Characteristics of Japanese

Communication

by Sanae Kobayashi

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING, the word "communication," much less "corporate communication," in

the Western sense, did not exist in Japan until some 30 to 40 years ago. It appeared when we
started to establish public relations or public affairs divisions in both the public and private sectors.

In Japan's feudal era, the ruling principle had been, "Let people obey and keep them ignorant." Even
after the modernization and democratization of Japan, we did not recognize the need to
"communicate" with each other.

This is mainly because the Japanese belong to single race, culture and religion. Therefore, Japanese
people are expected to understand each others' thoughts without verbalizing them. We have a
symbolic saying in Japan: Ishin-Denshin. This expression, according to the Japanese Business
Glossary edited by Mitsubishi Corporation in 1983, is defined in this way: "The communication of
thought without the medium of words. The expression literally means `what the mind thinks, the
heart transmits."'

In other societies, particularly Western, communication generally has to be expressed in specific

words to be thoroughly understood. To the Westerner, therefore, the Japanese sometimes seem to
have telepathic powers because so often communication among themselves is achieved without the
use of words.

This is because the many formalities, conventions and common standards developed in a society
that gives priority to harmonious relations make it easy to understand what goes on in the mind of
the other person. The younger generation of Japanese, who have become more individualistic, are
losing the Ishin-Denshin faculty.

Today, however, especially after environmental pollution and corporate scandals were made public,
some organizations recognize the need to build and maintain a sound relationship with society
through good communication. This means doing it not only in a defensive way, but also in a
preventative way, knowing well that corporate prosperity in the future cannot be expected without
positive communication.

Comparing Four Traits of Japanese Culture with the West's

Let's look at the social and cultural structures in Japanese organizations. Four essential
characteristics influence the Japanese way of organizational and, accordingly, internal
communication.
I will explain these communication traits in comparison with those of the West. It is not my
intention, however, to emphasize the differences as factors of conflict. On the contrary, I want to
mention common points as factors that can lead to mutual understanding and respect. We are, after
all, human races living on the same globe.

The four characteristics are: structure, process, culture and customs.

First, with structure, it's "collectivism" in Japan versus "individualism" in the West. Or I might call it
the "quasi-family society" versus the "contractual society."

The social structure in Japan is best described by the "Vertical Society" (Tate Shakai in Japanese)
theory developed in 1967 by a well-known cultural anthropologist, Professor Chie Nakane.
"Vertical" or Tate means, for example, the human relations between parent and child in a family or
between leader and follower in a group.

This kind of human and orderly relation, in many cases, is considered inherent and not to be
questioned. Probably influenced by the elderly order in Confucianism, it is supported and
strengthened by a kind of give-and-take behavior. The superior takes care of the subordinate, who
repays the obligation. The Tate relation is reflected not only in private or public organizations, but
also in political, religious and academic circles.

Japanese corporations, for example, in many cases pay for housing, recreational trips or parties and
athletic meetings for employees and their families. In return, they get employees' tacit acceptance
of life employment. Such employees or followers are in conflict with their "horizontal" or Yoko
counterparts outside their organization.

Thus, human relations in Japan between management and employees are not mere contractual
ones as in the Western sense. This partially explains why life employment has been the accepted
labor custom for more than a century.

The second characteristic is process - "bottom up" in Japan versus "top down" in the West.
Generally in Japan, decisions within the company first start as suggestions prepared by
subordinates or middle management.

After coordinating different opinions with the other middle managers involved (called Nemawashi),
the top management or board of directors makes its decision. This process enables the group to
avoid heated discussions or debates in the official meeting. As a result, decision making in Japanese
organizations usually takes more time than it does in the West. However, as compensation, in Japan
the execution is made with more speed and completeness.

Nemawashi, in the Japanese Business Glossary literally means "to dig around the root of a tree to
prepare it for transplanting." Adapted from this, the word refers to the groundwork to enlist
support or to secure informal consent from the people concerned prior to a formal decision.

Japanese society operates on group decisions or consensus and Nemawashi is an indispensable

process in achieving consensus. It also avoids open confrontation.
In the United States, a similar process exists, known as preselling, but a decision may be taken
regardless of whether or not everyone concerned is in agreement.

In Japan, a proposal will be revised in the process of Nemawashi until it is molded into a form that is
acceptable to all. So much time is spent in Nemawashi that foreign businessmen often become
exasperated waiting for a lapanese company to make a decision.

Now let's turn to the third characteristic, culture - "implicit culture" in Japan versus "explicit
culture" in the West.

The Japanese prefer an indirect narration to a direct narration, especially when they must say "No."
This is mainly because they respect traditional Japanese Wa, or purity or harmony, in official
discussions to avoid heated debates. Raising voices and showing one's anger is generally
considered a lack of politeness or courtesy.

For this reason, Japanese need Nemawashi to gather consensus and to reach an agreement, prior to
official discussions. So while the implicit expression is an unspoken accepted practice among
friends or family members, many times it causes misunderstanding and confusion in official
corporate communication and political negotiations. A critic once said that the Japanese "yes" is not
a "yes" in the Western sense. Years ago a Japanese novelist and congressman wrote a book, "The
Japan that Can Say 'No'," insisting it was necessary to say "no" directly on some occasions, instead
of saying "yes in an ambiguous way...but [meaning] no".

The fourth characteristic has to do with customs - in this case, labor customs. This is seen in
"seniority" and "life employment" versus the West's merit system.

The Japanese labor customs, especially life employment, have been useful and valid for both
management and the employee. These customs have enabled organizations to secure stable labor
resources, to maintain stable lives and to preserve order.

Seniority especially has been the easiest way for management to avoid personnel troubles with
promotions, for example, and to get internal consensus on the assumption that no differences exist
in people's abilities.

Among the four characteristics described, this last one, the custom of seniority and life
employment, has been considered a mainstay of economic growth for about a century. This system
started to change in the 1990s toward one that is merit-based. This is primarily because Japanese
management found it difficult to maintain a salary scale for older employees to enjoy automatically
higher pay under the seniority system. Also, an aging society and the long recession after the
collapse of the bubble economy in Japan accelerated this trend.

However, the first three characteristics, in my opinion, will not transform Japan toward the
Western way. The first three characteristics have been part of Japanese society for thousands of
years. I hope that professional communicators around the world can accept and respect cultures
that differ from their own.

Wouldn't it be rewarding if our current age became known as an "Age of Co-Learning?"

Internal Communication in Japan

Having reviewed these characteristics that influence corporate communication, let's briefly
consider internal communication. I believe that in Japan, internal communication is the most
important of all corporate communication. In my experience, without exception, if a company has
effective internal communication, its external communication will be successful, too.

Successful internal communication depends on three basics. The first is getting top management's
support and trust. This requires direct contact with communicators. It is essential to create better
internal communication, Tate and Yoko, which will help to avoid the lack of, and distortion of,
communication between management and employees.

Second, communicators must be fully knowledgeable in both management and labor affairs, always
keeping in mind what issues are most important to top management inside the corporation as well
as outside. Business communicators must always think strategically in their contact with
management. The third requirement is to use two-way and symmetrical [balanced] communication,
as described by James Grunig, Ph.D., in the IABC Research Foundation "Excellence in Public
Relations and Communication Management" study. This includes disclosure of management
information and employees' participation in the corporate communication process.

Publication Information: Article Title: Characteristics of Japanese Communication. Contributors:

Sanae Kobayashi - author. Magazine Title: Communication World. Volume: 14. Issue: 1. Publication
Date: December/January 1996