Published in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe magazine (Spring 2005 issue)
Most culture guides on Japan rightly stress the importance of protocol: how to handle business cards, where to sit, what to wear.
These things are still important, but the business landscape of Japan today is becoming less formal, even in the pharmaceutical industry.
On a recent visit to Tokyo, I met seven Japanese managers for the first time, but not one presented their cards in the way prescribed by most Western culture guides. If you want to get it right in Japan, there are far more important considerations….
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