The “5 Whys” technique is a problem-solving method commonly used in Japanese business to identify the root cause of a problem. Developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, it involves asking “why” repeatedly to…
Although Japan has long been known for its excessively long working hours, there has been a lot of change in recent years. For example, an interesting new study on sleep deprivation among Japanese employees from…
When working with Japan, it is always useful to know when your colleagues will be out of office. The country has a total of 16 public holidays in a year compared to 10 holidays in…
Japanese culture and business culture is renowned for its emphasis on working in tight-knit groups. In this article, we will look at Japanese office events and how you can draw inspiration from them for your…
Almost everyone knows Sony’s Aibo “robot dog”, whose revival in 2018 marked not only a technological milestone but also a significant cultural touchstone. Designed to replicate the experience of pet ownership, Aibo has found a…
The basis of any effective communication is mutual and undistorted understanding. This is valid even more for online meetings with Japanese and non-Japanese attendees. As explained in a prior JCO blog post, English and Japanese are fundamentally different languages, both in…
Many people that grew up in the 90ies might still remember a Japanese gameshow called “Takeshi’s castle” in which groups of contestants were battling a host called (Beat) Takeshi by overcoming various physical challenges. As…
Our articles often focus on the way cultural roots such as history, philosophy or even religion are reflected in a country’s current business culture. Everywhere in the world, including Japan, the world of work has…
(Japanese version) In the first part we looked at various ways the same sentence could be interpreted based on context and how it is said. Then we reviewed specific danger spots that we need to…
(Click here for Japanese version) Communicating across cultures is always a challenging task especially if you are sent to another country or are communicating frequently with colleagues overseas. Before we look at a few useful…
In a previous post we learned how New Year is celebrated in Japan and how to say “Happy New Year” in Japanese. One of those greetings included yoroshiku onegai shimasu. It is one of the…
With 2022 coming to a close very soon, we would like to use this opportunity to talk about some of the important Japanese customs that come with transitioning over to the new year. On the…
(by Nikolaus Mach-Hour, Head of JCO Germany / VP global strategy) In this last part of our four-part series, I would like to highlight some of the trends regarding how JCO customers are about to…
(by Nikolaus Mach-Hour, Head of JCO Germany / VP global strategy) After discussing changes in HR strategies as well as policies on gender, inclusion and diversity in the second part of the series, in this…
(by Nikolaus Mach-Hour, Head of JCO Germany / VP global strategy) After discussing changes in the management, executive and board layers in the first part of the series, in this second installment I would like…
(by Nikolaus Mach-Hour, Head of JCO Germany / VP global strategy) I have been working with Japanese colleagues, clients and partners for over 30 years and, in this article series, I would like to show…
In this article we are going to tackle a comment by an experienced participant to an open seminar. “I have been working at a Japanese company for quite some time now. So, I am used…
In our previous post, we looked into the reasons why it is not easy for Japanese people to speak and understand English. Once you have realized that it is simply as difficult for Japanese people…
If there is one question that comes up in every JCO session for Non-Japanese it would have to be this one. “Why do so many Japanese struggle in English?” In this article, we will look…
All the trainings, workshops and programs that JCO has been conducting worldwide since 2006 always touch on the subject of communication in all its forms. In this article, we will highlight the visual part of…
In this article let us take a look at a question that comes up in our JCO workshops almost every time: “Why are the Japanese so pedantic, trying to plan everything 150%? Sometimes you just…
Even though Japan is among the richest and most developed countries, the work-life balance of its population may be in need of modernisation. The Japanese are hard workers, so much so that it, at times,…
Many articles, research papers, and books have been written on the Japanese way of communication. Some authors go a bit overboard by referring to Far Eastern myths of “telepathy in the land of the rising…
Information sharing and reporting is often a cause of friction in Japanese companies. Here is one extreme example that shows just how serious the implications can be. A Japanese company abroad appointed their first non-Japanese…
“Even monkeys sometimes fall from trees”, as goes the Japanese expression. Despite over 30 years of working experience with the country, this expression came to me as I realized that I had made a cardinal…
Very often we are asked how to address Japanese business partners or colleagues correctly. Here are a few tips, which of course apply equally to written correspondence as well as to conversations. As a rule…
