Far East

“I’m going to think about it.” “I’ll do my best.” In the West, these expressions may signify that the game is not yet lost for your contact has not yet said no. Not so in an Asian country such as Japan. “The rules of politeness demand very indirect manners of speaking,” explains Michel Leray, Managing Director of Europacific Management. “This is a cultural trait that is not foreign to the various religions in Asia, whether Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism or Shintoism. Far from the Judeo-Christian idea of a God who judges us, these other religions privilege the maintenance of harmony with the world.” Concerned not to force you to lose face, an Asian person will never say no to you.
It will be up to you to guess what he or she really means. This procedure is all the more difficult as Asians learn to never display their emotions. “In the West, the more an individual is at ease, the more he expresses what he feels,” he observes. “In Asia, showing joy, pain, enthusiasm or disappointment is to show a crack and considered a weakness.” Given these conditions, how can one know what an Asian person thinks or means? “It is often more efficient to go through a third person,” he suggests. “This person will have much more luck getting precise information close to the reality if he or she is not affected by your business.” Hence the importance of creating and maintaining networks. “Accept invitations to restaurants, banquets and other activities that Asians offer,” advises Michel Leray. Expect to have to reply to questions that may seem to be private, such as: are you married, what does your spouse do, do you have children? “Asians often work according to affective aspects,” continues Michel Leray. “Before knowing if a contract is reasonable, they want to know who you are and whether you are trustworthy.” This is shown by the following example, typical according to the Managing Director of Europacific Management. “I recently put a French company in contact with an Asian partner,” he tells. “The Asians first came to France, where they saw the Eiffel Tower, ate in a restaurant, went to the department stores… and spent a half-day out of a week discussing the contract that was presented to them. When they had gone home, they sent an email thanking their French contacts and asking them when they thought they could pay them a visit in turn. The French people were extremely worried, but announced their visit. The contract was signed as soon as they arrived. And then they spent three days partying.”