“But Japan is unique. That is not how things are done here.” Have you heard this before? Whether you are newly on assignment in Japan, or covering Japan from overseas as part of your regional or global responsibility, there is a good chance you have heard some form of this sentence. But is Japan really unique? And if so, what can be done about it? 

We Are All Unique

Now, it is important to note that, yes, there are certain characteristics that are unique about Japan. Most countries (or regions) often have their own characteristics and are unique in their own way. Even grouping all English speaking countries are far from the same and have their own uniqueness. The same goes for Europe. Europe is extremely diverse and each country has their own culture and uniqueness.

But we also have a lot in common. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is not tied to any particular country or culture but applies universally to us as humans. The underlying human needs are fundamentally the same and market forces in the majority of countries work in a similar (not the same) fashion., aAt least in countries that have a free market economy. But the more we drill down from a macro level to a micro level, the more we can see the differences. That is where the adjustments need to take place.

For example, digital marketing is growing way more than let’s say print media, but which platform will be the best your strategy depends on your market. In some markets that might be Facebook, in others that might be Twitter or even a local social media platform like Line in Japan.

But Japan Has Four Seasons!

When speaking to people locally in Japan, it almost does not matter what the topic is, at some point you often get something along the lines of “Japan is unique”. When you ask them what is so unique about it you get answers such as “Japan has four seasons”, “Japan is an island nation”. I will not go into why those answers are not enough reason to declare Japan as unique. But what I’ve come to notice is that the people who easily throw the phrase “Japan is unique” around are typically people who have rarely traveled or have never left Japan. They also rarely speak any other language and have therefore only access to Japanese resources (books, websites, videos etc.). So, how can you say Japan is unique if you have nothing actually to compare it against? Or rather, unique compared to what exactly?

I saw this very frequently when working in the fitness industry in Japan. The fitness industry in Japan is about 15 to 20 years behind the rest of the world. So while boutique gyms are already established and popular in other parts of the world, they are just getting started here in Japan. We could literally predict the future of the fitness industry by looking at what was happening in the US or Europe now and anticipate how this will roll out in Japan as well.　This is a model Masayoshi Son (Softbank) utilized and called it “time machine business management” (タイムマシーン経営). When speaking to gym operators, there were two distinct groups. The first group shrugged our predictions off with exactly the same vague “Japan is different. That is overseas. Our market is unique”. The other group, however, was keen on learning what was going on overseas and even went to exhibitions and events in the US and Europe. While they fully understood that the markets are different, they also understood that the underlying market forces are very similar. Needless to say, gym operators in the latter group were more innovative and outperformed their peers.

How To Go About It

It starts with acknowledgement on both sides that there are things in common and things that are different. If we simply focus on how Japan (our company, our department, our product) is unique, we ignore all the things we have in common.

Yes, Japan has unique characteristics. But so does every other country. By saying  “Japan is unique”, we pretend as if all the rest of the world is the same and homogenous. It goes back to the typical classification of “Japan and overseas” (日本と海外）as if everything beyond the great ocean is the same.

So, let’s start with building a foundation of what is the same or similar enough and build a common understanding. Break it down and work through it step by step. As time consuming it might seem, it will save you time later down the road by getting everyone on board early on. You’ll probably find that there is a lot more than you originally imagined. 

From there, we look then at aspects and characteristics that require tweaking of the global approach. For big picture strategies it could be that it requires explaining the underlying assumptions on which the strategy is built. That way you can establish a common pool of knowledge.

It is important that all stakeholders acknowledge that they do not have the perfect answer and they do not fully understand everything. The local team often lacks understanding of the intricacies of other markets and so do regional and global counterparts when it comes to Japan. Therefore, they are there to learn and everyone involved needs to help each other improve their understanding and knowledge.

This could be with regards to the marketing approach, supplier management or legal contracts. Sure, it would be a lot easier to simply paint with a broad brush and have it all the same across the world. It’s a lot easier to manage, a lot more streamlined and efficient on paper. While that won’t work, it is still possible to use the same basic foundation and then customize and localize to fit the local needs.

Two Examples

One great example of this is Nestlé. In the early 2000’s they were struggling in Japan and about to withdraw from the market. Then they realized that their sales were doing well in Kyusuhu during a certain period of the year. As it turns out students were gifting each other Kit Kat during exam season because Kit Kat (キットカット) sounds similar to きっと勝つ（kitto katsu/”you’ll certainly win”/”you got this”). From there they turned it around, localized their marketing and now have the most diverse product portfolio in the world with regional and seasonally limited editions. This is a great case where the company utilized Japan’s “uniqueness” to its advantage.

Another example is Coca-Cola. Generally, it’s worth noting that Coca-Cola sells more tea products in Japan than the traditional products they are mostly known for. Instead of simply executing global product and marketing strategies, Coca-Cola kept listening carefully to the customer voices in Japan and even made the leap into alcoholic beverages. This has been so successful that they started selling the product in the US as well. Furthermore, Coca-Cola announced that they will launch another product in the same category to further grow in this area. 

Conclusion

Where does this leave us? Firstly, I suggest local teams stop using the “Japan is unique” as a defense mechanism and instead approach their counterparts in a more collaborative and open minded approach.

For expatriates in Japan, or regional and global HQ stakeholders dealing with Japan; whenever you are faced with the “Japan is unique” argument, take a deep breath and remind yourself that the local team (hopefully) only wants the best for the business. Work with them and understand that there are key points in their argument that need to be addressed.

Forcing global initiatives or approaching people top down will not get you results in Japan at all. As hierarchical as Japan is, it is a very consensus-driven culture.

What has been your experience when working with Japanese colleagues, suppliers or customers? Have you faced the same “Japan is unique” argument? How did you deal with it?