“Yes” Does Not Always Mean Yes in Japan — Reading the Japanese Customer

Written by Yogi (Yogendra Puranik), PhD

One of the most confusing experiences for a foreign salesperson in Japan is returning from what seemed like an excellent customer meeting, only to discover several months later that nothing is moving. The presentation went smoothly. The customer listened attentively, nodded frequently, asked a few questions, and repeatedly said hai. 

Someone commented, ii desu ne—“That sounds good.” Another person said, omoshiroi desu ne—“That is interesting.” At the end came the reassuring words, kentō shimasu—“We will consider it.” The salesperson leaves the building feeling positive and reports to management that the opportunity is progressing well. Forecast probability goes up. Follow-up emails begin. But weeks pass. There is no purchase order, no contract, and sometimes not even a clear response.

This is where people often make the sweeping statement that “Japanese people do not say no.” There is some truth behind the observation, but as an explanation it is too simplistic. Japanese customers certainly can and do reject proposals. What differs is often how disagreement, uncertainty and rejection are communicated, particularly when a direct refusal would create unnecessary discomfort. The responsibility therefore lies partly with the salesperson. If we interpret every polite expression through the communication habits of our own culture, we will repeatedly misread the customer.

Selling successfully in Japan requires learning to listen on several levels. What words were used? What words were carefully avoided? What questions were asked? Who asked them? What changed between the beginning and end of the meeting? Most importantly, what concrete action did the customer agree to take next? A smile is useful. A compliment is pleasant. But neither belongs in your sales forecast.

Learn the Difference Between Acknowledgement, Interest and Commitment

The Japanese word hai is probably one of the easiest words for a foreigner to learn and one of the easiest to misunderstand. Translated literally, it is usually taught as “yes.” In actual conversation, however, hai frequently functions as acknowledgement: “I hear you,” “I understand,” or “Please continue.” If a customer says hai repeatedly while you present twenty slides, it would be dangerous to interpret those twenty hais as twenty agreements.

The same caution applies to other expressions. Omoshiroi desu ne—“That is interesting”—may indicate genuine curiosity. But curiosity is not purchase intention. Ii desu ne—“That sounds good”—is positive, but still does not tell you whether the project has priority, budget, or internal support.

Then comes the famous kentō shimasu: “We will consider it.” This phrase should neither excite nor discourage you automatically. Sometimes the customer genuinely intends to examine the proposal. Sometimes there is insufficient information to decide. Sometimes the person in the room does not have decision-making authority. And sometimes kentō shimasu is simply the most comfortable way of ending a discussion that is unlikely to proceed.

Context determines meaning. Even maemuki ni kentō shimasu—“We will consider it positively”—should not immediately be entered into the CRM as an 80-percent probability deal. It is certainly more encouraging, but the salesperson should still look for evidence of movement.

The better approach is to think of customer responses in three categories: acknowledgement, interest, and commitment. Acknowledgement means the customer has understood you. Interest means the customer sees enough relevance to continue exploring. Commitment means the customer is investing something—time, people, information, internal political capital, or money—to move the project forward.

That distinction completely changes how we qualify opportunities. Suppose Customer A tells you, “Excellent presentation. Your technology is very impressive. We will consider it.” Nothing else happens. Customer B says much less. But before the meeting ends, the manager asks you to return next Tuesday with your technical architect because the information-security team wants to understand the data flow. Which customer is more serious? Almost certainly Customer B.

A Japanese customer's strongest buying signals are often not adjectives but actions. They introduce additional stakeholders. They share internal information. They ask detailed questions about implementation. They request a quotation in a particular format. They discuss a pilot. They ask about contractual conditions. They want to know how support works after deployment. They ask whether your engineers can meet their engineers. The lesson is straightforward: do not measure enthusiasm; measure commitment.

Listen to Silence, Indirect Language and What Is Not Being Said

Communication is not only about vocabulary. In Japan, what is left unsaid can sometimes carry as much information as what is spoken. Foreign salespeople—particularly those from highly expressive business cultures—can become uncomfortable with silence. We ask a question, the customer does not immediately respond, and within three seconds we feel compelled to fill the gap. So we begin talking again. That can be a mistake.

The customer may simply be thinking. Perhaps several people are waiting for the senior person to speak first. Perhaps someone disagrees but is deciding how to express the concern without embarrassing a colleague. Perhaps the question is more complicated than we realize. Allowing a few seconds of silence can reveal far more than filling every gap with another sales argument.

Indirect objections also deserve careful attention. Imagine that you propose implementing a system within three months and the customer responds: “That may be a little difficult.” A foreign salesperson eager to close may hear: “There are some difficulties, but perhaps we can manage.”

