The Land of the Rising Sun is famous for top global brands that represent some of today's fastest-growing companies. Among Japan's world-leading brands are Toyota, Honda, Sony and Canon.
Read more at Suite101: Japan's Trade Buddies: Top 15 Japanese Export & Import Partners http://www.suite101.com/content/japan-s-trade-buddies-a10157#ixzz1DEYGoPBY
The Land of the Rising Sun is famous for top global brands that represent some of today's fastest-growing companies. Among Japan's world-leading brands are Toyota, Honda, Sony and Canon.
Read more at Suite101: Japan's Trade Buddies: Top 15 Japanese Export & Import Partners http://www.suite101.com/content/japan-s-trade-buddies-a10157#ixzz1DEYGoPBY

USA vs. Japan -
Economics & Intercultural Communication

Table of contents

1 Introduction....................................................................................1
2 The economy of Japan..................................................................1
3 The economy of the USA...............................................................2
4 Intercultural Communication..........................................................3
5 Conclusion.....................................................................................3

1 Introduction

In my paper I want to write about the United States of America and Japan. I will write about the economic backgrounds of the two countries and also write about some typical behaviors that must be mentioned when somebody talks about intercultural communication in the two countries.
Before I will go to my topics I think its important to know that both countries have one similarity that is not so positive in the minds of them. It was the 7th December of 1941 when Japan attacked the United States in Pearl Harbor. The effect on that attack was the entry of the USA in the Second World War. We more or less know the progress of that war but I think the worst of the war were the airdrops of the first and second atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. About 20000-90000 people died due to atomic radiation. Because of the impact of that bombs Japan had to capitulate on the 2nd September of 1945.

2 The economy of Japan

Japan is a volcanic land with many islands and mountains. Its 10th in the worlds most populated countries with about 128 million residents. Tokyo is the capital with 30 million residents. (http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/japan/)

In Economy, Japan has one of the world's strongest economies. In fact Japan has become the second largest economy in the world after the USA, at around US$4,5 trillion in terms of nominal GDP. Also they have the largest economy in Asia. There are many reasons why Japan is so strong in economics. One of the reasons is political. The government tries to reach the most possible cooperation with industries, so the industries can invest easier with that trust. The country has a small defense allocation so the government can use that money in other ways to improve the economic side. Japan is also known as a master of high technology. Look at some electronic things in the room and I'm sure you can find at least one thing that is made in Japan. Another point that makes Japans economy so strong is a high work ethic that is hard to find in another country. Many Japanese have a 12-hour working day. There are not only positive aspects. The problem of long working hours comes from the 1980s. Japanese call it “karoushi” that means death from overwork. (http://my.opera.com/sukekomashi-gaijin/blog/the-japanese-work-ethic) Problems of long working days are ill health and estrangement from family and friends. Many workers are divorcee and the suicide rate is extremely high in Japan.

Japans knowledge and work input over the years, have made the industrial capacity of the country rise to one of the leading countries. The country includes some of the leading and most advanced producers of machine tools, metals, ships, electronic equipment, motor vehicles and textiles. The government invested billions of dollars in the civil sector to help construction industries become one of the largest industries in Japan. One of the characteristics of the economy are good relationships that often end in cooperation between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and banks. They are also called “keiretsu” and there often is a guarantee of lifetime employment within that companies.

The Land of the Rising Sun is famous for top global brands that represent some of today's fastest growing companies. Among Japan's world leading brands are Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi (producer of motor vehicles), Sony and Canon (producer of electronic equipment). There are also some of the largest financial groups such as Sumitomo and Mizuho. All companies are building the second largest stock exchange in the world, as that is the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a market capitalization over 549,7 trillion Yen. Japan can be proud of providing itself largely with food. Over 66 Percent is produced on their own. As Japanese people eat a lot of fish, fishing is a strong economic sector. They mostly angle sardines, albacore and prawns. Other typical food that is produced are rice and wheat. (http://www.ipicture.de/daten/wirtschaft_japan.html)

