Taking 'the mystery' out of Japan

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Japan is a country with its own habits and peculiarities, but then so are Germany, Italy or South Africa, for example, and no company hoping to succeed in any of those markets would dive in without any preparation. But the Japanese are not supermen, or indeed men from Mars, as one EU negotiator famously described them. Success in Japan, with Japan or against Japan means hard work, discipline and commitment because these are qualities the Japanese have in abundance. But they are qualities that are needed to succeed anywhere in the world. There is nothing really different about Japan.

The best advice one can give about dealing with the Japanese is simply, "Don't be surprised". That just means, don't have any preconceived ideas about Japan. Don't judge everything from a European or British viewpoint. Follow this advice and everything becomes logical because all other concepts of logic are ignored. Before you start out on your campaign of doing business with Japan, forget everything you have so far learned about exporting, licensing and overseas co-operation, and start from scratch all over again.

It's like pressing the Memory Clear button on your calculator before every new calculation. If you do not clear the memory, you will get the wrong answer. Most people look at Japan from their own angle, so are surprised by what they see. The trick is to look at Japan from no angle at all. Press the Memory Clear button in your mind and just let the Japanese flow over you. You'll be surprised what a difference it makes.