Japanese Values and their Influence on Doing Business

Understanding How Japanese Cultural Values Shape Business

To understand Japanese business culture, it’s essential that you first appreciate Japanese cultural values. Why?

If you don’t understand the underlying values, then it’s very difficult to understand the Japanese mindset. And if you don’t understand the mindset of the people, you’re never really going to click.

That’s why learning about different cultures – especially if you’re doing business with them – is crucial.

So, we’re going to give you an introduction to some key values in Japanese work culture in under 5 minutes! If you want to dive deeper, then our Japan cultural awareness course goes into more detail.

What do We Mean by Values in Business?

Cultural values are essentially the beliefs and principles within a culture that shape that culture’s behaviours.

As such, if you’re doing business in Japan, then appreciating the cultural values that underpin Japanese society and work culture will ensure you interact meaningfully with your Japanese peers and drive better outcomes when interacting within this market.

7 Important Japanese Values and the Impact on Business

Japan is a country traumatised by natural disasters. Ganbaru, Gaman and Konjou have always been important in helping people move forward after tragedy.

Photo by Ryan McBride on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

1, 2 & 3. Ganbaru, Gaman, and Konjou: Persistence and Endurance in Japanese Culture

First, let’s start with Ganbaru, Gaman, and Konjou. These can be translated as persistence, endurance, and willpower.

Japan’s isolated and inhospitable landscapes have, over time, resulted in these qualities being seen as essential to life. In Japanese culture, one must strive, make effort, and overcome.

It is these values perhaps that drive much of the innovation that comes out of Japan in sectors such as robotics, software, and IT. Japanese society stresses collective achievement, which holds that anything is possible when everyone pulls together with a shared vision and works as a group.

Japanese apathy at election times is often put down to Shoganai, in that people believe it’s not really in their hands!

Photo by Paul Robinson on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

4. Shoganai: Acceptance and Resilience in Japanese Culture

Another value that has its roots in the sometimes brutal experiences the Japanese have faced at the hands of natural and man-made disasters is that of Shoganai.

Shoganai can roughly be translated as ‘it can’t be helped’. It is an acceptance of fate and that sometimes things are just out of your control. This also surfaces in the Japanese management style.

The Japanese mentality, therefore, is that when something is, or appears to be, out of your control, then you must accept it and move on.

In some ways contradictory to the values of persistence and endurance, however, shoganai is more a belief that in life, there are greater powers at work. Rather than complaining about things out of your control, you should channel your energies elsewhere.

‘Mottainai’ written on the back of a truck, followed by the sentence, “I strive towards zero emissions.”

Photo by Hajime Nagahata – Commitment, CC BY 2.0

5. Mottainai: Respect for Resources and Avoiding Waste in Japan

Our next value is Mottainai, which means something along the lines of ‘what a waste’.

Again, closely tied to the Japanese experience of living on an island with limited resources, the Japanese feel regret towards waste of any kind.

It expresses guilt when wasting something considered worthy. This might be wasted food, wasted time, or a piano that hasn’t been played in a long time. All are mottainai.

Japanese culture is deeply rooted in the concept of living in harmony with the environment.

Photo by Hideki Nishiyama on Unsplash

6. Wa (Harmony): The Importance of Group Harmony in Japanese Business Culture

Our next two values are perhaps the most important in understanding Japanese culture.

Both are interrelated and dependent upon one another, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s start with Wa, which means harmony.

Harmony was essential for the Japanese throughout history as a way of maintaining stability. The teachings of Buddhism and Shinto beliefs also came together to stress peaceful unity with others.

At its core, Wa dictates that the harmony and needs of society take priority over personal opinions or interests. This value heavily influences much of the Japanese mindset.

‘Face’ is an incredibly important part of Japanese culture, which often determines what people can or can’t say.

Photo by Alexandre Chambon on Unsplash

7. Honne and Tatemae: Communication and “Face” in Japanese Culture

This is especially so when we consider the next values of Honne to Tatemae.

Honne can be roughly translated as ‘meaning the truth’ in that people say what they really think about something. Tatemae, on the other hand, is about what you need to say to maintain face, or group harmony or when you represent a group. Tatemae is more about what you say in public as opposed to private. The two can contradict one another.

Honne and Tatemae are often core themes in Japanese TV soaps, films, and novels, showing their central importance in day-to-day life. For foreigners, this behaviour can be interpreted negatively, and some cultures might even perceive it as lying or deceitful because people aren’t saying what they think. However, for the Japanese, it is tightly connected with the need to maintain harmony and see the bigger picture.

How Japanese Cultural Values Influence Business Practices

Stressing peace and harmony, stability, and the need to sacrifice personal truths and ambitions for the collective good, the Japanese have developed a whole way of thinking, being, and behaving that is geared towards making things happen for the group.

This is a key learning point for anyone wanting to do business successfully in Japan or with the Japanese.

Photo by Jase Bloor on Unsplash