JoLena Perkin

BC607
Assignment 2.1 Dialogue 2

Nemawashi

Nemawashi literally stands for "digging around the root”. (1) This manifests itself in consensus
building across the Japanese team before a decision is taken or a change is initiated. Nemawashi
is a very important concept you need to know if you want to understand how Japanese
companies work.

Nemawashi is best used to let people of differing opinions have time to adjust their opinions.
When the principles of nemawashi are put into effect first, people have the time to adjust
opinions beforehand without wasting time. The main fear people have of nemawashi is its use in
politics. People are worried that decisions are sometimes made behind the scenes, instead of out
in the open. It is therefore seen as an undemocratic process,

Nemawashi might seem a long, round-about method of accomplishing a goal; however, the
process has favorable aspects. The first of these is that many people have had input into the
proposal. Second is that by the time a proposal makes it to the formal meeting, potential
problems and means of solving them have been identified. Third, and very important to the
Japanese desire to maintain harmony and save face, is that the proposal can be approved without
debate or challenge and the possible resulting embarrassment.

Americans tend to believe that everyone should have their own opinion and be able to
communicate it clearly and persuasively. In contrast, Japanese tend to be more reticent about
expressing their personal opinions, preferring to wait to see what the rest of the group thinks. The
open display of contrasting opinions, central to the western concepts of discussion and debate,
tends to be uncomfortable for Japanese because it can lead to loss of face or damage to
interpersonal relations.

Non-Japanese are often unaware of when Japanese colleagues have lost the thread of the
conversation. This can easily happen when difficult vocabulary is used or when there is a
digression. For a Japanese person it is embarrassing to admit that they do not understand by
asking for clarification. Furthermore, Japanese often fear that stopping the group discussion for
an explanation will slow things down, and they are reluctant to inconvenience others in that way.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Those who are not Japanese are left out of nemawashi. Often, even without realizing it, Japanese
automatically launch into nemawashi mode prior to a meeting. As a result, they come to a
meeting already having reached a common understanding. Then, when the non-Japanese come to
the meeting table prepared to discuss and debate, they wonder why their Japanese colleagues
have already made up their minds. This is extremely puzzling to non-Japanese, and makes them
feel left out.

Non-Japanese do not do nemawashi before meeting. When non-Japanese are trying to advance a
proposed idea, they may not realize that nemawashi is the best way to approach key Japanese
decision-makers. Instead, they tend to wait until the meeting, springing the idea on Japanese
colleagues then. Although this is comfortable for non-Japanese, who typically have no difficulty
reacting immediately to new suggestions and information, it can make Japanese extremely
uncomfortable. Japanese decision-makers would expect to have been informally informed about
a new idea, and may feel resentful that they were not consulted with before the meeting. Second,
Japanese may have difficulty quickly processing information that is presented in English,
particularly if new concepts and vocabulary are involved, or if much of the explanation is done
orally. As a result, they will not necessarily absorb enough to be able to immediately launch into
a meaningful discussion or reach a decision.

Preparing for a meeting

Both men and women should dress in suits, conformity is very important in Japanese corporate
culture. After your Japanese hosts bows to you, be sure to bow an equal height, as how low you
bow indicates where you stand socially with your host. Shack hands if your host does first. At the
beginning of a meeting exchange business cards, business will not be conducted until this is
done. The Japanese use two hands when they give out a business card, and you should do the
same. Make sure the business card is clean. Your status determines where your seating is at the
meeting table, when you are served a beverage or food during the meeting and so on, is
determined by your status in the meeting. Let the host seat you. Make sure you bring a gift. It is
customary to exchange gifts at the end of a business meeting. (2)

Complexity of a Japanese Representative Office

Japanese Corporate Law does not treat representative offices as legitimate business
establishments. As a general rule, you can freely set up a representative office without
registration.It is prohibited for a Representative Office in Japan set of sales, open bank accounts,
lease real estate under their own name. They are allowed to do market research and analysis,
purchasing of goods and materials and launching publicity campaigns. Representative offices are
easy to set up and extra costs are minimal. Unfortunately, such offices are limited to promoting
only a company's business and are not permitted to perform any business transactions such as
sales, importing, shipping, invoicing, and related activities.

An Office branch on the other hand has to be registered and paperwork need to be submitted to
obtain governmental approval to operate a business in Japan. In addition, branch offices are
generally subject to corporate income tax in Japan. (3)
(1) http://www.ehow.com/how_2093274_use-etiquette-conducting-business-
japan.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art
retrieved March 8, 2009

(2) http://www.optiapartners.com/en/global/corporate_entities.html retrieved March 9, 2009

(3) http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/96/10/009.html retrieved March 11, 2009