Who Is Your Bridge To Regional Japan

I once heard a non-Japanese friend living in Tokyo say that Japan didn’t have much nature for people to enjoy, that everything was covered in concrete and unspoiled nature was almost non-existent. As that person hadn’t traveled much around the country it was a conclusion they came to based on their immediate neighborhood. Similarly, it is easy to think of Japanese business as something that happens only in Tokyo and Osaka. But Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) points out that more than 99 percent of Japanese companies are mid-sized or small, and that many of them are based in regional areas. JBIC also describes local banks as the main banks of these companies.

In other words, if your partners, suppliers or customers are in regional Japan, much of the real business is happening there, in networks that are often far away and invisible from headquarters.

One company yet two ways of working

In my experience, headquarters and regional sites tend to see things differently. Head office often sees a branch or a partner as one node in a standard process, to be measured with standard targets while people in the region often see head office as distant, and as unfamiliar with how things work locally.

These two views can talk past each other, and whoever sits between them, a branch manager, a local partner, a bank contact or an advisor, ends up doing a job that rarely appears in any job description: decoding each side’s intentions and conveying them in both directions.

The bridge is a role, not a person

In practice, the bridge can be several different people and in such a case, each brings something valuable and has a stake of their own.

    • A local partner opens doors and knows the people. But as in my earlier a partner who advocates for you is not a neutral reader of the other side.

    • A regional bank can act as a convener. Japanese regional financial institutions describe themselves as moving beyond lending to business matching and connecting companies, and the Financial Services Agency has long referred to this as “relationship-based banking” (sources below). A respectful relationship with a local bank can give you insight into the regional business landscape that no market report offers.

    • A branch manager sits at the crossing point of both worlds, with obligations to head office and to local staff and clients.

    • An independent advisor has no stake in the outcome and can focus on reading what is happening, but needs to be trusted by both sides.

The mistake is to assume one bridge is enough, or that a bridge is neutral by nature.

If you manage a local branch

If you have been sent to lead a regional branch, the work is different from a Tokyo assignment. Here are four things I would keep in mind.

Decode, don’t just relay. Head office will often send abstract targets. Part of your job is to turn those into measures that make sense locally, and to explain regional realities back to head office so the branch is not penalised for approaches that are unusual but necessary.

Know who stays and who rotates 

Many companies employ some people on a national track, who are transferred every few years, and others who are hired for a specific area. The people who stay often hold the client relationships and the institutional memory. If someone on a short rotation overrules a long-standing local colleague’s advice on a regional client, the manager has to notice. The person who rotates will leave. The client and the local colleague will remain.

Show up

Important matters in the region often deserve a visit, not only an email or a video call. Seasonal greetings, community events and local business organisations such as the chamber of commerce can all matter, depending on your industry and the size of your company. It is usually the company, not the individual, that holds the membership, so check what is appropriate for yours.

Expect trust to take time

Regional clients have often seen managers come and go. They may test your commitment before they invest in the relationship.

If you work with regional partners

 You are probably not managing a branch, but you rely on one. For you, the main questions are different:

  1. Who decides on the ground? The person who welcomes you is usually not the person who decides.
  2. What is each meeting for? Is it to decide, to inform or to listen?
  3. Whose voice am I hearing, and whose am I not? Your team, your local partner and the other company will each give you a different picture.
  4. Have I been there in person? A visit says something that no email can.

What a good bridge does

A strong bridge does not just convey words. A good one will:

    • read what is said and what is not said, including silence and a nod;

    • explain the context behind a reaction, not only the reaction;

    • protect the relationships of the people who stay;

    • work in both directions, helping the foreign company understand the regional partner, and the regional partner understand the foreign company.

The last point matters more than it may seem. Bridges are often built for one side only. The most useful ones help both sides see each other clearly.

Building your bridge

If you are preparing to work with partners or clients in regional Japan, or you have just taken on a branch, it is worth asking early: who is my bridge, what is their stake, and who is helping me read the room?

At Japan Expert Insights, we work in both directions between Japan and the world. we accompany teams to meetings and help them understand what is happening in the room, and we advise leaders on working across cultures. If you have an important visit or a new regional role ahead, we would be glad to talk.

Sources

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