Diana Rowland has written the classic guide to Japanese business etiquette and to the impact of Japanese culture on business and social interaction. Extremely thorough and fascinating, this guide covers all the traditions you need to understand to do business with the Japanese, in Japan or around the world. A good read even if you are just culturally curious, the book includes Japanese office layouts, diagrams showing where business guests should sit around the dinner table, and information on interpreting gestures at business meetings. Rowland covers the business and social roles of women and the difference between the real truth and the public truth. The book's final 50 pages provide a wide range of helpful, general resources, including important phone numbers and a glossary. We from getAbstract recommend this book to anyone doing business with the Japanese, anyone who plans to visit Japan for business or pleasure, and anyone who's just curious.

This book covers the basics, and is a great reference. Includes a guide to seating arrangements by rank (even in a taxi!), negotiating tips, idioms to avoid (now you're talking), and more. Every dumb gaijin (a term of endearment, I am told) should read this book every few months.

I often deal with the Japanese in the satellite business, and this is my primary refresher reference that I use and provide to my associates prior to each project in Japan