"How to Do Business with the Japanese"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Americans and other Westerners find negotiating with Japanese both frustrating and fascinating because Westerns are unable to believe things are as they seem in Japanese business proceedings, which results in some unusual and roundabout ways of negotiation. The author points out the difficulty of using advertising created in America because many English terms simply do not translate properly into Japanese and many of the people working at so-called "English-speaking agencies" do not speak English well enough. This paper concludes that, although the book was written in 1993, the author's description of the hard and fast traditional ways the Japanese strongly insist on doing business with foreigners means it will be well into the 21st century before anything changes and the Japanese will come to realize that some of their frustrating business methods need to be updated and internationalized.

From the Paper:

"The language barriers are formidable. DeMente figures only about 5% of all interpreters from Japanese to English are truly competent, which means that often the nuances of both languages fail to get translated and everyone misses the point. Even in lighthearted situations, the misunderstandings can be hard to grasp. At an Osaka hotel, next to a series of sunlamps in the spa, there was a sign which read "To Kill Water Bugs." Actually, the lamps were for athlete's foot treatment, but the Japanese term for Athlete's foot is mizu mushi which translates as "water bugs"."

More papers on "How to Do Business with the Japanese":

• Essay # 36882 : "Business with Japan"
• Comparison Essay # 67303 : "Business Customs Between Japan and the U.S."
• Research Paper # 30218 : "Conducting Business in Japan: A North American Manager's Guide"

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