Written by Marc Wilkinson.
During a discussion with a prospective client, I was asked why, despite a growing global landscape, it is difficult to find fully cross-cultural (specifically one with a native English speaking representative) PR and marketing agencies in Japan. Although the quick answer could be a lack of native English-speaking staff, after thinking on this subject a bit longer, I realized that the answer is more complicated. In this article, I will discuss some of the potential reasons why many Japanese companies struggle doing business with foreign companies, and I will offer several solutions to breach these language and cultural barriers.
English skills in Japanese PR/marketing agencies
Japanese companies, including many PR and marketing agencies, generally struggle communicating with global business for any number of reasons, such as: the need for language perfection becomes counterintuitive, TOEIC skills are often overestimated, lack of priority for native English speakers in key positions, and lack of motivation for globalization.
Let’s start with the most obvious problem: the spoken English language is not very strong in Japan. Although there are a number of possible reasons for this issue, a common phrase heard in Japanese schools is “a nail that sticks out must be hammered down”. This idiom strongly stresses the demand for conformity and perfection, and sometimes results in students avoiding making embarrassing mistakes. A textbook safe answer or no response is seen as a better choice than mistake and embarrassment. Control phrases like “I’m fine thank you and you” and “this is a pen” often overpower real, personal responses, which stunts the learning curve and practical language application. In order to avoid embarrassment, the focus in schools is on written English rather than spoken, and this carries into the next challenge.
Why is there still a struggle with international business?
The Japanese education system is based around “entrance and qualification exams”, for high school, university, and employment. In terms of business English language skill, a high score on the TOEIC exam is the coveted prize for any corporate employee wanting to enter international business (Around the web: Why is TOEIC Popular in Japan? Advantage of Taking TOEIC in Japan.). Companies such as UFJ, Samsung, J&J, and Panasonic require extremely high scores. This exam also focuses on reading, writing, and listening – but still lacks actual communication. Although there is a version of the test that involves speaking, it is rarely used for company entrance. Because of the structure of large Japanese companies, the TOEIC exam score is often important for initial hiring, but then several years pass, and the language isn’t used, and lost. This leads into another problem.
Even if a company has to make English advertisements, most PR campaigns are either aimed internally in Japan or at other Asian markets where English is a second language, so perfect grammar is not a priority. Because of the strict corporate hierarchy, upper management in larger Japanese companies tend to have limited English skill and thereby delegate actual translation tasks to new entries and the few English-native staff members. In other words, when a foreign client tries to do business with the company, all content must pass several layers of corporate hierarchy where key performance indicators and goals will get lost in translation, like a game of telephone.
Although several industries try to maintain standards across the board, this chart shows that the average TOEIC score decreases from standard employee 役員 (far right column) as the position in the company increases to senior management 主任, regardless of what industry.
Lastly, another aspect of why many Japanese people think English is optional in business, comes from the lack of domestic demand. Japan is one of the few developed markets with over 100 million people that can be targeted and with a single language, which allows companies to thrive with domestic sales alone. As such, there is little drive to expand into global markets.
Rakuten is one of the few Japanese companies that is challenging this, and has spent over a decade pushing for English to be utilized within the company.Founder CEO Mr. Hiroshi Mikitani stated in a 2018 column that “It is not just preferable, it is really critical for us to be able to do business and operate in English”. However, this push has just created backlash. Moreover, in the years since, few Japanese companies have jumped onto Rakuten’s global bandwagon.
The Press Culture is different too
An underrated aspect of localization is understanding cultural nuance. Understanding a culture ensures that a client’s message is received by the target audience, and a lack of understanding factors into why finding it is difficult to find a global PR and marketing agency.
A good example of this is in how press releases are used in Japan versus how they are used in the West. Japanese press releases aim for the media to copy and paste contents easier, therefore, detailed information is needed. On the other hand, the Western media focuses on provoking interviews or further questions as a means to focus on the key message.
This is a challenge PR agencies sometimes encounter, as many Western companies aim for a “global release.” However, since the Japanese media landscape is so different, if the domestic release is slightly delayed compared to the global one, it doesn’t really have any negative impact. The timing of a global and domestic release really goes unnoticed in Japan. This lack of impact is noticeable in not only smaller announcements, but large releases, such as films or product launches, can be delayed months. On the contrary, rushing press article localization just to coincide with a global release will likely result in more problems than just delaying the Japanese release.
Possible Solutions for mutual marketing/PR in Japan & abroad
1) For foreign companies entering Japan: The importance of hiring the Japanese representative
In order to do business and target the right media, it is important to first find a Japanese speaking representative who can accurately convey your company’s goals. This is better than trying to work with English speaking entry-level employees and avoid days of unnecessary wait time as the information gets passed up and down the company chain.
A couple years ago, ShapeWin had worked with a company trying to promote in Japan. Although they had appointed a Japanese representative, he wasn’t granted any authority on business or public relations related activities. Essentially, he was nothing more than a glorified translator. Because of these restrictions and the language barrier, their representative was unable to provide any useful information to press, and their marketing campaign was unable to move forward. So not only is having a Japanese representative crucial, it is also imperative for these international companies to give adequate decision-making authority to this person.
2) For Japanese companies wanting to communicate with foreign business:
It is important to have employees that not only speak English but also are involved in key business activities. Although written English is an important fact, natural speaking skills as well as other expertise is a critical component to landing a pitch with new partners.
ShapeWin’s bilingual marketing/PR support
Unlike other PR & digital marketing agencies that follow Japan’s standard structure using new recruits with some English ability, ShapeWin differs from this ineffective mainstream method of business communication. Our team offers fully bilingual marketing and PR support with native English, Chinese, and Japanese representatives who have expert knowledge in various fields such as IT, medical, agriculture, etc. Our agents are able to directly communicate with our client’s marketing & PR teams without getting bogged down in layers of passing the message along the corporate chain.
Click here to learn more about our international team.