Doing business in Japan

Today people around the world are more connected to each other then ever before and money and information flow more quickly then ever. Products and services produced in one part of the world are gradually becoming more and more available all across the globe. The main reason for this is the globalization of companies and businesses. I have a big interest in doing business across boarders and I would like to work abroad in the future. I thought about how often you refer to international companies, makes phone calls to another country to do businesses and when I worked for IKEA and a design agency called Bas Brand Identity, Japan always came up as an innovative and inspirational country.

A few weeks ago I did a presentation in my Intercultural communication class about doing businesses with Swedish people to learn about my own culture and to find out strengths and weaknesses in the Swedish business environment. As the time pass by I have been doing some research for companies I work for in Sweden about interior design and packaging design. During this time I have been curious and interested to do a research about doing business with the Japanese people. By being in Japan now for half a year I am also very interested to come back to Japan to work and with the Japanese peoples high taste of foreign products and companies I will probably face Japan in different ways when I work in Sweden as well. But by doing international business also mean dealing with differences and misunderstandings. According to anthropologist Edward T hall business starts with a relationship and by watching his movie “Doing international businesses” I learned that the Japanese people wants to get to know their clients very well before doing business. This means that they wants to spend very much time together with their clients both at work and after work to get to know them well. According to Edwards T Halls book “Hidden differences, doing business with the Japanese” the Japanese people pay much attention to detail information. You should be well prepared with a lot of background information and you should also be prepared for many questions and be able to answer them. In the negotiations, remain humble, indirect and not threatening, Edward T Hall writes that, you should not put people in the spot and do not disagree openly. The Japanese professionals are well educated in doing business with the west and will try to modify their behaviors to accommodate you. Since international business means dealing with cultural differences, which can result in misunderstanding through language, behavior and communication styles you should study the language and the culture of the country you plan to do business with.

As I wrote before I have while I have been in Japan done some research for the companies I work for in Sweden which include trends in stores, interior design and packaging design. The agency do a lot of businesses with Japan and I had a short conversation with one of them some days ago to talk about what they thought about doing business with the Japanese people. The first thing that came up was that the Japanese people are very friendly, we in Sweden share a devotion to long-term business relationships and so do Japan therefore we work very well together. She mentions that their friendly attitude can sometimes be too much. It is difficult to do businesses with people who says yes and means now. After all those years we have been in business I have start to understand that the Japanese people does not prefer to use the word no, but this can be very complicated when we should make decisions. Before we end up the phonecall she say's that Japan is a very interesting country to do business with because the Japanese culture is very very different from ours!

Resources: International Business of John J. Wild, Kenneth L. Wild, Jerry C.Y Han.

Edward T Halls movie “Doing international businesses”

Edward T Halls book: Hidden differences. Doing business with the Japanese.

