Japan Archives
Why it’s important to exchange business cards when doing business with a Japanese partner
(*Linked or embedded content may have been removed or be unavailable.) Let’s say you’re about to meet a prospective Japanese business partner. What’s the first thing you do? A handshake? That might work. A more traditional bow? That might work, too. But whether you start things off with a handshake or a bow, the inevitable second step will …
To market in Japan with a catchy sound, jazz might just be the sound you need
(*Linked or embedded videos may have been removed or be unavailable.) If you’re thinking of entering a foreign market, you obviously need to localize your content into the local language. But while you’re thinking about your marketing localization strategy, also consider the sound that best suits your brand image. In Japan, maybe more than in many other coun…
Humor, translation and toilet paper in a pandemic world
“Translation is like toilet paper. No one thinks about it until they need it.” That was a bit of pre-pandemic humor from the localization industry that equates the two as essential items. It makes sense and is funny. But is it still true? This saying is one that Renato Beninatto, CEO at Nimdzi Insights and long-time influencer in the localization industry, m…
How Japan is coping with the influx of new terms along with the novel coronavirus
COVID-19 is transforming the lexicon of languages worldwide, but for Japanese the challenges are unique. What’s “overshoot?” Find out. In the English-speaking world, a plethora of terms, some new, some not so new, have inundated people’s daily lives. “Lockdown,” “quarantine,” “hot zones,” “social distancing” and “flattening the curve” all have a familiar rin…