SOME NEED-TO-KNOW JAPANESE ETIQUETTE

Business card basics:

Always let your superiors exchange business cards first. Give and receive cards using both hands, bowing slightly each time. Read cards as you receive them, noting the name and rank. It’s common to confirm the other person’s name and say thank you for the card. Don’t write on business cards, play with them or damage them. They are an extension of the person, so ruining them in any way is insulting. Don’t shove cards into your pocket. Use a proper business card holder. Cards should have both Japanese and English writing on them. Always have more cards on you than you think you’ll need. The Japanese go to great lengths to be polite and, as is common across Asia, ‘‘saving face’’ is really important. It means a direct ‘‘no’’ to a Japanese counterpart in meetings could be very embarrassing for them. Japanese teams work as a group and strive for harmony, so business negotiations will go on until everyone agrees. Many Japanese companies incorporate daily exercise in the mornings. Drinking and dining with coworkers outside of work is very common and is often the way the Japanese build relationships.

Some drinking and eating tips:

Don’t stick chopsticks in your rice. At Japanese funerals, a bowl of rice is left with two chopsticks standing vertically in the centre as an offering to the dead. It’s taboo outside of funerals and considered bad luck. Walking and eating is frowned upon, except if you’re eating an ice cream cone. It’s not common practice to pour your own drinks. If you pour alcohol for someone else, another person will usually pour for you. Serve according to seniority. It’s polite to slurp your noodles! It means you’re enjoying your meal.