Doing Business with Japanese Men is the first book that specifically addresses the culture-based difficulties Western women may encounter in their dealings with Japanese clients and colleagues. It's filled with informative and sometimes embarrassing anecdotes from over 200 Western women who've worked in Japan. Their cross-cultural experiences are both instructive and highly entertaining.
Female executives are still a novelty in Japan, and relationships between Western women and Japanese "salarymen" have been awkward, confused, and even strained due to a lack of communication. When I was working in Japan, I couldn't understand why my peers rarely laughed at my jokes. I wasn't sure how I should answer my clients' questions such as "Do you have a lover?" I felt uncomfortable when I was given expensive gifts, and I didn't know what to make of my male colleagues who asked me out to karaoke bars. If I had read this guide before I went, I might have effectively coped with these otherwise murky situations.
Doing Business with Japanese Men also has diagrams of business seating charts, a list of hotels and basic preparation tips, helpful Japanese phrases, a list of international women's services in Japan, and a list of "Dos and Don'ts" at the end of each chapter. No matter how much experience a Westerner has had in the Far East, this book is bound to make an impact on any woman's - or man's -next trip to Japan.
- Carla Sinclair
Doing Business with Japanese Men, by Christalyn Brannen and Tracey Wilen, US$9.95. Stone Bridge Press: +1 (510) 524 8732, fax +1 (510) 524 8711, e-mail 71650.3402@compuserve.com.
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