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JAPAN

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Japan Travel and Culture Guide. People Who Viewed This Also Viewed Recently on Japan Talk We are always working to improve Japan Talk.

Japan Travel and Culture Guide

If you find an error, please report it. Distances and walking times are approximate. Prices and schedules reflect our best information at the time of publishing and are prone to change. Japan - Japanese Business Etiquette, Vital Manners, Cross Cultural Communication, and Japan's Geert Hofstede analysis. The word for toasting is kampai, pronounced 'kahm-pie'.

Japan - Japanese Business Etiquette, Vital Manners, Cross Cultural Communication, and Japan's Geert Hofstede analysis

When toasting the glass is never left unfilled. Drinking is an important part of Japanese culture. It is a way to relieve business stress. Never pour a drink yourself; always allow someone else to do it for you. Most business entertaining is done in restaurants or bars after business hours. Let the host order the meal and pay. Japanese rarely entertain in the home. If you are invited to a social event, punctuality is not expected.

If you do take your host out insist upon paying. Key phrases to learn are "itadakimasu" at the beginning of dinner, and "gochisou-sama-deshita" at the end. "Sumimasen" (excuse-me) is a very useful term to add to your vocabulary along with the phrase "kekko desu" (I've had enough). It is perfectly acceptable to slurp your noodles. Do not openly display money. In Asia the number 14 is bad luck, because in Japanese it sounds like the word ‘shuh-shuh’, which sounds like the word for death. Style is tantamount. Japanese names. Name order: In Japan, like in China and Korea, the first name follows the family name.

Japanese names

A person with the first name "Ichiro" and the family name "Suzuki" is, therefore, called "Suzuki Ichiro" rather than "Ichiro Suzuki". Family names: Most Japanese family names consist of two kanji (Chinese characters). The meanings of many of the kanji used in family names are related to nature, geographical features or locations, for example, mountain (yama), tree (ki), rice field (ta), island (shima), village (mura), bridge (hashi), between (naka), below (shita) etc.

First names: Japanese first names also commonly consist of two kanji. Since quite a few kanji have identical pronunciations, first names that are pronounced the same, are not necessarily written with the same kanji. Not seldomly, the gender of a person can be guessed by the ending of his/her first name. The names of foreigners are usually written in katakana. Titles: The Japanese commonly address each other by last name. Seimei Handan: Japanese Etiquette. Japanese Business Etiquette Guide. Some of the questions asked most frequently by our clients have to do with etiquette and communication in Japanese business settings.

Japanese Business Etiquette Guide

Japanese are known for their politeness and for the intricacies of etiquette and protocol in their culture. It’s worth the effort to think ahead about how you will behave and speak in interactions with Japanese colleagues, and it will definitely send a good signal if you are thoughtful about some basic social customs. That said, in Japan, making the effort counts almost as much as doing the job perfectly, so people will forgive you if you slip up here and there.

The main thing is to do your best to put your colleagues at ease while remaining comfortable and natural yourself. The following articles present some of the basics of etiquette when dealing with the Japanese, and are designed to help you feel more confident. Japanese business etiquette training and seminars are a specialty of Japan Intercultural Consulting.