Japan
Trying Hard
A top international executive of a consumer products marketing company that has been doing business in Japan for many years recently said that in dealing with the Japanese it helps to "out-Japanese them." According to this executive, diligence is the key characteristic of the Japanese. If you want to do business with them successfully, you must equal or exceed their own efforts. This means long hours, going over things time and time again, responding promptly, following up faithfully, and continually improving your products and services.
Over the years, when United States trade representatives complained to Japanese officials about Japanese trade barriers, the Japanese often responded, "Americans must try harder." Although their rhetoric on this subject became more subdued following economic reversals and political scandals that surfaced in the early 1990s, they continue to set high standards for themselves and others.
[Tip — Diligent Efforts: Maintain an active correspondence with your Japanese contacts. Acknowledge receipt of their communications. Send interim status reports and other information that might interest them. Let them know about your activities. If a personal relationship develops, send holiday greetings.]
Following World War II, Japan founded its economic revival on an increasingly advanced and innovative manufacturing base. Its growth strategies, at first export-driven, now concentrate on domestic economic growth and on investment outside Japan.
Japan's economy is now the third largest in the world, after the United States and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. For an island nation having few natural resources and limited land area — a nation that was on its back barely sixty years ago at the end of World War II — Japan's economic strength is remarkable. Although the Japanese economy has struggled in recent years, it remains formidable. In particular, Japan continues to export more than it imports, maintaining large trade surpluses with most of its large trading partners, notably the United States. This has led to international pressures on Japan to make its markets more accessible to foreign competition. It has also led to a gradual deflation of the yen against other currencies in foreign exchange markets, making Japanese products more costly overseas and foreign products more expensive in Japan.
International business firms that succeed in Japan normally credit their own diligence, perseverance, and adaptability: their efforts to modify their products and services to fit the Japanese market, their willingness to "conform to the system" rather than try to change it, and their ability to sustain early setbacks. Firms that succeed in Japan claim that market knowledge and cultural understanding is especially important there because Japanese society is so unique. This uniqueness stems in part from Japan’s long isolation from the Asian continent. Early Asiatic migrants to Japan, mostly from China and Korea, coalesced into a largely homogeneous race. A military class began to develop in the 10th century and was dominated by the 17th century by the Tokugawa Shoganate. The nation was then ruled by a succession of warlords, remaining essentially a rural economy largely closed to foreign trade and influences, until in the mid-1800’s commercial treaties were concluded with the United States, Britain, Russia, France, and the Netherlands. In 1868, the Tokugawa Shoganate restored the reins of government to Emperor Meiji, marking an opening of the country to Western civilization and the beginning of its transformation from a feudal, militaristic society to a modern industrialized state.
From the beginning of their civilization, the Japanese, with limited land area and natural resources, have had to conserve in many ways. They learned to live in close quarters, to be precise in their activities, to use materials economically, to be self sufficient, and to save for an uncertain future. They also developed strong collectivist attitudes and traditions, which prevail today. The group-orientation of Japanese, for example, accounts in part for the difficulties that non-Japanese often face in breaking into Japanese markets, and in establishing joint ventures and other business relationships in Japan. Japanese firms tend to establish exclusive networks with other Japanese firms, even overseas. Most of these networks are informal, but there is a number of large groupings of companies, called keiretsu, like Mitsubishi and Sumitomo, in which there are cross-holdings of large blocks of each others' stock. (Keiretsu means linkage in Japanese.)
In keeping with their collectivist culture, the Japanese have a strong urge to conform in group behavior — a strong "herding instinct." This is often apparent in their choice of products and services. Combining traditions that value high quality and group acceptance, they tend to prefer products and services that have established reputations and brand names.
[Tip — Method: In communications, follow the lead of your Japanese contacts. Conformity is a form of sincere flattery for the Japanese, and it can help to alleviate any concerns they may have about the proper method of communication. If they prefer to correspond by letter, do the same. If they prefer using faxes or email, do that instead.]
A consequence of Japanese conformity and commitment is that the Japanese are great customers and colleagues. Once they are sold or committed, they are loyal and steadfast. If a relationship becomes well established, it can flower. If a product "catches on" in Japan, sales can skyrocket. However, because of their dedication to high standards of quality and the long isolation of their society, Japanese tend to be resistant to products and services that fail to measure up to exacting standards of quality, to things that are new or different, and to things that fail to appeal to their sense of scale and precision.
[Tip — Success: Where possible, without being boastful, do not hesitate to identify yourself or your organization with prominent people, companies, and products. The Japanese want to be associated with success.]
Japanese society is also highly male-oriented. Do not expect to see many women in senior positions at Japanese firms. A foreign business woman might be annoyed to find that a Japanese business man will often pay greater deference to her male assistant. However, once a Japanese man is made aware of her authority, he has no difficulty in dealing with a woman as an equal.
[Tip — Women: If you are a woman dealing with Japanese, be clear about your title and responsibilities at the outset. Do not hide your gender (for example, by using only your first initials); confusion could later do harm.]
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