Home | Conducting meetings in Japan
How to condut meeting in Japan is an art. You must spend time in understanding and getting experience in arranging and managing meetings. Meetings happen several times a day for many reasons. There are formal and informal meetings.
If you are meeting a customer for the first time, please check this.
If you are having a meeting along with your boss and sub-ordinate, please check this.
Learn what to do during meeting and at the end of the meeting.
If you are arranging meetings, then ensure the following is done:
When you arrange a meeting ensure that the following are shared well in advance and you request for a meeting
+ First of all - Request for a meeting well in advance
Agenda
+ Share clear agenda
Participants
+ Provide name, designation and roles of people participating from your side
+ If you are asking for people from customer side, ensure you have similar level designated people in your side
+ Sometimes we will request a GM to participate whereas in Japanese work culture (a GM is a very powerful person in a Japanese company and does not have time for all the meetings)
+ We cannot have a meeting where we have a GM from our side and expect a President from customer side to participate
Date and Time
+ We must clearly mention the date and time (including the time difference if different time zone are involved)
Minutes of the meeting with Action points and RnR
+ Ensure well written Minutes of the Meeting (MOM) is taken
+ Ensure all Action points are documented along with Roles and Responsibilites of who does what
NOTE: This will haunt you in case if you make a mistake in your deliverable
+ Hence what we agree in the meetings are important.
+ It must be well documented and above all it MUST be DELIVERED as per commitment
Customer response
+ Do not ask, any decision or response from a Japanese customer during the meeting.
+ They will answer depending on what the question is and how serious it will affect the project etc…
+ However, please have a practice of meeting each and every Japanese stakeholder
See Honne and Tatemae
End of the meeting
+ At the end of the meeting, summarize what are the action points taken
+ Close the meeting on time
+ Watch the time carefully and ensure the meeting closes on time