By Western standards, the way the Japanese make decisions may seem slow and tedious. The Japanese tend to be cautious and thorough, with a tendency toward kiken kaihi, or risk avoidance, and prefer to conduct business by using a group of...

Corporate Japan has been going through a significant transition. Overall, the Japanese business culture is characterized by formal interpersonal relations, group orientation, structured processes, and defined protocols with a...

Unlike her European counterparts, the Netherlands invested very little in education within its colonies. While the Dutch introduced a system of formal education for the local population of Indonesia, it was restricted to certain...

Mexicans are usually warm and gentle toward strangers, including foreigners. They’ll sometimes stare at them, especially if the foreigners don’t look like Americans, whom they’re used to seeing. Curiosity and wonder quickly vanish once...

The unit of currency in Mexico is the peso, which is equivalent to 100 centavos. Notes are available in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 pesos, and coins are available in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 pesos. Coins worth...

As Japan’s capital city and the hub of Japanese business, government, and finance, Tokyo is the number one destination for foreigners relocating to Japan. Japan’s largest city, which became the capital in 1868, is a study in contrasts,...

The Japanese cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe rank just after Tokyo in popularity, and each is unique in its landscape, local culture, and lifestyle. In traditional Kyoto, the pace of life is less frenetic than in Tokyo, and people tend...

The island of Kyushu claims a long history of trade and interaction with Europe, evident in the numerous churches on the island, and with Korea and China, which has made the locals far more open to foreigners than other Japanese. It’s...

The Japanese use chopsticks for all varieties of Japanese food, although some restaurants that are used to tourists can provide knives and forks. Learn why you should never leave your chopsticks standing upright in your rice and other...

Explore cultural tips and etiquette for visiting people’s homes, especially when it comes to shedding your shoes and wearing guest slippers. Learn more about local practices for house slippers, toilet slippers, and even garden slippers....

Many of the values and basic assumptions the Japanese make about life have their origins in Buddhism and Shintoism. The primacy of the group or the collective good and the value placed on maintaining harmony are particularly strong and...

Explore the influence of religion on Japan over the centuries. Learn about Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion, which is still practiced but serves mainly as a source of traditional customs and festivals. It has slightly more followers...

The standard dialect of Japanese is spoken throughout the country, although there are some regional differences in accent. English is taught in many schools and is the most common language other than Japanese that is spoken in the...

The Japanese aren’t usually avid joke tellers, but put them in a group, and they’ll sometimes do humorous imitations of friends and colleagues. Such imitations aren’t considered rude; indeed, they’re often performed in front of the...

Education plays such a key role in Japanese life, it's hard to overestimate its importance. Whether a child gets into the right school early on determines whether he or she will attend the right university—which, in turn, can determine...

Depending on what country you call home, Japanese cooking and food preparation may be very different from what you are used to. Food in Japan ranges from traditional Japanese dishes to a wide range of foreign cuisines from around the...

Japan has a population of approximately 126 million, more than twice that of the United Kingdom and less than half that of the United States. But with 333 people per square kilometer, Japan is one of the most densely populated countries...

The Japanese love to give gifts. The two main Japan-wide gift-giving seasons are July (Ochugen), when people wish each other summer greetings and good health, and December (Oseibo), to show appreciation for assistance offered during the...

The Japanese enjoy socializing as much as other people, but their behavior may seem formal and unfamiliar to someone from another culture. Learn key do's and don'ts to ensure that you behave appropriately in social and business...

One major difference between Japanese and Western companies is that in Japan, no one person is usually identified as the personality or power behind a company’s policy or business strategy. Instead, ideas and strategies usually are...

While Japan has long been considered extremely safe, no country, of course, is 100 percent safe. Economic problems have led to greater unemployment, and, according to the Japanese, relatively lower moral standards. A few years ago, any...

In Japan, there are two emergency numbers everyone should know: 110, to contact the police, and 119, to report a fire or request an ambulance. But be mindful that you’ll have to talk in Japanese, which is especially difficult when you’re...

The Japanese currency is the yen. Coins are available in 1, 5, 10, and 100 yen, whereas notes are valued at 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen. Japan is still mainly a cash society, and many small businesses even pay salaries in cash. Unless...

For all the attention Japan gets as a world leader in business and technology, it’s easy to forget how physically isolated and small the country is. This feature has impacted the Japanese perception of foreigners throughout history into...