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Review focus: Oyakusho Shigoto, runaround, inefficiency, "red tape", government bureaucracy, personal relationship, business process, traditional Japanese custom
Asian Business Code Words Index NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine
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One of the great frustrations of life in Japan and one of the things that contributes to an unbelievable amount of inefficiency - despite the country's vaunted reputation for high productivity - is the practice of dividing various functions into their smallest parts and requiring that each one be done separately in a different place and by a different person. Until recently, virtually all local and national government offices, post offices, and banks were notorious examples of this divide-and-complicate syndrome. In post offices, for example, one had to go to one window to have a letter or packaged weighed, to a second window for stamps, and to yet a third window to mail the item. If something else was required, such as a tax stamp, it could mean visiting a fourth window. The worst aspects of the traditional Japanese custom of oyakusho shigoto (oh-yah-kuu-show she-go-toe), which translates as "red tape" or "evil runaround," have finally been eliminated from the more mundane activities of daily life, but the custom continues to persist to varying degrees in government agencies, in commercial companies, and in professional organizations. Foreign business people most often encounter bureaucratic government oyakusho shigoto when they are trying to get approvals or licenses to import or manufacture a product. In some cases, the process may require action by half a dozen or more agencies or departments, and must be completed in a required order. Having to circulate documents to several different control centers is in itself not the problem. The problem is that this system offers virtually unlimited possibilities for abuse, and can be turned into a costly or insurmountable unofficial barrier that petitioners can do nothing about it they do not have any political clout that can be applied in the right place. In commercial enterprises, oyakusho shigoto can be used in the same way to slow down or otherwise thwart business proposals or projects that are already underway. The process of getting a proposal through a large Japanese company can be so complex and time-consuming, however, that foreigners are likely to regard themselves as victims of an "evil runaround" even when there is no such intent by the Japanese side. One way to determine if a proposal is being subjected to an oyakusho shigoto is to develop a personal relationship with a member of the company who is involved with the process; take the person out for an evening on the town, subtly inform him or her that you would appreciate hearing the real truth, honto no tokoro, about how the proposal is faring. This kind of relationship is generally essential to get a proposal off the ground and circulating in a Japanese company in the first place, so developing close contacts is not something that is extra or special in dealing with Japanese companies. Another way of determining if a project is being stalled and if oyakusho shigoto is involved is to have a highly place Japanese contact with connections at the company make an unofficial inquiry on your behalf. Where commercial and professional organizations are concerned, Japanese are not nearly as susceptible as foreigners to being victimized by runarounds because they may be tipped off by cultural nuances or signs that are often undetectable to foreigners, but very conspicuous to Japanese. In some cases, these signs are the vocabulary and the tone of voice that is used in discussing the proposals. If a section manager, department manager, or director says that something is muzukashii, "troublesome" or "difficult," for example, it almost always means they are not interested in a particular proposal or proposition. Since the 1980s, a movement has been underway in Japan to eliminate the reluctance of the Japanese to say "no" directly and quickly when they are not interested in a proposal, but little progress is being made. The more Japanese have been exposed to Western influence, however, the more likely they are to be candid and forthright in their responses to overtures from the outside. It is advisable for foreign business people approaching a Japanese company to make it very clear up front that they want their Japanese counterparts to be frank and forward in their responses, and if a business process continues for an unreasonable length of time, it is good to repeat this request. If the Japanese are genuinely interested in the proposal and are still considering it, they will explain the delay.
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Boye Lafayette de Mente is one of our regular monthly columnists at the 
| This month's column is excerpted from Japan's Business Code Words, by Boye Lafayette De Mente available from NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company |
© Boye Lafayette De Mente & the Asia Pacific Management Forum 2000
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