Japan

Aubrey, Caroline, Colleen, Matt, Megan

Introduction
Japan is the 11th largest country based
on population with around 127,103,388 people

(The World

Factbook, 2014)

Japan is ranked #27 for best countries for business

("Doing

Business Singapore vs Japan", 2011)

Japan is a group of islands that is located at the Pacific

Ring of Fire and neighbors
South Korea, North Korea, and China.

Map and Flag

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/th
umb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/1280pxFlag_of_Japan.svg.png

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/japan-guide/
http://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-2966218-stock-footage-japanese-flag-waving-on-blue-sky-with-

Statistics
Population: 127 million
Ethnicity: 99.4% Japanese
0.06% Ainu Indigenous, Korean, Chinese,
Caucasian
Language: Japanese (The sixth most spoken
language in the world)
Religion: Shinto and Buddhism
GDP- $4.90 trillion in 2013
Japanese currency is the yen

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01931/japanyen_1931929b.jpg

("Business Culture in Japan", 2013)

How to Do Business in Japan Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLwnL
ZdznVA
\

Facts
Japan is a largely cash based society, so most places
will not accept credit cards. (Bouchard, 2015)
Japan consists of 6,852 islands but is only as big
as the state of California.
("10 Facts About Japan That You Can Never Believe To Be True", 2013)

Japan trains are among the worlds most punctual: their average
delay is just 18 seconds. (Japan Facts, 2014)
98% of all adoptions in Japan are of male adults so that family
businesses can remain in the family (Japan Facts, 2014)
Sleeping on the job is acceptable in Japan, as long as its viewed
as exhaustion from working hard (Spacey, 2014)
The Gate Tower Building is a 16 story building that has a highway
running through it (Isaac, 2014)

Appearance
In Japan you always want to dress to impress!
Men should wear a dark suit and both men and women should
wear shoes that are easy to remove.
Women should stay away from wearing heels in a business
setting and should also dress conservatively. They should limit
themselves to the amount of accessories they put on and
should never wear pants while doing business, skirts and
dresses are more professional.
The nail that sticks out gets hit with the hammer. This is a
saying that Japanese say when someone is under-dressed
because they stick out in the crowd. No one wants to be
the nail that sticks out ("Japanese Business Resource | Dress Code", 2015)

http://cf.ltkcdn.net/business/images/slide/144184-849x565r1SeniorJapanesBizman.jpg

Business Card Etiquette

It is important to have 2 sided business cards, one side English
& one side Japanese.
On the card it is important to have your title, the address of
the company, your phone number, and your company name.
The business card should be given at the BEGINNING of a
meeting.
When holding the card be sure to receive and give while only
touching the corners of the card.
When receiving and giving the business card it is polite
to do a small bow.
When receiving the card DO NOT place in pocket, always
review card carefully then place in your wallet. ("Japanese
Business Resource | Dress Code", 2015)

Business Card Etiquette Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of8
UgykfUbw

Behavior While Meeting and Greeting

Gift Giving:
Do not use white wrapping paper on a gift because the color
white symbolizes death, but always wrap your gift nicely.
(Williams, 2012)
Avoid the numbers 4 and 9 because they are unlucky.
Local items from your hometown are common gifts.
Do not give gifts with your company logo on it. They are
considered cheap and unthoughtful.

Greeting:
Bow when greeting someone. A deeper, longer bow indicates
more respect, whereas a head nod is casual and informal. Bows
may be used as a greeting, thank you, or to ask a favor. ("Japanese
Greeting Etiquette", 2015)

Behavior While Dining

Using chopsticks is required
when eating, do not point with
them, when not in use, lay them with
the points facing the left.
When dining, never mix rice
with other foods.
Eat until every last grain of rice is gone.
(Japan - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, 2015)

Behavior
Blowing your nose in public is extremely rude
Eating while walking is considered sloppy
Utilize the toilet slippers when using restrooms
Do not pour your own glass of beverage
You must wait for someone to say Kanpai
(cheers) before drinking (Thrastardottir, 2015)

Behavior: Sitting techniques

When in Japan, it is very common to sit
straight up on the floor.
Formal ways to sit are to kneel
Casual ways to sit, men sit crossed legged
while women sit with knees to side. ("Japanese
Greeting Etiquette", 2015)

Communication
Verbal and nonverbal cues
are used to avoid having someone lose
respect or lose the group harmony
The Japanese use more silence and less
eye contact than U.S. citizens
Japanese are suspicious of a negotiating
team including lawyers (Katz, 2008)

Most Interesting Fact

Sleeping on the job is acceptable in Japan but only if
you are at the point of exhaustion from pushing
yourself and doing your best at your job.
The worlds oldest company operated in Japan from 578
AD to 2006. This was the
Kongo Gumi Construction
Company. (Hutcheson, 2007)

References
Bouchard, K. (2015). Top 10 Things You Need To Know Before Visiting Japan. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
http://www.goabroad.com/articles/study-abroad/top-10-things-you-need-to-know-before-visiting-japan
Business Culture in Japan. (2013). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Business-Facts-and-Figures-on-Japan.html
Doing Business Singapore vs Japan. (2011). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
http://www.guidemesingapore.com/country-reports/japan/doing-business-singapore-vs-japan
Hutcheson, J. (2007). The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business. Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2007-04-16/the-end-of-a-1-400-year-old-businessbusinessweek-business-newsstock-market-and-financial-advice
Isaac, H. (2014). 10 Intriguing Structures And Their Bizarre History - Listverse. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
http://listverse.com/2014/11/05/10-intriguing-structures-and-their-bizarre-history/
Japan - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette. (2015). Retrieved February 23, 2015, from
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/japan-country-profiles.html
Japan Facts: 33 Facts about Japan you didn't know FACTSlides. (2014). Retrieved February 24, 2015,
from
http://www.factslides.com/s-Japan
Japanese Business Resource | Dress Code. (2015). Retrieved February 26, 2015, from
http://www.japanesebusinessresource.com/japanese_business_etiquette/dress-code/
Japanese Greeting Etiquette. (2015). Retrieved February 21, 2015, from http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2000.html
Katz, L. (2008). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from
http://instruction2.mtsac.edu/rjagodka/BUSM_51_Project/Negotiating/Japan.pdf
The World Factbook. (2014). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html

References Continued...
Thrastardottir, A. (2015). 11 Japanese customs that are shocking to foreign travellers. Retrieved February 20,
2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com.au/japanese-customs-that-are-shocking-to-foreign-travelers-2015-2
Spacey, J. (2014). Japan's Sleep at Work Culture. Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/japans-sleep-at-work-culture
Williams, D. (2012). Japan Business Etiquette, Culture, & Manners. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from
http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm
10 Facts About Japan That You Can Never Believe To Be True. (2013). Retrieved February 24, 2015, from
http://www.travelience.com/blog/10-facts-about-japan-that-you-can-never-believe-to-be-true/