After achieving one of the highest economic growth rates in the world from the 1960s through the 1980s, the Japanese economy slowed dramatically in the early 1990s, when the "bubble economy" collapsed, marked by high decreasing stock and real estate prices. Japan eventually recovered from its worst period of economic stagnation since World War II. Real GDP in Japan grew at an average of about 1% yearly in the 1990s, compared to growth in the 1980s of about 4% per year. After several consecutive years of growth earlier this decade, the Japanese economy began to slow in line with global economic conditions, and the country fell into its first recession in roughly 6 years in 2008. As worldwide demand for its goods decreased, the Bank of Japan reported real GDP growth of -5.2% in FY 2009 and has forecast minimal growth in 2010.

In 2005 Japan totaled exports of the amount of US$595 billion. Japans biggest export buddies were the USA with US$135,9 billion (22,9 percent of total Japanese exports), the European Union with $87,6 billion and China with $80,1 billion.
Otherwise Japan imported $515 billion worth of goods from its trading partners in 2005.
Japans biggest import buddies were China with US$108,5 billion (21,1 percent of total Japanese imports), the United States with $65,3 billion and the European Union with $58,6 billion. (http://www.suite101.com/content/japan-s-trade-buddies-a10157)

3 The economy of the USA

The United States of America is a country that is build by 50 swing states. The population is about 311 million people, one of the largest of the world. The capital is Washington D.C. (7,6 million).

The characteristics of the economy in the USA are better known so I will mention only the most important facts. The capitalist economy has made the country for over 200 years the leading world economy. Nowadays the GDP of the United States is about $13 trillion which is the worlds best mark. It also includes about 26 percent of the GDP world wide. The reasons for the number one spot for so many years are complex. First it must be mentioned that the USA have a lot of natural resources so the country is not depended on other countries. The early industrial revolution helped to build a well developed infrastructure. So high productivity came along with that to create a hegemony in the world.

Every business sector in the USA is well developed but the private sector has the biggest impact in economy. Wholesale and retail trade are building the largest market. The USA is top in producing electrical energy, chemicals and producing and consuming oil.
But they also have some of the most global known brands of the world. Everybody knows brands like Heinz, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Burger King.

The financial sector has well known banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are building the largest stock exchange of the world.
(http://www.ipicture.de/daten/wirtschaft_usa.html)

USA is also the largest importer of goods and the second largest exporter. Germany, Japan, Mexico and China are the trading buddies of the country. (http://www.bpb.de/themen/A0U94Y,0,Import_und_Export_nach_Weltregionen.html)

4 Intercultural Communication

We all know most of the cultural things in the USA. They are similar to the Germans. But in Japan there are some communication rules that are not so typical as in the western countries and must be paid attention to. That can be useful if someone decides to pick up a job in Japan or someone has discussions about a contract with a Japanese business man. Here are some rules:

Do not react strange if something is not like it is used to be Silence is as important as speech Opinions are often gathered from the context rather than expressed explicitly Harmony is a key value The Japanese need more information about something than other cultures What you say is not always what you mean

5 Conclusion

Both countries have a strong economy and a strong impact on the world economy. Even they had a horrible past with the Second World War they are both depending on each other in today's economy. There are many different communication styles in both countries, but the fast growing economy and the globalization could help the countries approach each other more and more. By showing more interested in the other culture and maybe learning the other culture, both countries the USA and Japan will have a glorious future.

List of references

Gudykunst, William B. (1999): Communication in Japan and the United States, Verlag: ST UNIV of New York

Kazno,Nishiyama (1999) : Doing Business with Japan:Successful strategies for Intercultural Communication, Verlag: University of Hawaii Press

Electronic sources

http://my.opera.com/sukekomashi-gaijin/blog/the-japanese-work-ethic

http://www.bpb.de/themen/A0U94Y,0,Import_und_Export_nach_Weltregionen.html

http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/japan/

http://www.ipicture.de/daten/wirtschaft_japan.html

http://www.ipicture.de/daten/wirtschaft_usa.html

http://www.suite101.com/content/japan-s-trade-buddies-a10157