 Kim Black – Culture
 Rebekah Dibble – History
 Shawn Cox – Government
 Ben Cutler – The Church
 Ken Hill – Technology
 Jenny Johnson – Economy
 Sara Schow – Banking and Business
Map of Japan
Regional Differences & Diversity
Speed Train
Oyster Farms
Rice Fields
Tokyo
Population Comparisons
1,400
1,250
1,200
1,000
Thailand
Japan
China
Hong Kong
Singapore
800
600
400
200
61
126
7
0
Population in Millions
4
Customs & Etiquette
Remove shoes, two kinds of slippers
No tipping
Restrooms, B.Y.O.T.P.
Importance of gifts, often food
Slurping, chopsticks, and other dining
advice
Religion
1% 5%
43%
51%
Shinto
Buddism
Christian
Other
Shinto
 Shinto (the way of the gods)
 Shinto does not have a founder nor does it have sacred
scriptures like the sutras or the bible
 The kami are the objects of worship in Shinto. They are
sacred spirits and can take various forms such as natural
elements like the sun, mountains, trees, rocks, and the
wind.
Shinto
 In contrast to Western religions there are no absolutes in
Shinto, even though there is a most important goddess,
the Sun goddess.
 A written code of ethics and morals does not really exist
in Shinto; but the Confucian ethics had melted together
with Shinto over the centuries.
 Nowadays, the people seek support from Shinto and
visit shrines in order to pray for good fortune and to
avoid evil spirits
Buddhism
 Originated in India in the 6th century BC. Buddhism
consists of the teachings of the Buddha, Gautama
Siddhartha.
 Its central theories are that human life is full of
suffering due to worldly desires, illness, death and the
loss of loved ones. By getting rid of desires and
attachments, one can achieve the state of enlightenment
(Nirvana) and escape suffering and the circle of
reincarnations.
Buddhism
 Buddhism was imported to Japan in 538 or 552 in form
of a present from the king of the friendly Korean
kingdom of Kudara (or Paikche).
 The new religion was welcomed by the ruling nobles
while the common people did not understand its
complex theories.
 Nowadays about 90 million people consider themselves
Buddhists in Japan.
History of Japan
Feudal Centuries-Five Main Periods
Kamakura Period (1185-1333)
Muromachi Period (1333-1576)
Momoyama Period (1576-1600)
Christian Century (1543-1640)
Tokugawa Period (1600-1867)
History of Japan (cont’d)
Modern History and It’s Applications to
Business
Emperor Meiji-Westernization and
Industrialization (1867)
WWII
Recovery Program and Success of the
Japanese Economy
Economic Stagnation, Corruption, the Asia
Crisis
History of Japan (cont’d)
Japan Today
Economy
Rumors that Japanese Prime Minster is
about to Resign
Government
Constitutional Monarchy
 3 Branches of Power
LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) is the
main political party
Emperor became only "symbol of the
state” by the Constitution of 1946
Three Branches
Cabinet (Executive): Prime Minister & cabinet
Diet (Legislative):
House of Representatives (500 members)
House of Councillors (252 members)
(Members elected by the people)
Judiciary: Supreme Court and lower courts
Prime Minister
YOSHIRO MORI





AGE: 62
PARTY: LDP
FACTION: Fukuda
DISTRICT: Lower House
UNIVERSITY: Waseda
 Japan is "a divine
nation with the
emperor at its center"
Establishing the Church
 On September, 1, 1901, Heber J. Grant (then a member
of the Quorum of Twelve, and newly called president of
the Japanese Mission) led his three companions to a
secluded spot in a small grove situated on the slope of
one of the rolling hills lying south of Yokohama, to
dedicate the land of Japan to the preaching of the
gospel.
Translating the Book of
Mormon
 On January 11, 1904, President Ensign asked all of the
missionaries to begin translating different sections of the Book of
Mormon.
