Japan Cultural Insights, Training and Learning

Training and Consulting for Working with Japan

Digital Learning: Culture Hub Japan

• Subsidiaries of Japanese companies

  This category represents by far the most significant constituency of clients who request our services on Japan-related issues. Typically, these clients have two main interests in terms of their relationship with the head office:

  Firstly, we work with senior leadership within Japan-owned subsidiaries that struggle with the issue of successfully influencing at the head office level. Often, these local executives feel that their views are overlooked in Japan and that they are, as a result, frequently asked to implement strategies that they believe are inappropriate in their home market. We work with these leaders to help them understand key business drivers in Japan more clearly and then use that understanding to persuade and influence more effectively in Tokyo.

  Secondly, we work with local employees in Japanese subsidiaries who are tasked with collaborating with Japanese colleagues on a day-to-day basis but often struggle to understand the mindset of their Japanese counterparts. Greater cultural understanding in this area can lead to more effective collaboration and better communication.

• Clients with subsidiaries in Japan

  Japan is a well-developed and affluent economy, making it a potentially great market in which to offer your goods and services. Many clients have taken this opportunity to develop their operations in Japan, only to encounter significant cultural challenges that have proved difficult to overcome.

  We help those clients understand the cultural challenges they face and then work with them to develop strategies for moving forward. We find that these challenges impact both the client side and the internal side, and the two are often closely linked in a Japanese context.

• Clients with supply chain contacts in Japan

  Japan is not typically viewed as a centre of supply chain operations, but many companies maintain key supplier relationships with Japanese partners and contacts. As an economy that produces best-in-breed products across various sectors, this is not surprising. These Japanese partners are often business-critical, and our clients come to us to gain a better understanding of their Japanese contacts, to deepen existing relationships, and develop new ones.