NEWS BRIEF

In September Pacific Dreams, Inc. hosted a series of seminars intended to help foster relations between Japanese and American business people. In the series there were both English-language workshops as well as workshops held in Japanese. Because of the positive reaction of the participants, PDI has decided to move forward with another seminar series in November. More details about this seminar will be released as speakers and schedules are confirmed.

Two of the English language facilitators were Eileen Foster-Sakai and Shintaro Tominaga. Mrs. Foster-Sakai presented the “Building Bridges Between the USA and Japan” workshop, and Mr. Tominaga gave his presentation entitled “Negotiation with Japanese Business People”. Mr. Tominaga, who came in from Tokyo for this seminar series, also gave presentations in Japanese.

The "Building Bridges” seminar was made up of a relatively small group, which allowed for more focused discussion and questions. All of the participants were American business people working for Japanese-owned companies, so all had experiences of working under a Japanese boss. Mrs. Foster-Sakai was able to concentrate on the special questions and needs of this group of participants. The people that came in feeling frustrated by the communication styles and seemingly bizarre requests of their superiors were able to make sense of Japanese business culture practices. This participants left with not only a better understanding of what the Japanese business people were doing, but also gained new strategies in fostering better communication with their Japanese counterparts. Much of the “Building Bridges” seminar introduces business people to key cultural concepts they are sure to run into when working with Japanese people. The program goes from the very basic concepts, like seating arrangements, to the more complicated, like intricacies in the Japanese social, business and family relationships.

Mr. Tominaga’s presentation was focused on negotiation with Japanese counterparts. This presentation was more directed toward individuals who work with Japanese companies and travel to Japan on business. Negotiation styles are very different in Japan compared to much of Asia and the rest of the world. According to Mr. Tominaga, it the lack of understanding of the Japanese system which often leads to failed business negotiations, or even failed attempts at getting a first meeting arranged. Much of Mr. Tominaga’s presentation was on the concept of reading “kuuki”. Kuuki literally means “air”, or “atmosphere”, but for these purposes it means understanding the subtle body language and communication that Japanese business negotiators engage in to convey important messages. These signals would be obvious to a Japanese counterpart, but may not be so easy for a non-Japanese negotiator. Mr. Tominaga also discussed the issues of conflict and debate in Japanese business negotiations, pointing out that debating should be avoided at all costs. Japanese find debate uncomfortable, and will tend to retreat if there seems to be, what Americans might consider, a healthy tension in a spirited discussion.