Business Partners / Suppliers sitting in Japan and you are in Norway ! How do you ensure healthy partnership and good communication. My Five Takeaways

This is where having an understanding of their language, culture, and communication style is necessary.         

While meeting some of our partners with my boss last week, I attempted to apply all I had learned over my seven years of studying Japanese culture, language, and business nuances to ensure that we came across as desirable partners and clients. Although this was not my first visit, I did notice a number of peculiarities, which I would like to highlight here in the hopes that it may assist your future visit go more smoothly.

Norway and Japan are on opposite ends of the linear scale when it comes to communication, confrontation, and emotional expression, as Erin Meyer's The Culture Map of the World," one of the best books on cultural understanding, very properly points out.

Nomunication: This was the first word I learned even before I learned Japanese. In Japan, Korea and China the business talks are not limited to office room only. In fact a 50% of your success depends on your skill when you go out for dinner and drinks with your partners. In Japanese Nomu means drink and communication combined with noms is nomunication.?

“It is difficult” or “Muzukashi”:

We avoid confrontation on Asia in general but Japanese and Japanese language avoids direct conflicts. Infact Japan and Norway may seem to be different planets if you know how they express their discontent at something. In Japan it is almost impossible for someone to say no instead they say it is difficult which is 90% of the time is No

Respect time and keep promises: I cannot stress how important it is to respect your own praises and follow the precise timings. This show your value as human beings, your character and most importantly your respect for the other person. This is a culture of Samurais where word HARAKIRI? ( die by honor) for not keeping your words comes from and unfortunately is still a part of the Japanese societies unwritten norms

Hierarchical society: In Scandinavia, effective communication is short, clear, and to the point; in Asia, and Japan specifically, however, communication is complex, multi-layered, and sophisticated. The way you say and convey the same ideas differently while speaking to a coworker than when facing a senior manager demonstrates how crucial it is to adhere to Japan's hierarchy-based organisational structure. Ofcourse I am not expecting you to learn the language but you can always choose your words and with whom to confront with during negotiation.

Trusts : The use of lawyers in Japan for contractual agreements between companies specially in small companies is very limited. A lot of the businesses runs on trust and words of people. There is a very tightly knit group of suppliers and sub suppliers which if you audit them from western point of view will seem to be failed deal but from Japans point of view words matter more than paper and these relationships are there fro good and bad times. The Japanese Keiretsu system for example Mitsubishi is? big conglomerate of 500+ companies where they make their own centralised banking system to help each other in times of need.?

Don’t change plans suddenly:? I have lived in Spain for 3 years and learned Spanish and I can say “Spanish and Japanese cultures do not have much similarities except the vowels in both languages are same. So when a Spanish friend who is working for a Japanese company in Spain told me that in monthly meetings with Japanese bosses his Spanish boss comes late and changes the meeting? agenda before meeting start I understood whatever they are doing is short lived. If you make a plan don’t change it immediately before meeting, as Japanese really like to plan in advance and perfect the content to the timings of meeting. Not providing and following meeting agenda, interrupting? a speaker or asking too many questions which extends meeting time are some of the red flags that you should avoid.

This is just a short list of my observations but if you have any comments or questions please feel free to reach out to me.