The Influence of Japanese Culture on Business Relationships and Negotiations

Explains that American managers often find negotiating with their Japanese counterparts extremely difficult and frustrating due to a lack of understanding of the Japanese negotiation style in particular and of the Japanese language and culture in general. Describes key features of the Buyer/Seller relationship as it is in Japan′s “vertical” society, later explaining the four stages of Japanese negotiation and post‐negotiation formalities. Emphasizes that Americans must not try to negotiate using their own negotiation practices, since this will make Japanese feel unduly pressured and the negotiations will be unsuccessful ‐success can only come if Americans learn to operate within the Japanese culture.