In keeping with the holiday season, this time we want to delve into the role of religion in Japan and explain whether and how Christmas is celebrated in Japan. Religion in Japan Christianity is not…
Here is an important piece of information that will help you work with Japanese colleagues here and at HQ. If you have ever seen PowerPoint slides created by Japanese you will have noticed 2 points:…
The coronavirus COVID-19 has shaken up the way we work. We now know more about Zoom or MS Team applications than we did a few months ago and have all been invited to an “online…
During one of my seminars I gave in Japan, I realized the different reactions Japanese and Westerners have towards being told they have made a mistake. I am talking about the very first, almost…
Non-Japanese participants to JCO’s sessions often express their incredulity when their supposedly polite Japanese colleagues are suddenly answering their phone albeit being in the midst of a conversation with them. “They just left me standing…
Have you ever tried to brainstorm with Japanese colleagues? If you did, you might have been disappointed by the lack of participation by your colleagues. You might have thought “I can’t believe they are top…
We often hear that Japan has a culture of shame (vs. guilt in the West) This affects many areas of work and life, as to how you are perceived by your neighbors, your colleagues and…
Let´s start with a short question on the use of emoji. Like many things that surround us, emoji originated in Japan and can be translated as 絵, e = “picture” plus 文字, moji = “letter”.…
(translation from JCO article in Japanese) The Japanese government has launched a new work-style reform in Japan as of April 1st, 2019 which steers the Japanese labour market towards a more globally aligned approach to…
In our blog, we answer some of the questions we regularly receive during our seminars. “I had a teleconference with my Japanese colleagues in Japan. We suggested planning for the project and they all agreed…
Japanese CEOs sometimes exemplify a unique approach to corporate leadership. Here are two examples: – Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of a large Japanese online fashion mail order company, is not only known as a collector…
Japan is notorious for its strong emphasis on “humans as resources”: due to its lack of natural resources, Japan instead focuses on forming highly educated and skilled citizens. Education is perceived as not only defining…
Since 2006, JCO has been very active in improving mutual understanding between local and expatriate staff in Japanese companies. After having worked with staff from hundreds of Japanese companies from all across Europe, the Americas…
We are happy to announce that Japan Consulting Office (JCO) has received the “1st BEST Supplier” and “Highest Appreciated Training Institute” award from Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine for the second time. This prestigious recognition is…
When asking a Japanese employee about his non-Japanese colleagues, they might tell you that “they don’t apologize enough” or that “they make excuses”. Indeed, when something goes wrong, we tend to focus more on explaining…
A few years back while visiting Japan, a former university classmate and I stopped by a convenience store to buy some drinks in order not to arrive empty-handed at the home of Saito-san, a common…
Current Situation and Analysis One of the questions we often receive from our customers is about the “localization” of Japanese companies. While the prospects of global markets remain unclear, with what seems to be a…
All people who work regularly with Japanese colleagues have probably experienced this: their level of spoken English is usually not that great. Furthermore, they seem to have a very particular way of pronouncing things: “elevator”…
Japanese participants in JCO seminars very often give following complaint: “Staff in Europe/the US seldom apologize but are always looking for excuses instead.” Let’s take a closer look at the cultural background of this rather…
Cross-cultural misunderstandings often are based on differing cultural values. These differences can very often be seen in the workplace where they manifest in behavior that does not seem to make sense from the viewpoint of…
This time, we want to touch on a phenomenon that everybody working with the Japanese has likely experienced and is invariably raised in JCO’s seminars. Namely the fact that in response to our questions, Japanese…
Sometimes when Westerners work with Japanese they can be frustrated by the lack of feedback from their Japanese managers. Why is it sometimes difficult to get feedback from Japanese managers? There can be many reasons…
On 21 March 2013, Japan Consulting Office launched a new branch in Budapest, Hungary. The new office will be headed by the former Ambassador of Hungary to Japan, Dr. Zoltan Sudy. With a diplomatic and…
In the English language, a common expression is “the elephant in the room”. This of course refers to a major problem or issue that people are aware of but avoid discussing or acknowledging. In the…
In late 2012, Japan Consulting Office opened a new branch in Singapore, headed by locally-based Japanese expat Sunao Fujii. With more than 15 years of consulting and training experience, Mr. Fujii is familiar with the…
When you work with Japanese, whether colleagues or clients, there is an important cultural aspect that many Westerners overlook in their enthusiasm to “get the job done”. Specifically, this is the importance that the Japanese…
