A look at what affects marketing in Japan. From the symbolism of colors to the meaning of numbers and a summary of Hofstede's cultural dimensions.

1. Marketing in Japan:
Section 2
Part 2 of 3: Marketing in Japan best practices and business insights.

2. Table of Contents:
Page Name: Page Number:
Business Practices 3
5 Steps to Marketing In Japan 4
How to Launch a Product in Japan 11
Tips to Marketing In Japan 28
Symbolism in Japan 44
Business Insights 57
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions 58
Business Facts 78
Business Etiquette 98
Business Differences: US vs. Japan 123
Work Cited 135

3. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
Black
Kuro
Blue
Ao
White
Shiro
Green
Midori
Red
Aka
Others
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com
黒
白 緑
赤
青

4. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
Black Represents:
Formality And
Elegance:
Started because of the
popularity of Western
black tie events
Death, Destruction,
Doom, Fear And
Sorrow:
When used alone, it
signifies mourning and
misfortune, and is often
worn to funerals
Dignity And Formality:
Used for the robes of
Buddhist monks, as well
as for montsuki (紋付),
the kimono that bears
the family crest
Black Is A
Powerful And
Foreboding
Color In
Japanese
Culture
黒
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com

5. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
Whiterepresents:
Purity and cleanliness in
traditional Japanese society, it is
seen as a blessed color
Used at weddings and other joyful
life events
Appears on the Japanese flag
Godly and Pure:
Sacred places are strung
with shimenawa(注連縄)
Sacred places are decorated with
white shide (紙垂), or strewn with
white pebbles or sand
白
White Has Been
An Auspicious
Color In Japan
For Much Of Its
History
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com

6. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
Energy Vitality Heat Power
Love
And
Intimacy
Sexual
Desire
Life
Force In
People
Energy
In
People
赤
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com
Red has been a powerful color in Japanese society,
representing strong emotions rather than ideas

7. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
It’s The Color Of The Sun In:
•It’s seen on the Japanese flag
Associated With Authority And Wealth:
•As attested to by red-sheathed samurai swords and ornamental combs
Has Ties To Religion:
•As demonstrated by the red torii (鳥居) of Shinto shrines
•Shrine maidens are traditionally clad in red hakama (袴)
赤
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com

8. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
Purity and
cleanliness in
traditional
Japanese culture
Largely because of
the vast stretches
of blue water that
surrounds the
Japanese islands
Considered a
feminine color
Worn by young
women to show
their purity
Calmness and
stability
It’s a relaxing color
青
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com
Represents:

9. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
• Mostly sometsuke (染付け)
porcelain
Ceramics:
• Mostly the aizuri-e (藍摺り絵)
woodblock prints
Fine Art:
• Flourished in Shikoku during the
Edo period
Formed The Basis For
The Indigo Dyeing
Industry:
青
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com
Blue is Used For:

10. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
Green shows
Fertility and
growth in
traditional
Japanese
culture
Midori means
green and
vegetation
The color green
represents
youth and
vitality
Green can also
represent
eternity
because
evergreen trees
never lose their
leaves or stop
growing
Green is fresh
and youthful
different from
the negative
western
connotations of
“green-eyed
jealousy”
緑
Compiled By author from japanese.about.com tofugu.com ehow.com

11. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Colors
Other Colors:
The following symbolizes the rank and authority of the Japanese royalty and
aristocracy:
Yellowish-brown Orange Purple
Chairo Daidaiiro Murasaki
Compiled By author from tofugu.com ehow.com japanese.about.com
茶色 橙色 紫

12. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Numbers
LuckyNumbers:
• 8 (Hachi): its written as 八 in
Kanji
• 八 is considered 末広がり
Suehirogari from its shape
which widens toward the
end
• Suehirogari is to become
more and more
prosperous as time goes
LuckyNumbers:
• 7(Nana): comes from Western
culture
• Japanese likes to choose 7
in any occasion
Compiled By author from discover-jp.blogspot.com

13. Marketing In Japan:
Symbolism- Numbers
UnluckyNumbers:
•4 is pronounced yon
or shi
•Shi has the same
pronunciation with
死 which means die
•People are in the
habit of not using 4
in hospitals and
congratulations
occasions
UnluckyNumbers:
•9 is pronounced kyu
or ku
•ku has the same
pronunciation with
苦 which means
pain or suffering
•49
yonjûkyu/shijûku is
a super unlucky
number because it
means die with
pain
UnluckyNumbers:
•The number 14 is
bad luck
•It sounds like the
word shuh-shuh,
which sounds like
the word for death
Compiled By author from discover-jp.blogspot.com

14. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
54
46
95
92
88
42
Power Distance Individualism Masculintiy Uncertainty
Avoidance
Long Tern
Orientation
Indulgence
Japan:
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com

15. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Power Distance:
The extent that less powerful members of institutions and organizations
within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally
This dimension deals
with the fact that
individuals in societies
are not equal – it
states the attitude of
the culture towards
these inequalities
Japan has a
intermediate score of
54, which makes it a
borderline
hierarchical society
They are conscious of
their hierarchical
position but they are
not as hierarchical as
other Asian cultures
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Power
Distance:

16. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Individualism:
The degree of interdependence a society keeps among its
members
It has to do with
whether
people’s self-
image is defined
in terms of “I”
or “We”
In Individualist
societies people
are supposed to
look after
themselves and
their direct
family only
In Collectivist
societies people
belong to ‘in
groups’ that
take care of
them in
exchange for
loyalty
Japan scores 46
on the
Individualism
dimension
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Individualism:

17. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Reasons why Japan isn’t as
collectivistic as other
societies:
They do not have an
extended family system
which forms a base of more
collectivistic societies such
as China and Korea
Japan has been a
paternalistic society
Younger siblings had to leave
home and make their own
living with their core
families
Oldest son inherited the
family name and assets from
his father
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Individualism:

18. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
They are
Individualist
by Asian
standards
Or
They are
collectivistic
by Western
standards
Japanese
in-group is
depended
on the
situation
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Individualism:

19. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Masculinity:
What motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or
liking what they do (Feminine)
A high score (Masculine)
indicates that the society will
be driven by competition,
achievement and success
Success is defined by the
winner / best in field – a
value system that starts in
school and continues
throughout organizational life
A low score (Feminine) means
that the dominant values in
the society are caring for
others and quality of life
A Feminine society is one
where quality of life is the
sign of success and standing
out from the crowd is not
admirable
At 95, Japan is one of the
most Masculine societies in
the world
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Masculinity:

20. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Expression of
Masculinity in Japan
that are seen in every
aspect of life:
The drive for excellence
and perfection in their
Material
Production-
Monodukuri
Material Services-
Hotels And
Restaurants
Presentation- Gift
wrapping and food
presentation
Notorious workaholism
Working hard and
long hours makes it
difficult for women
to climb up the
corporate ladders
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Masculinity:

21. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Uncertainty Avoidance:
The way a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known:
Should we try to control the future or just let it happen?
This brings anxiety and
different cultures have learnt
to deal with this anxiety in
different ways
The score takes into account:
How members feel
threatened by an ambiguous
or unknown situation
As well as the created beliefs
and institutions that they use
to try to avoid those
situations
At 92 Japan is one of the
most uncertainty avoiding
country on earth
Uncertainty
Avoidance:
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com

22. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Fromcradletograve,lifeishighly
ritualizedandtheyhavealotof
ceremonies:
Every school year, they have an
opening and closing ceremony that is
conducted the same way everywhere
in Japan
etiquette books suggest in great
detail what people wear and how
people should behave at weddings,
funerals and other social events
School teachers and public servants
are hesitant to do things without
precedence
In corporate Japan, a lot of time and
effort is put into feasibility studies:
all the risk factors must be worked
out before any project can start
Managers ask for all the detailed facts
and figures before making any
decision
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Uncertainty
Avoidance:
This high need
for Uncertainty
Avoidance is
one of the
reasons why
changes are so
difficult to
realize in Japan

23. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Long Term Orientation:
How societies have to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with
the challenges of the present and future
Societies prioritize these two existential goals differently
Normative Societies-
Scores are low, prefer
to maintain time-
honored traditions
and norms while
viewing societal
change with suspicion
Pragmatic Approach:
Scores are high, they
encourage thrift and
efforts in modern
education as a way to
prepare for the future
At 88 Japan scores as
one of the most Long
Term Orientation
oriented societies
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Long Term
Orientation:

24. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
In corporate Japan, long term orientation is seen in:
All of these examples serve the durability of the companies:
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Long Term
Orientation:
The high rate
of investment
in R&D even
in
economically
difficult times
Higher own
capital rate
Priority to
steady growth
of market
share rather
than to a
quarterly
profit
Companies are not
here to make money
every quarter for the
share holders
They are to serve the
stake holders and
society at large for
many generations to
come (e.g. Matsuhista)

25. Marketing in Japan:
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions-
Indulgence:
The extent to which people try to control their desires and
impulses, based on the way they were raised
The degree
to which
small
children are
socialized is
a factor of
this
dimension
Without
socialization
we don’t
become
“human”
Relatively
weak control
is called
“Indulgence”
Relatively
strong
control is
called
“Restraint”
Japan has a
low score of
42,it is a
culture of
Restraint
Compiled By author from geert-hofstede.com
Indulgence:

26. Contact Us for the Full Presentation:
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27. Work Cited:
 "5 Steps to Marketing in Japan." Hawaii Business Magazine. 2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/5-steps-to-
marketing-in-japan/>.
 "10 Cultural Contrasts between US & Japanese Companies." Freshtrax by Btrax. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://blog.btrax.com/en/2010/12/15/10-cultural-contrasts-between-us-and-japanese-companies-a-personal-view/>.
 "Discover Japan!" : Luck and Unlucky Number. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://discover-jp.blogspot.com/2006/11/luck-and-unlucky-
number.html>.
 "Here’s What You Need To Know When Marketing To Japanese Consumers."VoiceBunny Blog. 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://voicebunny.com/blog/heres-need-know-marketing-japanese-consumers/>.
 "International Business: Marketing in Asia by the Numbers: Numerology Affects International Business." DeseretNews.com. 2011. Web.
01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705394498/Marketing-in-Asia-by-the-numbers-Numerology-affects-international-
business.html?pg=all>.
 "Japan Business Etiquette, Culture, & Manners." Japan. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/japan.htm>.
 "Japan: It's Better in Color - Tofugu." Tofugu. 2012. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://www.tofugu.com/2012/06/28/japan-its-better-in-
color/>.
 "Japanese Colors Vocabulary - Learn Japanese Colors Vocabulary." About.com Education. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://japanese.about.com/od/japanesevocabulary/a/Colors.htm>.
 "Launching a Product in Japan: 5 Action Points Dos & Don’ts."MarketingSherpa.com. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/interview/5-action-points-dos-donts>.
 Mathers, Cassandra. "What Is the Meaning of Color in Japanese Culture?" EHow. Demand Media. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.ehow.com/about_6658499_meaning-color-japanese-culture_.html>.
 Martinuzzi, Bruna. "Doing Business in Japan: 10 Etiquette Rules You Should Know." American Express, 5 Aug. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/doing-business-in-japan-10-etiquette-rules-you-should-
know/>.
 "What about Japan?" Japan. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <http://geert-hofstede.com/japan.html>.