Business relationships certainly include social activities taking place after work, namely drinking and dining. The Japanese tends to perceive insights of the others through socialization before proceeding to any business. You must be prepared to invest some time in this “pre-business activity” in order to bring your real investment to fruition.

The Japanese values personal dignity, similar to Chinese national attribute. It means that you must read between the lines of conversation and proposals. The Japanese business person avoids giving you a direct and definite negative expression as possible to maintain their and your faces. If you keep receiving vague or cloudy response, feeling being delayed tactically, there may be a time for you to implement plan B.

Japan is a collective society, hence people tend to act together even in an urgent, immediate decision-making process. The Japanese business person loves to collect information for any critical decision-making. A response to your proposal may not come back immediately if they are under consideration. The decision-making takes a lot of time because they believe spending more time in the consideration and gathering would contribute to a better decision. You should expect some meetings in which no business is discussed, but once the agreement is made, the relationship is very tight and stable.