- Business cards and bowing matter, but foreigners are forgiven small mistakes — preparation and patience matter more
- Japanese decisions are built by consensus before the meeting (nemawashi) and approved in writing (ringi)
- “We will consider it” (kentō shimasu) is often a polite no — learn to read context and silence
- Japanese business email has a structure; getting it right signals respect and seriousness
First impressions: the basics that still matter
Business cards (meishi)
- Bring plenty, ideally with Japanese on one side. Your title matters — Japanese counterparts use it to understand your authority.
- Offer and receive cards with both hands, text facing the recipient. Read the card you receive for a moment before putting it away.
- In a meeting, place the cards on the table in front of you in the order people are sitting. Never write on someone's card or put it in your back pocket.
Punctuality and seating
Arrive a few minutes early. There is usually an order to seating (the most senior guest furthest from the door), so wait to be shown where to sit.
Bowing
A slight bow with a handshake is perfectly acceptable from a foreign visitor. Nobody expects perfection. Japanese partners forgive etiquette mistakes easily; they notice a lack of preparation immediately.
How Japanese companies decide
This is where Western companies most often misread the situation.
| Typical UK/US company | Typical Japanese company | |
|---|---|---|
| Where decisions happen | In the meeting, by the senior person | Before the meeting, through informal consensus (nemawashi) |
| Formal approval | Email or verbal sign-off | Written proposal circulated for stamps of approval (ringi) |
| Purpose of meetings | Debate and decide | Confirm, share information, build the relationship |
| Speed | Fast to decide, slower to implement | Slow to decide, fast and thorough to implement |
| Your counterpart | Often has authority to agree | Often needs to take it back and build internal support |
What this means in practice: help your contact sell your proposal internally. Give them clear written materials — ideally in Japanese — that they can circulate: what you propose, the benefit, the risk, the cost, the timeline and precedents. Asking for a decision in the room puts them in an impossible position.
Reading “yes”, “difficult” and silence
Direct refusal is uncomfortable in Japanese business culture. Learn to hear the softer forms:
- “Hai” often means “I hear you”, not “I agree”.
- “Kentō shimasu” (“we will consider it”) can be sincere — or a polite way to close the topic. Follow up in writing to find out which.
- “Sore wa chotto…” (“that's a little…”) left unfinished is usually a no.
- “Muzukashii” (“it's difficult”) generally means it isn't going to happen.
- Silence in a meeting often means people are thinking, or that the most senior person hasn't spoken yet. Don't rush to fill it with a discount.
Email: where relationships are actually built
Most of your Japanese business relationship will happen in writing. Japanese business email follows a clear structure, and following it — even in English — signals respect.
- GreetingIn Japanese, a set opening phrase thanking them for their continued support (itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu). In English, a warm but formal line of thanks.
- Who you areYour company and name, especially early in the relationship.
- One clear purposeWhat the email is about, in the first lines.
- Numbered detailsQuestions, dates and requests numbered so each can be answered.
- Polite closingIn Japanese, a standard closing asking for their kind consideration (yoroshiku onegai itashimasu).
Two more rules: confirm verbal agreements in writing after every meeting, and reply promptly — even if only to say you'll answer fully by a specific date.
Keigo: the language of respect
Japanese has a formal system of honorific language — keigo — that changes vocabulary and grammar depending on who is speaking to whom. You don't need to master it to do business, but any Japanese you send out (proposals, websites, emails, customer service) must use it correctly. Errors in keigo are like typos in a legal document: small, but they undermine trust. This is one of the clearest reasons to have native business Japanese in your team or among your partners. See also localisation vs translation.
Relationships before transactions
- Visit in person when it matters. A video call keeps a relationship; a visit builds one.
- Bring a small gift from your home country on a first visit — something good quality and nicely wrapped, not expensive.
- Accept dinner invitations — informal conversations often reveal what formal meetings don't.
- Be consistent. Changing your contact person, your terms or your story erodes trust quickly.
- Think long-term. Japanese partners assess whether you will still be committed in five years.
Where an insider helps
Having led the Japan market for a global furniture brand — press, partners, distributors and headquarters reporting — I spent two years standing exactly between these two ways of working. Most friction between Western and Japanese teams isn't about bowing. It's about timing, writing and unspoken expectations — and those are fixable once someone names them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important rule of Japanese business etiquette?
Respect for the relationship and the process. That means being punctual, prepared and consistent; following up in writing; and not pushing for an on-the-spot decision. Ritual details like bowing are less important than showing you understand how Japanese organisations work.
Why do Japanese companies take so long to decide?
Because decisions are built through consensus. Proposals are discussed informally with everyone affected (nemawashi) and then formally approved through a written circulation process (ringi). This takes longer at the start but means implementation is usually fast and reliable once a decision is made.
How should I write emails to Japanese business contacts?
In English, be clear, polite and structured: a courteous greeting, one topic per email, numbered questions, specific dates, and a polite closing. If writing in Japanese, follow standard business email conventions — opening greeting, self-introduction, main point, closing phrase — ideally written or checked by a native speaker.