Page 370 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Japan

368  SUR VIV AL GUIDE

Doing Business and Working Business Cards
in Japan Known as meishi, business
cards are an essential part
of business and social trans-
In business, as in other areas, Japan is a complex blend of actions in Japan. They are vital
hi-tech and old-fashioned. Practicalities are fairly easy in a for learning a person’s status
land that is technologically up to date, but doing business as well as their name; bear
in Japan can be a challenge. The structure and culture of in mind that job titles may
business are so different from the West that misunderstandings not correspond to Western
equivalents, and people may
often arise. With a little luck and plan ning, it is possible to have varied experience within
find work in Japan, although living expenses, especially a company. Have a large stock
for accommodations, can be high. of business cards printed,
preferably in English on one
side and Japanese on the
other. Major hotels and
department stores often pro-
vide this service overnight.
The card’s design is not
important, but avoid rounded
corners, as these were tradi-
tionally used by geisha and
other women in the entertain-
ment world, and the implica tion
of frivolity lives on.
Business cards should be
treated with respect: when
meeting someone for the first
time, proffer your card with
Employees doing communal exercise before starting work both hands, and say your name
clearly; then hand over the card
Business Attitudes and Business Facilities with your right hand, taking
Structures Most major hotels in Japan have the other person’s card with
Japanese business attitudes are excellent business facilities and your left. Keep their card in
dominated by the long term. can provide email and Internet front of you during the
This shows in corporate planning access, arrange rooms for meeting. Forgetting their card
and the slow pace of decision- meetings and conferences, or putting it in a pocket where
making as well as individual and recom mend interpreters. it may be crumpled would be
attitudes. Lifetime employment Business services also advertise seen as signs of disrespect to
at a single firm, although still the in Yellow Pages, English- the other person.
norm, is becoming less common. language magazines, and
However, the company is still a newspapers. Outgoing tele- Negotiating
community around which the phone calls from hotels are
salaryman (male office worker) charged at near-normal rates, Patience and good manners
builds his life. If you ask someone without exorbitant surcharges. are the keys to successful
what they do, the answer may For details on cell phones, fax, negotiation in Japan. Japanese
often not be their trade, but the email, and Wi-Fi and Internet who are used to dealing with
company for which they work. facilities, see pages 374–5. foreigners will make allow ances
The system can be hard The majority of convenience for Western ways, but to stand
for foreigners to break into. stores offer inexpensive the best chance of success it is
Major companies tend to be photo copying and faxing. worth being open to Japanese
bound together, officially or expectations. The basics of
unofficially, in huge industrial etiquette are outlined on
groups (keiretsu), comprising pages 364–7. Avoid dressing
networks of subsidiaries and too informally; arrive for
subcontractors. Exporting is meetings on time or early;
not so difficult, but dealing speak respectfully; and ini tially
with the bureaucracy and decline the seat of honor
paperwork for import and (farthest from the door or
export can be time-consuming. offering the best view over
Nonetheless, effort invested the room).
in groundwork and building Improving personal
contacts and relationships SoftBank’s widely recognized Wi-Fi logo connections through small
can pay dividends. in Japan gifts or business entertaining

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