Thriving In A Japanese Company: An Insider's Guide
 

Learn the unwritten rules of Japanese workplaces - communication, trust, and career growth - from a native Japanese IT p
What you'll learn
Understand the core cultural principles of Japanese workplaces: harmony (wa), kuuki, and tatemae/honne
Apply Hou-Ren-Sou (報連相) - the communication framework that Japanese managers evaluate daily
Navigate meetings, emails, and daily interactions using appropriate Japanese business norms
Build trust and relationships through nemawashi, after-work socializing, and senpai-kouhai dynamics
Recognize how you're actually evaluated in Japanese companies and position yourself for career growth
Avoid the most common cultural mistakes that damage reputation and trust in Japanese organizations
Requirements
No Japanese language skills required (all key terms taught in context with English translation)
Currently working at or planning to join a Japanese company
Description
This course contains the use of artificial intelligence
Working in Japan? The hardest part isn't the language.
It's the invisible rules nobody explains. The unwritten expectations. The cultural codes your Japanese colleagues understand instinctively - but that nobody ever taught you.
This course is different.
Most guides about Japanese workplace culture are written by outsiders looking in. This one is built by a Japanese IT professional who spent years inside major corporations, leading 100-person projects and hiring global talent. This is the playbook I wish I could have handed my international colleagues from day one.
What you'll learn
• The Invisible Rules - 空気を読む (kuuki), 建前/本音 (tatemae/honne), and 和 (wa/harmony): the codes that govern everything
• Hou-Ren-Sou (報連相) - The #1 communication framework your manager expects but may never explain
• Nemawashi (根回し)- Why decisions are made before meetings, and how to use this to your advantage
• How you're actually evaluated - It's not just your output. Attitude, process, and team contribution all count.
• IT industry specifics- SIer vs Web系, design document culture, agile in Japan
• Mistakes to Mastery - 4 real case studies with Power Move strategies
Bonus downloadable resources included
• "50 Unwritten Japanese Workplace Phrases" - phrases you won't find in any JLPT textbook
• "Insider Lessons Cheat Sheet" - key principles, power moves, and phrases from every section
No Japanese language skills required. Key Japanese terms are shown on slides with romaji and English translation. This is not a language course - it's a culture and career strategy course.
Who this is for
• Foreign professionals working at or joining a Japanese company (especially IT)
• Anyone who has felt confused by unexplained expectations in a Japanese workplace
• Professionals in South/Southeast Asia, East Asia, or English-speaking countries entering Japanese corporate culture
Who this course is for
Foreign IT and business professionals at Japanese companies who feel confused by unspoken expectations
Professionals from South/Southeast Asia, East Asia, or English-speaking countries working in Japanese corporate culture
Remote workers collaborating with Japanese teams who want to understand the cultural dynamics
International staff at subsidiaries of Japanese companies who want to advance their careers