NEGOTIATING WITH THE JAPANESE AMERICAN CORPORATIONS WISHING TO ENTER INTO VIRTUALLY ANY TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP-GROUND LEASES, SALES OR TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF FACILITIES-WITH A JAPANESE COMPANY MUST OVERCOME SEVERAL FORMIDABLE BARRIERS IN THEIR DEALINGS WITH THIS ARTICLE WILL ACQUAINT THE AMERICAN READER WITH THE VAST DIFFERENCES INMANAGEMENT THINKING BETWEEN WESTERNERS AND JAPANESE THAT OCCUR AS A RESULT OFBASIC CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. BUSINESS VISITORS TO JAPAN ARE EASILY MISLED BY SURFACEAPPEARANCES, SUCH AS THE PREVALENCE OF SPOKEN ENGLISH AND WESTERN CUSTOMS INHOTELS, SHOPPING CENTERS AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, IN THE JAPANESE COMPANIES WITH WHOMTHEY'RE DEALING. THIS SURFACE "WESTERNIZATION" MASKS THE VERY REAL CHASMS SEPARATINGWESTERN FROM JAPANESE THINKING. OUR CONCERNS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THE PRAGMATIC ONES OF NOT JUST ATTRACTING JAPANESEINVESTMENTS TO THE U.S., BUT ALSO OF MINIMIZING SOME OF THE JOINT DIFFICULTIES IN ANY TYPEOF PROPOSED RELATIONS BETWEEN JAPANESE AND AMERICAN CORPORATIONS. IN ORDER TO BESUCCESSFUL WE MUST CLEARLY RECOGNIZE NOT ONLY WHERE THESE DIFFERENCES BETWEENJAPAN AND THE WEST LIE, BUT ALSO BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE, IN FACT, AREAS WHERE THERE ARENO COMMONALITIES OF INTEREST AT ALL! THESE LATTER ARE IN AREAS RELATING TO CORRECT ANDPROPER SOCIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND OFTTIMES THERE CAN BE NO TRANSLATION OFTHESE IDEAS FROM JAPANESE INTO ENGLISH, NOT ONLY, BECAUSE THE WORDS SIMPLY CAN'T BETRANSLATED, BUT BECAUSE THE VERY CONCEPTS THEMSELVES ARE INHERENTLY ALIEN TOWESTERNERS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF JAPANESE CULTURAL ATTITUDES IS UNIQUE IN THE WORLD'S HISTORY.NOWHERE IN THE WORLD TODAY IS THERE A COUNTRY APPROACHING THE PRE-EMINENCE OF JAPANWHOSE CULTURAL AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR PATTERNS ARE SO LITTLE UNDERSTOOD BY THE REST OFTHE WORLD. JAPAN WAS SEALED OFF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD FOR THE FIRST 250 YEARS OF THEPAST 375, AND, AS A RESULT, DEVELOPED ITS OWN SOCIAL PATTERNS COMPLETELY UNIQUE EVENFROM OTHER ORIENTAL CULTURE...
