Illustration by Shane Busato
Recently, there has been rising concern amongst Japanese about Japan’s international business presence—or lack thereof. Fueling this sense of anxiety is a recent string of setbacks: The fact that Japan has lost its No.2 position as the world’s second largest economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product to China, the sharp decline of Japan’s international competitiveness according to the latest IMD (International Institute for Management Development) report, that Korean companies are enjoying more success than leading Japanese companies in the international market, and that the ports of Japan are being overtaken by Korea’s and China’s in terms of traffic.
These are just some of the hard facts backed by statistics to prove Japan’s sliding competitive power in the international arena. What are the causes of Japan’s woes? Maybe it’s due to the terribly poor quality of Japanese political leadership, or perhaps globalization and the Internet economy has taken some shine off the traditional Japanese strengths in manufacturing, sales and business practices.
Whatever the actual reason, a thorough study seems to be in order for Japan to regain its power and vitality, and reemerge as a revitalized country. Other than the statistically-proven facts cited above, in my opinion, the more serious challenge for the Japanese to conquer, in order to play a more meaningful role in the modern international arena, is an ongoing lack of communications capabilities.
This is not just a question of language capability, such as English or other foreign languages, but a more essential human factor. The Japanese often say, “Silence is Golden,” the “Eyes tell you more than the mouth,” and “Heart to heart communication is the key.” Indeed, we can find many proverbs or old sayings of this kind such as “A talkative person is usually not trustworthy,” and “A tree with beautiful flowers attracts people without saying a word,” and the like.
Historically, it seems that the Japanese have not respected words, or spoken language, as a communications tool to convey messages to others. More important tools in effective communications have traditionally been the senses of feeling and empathy communicated between the parties concerned—interpersonal dynamics that cannot be conveyed in words. Therefore, the most important success factor for anybody endeavoring to succeed in Japanese society is his/her ability to build relationships based on trust and empathy with the people who matter.
In that sense, Japanese society is more geared toward gemeinshaft (community) rather than gesellshaft (association). This empathy-oriented society presents a difficult barrier for foreigners hoping to successfully penetrate the inner workings of Japanese business. Ironically, it is this very same cultural construct that acts as a serious handicap for Japanese attempting to effectively navigate the ever-changing terrain of an increasingly globalized business environment where mutual understanding and collaboration among various kinds of people is often required to create new value.
Hence, we Japanese need to change our way of thinking in such a way as to be harmonious and cooperative with other countries in the world with the common goal of building a better future. Unfortunately, it will take quite some time before this vision is realized.
On the other hand, as one widely-read John Hopkins Institute report once pointed out, it is extremely important for the top executives at American companies in Japan to make greater efforts to get acquainted with the movers and shakers in Japanese society in order to achieve success in this market. Just having a good product, service and competitive pricing is not enough. Although the report was issued in 1991, the message is still very valid today.
As long as Japan remains attractive as a viable business market, foreign-affiliated companies will continue to be interested in doing business in Japan and make efforts to surmount these barriers. However, as a concerned Japanese citizen, I worry about a possible future in which foreign-affiliated companies lose interest in the Japanese market and leave the country, while we continue to be self-satisfied as an inward-looking society until it is too late.
Japanese decision makers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to change and have begun to engage this issue more aggressively. My hope is that more and more business leaders will decide to participate in this movement to improve Japan’s profile as an attractive place to live and do business for people from all around the world.
Homare Takenaka is the Chairman & CEO of LBS Co.,Ltd.
