Cultural Considerations: Japan

1. Communication protocol: Meeting & Greeting: -Greetings are very formal and ritualized. - Important to show the correct amount of respect and deference to someone based upon their status relative to your own. - Wait to be introduced. -It is considered impolite to introduce yourself, even in a large gathering. -Traditional form of greeting is the bow.The deeper you bow, the more respect you show.

2. Levels of EDUCATION: 99% literacy rate Japanese is the commonly used language,

3. Religious Belifs -The major religion of Japanese people are Buddhism and Shinto -Religion does not play a big role in the everyday life of most Jaoanese people today.The average person typically follows religious rituals at ceremonies such as weddings,visit a shrine/temple on New Year and participate at local festivals which have a religious background.

4. Business etiquette -expect to bow during introduction -‎exchange of business cards is very formal; must be given and received with two hands -‎age equals seniority -personal ‎privacy is valued -‎gift exchange; avoid a set of four of anything, and also number 9 is considered bad luck

5. Celebrations and Holidays- Setsubun on February 3rd or 4th marks the beginning of spring .People throw beans at someone wearing a mask and representing a demon and chant.The focal point for the Doll Festival is a display of dolls representing the emperor,empress and their court in formal dress.Although the word matsuri is always translated as 'festival', some festivals and holidays are more correctly included in the nenchu gyoji or annual events originally observed by the Imperial court. These observances are mostly of Chinese or Buddhist origin but as most Japanese don't really consider their religious significance, they also don't distinguish them from matsuri. The dates of some holidays, such as Adult's Day in January, have been moved to a fixed Monday in order to have guaranteed three-day weekends. The government made some changes in 2000 in an effort to stimulate the sluggish economy. Some of the more important days are: New Year's Day, Adult's Day (Seijin no Hi), Doll Festival (Hina Matsuri) on March 3rd, Golden Week in May, Bon Festival (Obon) on July 13-15th (August in some areas) and New Year's Eve . The birthday of the current emperor is always a national holiday, as is the birthday of the late Emperor Showa.

6. Customs: -people greet each other by bowing -regarding indoor manners, shoes are usually removed and the shoes should be always pointed towards the door rather than into the building. -Chopsticks are used to eat most kinds of Japanese food and these should be held towards their end, not in the middle or front third. -Gift giving is a common part of Japanese culture, but gifts in sets of 4 are usually avoided. -Japanese people don't have loud public conversations on their mobile phones. People never speak on the phone in the train or in a shop. -There is no need to tip at restaurants in Japan as a service tax is usually included in the bill. Some may even consider tipping as a rude act. -Unlike in western cultures, slurping when eating your noodles is acceptable. -The Japanese take punctuality seriously, so if you plan a meeting with the locals, make sure you turn up on time.