Join us for a live, online Q&A discussion on “How Japanese-Style Business Culture Applies to Today’s New ‘Business Normal’.” The pandemic has changed the way people conduct business. And even as cities open up, there still remains a new “business normal” whether working from home or in the office. Attendees will not only receive insights into Japanese culture through the lens of business communications and how Japanese etiquette practices can benefit today’s increasingly prevalent virtual meetings, but they can also interact with the hosts and ask their own questions.
The discussion will feature Yuko Kaifu, president of JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles and a former foreign services officer, who honed her Japanese etiquette skills and knowledge through her work as an official interpreter for the Japanese Imperial Family, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for their meetings with foreign dignitaries, including President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush. Event moderator Mark Frauenfelder, prolific writer and Wired.com founding editor, has extensive experience working with and for Japanese companies.
Discussion topics include how Japanese-style ways of doing business might apply to today’s virtual meetings – especially international meetings – including the best ways to convey controversial information, the importance of verbal agreements, and how to bow during an in-person meeting as well as a video conference call.
The interactive discussion is a part of a series of virtual webinars offered by JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles during its temporary closure.
This event will be recorded and made available on the event page and our YouTube page.
Speakers:
Mark Frauenfelder
Mark Frauenfelder is a research director at the Silicon Valley think tank, Institute for the Future (IFTF), and is the founder of the technology and culture website, Boing Boing. He was the founding editor-in-chief of Make magazine and Wired.com. He designed Billy Idol's CD covers and has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Popular Science, Business Week, The Hollywood Reporter, Wired, and other national publications.
Yuko Kaifu
Prior to joining JAPAN HOUSE in January 2016, Kaifu was Managing Director in the Corporate Communications Department of MUFG Union Bank, owned by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, where she was charged with media relations, internal/external bank publications, and corporate social responsibility activities for the Japanese and Japanese American communities, in addition to U.S.-Japan relations.
She started her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Her assignments include the Embassy of Japan in Canada, North American Affairs Bureau, Economic Cooperation Bureau, Foreign Policy Bureau, and Cultural Affairs Department, where she was Deputy Director in Tokyo. During her service at the Ministry, she was appointed official interpreter for Her Majesty the Empress, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Japan.
After serving as Consul at the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles from 2001 to 2007, Kaifu left the government to work as Vice President of the Japanese American National Museum. She sat on the boards of various community organizations including Nisei Week Foundation and International Visitors Council of Los Angeles, and is the Executive Vice President of Japan Business Association of Southern California. She also is honorary advisor for the Japanese Flower Arrangement Association of Southern California, the Omote Senke Tea Ceremony Association of Southern California, and the North American Calligraphy Association.
She graduated from Nara Women’s University and received a Master’s degree in Sociology from Queen’s University in Canada.