Bridging the U.S.-Japan Communications Gap
By German Saa,
International Operations Manager,
Kyodo Public Relations Co. Ltd.
(Tokyo, Japan)
The Japanese public relations industry has recently experienced a spate of mergers, joint ventures, affiliations and massive numbers of so-called multinationals entering the always difficult and competitive Japanese market. Our agency sees this as a major opportunity to increase business and make inroads in an atmosphere bound by tradition.
PR activities and the whole concept of "reputation management" is still poorly understood in Japan, and, as a result, not highly valued by Japanese corporations.
Current PR campaigns in Japan tend to center on public affairs, investor relations and marketing PR. However, some Japanese business people still consider PR to be "self promotion," which is not a desired business goal in the Japanese culture. As a result, programs often lack creative and complex concepts or grand (expensive) initiatives. Modesty is highly respected by Japanese customers and calls for good deeds to be performed in silence. To boast about them and communicate success would amount to self-promotion, or boasting, and be considered rather rude.
On the other hand, Western-based corporations operating in Japan consider PR indispensable for showing that they are delivering what society expects from them. They often require their agencies to come up with plans to maximize exposure by spreading news about the company's market advantages, and publicizing success stories and case studies to as many audiences as possible.
It is in this environment that a savvy PR agency can excel in Japan by advising clients and counseling potential clients on do's and don's before they commit to spending hard-earned profits on fancy but fruitless campaigns. It takes experienced and sharp PR counselors to combine the low-profile approach traditional with businesses here in Japan with high-
paced, effective programs that generate impact.
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