Shichigosan

Last weekend when me and my Swedish friends who was here on vacation walked down Kyoto’s beautiful streets we walked right into a shrine. It was crowded with people, mostly young children. The girl’s was dressed in beautiful kimonos with dangling decorations and flowers. Some boy’s wore traditional Japanese clothes while some wore suits. It was hard for us to figure out what was going on but it looked like a big happening. The children stayed close to their families. Many of them took pictures, both with the child alone and together with different family members. Stalls closed to the shrine sold souvenirs and my friend Martin bought colorful candy and got it in a beautiful bag. This week when I discussed religion and tradition with my Japanese friends one of them mentioned Shichigosan. I think it’s quite fun that the first topic they mention had an explanation which matched perfect with my last weekends experience at the shrine in Kyoto. I went to the library and read about Shichigosan festival in the book Picorial encyclopedia of Japanese life and events written by Nakayama Kaneyoshi. The writer explains Shichigosan as a festival when boy’s and girl’s go to the shrine to give thanks for their good healthy growth so far and to pray for a safe and healthy future. Shichigosan literally means seven, five and tree and represent the children’s age and how old they are when they celebrate Shichigosan. In the article Shichigosan in The Japan Times the writer describes how parents ask the shrines to perform an “oharai” purification rite and ricite a “norito” Shinto prayer for their children’s good health. Stalls sell souvenirs such as good-luck talismans and it is customary after the visit to buy pink and white Chitose-ame ("thousand-year candy"). The festival is celebrated from October to November, the official day is November the 15. The boy’s and girl’s are dressed up in their finest formal clothing. The article Shichigosan in The Japan Times writes that now day most parents are renting instead of buying kimono to their children. The price varies depending on quality but a Shichigosan kimono set ranges from 19.800 – 98.000 yen for tree year old girls. I talked to my neighbor to find out more about Shichigosan and to let her describe her experiences and feelings about this tradition. She says that girls celebrate when they become tree and seven years and boys celebrate when they become tree and five. I ask her why they celebrate at this specific ages and she can’t remember exactly why. According to the article Shichigosan in The Japan Times Shichigosan is celebrated at tree years because the parents let their children’s hair grow to celebrate their growth. When boys turns five years they are allowed to wear their first “Hakama” pleated traditional trousers. When girls turned seven parents celebrate that their doughters went from using straps to secure their kimono to wear obi. My neighbor who is 19 years old tells me that the day she celebrated Shichigosan she went to the photo studio early in the morning, before that the hairdresser have styled her and her mother had helped her with her clothes. When she turned tree she wore her own kimono and when she turned seven they rented a kimono. She also tells me something new interesting that I couldn’t find in my secondary sources, that they also celebrate when they turn twenty to thanks for their healthy life and to pray for the future. Next year when she turns twenty she is going to wear her mothers kimono.

Colorful Chitose-ame ("thousand-year candy")

Who are these people?

Picture borrowed from www.bryanboy.com

Have you ever heard of Japans ”Herbivore" men? I haven’t heard of them until a Japanese girl in my Intercultural communication class mention Herbivorous men on her presentation last week. Who are these people? What characteristics do they have? The author and pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa describe in his article Japans "Herbivore men" less interested in sex and money that Herbivore men is a young generation of male people, most of them in the age of 20-30. They have a big interest in fashion and personal appearance. They are not likely to work and spend much time alone. He mentions that the most important thing to remember about Herbivorous men is that they believe in friendship without sex and that they are not looking for a girlfriend. In the article Japans "Herbivore" men shun corporate life, sex the author Yumi Otagaki writes that Herbivorous men identify themselves as grass-eating men who’s not interested in flesh. The author also describes the Herbivorous men mindset as a reaction to the end of the Japans late 1980s "bubble economy". Their experiences through tough times have given Herbivorous men a different attitude about consumption. All though they have a big interesting in fashion and shopping they don’t buy thing to show off, and of course one reason of that is that they can’t afford it. I found this topic very difficult to do a research on because I didn’t wanted to point out guys on the streets, asking them if they consider themselves as "Herbivorous" men. Instead I found it interesting to hear girl’s opinions about these guys. I talked to two Japanese students here on Kansai Gaidai University that I haven’t met before. Both girls I talked to were very familiar with "Herbivorous" men. They didn’t mention many positive thing about these guys. The first girl I talked to Yumiko, 19 years old described "Herbivorous" men as lazy guys who don't want to work. They love to stay close to their house, spending time with close friends or with their mother. They have a lot of female friends but they are not looking for a relationship. Miki 23 years old described "Herbivorous" men as guys who like to do women’s work, they like cooking, cleaning, they like to spend time with their mother and they are not interested in dating girls. She mention "Otomen" a Japanese romantic comedy manga which have become very popular the last two years in Japan. The TV drama is about Asuka Masamune who is the coolest guy on school, but he also have a secret, he loves sweets, cute things, cooking and sewing. Miki says that she thinks the popularity of the TV drama have increased the acceptance of "Herbivore" men. I ask her if she would like to be in a relationship with a "Herbivorous" men and she laugh, no, definitive not but if my boyfriend could get some of their positive characteristics like doing household work I would be very glad. I am still wondering, who are these people, how can we identify them and how do we research a sensitive topic like this? I found an interesting video with the author and pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa who discuss "Herbivorous" men.