In 2022, Nikkei Research surveyed company employees among Nikkei subscribers about their suppliers. It found large amounts of dissatisfaction and disappointment that had never come to the surface. In the materials supply sector, only 56 percent of those who had felt such disappointment in the past year would contact the supplier to complain.
A Return Worth Too Much
Ochūgen, the summer gift, thanks someone for their help, so it needs no return gift. If one is sent, an etiquette guide advises that it be of equal value or a little less. A return worth more than the gift received can be taken to mean: please send no more.
To decline openly, the guide suggests saying so in the thank-you letter, with words such as kongo wa okizukai naku, please do not trouble yourself in future.
The Toshiba Recording
In 1999, a Toshiba customer put an audio file on his website. It recorded what a Toshiba employee had said to him on the phone.
Toshiba’s vice president apologized fully. He said he had felt from the moment he heard the audio file that the company had to apologize for its employee’s words. On July 19, 1999, Toshiba said it would withdraw its legal petition against the site.
Gaishō
Japanese department stores run gaishō, outside sales, in which assigned staff visit valued customers and sell to them at home. Staff bring the goods the customer wants and run sales tailored to that person.
A Daimaru Matsuzakaya feature says the work is hard unless staff know the customer’s hobbies, values and even family makeup in detail.
Kagaya
The inn Kagaya at Wakura Onsen ranked first for 36 years in a row in an annual ranking of Japan’s hotels and inns chosen by professionals. In the ranking announced in December 2016, it fell to third.
Its idea of service is egao de kibataraki, a smile and quick attentiveness. Kagaya tells its staff that guest satisfaction is half the manual. The rest should be brought to 100 by their own sense and their work on the spot.
Kagaya has been closed since the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula on January 1, 2024 damaged it. It is building a new building.
Three Cups of Tea
A well-known story tells how Ishida Mitsunari entered the service of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi stopped at a temple and asked for tea. A temple boy first served a cup almost full of lukewarm tea. Hideyoshi asked for more. The boy served less tea, a little hotter. The third time, he served a small amount of quite hot tea in a small cup. Hideyoshi was impressed by the boy’s attentiveness and asked the abbot for him.
The story is known as sanken no cha, the three offerings of tea. It first appears in Bushō kanjōki, published in 1716, and was later retold in Ehon Taikōki and Meishō genkōroku. It is most likely a later invention.
Ordering by Hypothesis
Seven-Eleven Japan tells its part-time staff that the weather and local events are important information when ordering. Its parent company calls this ordering by hypothesis: stock and sell according to a hypothesis built on data, check actual sales, and keep improving the accuracy of orders. For each item, staff work out why it sold or did not sell.
Post by December 25
For New Year 2026, Japan Post asked its customers to post their New Year cards by December 25, 2025, as far as possible, so that they could be delivered on January 1. It began accepting them on December 15.
Rikyū’s Seven Rules
Seven rules for the tea ceremony are traditionally attributed to the tea master Sen no Rikyū. They are known as Rikyū shichisoku. Make tea so that it is good to drink. Lay the charcoal so that the water boils. Arrange flowers as they grow in the field. Make it cool in summer and warm in winter. Be early. Have an umbrella ready even when it is not raining. Be mindful of the other guests.
A children’s tea ceremony leaflet from the town of Chikujō in Fukuoka explains each rule. The first teaches kikubari, attentiveness. The rule on summer and winter teaches omoiyari, consideration for others.
Reaching the Itchy Spot
Kayui tokoro ni te ga todoku (痒い所に手が届く): one’s hand reaches the itchy spot. Care that reaches every small detail, the mark of someone who is attentive.
Ki ga kiku (気が利く): one’s attention works. Noticing even small things, being thoughtful and quick to see what is needed.