*

• Language – Japanese

• Religion – Shinto & Buddhism

• Literacy Rate – 99%

• Japanese are familiar with the culture of the

people with whom they are dealing.
*

• Losing Face concept – Not to be too direct

with Japanese.

• Concept of time – No of years they spend in

company. Long term relationship is
preferred.

• Japanese purchasing behaviour is centered

more on the vendors selling the product
than on product itself.
*

• Risk taking ability is low in Japanese.

• While addressing the Japanese it is better to

inquire about the well being of their family.

• Decision making takes time & they have

hierarchy of management to do so.
*

• Japanese are extremely group oriented &

community based people.

• Many Japanese are not comfortable with

shaking hands, so it is best to take the cue
from them before offering your own hand.

• Japanese prefer the use of title & first name

should be avoided.
*

• Most Japanese do not say “no” directly.

They phrase it more politely such as “we
will think about it”.

• Japanese men are more involved in

Business environment as compared to
women.
*

• Value of Time – A meeting that may take 3

days to conclude in US will probably take 2
weeks in Japan.

• If after signing a contract something goes

wrong, then they try to resolve it by mutual
agreement. Instead of approaching court in
case of disputes they prefer to approach
persons who are familiar with similar
problems & situations.
*

• Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of

Japan visited New Delhi for talks with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in
April,2005.
• He said: "Japan and India need each
other as strong, prosperous and
dynamic partners." He described the
objective of his visit as "to reinforce the
Japan-India ties with a new strategic
orientation in a new Asian era."
*

• Addressing an Asian Security conference at

New Delhi on January 29,2005, Shri Pranab
Mukherjee, the Indian Defence Minister,
said:
• Indo-Japan relations, which plummeted
after India's 1998 nuclear tests, are now
positive and robust.
• The fillip to Indo-Japanese relations was
provided by the August 2000 visit of Prime
Minister Yoshiro Mori, the first by a
Japanese Prime Minister to South Asia in a
decade.
•
*

• Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian Defence

Minister, said:
• In his speech he declared, "today Indo-
Japanese relations also have a strategic
importance, which is quite obvious when we
glance at the world atlas". Despite the
geographical distance between the two, there
is a growing acceptance that India and Japan
share a certain affinity on a number of
issues. India and Japan have a convergence
on energy issues and have joint concerns
about the security of sea-lines of
communications and vital choke points in the
Indian Ocean.
*
• Both India and Japan are energy-importing
countries. They are dependent on external
supplies for keeping their economies sustained
and growing. How they could co-operate and
help each other in this task? While they have
agreed that energy security should be an
important component of the bilateral
relationship, no concrete action has been taken
so far at the governmental and non-
governmental levels to translate this agreement
into action on the ground. Such action has to be
in the form of brainstorming between the experts
of the two countries, the drawing-up of a joint or
co-ordinated plan of implementation and giving
effect to it.
*

• Indian iron ore is still an important item of

export to Japan, but not to the same extent
as in the past. The Indian export basket to
Japan is still small---iron ore, sea food,
textiles and jewellery being the main items. A
drive for the expansion and the diversification
of the bilateral trade was undertaken after
the visit of former Prime Minister Mori in
August 2000. Information Technology (IT)
products and services were identified as an
item, which could have a trigger effect.
•
*
• Japan-India IT Promotion and Cooperation
Initiative was launched and a Japan-India IT
summit was held in Japan. Japan liberalised
rules for the issue of multiple-entry visas for IT
experts from India. It has been estimated that
about 50 Indian IT companies have already set
up offices in Japan. Despite all these measures,
the total value of the export of Indian software
products and services to Japan was estimated in
the financial year 2002-2003 at an insignificant
three per cent of the total value of India's global
exports of software products and services.
•
*

• India has some showcase examples of

Indo-Japanese economic collaboration.
One could cite in this connection the
Maruti car project, the Haldia
petrochemical complex and the Delhi
Metro presently under construction.
*
• Among the reasons cited for the poor flow of
Japanese investments into India are the
unpredictability and sluggishness of the Indian
decision-making and implementation process;
the tendency to unduly politicise the economic
decision-making process which often results in
each Government reviewing and sometimes
reversing the economic decisions of its
predecessor; the poor state of infrastructure as
compared to China; the inadequate and erratic
power supply; the high cost of power supply as
compared to China; and the restrictions (now
being removed) on foreign investments in the
retail and real estate sectors.
 India's exports (In US$ million)
Ind- 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02
Japan
Exports 1898. 1651. 1702. 1794. 1510.
43 87 91 48 44
Imports 2144. 2465. 2355. 1842. 2146.
90 72 32 19 45
Tot Ind 35049 33211 36760 44147 43976
Exports
%age 5.41 4.97 4.63 4.06 3.43
Exp/tot
Source: Federal ministry of Commerce, India 
India's exports (In US$ million)

Ind-Japan 2003-04 2004-05

Exports 1709 1977

Imports 2667 3005

Tot Ind 63842 79247

Exports
%age 2.67 2.49
Exp/tot

Source: Federal ministry of Commerce, India