Japanese Business Blog

With the world’s attention business wide turning east; what a relief! it would be to understand the underlying realities of doing business in Asia.  Just like with any country, a prospect business individual would do themselves a great favor by getting to understand the Asian culture and their business way of dealings.

Understanding the realities of doing business in the east is a must.  East includes countries like Japan, Chinese, Asia Thailand and Philippines. While heading east business wise, one needs to employer the services of an interpreter.  The interpreter should be able to stay along until the end of the business.  Changing interpreters in the middle of a business deal is not recommended.  It is also advisable to seek the services of reputed translators and not the third party oriented ones.  When it comes to business negotiations let the interpreter advice you on what to do in advance. Most of these Asian business countries appreciate when a buyer takes time and negotiate with them the value of the item in question.

Dress code

When considering doing business in the East, proper dress code is a must.  Do not over-dress or under-dress, if possible respectable way of dressing will be an honor to both you and the buyer.  Dress code and body language go together.  Among the countries in the east women do not greet men they only bow.  Shaking hands amongst male and female business associates is a sign of dis-respect.  Dressing should be formal with no extremes.

In any business dealings before signing the dotted the line makes sure to find out every single detail. Value the hospitality of your business associate.  The east or oriental people value relations and per their culture if they remove shoes also do so.  Do not abuse the hospitality of your business associate.  When given a business card, receive it by both hands and give out your card using both hands.  Never ever mishandle a business card in-front of a business a business associate.  Take time, show interest and read the business card in-front of your business associate.

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Even if you have been doing your own accounting for years, the tax system in Japan is different. Thus, if you have plans of going to Japan to start a business, consider getting either a bilingual accounting company in Japan or Japanese accounting software.

The concept of corruption in Asia as far as taxes go does not apply to Japan at all. Other countries in the area may be vulnerable to “suggestions” or “donations,” but Japan follows a strict code of ethics, both in their personal and business dealings.

However, aside from getting a Japanese accounting software, you should familiarize yourself with their tax system. You will discover more about the Japanese culture if you do so. Furthermore, you will gain their respect for having taken the time to learn about their tax system. In case you have to answer some questions from the Ministry of Finance, you know what’s going on. You can explain and discuss with them without having to constantly refer to a Japanese accountant. Ultimately, even with a Japanese accounting system, you are responsible for paying the right taxes.

Also, with software, you will need to stay on top of your finances. You will need to customize it to fit your business, so the less you rely on others, the more apt the software will be for your business needs. As a foreign investor, you will need to consolidate your tax returns so that you can file your income tax for both the US and Japan.

Most investors would opt for a company or individual to handle their finances at least for the first year. This is a crucial for any new business venture especially if you don’t know the tax system. Take this year to learn about it so that you can eventually wean yourself from accounting services to an accounting software.

Japanese have been very well known for their firm stand on honor and dignity. It has been known through time even way back from the times of the shogun that Japan has a hard grasp of honor and dignity. They even commit hara-kiri or suicide if they have failed and in the process of failing, they lose their honor. This particular wariness of Japan when it comes to honor and dignity is still pretty much around in their practice, more particularly, in the field of business, and should be something foreigners keep in mind whether you do bilingual accounting in Japan, teach English, or simply work as a translator.

With that being said, business meetings in Japan could somehow be like going to a trial court and waiting for the judge’s verdict for a particular crime. The business meetings in Japan might be of great pressure since Japanese business persons have high standards when it comes to these particular meetings. Japanese businessmen are very particular with the business that they handle since it is the source of their honor. You cannot blame them though if they have this kind of attitude. After all, this attitude should actually be adapted by businesspersons all over the world since Japanese businesspersons set the standards for proper business meeting etiquette.
That is why you should know what to do if you happen to have an impending business meeting in Japan. You might very well be the representative of your company so it would be necessary for you to know what to do in a business meeting in Japan so you could bring honor to your company. You should know the proper business meeting etiquette so that you won’t have a problem with connecting to the businesspersons in Japan.

Dress up appropriately
Of course, this would be one of the most fundamental things that you should be wary of if you a business meeting in Japan. This particular thing is quite repetitive though but somehow, it is still one of the keys to having a successful business meeting in Japan. You could already make lasting impression through the way you dress up. That is why you should always be on your classy outfit upon attending these particular business meetings.

Always be punctual
This means showing up 10 minutes before the scheduled meeting. Japanese have also been doubted as one of the most punctual people in the world. With that being said, of course they won’t be necessarily adjusting to your schedule. As much as possible you should already be present ahead of them so that they could be impressed with your punctuality. And if you think you will be late in the meeting, it is important that you should not keep them waiting. So it would be necessary for you to give them a call 1 hour ahead of the meeting so that they could somehow adjust their schedule.

Have a background of the Japanese culture
Since you would be establishing rapport with the Japanese, it is very important that you could somehow find a connection between you and them. You could simply follow their customs during meetings and they will already be impressed by the effort that you put out in knowing their traditions and customs.