In context, however, chotto muzukashii desu ne—literally “that is a little difficult”—can be a fairly strong negative signal. The important response is not to push harder but to discover what is difficult. Is the timeline impossible? Is the budget unavailable? Is another vendor already favored? Is the department unconvinced? Is the proposal technically unsuitable? Or does the person simply not want to proceed?

Likewise, phrases such as “We need more internal discussion,” “The timing may not be right,” “We have several matters to consider,” or “It may be difficult under the present circumstances” should be treated as information rather than obstacles to bulldoze through.

The concepts of honne and tatemae are often invoked when explaining Japanese communication. Honne broadly refers to one's genuine feelings or intentions, while tatemae refers to the position or expression appropriate to the social situation. These ideas can be useful, but foreign salespeople should not turn them into a game of assuming that every Japanese sentence has a secret opposite meaning.

The goal is not to become a detective searching for hidden messages. The goal is to create enough trust that the customer can tell you more. Instead of asking, “So, do you like our proposal?” ask: “What would be the biggest concern if you were to introduce this internally?”

Instead of “When can you make a decision?” ask: “What steps would normally be required within your company to evaluate something like this?” Instead of “Is the price acceptable?” ask: “When comparing alternatives, which factors will be most important to your team?” These questions make disagreement easier to express.

And that is valuable because a salesperson should actually want to hear objections. A polite customer who tells you nothing is much harder to sell to than a customer who says, “Your price is too high,” “We don't trust your offshore support,” or “Our IT department will never approve this architecture.” A stated objection can be addressed. An unstated objection can quietly kill the deal.

Stop Asking “Do They Like Us?” and Start Looking for Movement

Perhaps the most important discipline in Japanese sales is learning to separate relationship warmth from commercial progress. The customer may genuinely like you. They may enjoy meeting you. They may respond to your New Year greeting every January. You may exchange information periodically and have lunch once or twice a year. All of that has value. Relationships matter enormously in business. But a relationship is not automatically a sales opportunity.

This distinction becomes especially important in long Japanese sales cycles. Without clear qualification, a salesperson can spend two or three years nurturing accounts that have almost no realistic chance of buying. Because the customer never says no, the opportunity remains in the pipeline indefinitely. The solution is not to become aggressive. It is to define progress differently.

After each significant interaction, ask yourself three questions.

First: What did I learn that I did not know before?

Perhaps you discovered that the customer's real concern is not price but integration with an old system. Perhaps the project belongs to another department. Perhaps budget decisions are made in October. Perhaps the manager likes your proposal, but information security is opposed. New information is progress because it improves your understanding of the buying environment.

Second: Who became involved?

A deal often becomes more credible as the stakeholder map expands. If the first meeting was with one staff member and the next includes their manager, IT, and procurement, something is happening. If you have met the same friendly contact six times and nobody else has ever appeared, you should ask why.

Third: What concrete next action has been agreed?

A strong next step might be a technical workshop, pilot discussion, security review, quotation request, management presentation, contract review, or meeting with another department. 

“We will keep in touch” is not a strong next step. This also gives us a more intelligent way to close Japanese meetings. Rather than asking, “Can we get your approval?” seek a small but meaningful commitment.

“Would it be useful to arrange a technical session with your IT team?”

“Could we prepare a pilot proposal based on today's discussion?”

“Would you like us to provide a one-page summary for your internal meeting?”

“Should we meet again after your budget discussion next month?”

Each yes moves the customer slightly deeper into the process without forcing a premature final decision. Over time, these small commitments reveal the truth far more reliably than polite language.

This is also where foreign sales managers need discipline. A salesperson should not be rewarded merely for reporting that “the meeting went very well.” Ask what changed. Who is the internal sponsor? What problem are we solving? Who could block the purchase? Is there a budget? What is the approval process? What is the next customer commitment? Japanese business culture does not make these questions irrelevant. It makes them more important.

The challenge, then, is not to force Japanese customers to communicate like Americans, Indians, Germans, or anyone else. Nor should foreign salespeople attempt to become artificially Japanese. The challenge is to develop enough cultural intelligence to recognize different forms of communication while remaining commercially disciplined.

A Japanese customer may never say, “No, we are absolutely not buying your product.” Sometimes you must reach that conclusion yourself.

Conversely, the customer who gives you the least enthusiastic compliment may ultimately become your biggest account. They may simply be quietly doing the difficult internal work required to make the purchase happen.

So listen to the words, respect the silence, and appreciate the politeness. But when judging whether a deal is real, look beyond all three.

Watch what the customer does next.

That is often where the real “yes” is hiding.

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