Reference guide to Japanese business setting communication.

1. Reference Guide to Communicating in
Japanese Business Setting
Jinsoo Kim
Maria del Pilar Ballon
George Rodelo

2. Female
 Formal Skirt
◦ Never a pants
◦ Low heeled shoes
◦ Must be conservative
Male
 Formal suit
◦ Dark- Black/Grey
◦ Conservative attire

3.  Silence is Gold
 Personal Space
 Table Manner
 Avoid Large Hand Gesture

8.  Acronyms: to improve recognition
in international business
government and institutions they
have opted to use Acronyms in
English pronounced according to
the letters used. Ex: LDP (Liberal
Democratic Party)
 One third of the vocabulary used
borrowed words primarily from
the English language or have been
modified with a Japanese
pronunciation. Ex: masu-komi:
mass communications.

9.  Japanese humor is based
on traditional culture
which makes it hard for
other cultures to interpret
it.
 Unlike other cultures
Japanese will not use a
joke as an “icebreaker” to
start a presentation.

10.  In general male speech tends to be more
abbreviated and includes more informal or
shorter forms of speech.
 Japanese people are very polite and women
have a more expressive and formal tone when
making a speech.