Introduction
Geographic and Language
The Asiatic geophysical location of Japan places its collective land masses in Eastern Asia, situated in the northerly Pacific Ocean, bounded by the Sea of Japan on the other side. According to the data source experts at Index Mundi, beyond the adjacent oceanic water bodies, its latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates are 36 00 N, 138 00 E (“Japan – Geography,” 2015). In terms of mapping references, Japan lies east of China’s enormous nation. For considerations of the business traveler who intends to travel to Japan, for pending negotiations settlements, the length of the trip alone presents quite an investment of time and money. This is true despite the international socioeconomic community being connected via the Internet, and online electronic communications. Commonly renowned for earthquakes, Japan is quite mountainous with approximately 140,000 square miles of land including the main four islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Winters are very cold.
Obviously, the modern era and tradition have created a bridge of symbiosis in Japan and Japanese culture. But, particularly for the business person, the Japanese language is definitely a component of a cultural marker. Therefore, Japanese is the primary language used, with corresponding written forms to the spoken, comprised of a stroke format similar to the Chinese symbolic system. Nevertheless, general knowledge defines the two scripts as hiragana and katakana. Culturally, in a linguistic context, each language carries a sense of ethnocentrism as a centered attitude and relativity, although anthropologists try to “overcome bias” (“Language and Culture,” 2011). However, a main concept concerning business communications in terms of reaching goals, participating stakeholders would need to have more than simply a linguistic common-ground. A prime key in how developing a fruitful path towards product development, and introduction, into Japanese culture is having the mutual respect in taking time to prepare an understanding about the other’s culture.
Demographic Data and Government
The demographics of Japan are densely comprised. In other words, language, ethnicity, and values tend to be tightly convergent. In an analytical article pertaining to Spanish-Japanese business relationships, Garcia (2015) wrote that “Japan continues to be a country where doing business is often challenging,” and suggested that traditional values of the culture have survived over centuries (“Japanese Cultural Values”). The population of roughly 127 million, whose 70 percent of residents live in urban cities, crowd the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and a few others according to Index Mundi (“Demographics”). The interesting factor is, while there is no official language, Japanese dominates, with an ethnic populace described as 98.5 percent Japanese and a “Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy” type of governmental structure (“Government,” 2015). An astonishing fact of pride for Japan’s peoples, according to the same above source, is the data findings on literacy rate equals 99 percent. Obviously, this should demonstrate to business persons that the country is filled with a population that is not only tightly knit, but very smart as well.
Given the raw statistical facts for demographics and government status, there is a specified way that Japanese expect to conduct business. Properly understanding how to proceed through the maze of cultural issues for the foreigner, can make goals achievement challenging, painful, or even impossible. Garcia (2015) noted three key influencers which impact on the Japanese style of doing business as geographical conditions, philosophical and spiritual traditions, and foreign influences – as each compress under an overarching rubric of Japan’s cultural-values in doing business its way. It is very important to reflect at this point, that Japan’s sense of philosophical spirituality and religion does rule and guide decision making. These beliefs, some steeped in Zen Buddhism, combine with specified business values. Other philosophical effects derive from Shinto and Confucianism. Today, Japan’s corporate governance system “is a blend of national and international law, voluntary codes, and local practices” (“Business Risks in Japan,” 2014). Additionally, key cultural markers represent: (1) emphasis on importance of relationships, (2) concept of ‘saving face’ or avoiding offense, in terms of publicly harmful exposure, (3) high sense of self-disciplined control, (4) placement of heavy weight on the value of silence, (5) striving for perfection and a whole host of other qualities (Garcia, 2015, “Japanese Cultural Values”). While it is true that economic and historical factors inform collective business behavior, tradition colors the importance of harmony.
Economic Conditions and Historical Factors
This entire organism, called society, is highly complex. As such, the economic conditions and historical factors of Japan can reasonably be relied upon to represent components which have shaped modern Japanese culture. The view of one scholarly researcher, Moeran (2003), on Japan’s popular culture and anthropology, asserted that studying culture in authentic ways is extremely difficult to do. In further a commentary, poised in the form of a book review discourse, Moeran (2003) suggested that the progress of those outside Japan’s culture have not made very much progress in understanding it. That said, quantitative data in support of cultural analysis would be even more difficult to fathom. Nevertheless, Japan’s economy emerged from the ashes of World War II to demonstrate fervent “government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, master of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation [of 1% of GDP],” which helped boost the nation into a highly respected competency of advanced technological development (“Economy,” 2015). According to sources at Index Mundi, Japan’s heavily industrialized economy leans on the importation of raw materials, however is less dependent on other nations’ goods in rice production. Yet, other foods are imported, given the reality of its tiny agri-sector, amounting to approximately 60 percent. The same report indicated that Japan faltered during the 2008 global recession resulting in less demand for its exports.
The eyes of the world watched in horror as the Fukushima nuclear power-plant spill responded to the terrible earthquake, and tsunami in March, 2011. A deliberate rebound from these woes – also remembering the devastation of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the 1940s – saw Japan progress in 2013 to fourth place among world economies. This is remarkable, if you really think about it. Nothing less than a cohesive dedication to culture, and strong principles of values can explain it.
Foreign stock investment in Japan’s economy has increased, yet considering Japan’s culturally conservative approach to taking business risks presents another hurdle for businesses set on successful product introduction. Language and culture are the two major barriers for outsiders to penetrate business goals within Japan. However, this is not the only caveat. There persist a few negative associated with Japan, in terms of fostering mutually fruitful economic trade cooperation.