 By September 15, they had completed the First Book of Nephi —
forty-nine English pages.
 The first translation of the Book of Mormon was completed on
March 21, 1906, but the corrections and revisions took longer than
the original work.
 Because he was dissatisfied with his early sections, Taylor revised
the entire first translation, and this took from May 1906 until
December. The finished product was off the press on October 6,
1909. Five thousand copies were printed.
The Church During WWII
 In 1924 the Japanese Mission was closed after a
twenty-three-year history.
 On January 1, 1946, Emperor Hirohito issued a
proclamation that he was not a divine or quasi-divine
person and that the Japanese people were not superior
in any way to other races and peoples.
 In the spring of 1947, the First Presidency called
Brother Edward L. Clissold to go to Japan to
investigate the possibility of re-opening the mission,
and was set apart as mission president on October 22,
1947.
The Tokyo Temple
 On September 13, 1980,
ribbons were cut for the
temple open house. On
September 15, the public
phase of the open house
began. 48,000 visitors visited
the the ten-million-dollar
edifice.
 The temple was dedicated on
Monday Oct. 27, 1980.
 On June 11, 2000 President
Hinkley dedicated the
Fukuoka mini temple.
The Church Today
 Since 1996, five new stakes
have been created in Japan
bringing the total number of
stakes in Japan to 30.
 Missionary work in Japan
continues to progress despite
cultural and social
hindrances
Technology Transfer
Immediately after World War II,
technology transferred mainly from the
US to Japan.
Constitution
Rebuilding of their economy
Capitalism
Diffusion of technology has since then
reversed.
Technology Transfer
Toyota Manufacturing Technology
JIT (Toyota System)
mid-1970’s
TQM – Deming Prize
Originally a way to compete with US
In 1956 Japan adopted Quality as its
national slogan
Pokemon
Sony Playstion2
Japan’s Economy
GDP
-0.5% 3rd quarter
+0.8% 4th quarter
Business investment for 4th quarter 2000 posted
its biggest gain in almost 4 years
Net export: -0.3% in 4th quarter
Debt projected to reach 666 trillion yen ($5.6
trillion) which is approximately 130% of GDP
In February, S&P cut Japan’s debt rating from
AAA to AA+
Japan’s Economy
BOJ (Bank of Japan) set short-term
borrowing rates to 0.15% from 0.25%
BOJ made official statement on changing
policy: targeting money supply instead of
targeting interest rates.
April 2: Japanese Yen falls to its lowest
level in 2.5 years.
Japanese Quarterly GNP 1990-2000
Current: 0.8% (4th quarter 2000)
Japanese Unemployment 1980-2000
Current unemployment: 4.9%
Real Estate Valuations
1990
National
All
Commercial
Residential
Industrial
Tokyo
All
Commercial
Residential
Industrial
2001 % Change
100
100
100
100
72.30
54.20
85.30
87.50
-27.7%
-45.8%
-14.7%
-12.5%
100
100
100
100
28.70
21.00
36.50
41.90
-71.3%
-79.0%
-63.5%
-58.1%
Japanese CPI
Nikkei 225: Last seven months
Nikkei 225: Two decades
Japanese Banking System
The United States has an estimated 8500
commercial banks – Japan has fewer than
100.
Bank Consolidation
Current State of Japanese Banking
System
Greetings
Handshake
Traditional bow
Business Cards
Introductions
Say “How do you do?”, not “Hello”
Use Last names, plus san
Corporate titles and ranks are very
important
Entertaining
Business entertaining is usually after
business hours and rarely in the home
Allow your host to order for you
Chopstick etiquette
Helpful Hints
Nodding is very important
Quiet, dignified and modest behavior is
essential
Proximity
Sit erect with both feet on the floor
Do not compliment Japanese publicly
Conducting Business
Be introduced through an intermediary
Gift giving
Take your time in getting acquainted
Observe Japanese meeting protocol
Be aware of communication differences
Giri, mutual obligation