Comparative Analysis of Japan and Vietnam

This assignment involves comparing and contrasting Japan and Vietnam, two Asian countries with unique attributes. It covers aspects such as GDP growth, competitive mentality, geographical features, economic conditions, and workforce characteristics. The goal is to identify similarities and differences between the two countries, making Japan an ideal place for business due to its discipline and high education level.

Running head: ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Market Culture report on Japan
Name of the student:
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Author note

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Table of Contents
1.0. Introduction:........................................................................................................................2
1.1. Geography of Japan:........................................................................................................2
1.2. Economy of Japan:..........................................................................................................2
1.3. History of Japan:..............................................................................................................3
2.0. Cultural analysis of Japan:..................................................................................................3
3.0. Business culture of Japan:...................................................................................................4
3.1. Communication:..............................................................................................................5
3.2. Language:........................................................................................................................5
3.3. Religion:..........................................................................................................................5
3.4. Ethics:..............................................................................................................................6
3.5. Values and attitudes:........................................................................................................6
4.0 Hofstede’s five-dimension analysis:....................................................................................6
4.1. Power distance:................................................................................................................7
4.2. Individualism:..................................................................................................................7
4.3. Masculinity:.....................................................................................................................8
4.4. Uncertainty avoidance:....................................................................................................8
4.5. Long-term orientation:.....................................................................................................8
4.6. Indulgence:......................................................................................................................9
5.0. Conclusion:.........................................................................................................................9
Reference:................................................................................................................................10

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1.0. Introduction:
This paper is dealing with the cultural market analysis of Japan and all the cultural
components are prescribed in a chronological way. A cross cultural market analysis has been
made in this report where Vietnam has been chosen as home country and Japan is chosen as
host country. The main rationale that working behind choosing Japan as a host country are
that Japan is the third largest commercial market is the world and the huge population of the
country has made a positive market possibility for any kinds of business. Further, Japan is
popular for its innovative skills (Yoshimizu, 2015). This motivates the entrepreneur to start
up their business in Japan. The economical condition of Japan is also an attractive feature for
business start up. This report has compared the two cultural aspects of Japan and Vietnam
through Hofstede’s cultural dimension.
1.1. Geography of Japan:
Japan is bounded by mountain, sea, and forest and greeneries have covered almost
68% portion of Japan. Japan is situated in the volcanic zone. Agriculture is very rare in Japan
and the economic base of the country is depended on trade and commerce. There are many
islands present in Japan (Debroux, 2017). The country has been surrounded by sea and river
and therefore, suitable business atmosphere can be observed in Japan.
1.2. Economy of Japan:
Japan has a highly developed and market oriented economy that positioned the
country in the fourth place regarding the purchasing power parity. Majority of the Japanese
market is based on electrical goods and automobiles. The innovative skill of Japan has placed

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the country in one of the highly developed countries. Japan is very good in robotic
technology and strong structural regularities can be observed there. Another attractive thing is
that Japan is very good at exporting products and it is the largest wholesale fisheries market
in the world. The income of the people is very good in Japan and it can be stated that Japan is
the potential place for business. Japanese industry is diversified and high technological
development help the country to expand the business-based atmosphere (Debroux, 2017).
Further, the legislations implemented in the country are quite flexible and allows the
domestic as well as the international entrepreneur to start up new businesses there.
1.3. History of Japan:
Civilisation in Japan has been observed in the pre-historic period that has been
recorded in the Book of Han. Japan was divided into separate sectors and empirical rule had
observed in Japan at the early stage. The era of Heian kyo was considered as the golden age
of Japan. Development in culture, politics and religion has been observed in this period.
Many dynasties were ruled over Japan for times. The modern constitution of Japan has been
enacted in the year 1947 and Japan has become culturally and financially developed country
after the year of 1955. The country has been affected by the earthquake and tsunami for
several times. Women in the Japanese society have occupied an important place since Mieji
dynasty.
2.0. Cultural analysis of Japan:
A country’s national differences can be understood by its national culture. A mixed
culture has been observed in Japan where both the traditional and modern culture is
appreciated. Certain cities like Tokyo are one of the important cultural centres of the world
and in this section; the cultural components of Japan will be discussed:

