It Takes Time to Do Business with Japanese Companies

When promoting a product, it can be said that there will be many more opportunities to directly meet executives to pitch products in western countries than in Japan. Staff will then be assigned to finalize any agreement. This is the "top-down" system. However, the way of promoting things in Japan is quite different.

Suppose that you are going to promote a service to company A. In general, a low-ranking staff member will take care of you at first. If this staff member thinks your service is useful, he or she will recommend it to his or her supervisor and then, if the supervisor thinks it is worthwhile, he in turn will advise his executive about it.

After this, they will have a conference and a decision will usually be made not only by the executives but also with the staff involved. Since everyone participates in the decisionmaking process, it is rare that somebody is blamed for introducing your service even if your service is not useful. This is the typical Japanese system of decision-making.

On the other hand, if they think that the service your company is providing might not be useful for them, the person in charge will not express his or her opinions, and he or she will often say "We will try to study it," leaving you with some expectation of making a deal. In general, the Japanese won't say "No" on the spot. In order to understand what they are really thinking, experience is required.

Working in Japan List