Hello, I would like to say thank you straight away to all of you who will reply.
As per the title, I will have a meeting (online) with some Japanese distributors and I am concerned about the cultural differences in how these meetings usually unfold in Japan. The meeting will be held in English.
For perspective, I am European. Is business in Japan straight to the point, no chit-chat? Is there small talk at the beginning? Is there anything I have to look out for in particular?
I have been told by other colleagues that have worked with Japanese firms that “I need to read between the lines” as they were not always clear with their intentions with him. Is that true at all?
Please let me know if anything comes to your mind! I wish to be as respectful as possible.
Thank you again for your help!
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/11rqu1e/upcoming_meeting_with_japanese_distributor/
2 comments
>”I need to read between the lines” as they were not always clear with their intentions with him. Is that true at all?
Yes, basically, but you have no reference for this so this advice is sort of impossible for you to use.
Japanese are often not direct. That said Japanese who are doing business internationally should probably be more direct in business meetings than those who are not doing business internationally.
Contracts are honored as contractual, licenses are paid, etc. So that aspect is the same in Japan. Just make sure your contracts are clear and you should be fine.
In general Japanese would prefer to spend more time to better understand the other partner/product/etc. and have a longer-term relationship with the business partner. This means that sales cycles are often longer than in other markets. Relationships are worth more than profits in many cases because a long-term relationship (decades, etc.) may be more profitable in the long run.
If it’s a Japanese distributor of European products, he probably has some experience with foreign companies and what to expect. That’s… his job 🙂
He speaks English and he’s able to interact directly with a foreign company, with this only point only he’ll be more international and “in line with what you expect” than 90% of Japanese businesses. Honestly, just be yourself, polite, sure, but don’t overplay it. You’re not trying to negotiate anything with an interpretor in between, which would be a totally different experience.