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The Japanese are appreciated for their well manners and cultural tastes. Almost
every citizen of Japan can read or write and it can be stated that majority of people are
literate. The gender equality is one of the positive points in Japan where the girls and boys are
enjoyed similar rights in all sector (Kronenfeld et al., 2015). According to a report published
in 2007, the GDP rate regarding educational expenditure was 3.7% in Japan. The cultural
demography of Japan is divided in two main sects such as Shinto and Buddhists. However, it
is a secular country, there are many religions like Christians, and Catholics resides in Japan.
Punctuality is the greatest part of the Japanese culture and the noble persons are appreciated
by Japan. The Japanese are like to work on team base and they spread the notion of
friendliness and harmony. The primary language of Japan is Japanese. They are appreciated
their mother language a lot. Being situated on pan pacific arena, earthquake has done in the
country very frequently and it has been observed that this changes the life style of the
Japanese. Agriculture is the negative side of Japan and most of the land of Japan is covered
by Japan. Therefore, the people are quite habituated with the hectic life styles and the cultural
aspect has enriched their mind to highest level of dignity. The Japanese are well known for
the hard work and efficiency.
On the other hand, Vietnam is situated in Indochinese Peninsula and the life style
of the Vietnamese is quite hectic free. Further, the GDP rate of the country is not that much
high and this made the country as a developing one. The society of Vietnam is feminine and
they are communicated with each other in indirect process. Like Japan, Vietnamese are also
worshipped Lord Buddha. The people of Vietnam are peace loving and most of them are
depending on the cultivation. The geographic side of Vietnam is not that much hectic
compared to Japan. However, Vietnamese are also love tyo work with proper dignity.

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3.0. Business culture of Japan:
Japan is one of the most profitable and developed business centres in the globe that
positioned Japan as one of the most economically developed countries in the world.
However, business culture of Japan is quite complex in nature. This report is discussing about
certain major elements of Japan such as communication, language, ethics, religion, values
and attitudes, manners and customs (North & Fiske, 2015). The social structure of the
country is also an important factor in case of business culture. The cultural dimensions must
be realised by the entrepreneur before starting any business in Japan. The cultural dimension
of Japan could be divided into following parts:
3.1. Communication:
The most complex thing regarding the business culture of Japan is
communication. The main language of Japan is Japanese, many words of Japanese language
have double meaning, and it is quite difficult to communicate in this language. a tiny wrong
expression can change the whole meaning of a word and can spoil the business agreement at
any time. In Vietnam, body language is the main essential for communication. The nature of
the communication is indirect (Mar Miras‐Rodríguez, Carrasco‐Gallego & Escobar‐Pérez,
2015).
3.2. Language:
Japanese is the first language of Japan. Most of the labour classes and middle class
Japanese are speaking in Japanese and that is posed as a serious threat for any foreign
entrepreneur to open their branches in Japan. However, English is the second language and
major portion of educated persons are talking in English. Japan is a highly context country
and the government of the country allows the people to speak in different languages. The
official language of Vietnam is Vietnamese. However, in certain business sector, the usage of
French language can be seen.

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3.3. Religion:
The ancient religion of Japan is Shinto and the Japanese are professing this
religion since fifth century. The Buddhist cult is another language that is professed in Japan.
The Japanese are followed the principles of Eight Fold Path in their life and this principle is
creating impact on the business criteria of Japan too. Lord Buddha has originated the concept
of Eight Fold Path and according to him; people should follow eight rules for leading their
life. Vietnam also follows the cult of Buddhism and Confucianism like Japan.
3.4. Ethics:
In Japan, the principle of equality and diversity is being followed at every level.
The Japanese are admiring the hard working classes and they respect the hard work. This
mentality has helped the country to develop their base and it has been observed that the
Japanese are very much concern with the business criteria (Ferraro & Briody, 2017). The
most important thing is that the Japanese are like to work in team basis and they cooperate
with the others in case of business area. They are supportive in nature and this has enriched
the business culture of Japan. The ethical consideration of Vietnam is also good and they
prefer well manner in the business arena.
3.5. Values and attitudes:
Japanese are popular for their well manners and routine work. Japanese are
showing respect to all the staffs irrespective of their position and class. Further, they are very
punctual. Similarity can be observed in this case also where the Vietnamese are also give
much value to the people and they support the hard working mentality of the people.
4.0 Hofstede’s five-dimension analysis:
The framework of Hofstede model depends on the cross-cultural comparison in
between two countries. Geert Hofstede had propounded this theory. This model analyse the

