Japanese Protocol

Above, Richard Pusateri and I with Toho Executive Producer Shogo Tomiyama and Special
Effects Director Koichi Kawakita. According to the article, meeting high-ranking executives
in Japan usually come as relationships progress.  Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.

Lately, The Huffington Post has posted some interesting articles on Japan and another from them came to my attention.

The topic of their latest article is, "Japanese Protocol."

To begin the article on the dos and don'ts when visiting Japan, they start it with:

Japan was closed to the West for many years before the middle of the nineteenth century, and it remains a uniquely individual culture. Travelers for both business and pleasure should learn a few points of protocol before visiting Japan, as this will add greatly to the success of a trip. 

Thankfully, learning points of protocol over the years have kept me from making any mistakes when conducting business in Japan. My visit in December 2010 went exceedingly well as I kept many of the points  in mind while promoting The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan. Experience does count!

Anyone going to Japan should learn these in order to make a visit there more successful.

To read the full article, go here.