starts into a Japanese conversation with the others.  The Americans were just sitting there, wondering what they were saying.  They continued on in Japanese for about ten minutes.” — American employee at a Japanese firm

One of the most annoying things to people who work with Japanese is when their Japanese colleagues speak Japanese in front of them and they are not able to understand.  Preoccupied with the challenges of doing business in a second language, Japanese often don’t realize how sensitive non-Japanese (particularly Americans) can be about this issue. Often, in such situations non-Japanese will jump to the conclusion that the foreign language speakers are actively using their language as a secret code to exclude those who do not speak it.  Yet the real reasons Japanese tend to use Japanese in these situations is to express something they don’t know how to say in English, to ask about the definition of a word or content of what is being discussed (without having to lose face by revealing their ignorance or confusion to their non-Japanese colleagues), and sometimes just sheer fatigue or laziness.

In understanding why these situations occur, non-Japanese need to realize that their Japanese colleagues are at a disadvantage in speaking English all day at work.  Even for Japanese who have good command of the language, using English extensively can be tiring.  It can be extremely tempting to use Japanese for greater clarity and efficiency.  To expect that Japanese colleagues never ever use Japanese in the workplace may be unrealistic in most situations.

Bringing in a translator to help ease the language burden can be helpful, as well as simply realizing that Japanese are not trying to tell secrets when they speak in Japanese.  Furthermore, if your Japanese colleagues are frequently speaking English, it may be a signal that you should simplify your English – or take a break from the meeting.

Communication style

Japanese communication differs from the American and European style in the degree of importance attached to words.  American and European communication relies heavily on words.  We expect communicators to be clear, precise, and skilled in expressing themselves verbally.  We value people who have good presentation skills and are good at discussing and debating.

In contrast, Japanese communication relies heavily on non-verbals.  Words are important, but so are body language, gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions, posture, and “non-word sounds” such as the hissing sound that Japanese often make when confronted with an unappealing proposal or situation.  Japanese speak of haragei, the art of silently communicating “belly to belly,” through intuition rather than with words.  Although the adage “silence is golden” is seldom heard in the west today, it is still in common use in Japan.

One reason that Japanese are able to rely more heavily on non-verbals for their communication is due to what scholars refer to as a high degree of shared context (background information).  For example, think of the communication style between you and your spouse, or between your parents.  One raised eyebrow can clearly say “You forgot to take out the garbage,” and a certain tone of voice can communicate volumes.  This is classic high context communication that needs only a minimum of words in order to get the message across.  Japanese tend to have this style of communication in general, with everyone, not just their spouses.  The high degree of homogeneity of Japanese culture fosters this, as well as the long-term working relationships between employees that occur as a result of the lifetime employment custom.

Japanese often describe this communication style as ichi ieba ju wakaru (hear one, understand ten).  The idea is that when the speaker says 10%, the listener will be able to figure out the other 90% on the basis of the non-verbals and the shared context.  For the American used to hearing all ten from the speaker (if not 11 or 12!), this communication style can be puzzling, and is easily misunderstood as the active withholding of information.

In order to bridge this gap, Japanese need to become adept at expressly stating more than 10%.  This is difficult because it means breaking culturally ingrained habits, but is essential in order to communicate effectively with non-Japanese colleagues.  Cross-cultural training seminars can help Japanese learn this skill.  On the other hand, non-Japanese can learn to draw out their Japanese colleagues, gently prodding them to give further explanations and information.  This means asking effective follow-up questions after a Japanese colleague has given you the first 10%.  For example, “Please give me some more information about this,”  “I would like to know more background about this,” “Just to check to make sure I understood you completely, you would like. me to..?,” “Is there anything else I should know about?,” “Do you have any advice for me about this?,” “Please help me understand why this is important,” and “Please explain more about the situation”   If no such follow-up questions are asked, Japanese will tend to assume that you have grasped the other 90%; you need to signal if you want further information.  If such questions are asked in a non-confrontational manner, they will not reflect poorly on you in the eyes of your Japanese colleague.

In summary

In summary, although Japanese seldom intentionally try to hide things from non-Japanese colleagues, they often inadvertently create that impression through various habits and communication style differences.  By adopting practices and techniques that promote more thorough and effective communications, you can create a greater sense of cooperation and openness.