Depending on how your company is organized, you may be using the Japanese or the American bonus payment system which may confuse those who are used to the other system. Here are the most key differences between both systems:会社の組織によっては、日本のボーナス制度またはアメリカのボーナス制度を利用しているかもしれませんが、これが他の制度に慣れている人には混乱を招くことがあります。以下は、両制度の最も重要な違いです。

'T is the season of newly arrived expats from Japan! One thing I often hear is that the initial introduction and relationship building didn't go very smoothly. 日本から新しく赴任してきた駐在員の方々の季節です！よく耳にするのは、最初の紹介や関係構築がスムーズにいかなかったという話です。

Most of Japan is off this week, did you know? The famous Golden Week as we know it today began in 1948 when the Japanese government officially designated the holidays that make up the week. It's a collection of four national holidays that happen in close succession, usually at the end of April and the beginning of May. 今週は日本の大部分が休みです。もちろん日本人はこの祝日をよく知っています。

It's very unusual to have a company car in Japan, for that matter if you live in a big city like Tokyo even having a personal car is not that usual either. High taxes and strict laws that require you to have a parking space are inhibitive for many people. 日本では社用車を持つことは非常に珍しく、ましてや東京のような大都市に住んでいると、個人所有の車を持つことさえ珍しくありません。高い税金と、駐車スペースを義務付ける厳しい法律は、多くの人にとって負担となっています。

A company I work with reached out to me because they would like to assign an expat to their new office in a different state from the big city they were sent to 1 year ago. Their family are nicely settled in, so is it ok to ask them to relocate to a smaller city in a state with fewer options for schooling and shopping? 勤務先の会社から、1年前に赴任した大都市とは別の州にある新しいオフィスに駐在員を配属したいという連絡がありました。ご家族は既に新しいオフィスに落ち着いているので、学校や買い物の選択肢が少ない州の小さな都市への転勤をお願いしても問題ないでしょうか？

I was recently asked to help with a situation where a staff member was not complying with instructions, their manager thought it might be because of a difference in cultural background. This staff member was habitually late or didn't show up to meetings in spite of explicit request by their manager to attend. 最近、スタッフが指示に従わない状況について助けを求められました。マネージャーは、文化的背景の違いが原因かもしれないと考えていました。このスタッフは、マネージャーからの明確な出席要請にもかかわらず、習慣的に遅刻したり、会議に出席しなかったりしていました。