Understanding Japanese Business Etiquette for a Successful Meeting

2019
Student name
4/9/2019
Communication in Business

Individual Cultural Essay
Culture plays a vital role while conducting business in any country. The major aspects of any
culture include language, value, ethics, religion, and most importantly business etiquettes. Marry,
who has always been in food loving environment as her parents were chef, and she has learned
various skills from her parents. She has been conducting the business of food manufacturing,
offering a variety of chilli sauces, chutneys, condiments, and jams. She has her own “The Aroma
Shop” and a factory nearby. The unique selling proposition for the foods offered by her company
is use of organic ingredients, with no additional preservatives for preparation of all the products.
She is willing to expand business and enter into the Japanese market, although there is a great
difference in Japanese culture, which she must learn and adapt in order to have a successful
meeting with manager of a popular store that is Mr Moro (Taylor & Okazaki, 2015). The report
will include Japanese business etiquette understanding and steps that Marry could take to make
her first business meeting in Japan successful.
While pertaining good first impression in the business meeting in Japan some of the major
aspects that must be adapted by Mary included in Japanese etiquettes. One of the most important
etiquettes would be greeting that is the Bow that is said to be “ojigi” in Japan. This could be very
helpful for an individual from western culture visiting Japanese while building good rapport by
this gesture. Moreover, the depth while bow represents the status of an individual. For instance if
Marry is going to meet Mr Moro who is 55 years old and at higher authority must bow more than
him while greeting to show respect. Another etiquette to be considered by Mary would be to
wait before heaving seat. When an individual is visiting someone’s office, until an individual
says to take a seat it is not recommended to sit initially. Second, preparations of business cards in

advance, this is a way to present oneself in the first place. This reflects as a sign of interest in
business relation with another party. Time is one of the major factors in Japanese culture, as
punctuality is given due importance in such business culture. Being on time does not mean on
actual time, being before time is considered impressive in this culture. Considering the art of
conversation would include talking about some personal affairs like praising the hospitality
received. It is recommended to use apologies or express gratitude frequently when a serious
intention is been presented and politeness must be preferred in Japan. Therefore, to build an
impression, Marry could have asked some personal questions to Mr Moro regarding family
affairs and heal and presenting the business proposal politely (Nakamura & Nagayoshi, 2018).
Body language is the most expressive non-verbal conversation that has to be understood before
entering Japan. For instance, laughter is usually taken as an indication of distress or
embarrassment rather than amusement. The handshake must not be grabbing the host’s hand, it
must be a hearty shake and in addition, some of the people are uncomfortable with handshakes
and avoid meeting again. OK sign means money in this nation, so it must be used carefully. In
business meeting the apparel like dress code for men is different as per the climate. For instance
in case marry is about to visit in May to September is recommended to wear formals in grey
colour and avoid black or dark colours. Offering gift is a very significant part of the business
protocol of Japanese which emphasis on rituals rather than the gift content. This can be used by
Marry to have a good first impression with Mr Moro. One thing that has to considered by Marry
would be avoiding white flowers to offer to Moro or four or nine in numbers must be avoided as
it is considered as unlucky in Japan. For Mary to be more impressive must be more formal than
that of the UK or other western countries (Hughes et al., 2018).