Re: Need the Cove members advice / opinion
I have worked closely with Japanese companies for many years. During working hours, they will be very professional. Simple courtesies go a long way. I recommend learning a few Japanese phrases such as Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, Thank you. Learn the Business card ceremony in Japanese if possible. Small efforts are greatly appreciated.
Lunch can be simple, but not fast food. If you have a local Japanese restaurant that does bento box lunches, go for that. Steaks usually go very well for dinners. Note: Hibachi-style is not true Japanese. Sushi bars, tempura, or traditional (if you can find one) are more typical.
An operations management presence is very important. They usually expect most of the discussion to done by the technical experts, but when I visited the Japanese company, an upper manager was always present in meetings. The higher level management usually appeared at the closing meeting. There is usually an exchange of moderate priced, tasteful gifts between the higher level participants.
Will you be using an interpreter? If you use one, provide your own, so you get a full account. If they provide one, the interpreter will censor much of what they discuss amongst themselves. Also look at the one speaking, not the interpreter, and talk to the speaker, not the interpreter.
Japanese understand English much better than they speak it, so assume they understand everything that you say.
This is a good
site for Japanese business etiquette as well as this
site.
