I still remember my very first meeting in a business setting in Japan. I was sitting for a job interview at a minimalistically-furnished meeting room. While I was all too eager to answer all the interviewers’ questions immediately, leaving room for no ambiguity, the interviewers took their time every time before they spoke or answered my equations. It felt slow, uncomfortable, and I on the way I realized that I was not going get the job. 

For many foreign professionals, meetings in Japan can feel unusually quiet, slower-paced, or even ambiguous. Oftentimes, proposals are met with long pauses, questions receive indirect responses, while decisions appear to emerge outside the meeting room rather than inside it.

At the heart of this dynamic is a deeply embedded cultural concept known as 間 (Ma). This is the intentional use of space, pause, and timing. Understanding Ma is essential for anyone conducting business in Japan, particularly executives involved in cross-border negotiations, corporate partnerships, M&A integration, or multinational team leadership.

While the space between speaking turns is often misunderstood as inefficiency or disengagement, Ma represents a sophisticated communication framework that prioritizes reflection, harmony, and relationship sustainability.

What Is Ma and Why Does It Matter in Meetings?

Ma translates loosely as “space,” “interval,” or “pause,” but culturally it represents the meaningful gap between actions or interactions. In Japanese meetings, Ma creates space for participants to think, observe, and align without forcing immediate verbal responses.

Unlike many Western meeting environments where productivity is often measured by speaking time, debate, or rapid decision-making, Japanese meetings most often prioritize:

• Careful listening
• Observing group sentiment
• Allowing ideas to mature
• Maintaining interpersonal harmony (wa)

Many Japanese executives nowadays understand that their Western counterparts’ modus operandi is different from their own but being aware of this difference in priorities helps in interpreting meeting behavior accurately and could still make or break a deal for the non-Japanese side.

How Ma Influences Meeting Dynamics in Japan

Although it sounds like an oxymoron, in Japanese meetings, silence is true active participation, in addition to other non-verbal cues.

It often reflects the following:

• Respect for the speaker
• Analytical thinking
• Internal consensus checking
• Strategic restraint

Foreign participants sometimes interpret silence as confusion or lack of engagement and rush to rephrase or add additional arguments. However, filling silence too quickly can disrupt the reflection process and unintentionally pressure Japanese colleagues. Here, listening carefully and allowing silence is perceived as  professionalism and emotional intelligence. Going back to my first job interview, I know that I did everything wrong. And boy, did I learn from it!

The Role of Timing in Contributions

Another way Ma shapes meetings is through timing. Participants often wait for the appropriate moment to speak rather than jumping into discussions spontaneously. Speaking out of turn, interrupting, or dominating airtime can be perceived as:

• Overly aggressive
• Insensitive to hierarchy
• Disruptive to group harmony

Senior members or meeting facilitators often control conversational rhythm, and others contribute after observing cues that indicate it is appropriate to speak. While it goes without saying, being attentive to the local customs, wins trust and opens doors for those who let their Japanese counterparts set the pace.

Indirect Communication and Reading Context

Japanese meetings frequently rely on high-context communication, where meaning is conveyed through tone, pacing, and implication rather than explicit statements.

For example:

• “This may be difficult” may signal strong resistance.
• “We will consider it” may indicate uncertainty or lack of agreement.
• Extended pauses may reflect internal disagreement that cannot be voiced directly.

Ma creates the interpretive space where participants are expected to “read the air” (kuuki wo yomu), understanding collective sentiment without forcing open confrontation.

How Ma Influences Meeting Leadership in Japan

After everything said above, it comes as no surprise that Japanese meeting leaders often speak less but observe more. Silence from a leader can signal authority, attentiveness, and thoughtfulness.

Leaders use Ma to:

• Encourage balanced participation
• Avoid putting individuals on the spot
• Maintain emotional equilibrium in discussions

This leadership style contrasts with models that emphasize assertiveness or rapid decision-making, because leaders lead through presence rather than dominance. While this style could be misinterpreted as weakness by attendants of different cultural backgrounds, in Japan it is o often used as an effective way to foster long-term team cohesion.

The Strategic Advantage of Understanding Ma

Professionals who understand Ma often achieve stronger results in Japan. Their Japanese counterparts see them as individuals who boast:

• Cultural sensitivity
• Emotional intelligence
• Patience in decision-making
• Respect for relationship-centered business practices

In cross-cultural negotiations, particularly in global corporate collaborations, this awareness can determine whether partnerships succeed or fail.

Meetings as Relationship-Building Spaces

In conclusion, let’s say that Japanese meetings are not simply venues for exchanging information. They are carefully structured environments where trust, alignment, and long-term cooperation are cultivated.

By understanding the role of Ma and using it strategically in meetings and negotiations, you can move beyond surface-level communication and engage more effectively with Japanese counterparts. In doing so, you gain not only clearer outcomes but also stronger and more sustainable professional relationships.

Learn more about Ma as a cultural concept, the Japanese attention to detail, and how context and relationships drive conversations in Japan.