"Through the looking glass":
a few cultural insights from the viewing room in Japan

When Lewis Carroll's Alice pondered what the world was like on the other side the mirror, it came as a big surprise that she was able to pass through and experience "Wonderland". For Alice, the world that she had entered was initially grounded in her own, i.e. much of it seemed familiar....but as she continued her journey, the experiences and people became "curiouser and curiouser..."

As market researchers in Japan, we have a unique opportunity to observe the curious behavior of Japanese people from behind the glass of a different kind of 'magic mirror', and to contrast this behavior to that seen in our own countries.

As Japan has a history of being a 'closed', even secretive country, the opportunity to observe its culture from the privileged position of the viewing-room can be incredibly rewarding. With all of the social norms and expectations placed upon individuals in the everyday social context, 'covert' observation of a discussion, combined with an effective moderator, can provide illuminating insights to the research team.

Groups in Japan tend to be much more structured in comparison to other markets. And while topics that respondents are passionate about (e.g. movies) can provoke lively discussions, many other subjects tend to see a more subdued level of involvement. In such cases, the moderator will often need to direct questions to each respondent in order to cover the subject matter thoroughly.

Worried about losing face...?

Many researchers from overseas may interpret this as a lack of knowledge or interest on the part of respondents. But this is not necessarily the case. Among other things, concerns relating to 'face' may be a consideration in part for the initial silence that tends to pervade some groups.

The concept of face is a very important aspect of East Asian culture, particularly in Japan. Its also one that is not always understood well by western researchers. In a nutshell, face is the tendency to avoid embarrassing situations at whatever cost.

That is, rather than being concerned with "staying true to yourself", which is an inherently internal consideration, those concerned with face will often be more interested in how his or her own actions will be seen by others.

The implication for focus group discussions, is that participants are generally very concerned as to how their answers will be perceived in the group context, and may:

	be willing to bend or hide the truth in order to save face
	lie to save face
	be unwilling to admit that he/she is wrong
	avoid embarrassing topics or opinions

A good moderator is vital to keep a steady flow of insight from respondents, but also a creative eye with regard to design of the discussion guide can be useful.

The importance of appearances and face in Japan can also be of benefit when conducting group interviews here. One benefit is the fact that having made a commitment to attend groups, respondents tend to honor their obligations. So don't expect "no shows"; most participants will show up quite early...often 15-20 minutes before the start of the session.

However, this does not usually mean that the research team will be able to pick up some 'free' insights before the start of the session! Participants tend to be a bit shy in making casual conversation; rather than introduce themselves and pass the time chatting, they will often do anything they can to look occupied; using their mobile phones, watching TV, or intently staring at the table.

"Hi! Is this the room for the focus group?" ... if only!!

The underlying reason for this is that formal introductions are generally quite important to people in Japan, as it helps individuals to understand their respective places in the big picture. Getting to know someone's name, age, and social status are all important clues needed for an individual to be able utilize the proper language towards another individual.

Also critical is the fact that participants should not know the identity of the end client. Should the research team make the mistake of showing up too late (and, for example, sharing the same elevator with a participant), its quite possible that the "contaminated participant" will show a more positive bias towards foreign products in the group discussion.

It should also be remembered that while Tokyo is fairly cosmopolitan, the ethnic makeup is still 97.3% Japanese. As such, many people do not have the chance to interact with foreigners at all. The writer of this article once made the critical mistake of bringing a note for the moderator into the discussion room...and arrived back behind the magic-mirror just in time to hear the discussion shift away from the product and towards the 'giant, scary foreigner who was just in here'....

Having said all of that, focus groups in Japan can be an effective tool when managed properly. Most participants do tend to forget about the mirror as the sessions progress. And as market researchers we too start to forget the vast divide between our respective cultures, and can begin to understand this curious world on the other side of the mirror....

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