Negative Cultural Influence
At the outset of this sub-section, it is important to note that there are rural areas in Japan, where other languages are spoken. Scholarly experts at Columbia University mentioned that Tokyo itself is a mass of different villages, and often neighborhoods cast their settings grouped around Shinto temple-shrines (“Contemporary Japan,” 2014). Tokyo sustains volunteer fire departments, and since local/neighborhood associates abound and function so efficiently, there is little need for police to seize ‘crime’ with a heavy hand (“Contemporary Japan,” 2014). For the rural dwellers in Japan, the aged population is tending to suffer, and require specialized social services, in terms of medicine which is not as readily available as in the cities. Education of the young in outlying areas is difficult to engage because there may not be enough children to “justify maintaining a school” (“Contemporary Japan,” 2014). For business considerations, Japan’s culture has not made much progress in ‘reaching-out’ – so to speak – in mastering English. Compared to their regional Asian cousins. For example, India, Singapore, and the Philippines have made much greater strides in using English.
A huge negative for foreign businesses to achieve goals, in dealing with Japan’s cultural milieu, is the almost undefinable internal system of protocol for Japanese business. Experts at Crowe Horwath explain it by stating “Doing business in Japan entails engaging internal teams and collaborating with local third parties whose basic expectations may differ from that of Western corporations” (“Business Risks in Japan,” 2014). In other words, culture in Japan business dealings is so ingrained, it may be a completely frustrating experience for Western managers. The same source point to Japan’s radical contrasts of openness and insular sheltering, and its modernity in technology alongside an entrenched, unspoken compliance with tradition.
Marriage Culture in Japan
Family and marital lifestyles in Japan, for the majority, displays the classic nuclear family. Although the general pattern of a nuclear family situation in Japan mirrors that of other countries, the sociocultural dynamics is strikingly different. The arrangement is highly based upon a kinship unit of organization, in which the dynamic is oriented toward multigenerational and extended family respect. This factor reflects a normal circumstance wherein grandparents, and great-grandparents living altogether, which culturally is “perhaps unfamiliar to most Americans because they’re outside of our experience” (“Contemporary Japan,” 2014). The family organization is extremely complex, a kind of tiered-kinship system based upon patrilineal requirements. Thus, it is assumed that property, duties, rights, and obligations will pass “from father to son, father to son, father to son, which has a number of implications” (“Contemporary Japan,” 2014). This primogeniture scope allows every child, except the eldest first-born son, to basically fend for themselves in the world.
In anthropology, the primogeniture cultural organization within a family is generally described as a multigenerational establishment. Once again, the experts at Columbia University explain. The way it functions is not only to pass on financial inheritances to the eldest male (the whole estate), but also full aspects of “the social role,” including “occupation, the profession, from father to the eldest,” is distinctive in Japanese culture (“Contemporary Japan,” 2014). Perhaps this offers another subtle, but deeply embedded, explanation why outside businessmen run into difficulties in trying to expand their products into developing Japanese market-culture infusion. If you really think about it, maybe the son of the father, of the son of the father, and so on, was so accustomed to doing things in the way of the parent who came before that the ‘eldest’ sons in business rarely deviate from the style they grew up knowing. In case you might be wondering what happens to the ‘extra’ children, or daughters, the general hope is to marry them off as brides into other families. Younger brothers too, may be ‘married-off’ as grooms into another family.
Introduction of a Product into Japanese Market Culture & Cultural Orientation
So far, this brief informative analysis has offered a hopefully cogent breakdown of the overall situation, of how a business might try to fit the achievement of its goals into Japanese society. As stipulated earlier in this report, the situation is not solely concerning the language barrier, but the unspoken cultural impediments. One way to engage a good entrance into the Japanese product market-culture is to rely upon the latest successful efforts at understanding its internal business climate. To this end, the Crowe Horwath group has formulated risk-consulting efforts with Japan to examine areas in business-related activities, such as compliance, information security, Asian supply-chain, organized crime, and natural disasters. The aspect of organized is particularly interesting because Japan’s general-population crime rate is so low. Crowe Horwath asserted that despite this factor, “global corporations should be aware that Japan is home to the largest organized crime group in the world with total members estimated to be slightly above 100,000, commonly known as the Yakuza” (“Contemporary Japan,” 2014). So, therefore, as common wisdom dictates it would be very hard for foreign business people to navigate their way in Japan, because certain activities that function economically are only semi-legitimate.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it is recommended for business hopefuls to do background checks, and make sure to form key alliances before moving forward. If the company associated with the foreign business is already global, it is a good idea to ensure compliance with the Japanese legislative law about organized crime. The other reality is that Japan is prone to natural disasters. Therefore, it would be smart to be able to prevent data loss with a good backup and recovery system.
References
Athabasca University. (2011). Language and Culture – What is Language [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/anth/354/language.htm
Columbia University. (2004). Contemporary Japan – Culture & society [Data file]. Retrieved from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/at_japan_soc/common/all.htm
Crowe Horwath. (2014). Business risks in Japan – Managing risk amidst a changing governance and compliance landscape [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.crowehorwath.net/uploadedfiles/crowe-horwath-global/tabbed_content/businessrisksinjapan_risk16316.pdf
Garcia, G. (2015, December 6). Japanese cultural values in business relationships. Real Instituto Elcano. Retrieved from http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/asia-pacific/ari29-2015-garcia-japanese-cultural-values-business-relationships
Index Mundi. (2015). Geography, Demographics, Government, and Economy [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.indexmundi.com/japan/
Moeran, B. (2003). Popular Culture, Anthropology, and Japan. Reviews in Anthropology, 32(3), 265. doi:10.1080/00988150390230282
National Association of Japan-America Societies. (2009). The Human Geography of Japan by Kieran McLaughlin [Data PowerPoint file]. Retrieved from http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:evMyjfUwJRoJ:www.us-japan.org/programs/kkc/k2009/lesson/the_human_geography_of_japan_mcLaughlin.ppt+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
