The subtleties of Japanese communication

The second prize for the Intercultural Game of the Summerwas awarded to Philippe Deneuville who describes the communication difficulties that one can encounter in Japan if one is not informed. These very instructive anecdotes reveal a particular state of mind that must be integrated if we want to understand the Japanese.

The Japanese method of communication

To decipher the Japanese method of communication, I decided to learn from my brother-in-law, an English teacher in Tokyo. I told him my point of view on a subject, as absurd as possible, and asked his opinion... I saw his eyes look at the ceiling for a few seconds, then he stared at me and declared: "It's a completely different point of view." completely original. I then understood that it was necessary to translate by “you are the first to tell me such stupidity.””

Morality: 70% of communication with a Japanese person from Japan who has little or no travel involves body language, 30% by voice, including 7% at most by words. Therefore, I should not be stuck by the lack of Japanese words to communicate...

A Japanese “yes” can have several meanings…

A young and handsome French bachelor, a polytechnic engineer, well-rounded, meets a pretty Japanese woman in Tokyo who tells him how much she loves French culture and its cuisine in particular. The young Frenchman verifies that the Japanese woman actually has a good knowledge of it and then suggests that she go to a French restaurant in Tokyo. Overjoyed, the Japanese woman is very interested and takes her diary. He suggests to her next Saturday evening. Not possible. The next month ? Not possible either, she is in the exam period… When then? The answer is: in 8 months!

Morality: some Japanese want to please you by paying you compliments, but their “yes yes” firstly means a good reception of what you say without any acceptance of the substance… A multitude of other signals, such as the length of silence, can show genuine interest more than an immediate response.

Respect in Japan

At a team meeting of our company in Tokyo, the vice-president asked me in Japanese, upon my return from a mission in Paris and in front of the forty people in the office, if I was happy with my "coup", alluding to the death of Lady Diana in Paris which some believed was an assassination. I am not aware of the event since it took place during my Paris-Tokyo flight and I believe it refers to the meetings with my Parisian colleagues. Misunderstanding ! I respond, in Japanese, that everything went very well, that I was discreet in not interfering with my support in Paris and that he will have a detailed report. The misunderstanding lasted for a certain number of discussions and it was only after the meeting that a colleague explained it to me. At no time did the Japanese show the slightest sign of amusement and yet I had just confessed covertly that I was indeed the killer!

Morality: the Japanese recognized my laudable efforts to express myself in Japanese, an effort which deserved respect, and this respect among them was stronger than the laughter that this misunderstanding would have triggered in France if a Japanese had expressed themselves in my place in French.

Don't lose face

When leaving the office in Tokyo, my Japanese colleague used to walk for a few meters before calling a taxi which then turned right and passed in front of the office. After half a dozen times, I decided to take control and called a taxi when leaving the building to avoid walking in the oppressive heat... When I indicated the direction, the driver apologized that he was too far up the boulevard to pull back, cut the line and turn right and that he would have to go around the block. I then understood why my Japanese colleague took the taxi further down the boulevard...

Morality: neither he nor I ever commented on this oddity; I did not lose face and understood that I must never make a Japanese colleague lose it.

The attitude to adopt when faced with difficulties

In Tokyo, at an American telephone operator whose employees are Japanese, we had great difficulty making ourselves understood by our American colleagues in Virginia, most of whom were from the Marine Corps. So I recruited an American, a Marine from Okinawa, married to a Japanese woman and speaking Japanese. The Americans were very satisfied with this recruitment, however I had to fire him at the request of the Japanese... Indeed, during the construction of a telecommunications solution, there was a problem which worried one of our clients. The American then took the attitude of a captain during the sinking of a boat: he sought to reassure his Japanese colleague by telling him that it was not serious, that he would manage the situation and that he could rely on him. He remained very calm, almost relaxed, with great listening skills. But his colleague was panicking more and more, wondering if the American had realized the seriousness of the problem. I had to explain to the American that his calm was seen as casualness, that he had to consider the client's problem as the end of the world and, while remaining calm, promise to call a vice-president.

Moral: I should have been a more directive manager because a Marine is not managed like a French engineer. It is not enough to work in an international group and know the cultures involved to be able to understand and accept cultural differences.

Reading advice:Paris-Tokyo: Hello earth?, Nadège Fougeras, Hachette, 2013