Unveiling Japan's Unique Corporate Culture: Surprising Business Practices You Didn't Know

Discover why Japanese managers often stay late at the office while employees prefer to keep a low profile.

Twitter user Marat Vyshegorodtsev shares intriguing and sometimes amusing experiences from his seven years living and working in Japan, shedding light on its distinctive business culture.

Business Communication

1. One of the most noticeable traits is the abundance of formalities and filler content in emails and messages. For example:

• Hello!
• How are you?
• Are you available to talk?

Sometimes, an email subject line can be filled with over 150 lines of clichés, with the actual message buried somewhere in the middle, followed by an equally lengthy closing and signature with all titles.

2. Japanese professionals often send attachments as encrypted archives, with the password sent in a separate email to the same address. This practice, though puzzling, is widespread. When you reply with attachments, you may hear, "Our antivirus blocks opening attachments." The password is usually something simple like "12345"—all for the recipient's convenience!

3. When structured data is needed, expect to receive an Excel spreadsheet with a form containing VBA macros to validate every input field. However, these macros can be frustrating—your name might not fit because you're a "gaijin" (foreigner). The macro won't explain this; it simply shows a "Invalid input" error in one of the many fields you filled.

Classic scenario: a screenshot embedded in Excel, compressed into a password-protected archive, with the password sent separately. It's like a puzzle within a puzzle.

4. Emails are often written in heavy bureaucratic language, a skill even many Japanese find challenging. There's a genuine belief that foreigners cannot fully master "sonkeigo"—the respectful speech style—due to cultural and linguistic nuances.

5. Mass mailing is common, with emails marked "very important" or "response required" when neither is true. These are often resent multiple times for reliability. Some companies even automate this process using low-paid hourly workers.

You'll get used to group emails with 30 people copied in, many of whom don't know why you're included. In Japan, there's no "Reply" button, only "Reply All."

Work and Breaks

6. Job security is paramount in Japan. Changing jobs or firing employees is uncommon. The system resembles the military, with promotions based on seniority rather than merit, known as "lifetime employment."

7. Japanese companies operate on a subtraction model: employees start at 100%, and managers mentally deduct points for mistakes. Those with the fewest errors receive raises and bonuses. In contrast, Western firms start employees at 0%, adding points for achievements, encouraging self-promotion. Hence, in the U.S., it's common to stand out, whereas in Japan, blending in is valued.

8. Lunch is strictly at noon. At 11:30, employees claim they aren't hungry yet, but by 12:30, they experience an insulin crash. Restaurants are packed at noon but empty by 1 PM and close by 2:30 PM until dinner.

9. The myth that Japanese work late because of dedication is misleading. Much of the day is spent in meetings, writing formal emails, and sorting Excel rows. Leaving early is frowned upon if the manager is still present, so everyone stays late.

Managers stay late because their children are already asleep, and often personal issues like midlife crises keep them at the office.

Many wonder how Japan produces such innovative products. The truth is, office workers—sales, back-office staff, IT, marketing, finance—are the "office plankton." On factory floors, hardworking Japanese employees labor intensively and view office workers with a hint of condescension.

10. Japanese management can be summed up by a phrase from the drama about Naoki Hanzawa: "Subordinates' achievements belong to the boss; the boss's mistakes are the subordinates' responsibility." It's a compelling series worth watching.

Meetings and Negotiations

11. In any losing negotiation, a Japanese participant might say, "In Japan, this is not customary," even if it actually is.

12. Foreigners often stumble over "nemawashi," the informal consensus-building process before formal decisions. Colleagues invite you to a meeting under the guise of seeking your opinion, but they've already reached a collective decision through prior discussions.

If you want to propose a game-changing idea—like replacing Excel with Google Forms—you need to gently introduce it over lunch before the official meeting, where nodding (often half-asleep) is the norm.

Rules and Regulations

13. Rules exist for their own sake. "I didn't create them, I can't change them, and I don't know their purpose, but I will follow them blindly." This mindset makes it impossible to eliminate Excel macros in Japanese offices.

14. If a Japanese employee isn't made to arrive by 9:00 AM wearing a tie, they might stop coming to work and doing their tasks altogether. The emphasis is on process and ceremony rather than outcomes, though exceptions exist.

Technology Use

15. Microsoft Word is rarely used. If data can be tabulated, Excel is preferred; for free text, PowerPoint slides are created. Work results are typically xls or ppt files, often encrypted in archives.

16. Registering on any Japanese website requires extensive information:

• First name in kanji
• Last name in kanji
• First name in hiragana
• Last name in hiragana
• Email address
• Email confirmation
• Mobile phone number
• Landline phone number
• Postal code
• Address in Japanese characters
• Building name (many apartment complexes have names)
• Credit card number split into four fields to prevent autofill
• Secret question in Japanese
• Answer in hiragana
• Date of birth
• Banking secret code
• Mobile app PIN (4–6 digits)

After submission, you receive a printed confirmation by mail, which you must stamp with your personal seal and send back—all just to buy movie tickets online.

Expect to repeat the process multiple times due to session timeouts or browser navigation errors.

Education

17. University education excels in physics, chemistry, and applied engineering, evident in Japan's cars, infrastructure, electronics, and building materials. However, computer science education is lacking.

Japanese programmers often only encounter industrial code during on-the-job training (OJT). Even master's students struggle beyond "hello world" programs, raising questions about university curricula.

18. OJT serves as a way to pay low salaries to fresh graduates for their first three years. Employees might have badges indicating "First-year OJT," "Second-year," and so forth, akin to military ranks.

Customer Service

19. Japan's customer-oriented approach can be paradoxical. For example, opening a bank account requires a phone number, but purchasing a SIM card requires a bank account.

20. Overall, Japan's service quality is exceptional, often cited as a reason to stay indefinitely. New café employees must memorize manuals as thick as "War and Peace," covering everything from how to hand over receipts with a bow, the angle and depth of the bow, counting change precisely, processing cards, handling complaints, greeting customers, and more.

Real-Life Stories

1. During OJT, new hires receive minimal real tasks and low pay, with efforts to suppress individuality and instill loyalty to the company and its CEO.

Some companies lock newcomers in meeting rooms all day, requiring them to chant "Irasshaimase!" (welcome) repeatedly until hoarse, with managers demanding louder and deeper bows, resembling military drills.

Some firms even send new employees to military boot camps to teach punctuality, bed-making, and cleaning—skills deemed essential for future bankers and programmers.

2. At one company, new graduates had to cold-call at least 100 people daily to sell credit card contracts, including family and friends. Lunch breaks were only allowed after meeting the quota.

One employee, lacking contacts, called her own mother about 40 times, pretending it was someone else, and later cried quietly in a corner.

3. A cornerstone of Japanese corporate politeness is the secretary proficiency exam. For example:

A new manager hands a thick stack of papers and says, "No rush, input everything into Excel when you have time." You place it on your desk. The next morning, the manager asks, "Have you entered all the data?" You reply, "Not yet." The manager leaves displeased.

Suggested ways to avoid such situations include:

1. Clarify deadlines or propose one and confirm with the manager.
2. Learn the new manager's work habits in advance.
3. Start working early and provide interim progress reports.

Blaming the manager is not a constructive answer.

The key is to "read the air"—understand unspoken intentions. A skilled secretary keeps a finger on the boss's "honne" (true thoughts and intentions).

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