Report and Consult Archives - understand-culture

Takanohana Removed from the Board

On January 4, 2018, an extraordinary meeting of the councilors of the Japan Sumo Association unanimously approved the removal of the stable master Takanohana as a director. The case concerned an assault by the former yokozuna Harumafuji on the wrestler Takanoiwa. As head of the association’s tour division, Takanohana had neglected to report to the association. He had also not cooperated with its investigation.

The chair of the councilors, Ikebō Yasuko, spoke about a call from the association’s chairman that Takanohana had not returned: Ichijirushiku rei o kaite ita no de wa nai ka. “Was this not a serious lack of courtesy?”

The Vocabulary of Acting Alone

Dokudan senkō (独断専行): deciding alone and pushing ahead. The Daijisen dictionary defines it as pushing a matter forward on one’s own judgment, as one pleases. Its example is shikkōbu ga dokudan senkō suru, the executive acts on its own.

Atama goshi (頭越し): over the head. A Japanese-English dictionary gives the example Kare wa kachō no atama goshi ni chokusetsu shachō ni sono teian o motte itta. He took the proposal directly to the president, over the head of his section chief.

Asking the Boss

An article in President Woman advises on consulting a boss. A bare “what should we do?” is the weakest form. Better is to add one’s own plan: Watashi wa kō shiyō to omou no desu ga, dō deshō ka. “I am thinking of doing this. What do you think?” Better still is to offer two options for the boss to choose from: Dochira de ikimashō ka. “Which way shall we go?”

Another guide, on the site of the magazine Oggi, recommends the more polite ikaga deshō ka when asking a superior for an opinion in a formal meeting or on an important matter.

Troublesome Subordinates

In 2019, the job site en-japan surveyed 11,286 of its users aged 20 and over. Those who had found a subordinate troublesome were asked why. 53 percent named many excuses. 51 percent named neglecting to report, inform and consult, hōkoku, renraku, sōdan. Among respondents in their thirties, this came first, at 56 percent.

A woman aged 28 wrote: “I want bad news as early as possible, but they hide it until nothing can be done, and in the end they always cause trouble for everyone.”

Continue the Seawater

On March 12, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was injecting seawater to cool a reactor. Tokyo Electric Power’s headquarters wanted the injection stopped. The plant manager, Yoshida Masao, quietly told the staff in charge to keep injecting.

Accounts of his words differ. In one, reported by Gendai Business, he said: Chūshi meirei wa suru keredomo, zettai ni chūshi shite wa dame da. I will give the order to stop, but under no circumstances stop. In the video conference with headquarters, he reported that the injection was being interrupted. It continued.

In May 2011, Tokyo Electric Power first announced that the injection had been interrupted for 55 minutes. On May 26, it corrected itself. The injection had never stopped.

Bad News Fast

In December 2023, Toyota chairman Toyoda Akio spoke about the certification scandal at Daihatsu. He said it came down to how employees are treated every day, and used an English phrase: “There is the phrase Bad News Fast.”

He then described what often happens to it in practice: “People are told, bring me the bad news. I was told that too, long ago. When I actually brought it, I was scolded.”

Interim Report

A Japanese training company’s guide to raising new employees divides reports into two kinds. The shūryō hōkoku, the final report, is required when a task is done. The chūkan hōkoku, the interim report, is made while the work is still in progress, to share how far it has gone or to confirm the method.

The guide says that the interim report lets the person who assigned the work see that it is moving. It can also stop a new employee who is heading in the wrong direction.

Reporting Before and After

Jizen hōkoku (事前報告): a report to the people concerned before something happens.

Jigo hōkoku (事後報告): a report of the result after something is finished. A Japanese business magazine notes that a report after the fact is often acceptable, but that a report in advance is safer when a deal changes or needs confirmation.

Report, Inform, Consult

Hōrensō means spinach. It is also made of the first syllables of three workplace words: hōkoku (report), renraku (inform) and sōdan (consult).

Around 1982, Yamazaki Tomiji, president of Yamatane Securities, started a “spinach campaign” in his company. His book on it, Hōrensō ga kaisha o tsuyoku suru (Spinach Makes a Company Strong), appeared in 1986. One account says the idea came from his father.

The Andon

On a Toyota assembly line, a worker who notices a problem activates the andon and calls a supervisor. If the problem can be fixed on the spot, the line keeps running. If not, the line stops at a set position.

The system rests on three conditions. A worker can call. When someone calls, a person always comes. The person who called is not blamed.