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dimensions of national cultures of two countries. The national cultures of the theory talks
about the power distance index, uncertainty avoidance index and log-term orientation. In this
section, the cross cultural aspect of countries like Japan and Vietnam will reveal the
dimensions like power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term
orientation and indulgence.
Figure 1: Hofstede tool showing comparison between Japan and Vietnam
(Source: hofstede-insights.com, 2018)
4.1. Power distance:
The term power distance reflects the attitude of the less powerful members of a
business organisation towards the unequal power distribution. Japan has scored in the
borderline performance in case of hierarchical society. All the decision regarding the
businesses is taking in a slow manner as all the decisions are required the assent of every
stages of employees (Morita et al., 2017). However, in case of Vietnam, any one of the leader
and therefore, the process of taking decisions can take decisions are quite liberal in that
country.
4.2. Individualism:
Individualism reflects the scope of interdependence in between the members.
Japanese are quite good in this sector as the Japanese society can be grouped as collectivistic

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society where everyone wants to retain a harmony in them. The Japanese are famous for their
company loyalty and they are like to choose their own business segmentation. This reflects
their mentality towards their individualism in case of business (Yoo et al., 2014). In Vietnam,
also an essence of collectivistic societal culture can be observed where the people are
fostering towards relationship. The business management is professing by group culture.
4.3. Masculinity:
Masculinity shows the index of competition, achievement and success. The Japanese
society is known as the most masculine society in the world. The Japanese are learnt about
competition at their early childhood and they invest all their hard work for gain the win over
the competitors. The Japanese employees are too much motivated for the market competition.
Japanese are quite workaholic and that reflects their mentality to masculinity. However,
Vietnam is feminine society (North & Fiske, 2015). All the business conflicts in this country
are solved by way of negotiation. All the decisions are being taken by way of involvement.
4.4. Uncertainty avoidance:
Japan has secured its first place in case of uncertainty avoidance country in the
world. It is a fact that the continents of Japan are affected by the natural calamities very
frequently and this helped them to be prepared for any situation and they are performing on
the basis of maximum predictability. Japanese are analyses all the possible risk factors before
taking any decision (Debroux, 2017). However, this high term of uncertainty avoidance has
made the possibility of change very difficult. On the other hand, Vietnam is not that much
good at uncertainty avoidance. Change can be observed at every single stages of Vietnamese
society.

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4.5. Long-term orientation:
The Japanese are quite motivated nation and they are thinking that they have to do
many things in their life. This mentality makes them one of the most long-term oriented
societies in this world. Long-term orientation can be observed in case of high rate of
investment in Japan (Ferraro & Briody, 2017). Besides, good capital rate and growing rate is
also carrying the flow of long-term orientation process. However, the society of Vietnam is
quite pragmatic and they are very much depended on situation and time.
4.6. Indulgence:
The term indulgence can be defined as an extent where the people are trying to
control their impulses. However, Japanese are lagging behind in this case and they are not
giving much time for the gratification of their desires. The society of Vietnam is also carrying
a pessimistic attitude towards this orientation.
5.0. Conclusion:
To sum up, it can be stated that there are certain similarities found in between Japan
and Vietnam. However, the history, geography, culture and economical condition of Japan
carry a unique attribute. The GDP growth and competitive mentality of the country help the
country to hold an effective position in the world. The geographical attribute helps the
country in case of business and commerce and the economic condition of the country has
become flourished. All these things make Japan a superlative host country. Further, Japan can
be considered as a gateway of the Asian market and all the work force engaged in Japan are
highly educated. The employees are quite helpful and disciplined, all these features have
made Japan ideal place for business, and the people want to do business in Japan.

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