The Japanese are conditioned by exceptional historical and geographical constraints as well as by their thought processes in a language very different from any other. How does this affect foreign businesspeople dealing with them?
At the beginning there is the first meeting. The Japanese, unlike Westerners, worry about meeting newcomers.
In their own society Japanese executives know exactly the manner they should use to address someone, depending on a superior, inferior or equal status. Americans who stride across the room and pump their hands are a source of great embarrassment. First, unless they have been properly introduced, the Japanese are unable to define the stranger’s rank. Secondly, it is likely that Westerners will initiate a person-to-person exchange of views in the first meeting, which poses an even greater danger to the Japanese. They represent their group; therefore, they cannot pronounce on any matters there and then without consultation. The exchange of visiting cards is a familiar ceremony in Japan, although the information gained from these will be insufficient without prior knowledge.