Trusted Introducer Archives - understand-culture

Identity Guarantee

Japan’s Act on Identity Guarantees, Mimoto hoshō ni kansuru hōritsu, dates from 1933. It governs the mimoto hoshō contract, in which a guarantor promises to pay for damage that an employer suffers through the actions of an employee.

A contract without a fixed term runs for three years, or five years for apprentices in commerce and industry. A fixed term may not exceed five years. In setting the guarantor’s liability, a court considers, among other things, whether the employer was at fault in supervising the employee and why the guarantor agreed to give the guarantee.

One Student, One Company

Japanese high school students who look for work usually apply through their school. Under the custom of hitori issha sei, one person, one company, the school recommends each student to only one company for a set period after selection begins, and the company asks for a single application.

A 2020 report by a working team of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare gives survey results. 31.8 percent of students said that it would be better to be able to apply to two or more companies at once. Among schools, 74.1 percent wanted to keep the current system.

A labor researcher told Mynavi that more prefectures now allow multiple applications, but that the option is hardly used.

Without a Letter of Introduction

In April 2016, Japan introduced a fixed extra fee at large hospitals for patients who come for a first visit without a shōkaijō, a letter of introduction from another doctor. Advanced treatment hospitals and regional medical support hospitals with 500 or more general beds were obliged to collect it.

When the rule was introduced, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare set the fee for a first visit at 5,000 yen, or 3,000 yen at a dentist. The amounts have since been revised.

Connections and Leads

Kone (コネ): from the English word connection. A personal tie that helps get things done.

Tsute (伝手): a means of passing word to someone far away, or a go-between. Also a lead toward what one wants, a personal connection.

Kao (顔): face. The Daijisen dictionary also gives one’s standing and honor in society, with the example kao o tsubusareru, to have one’s face crushed.

A Master First

The usual road to becoming a professional shogi player runs through the shōreikai, a training association with its own entrance examination. An article in Gendai Business names one more condition for entering it: Kishi no shishō ga hitsuyō na no da. A master who is a professional player is needed.

The Go-Between

Nakanishi Keiji, who works to revive the nakōdo, the go-between, told J-CAST News how marriages used to begin. Kinjo no hito ya kaisha no jōshi, shinseki to itta daisansha ga wakai futari o hikiawasete senaka o oshite ita. Neighbors, a boss at the company, relatives and other third parties brought the young couple together and gave them a push.

In the Zexy wedding trend survey of 2009, only 1.1 percent of couples had a nakōdo.

Introducing the Successor

A business etiquette guide advises an employee who is being transferred to visit clients together with the successor. This makes the handover smoother and reassures the clients. Some also give a thank-you gift, such as individually wrapped sweets worth 2,000 to 3,000 yen. Only when a visit is impossible is an email acceptable.

No First-Time Guests

To visit an ochaya, a traditional teahouse in Kyoto, a guest needs an introduction from someone the house knows. The custom is called ichigen-san okotowari, no first-time guests. Some teahouses are also homes where young maiko live.

Bills were traditionally settled on credit, twice a year, around Obon and New Year. A guide to Kyoto describes this as credit sales between people who know each other, a system that survives in the teahouses today.