Decoding the Hidden Rules of Japanese Business with Richard Mort

Richard Mort spent 24 years living and working across Japan and Singapore. Now in Düsseldorf, surrounded by over 500 Japanese companies, he has a front-row seat to why European businesses repeatedly fail to crack the Japanese market and why Japanese companies struggle just as much in Europe. In this conversation with host Robert Heldt, Richard breaks down the invisible rules that govern Japanese deal-making, from the patience required in a six- to nine-month sales cycle to the trust rituals that must occur before any contract is discussed to the parallel networking world most Europeans never encounter. Practical, honest, and deeply informed.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why the sales cycle Japan demands can stretch six to nine months, and how cross-cultural business preparation, not language fluency, is what separates companies that close deals.

✅ How business networking in Japan works through physical meishi exchange, niche apps like Eight by Sansan, and deeply curated intermediary relationships rather than LinkedIn outreach.

✅ What the ringi system and nemawashi consensus process actually look like in practice, and why Japanese trust-building requires patience and forensic research long before any meeting takes place.

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Trade show strategy and a forensic business ecosystem mapping approach

07:26 Common mistakes European companies make and why preparation matters more than language

12:57 Startups are harder than founders expect, and the importance of Japanese trust-building

16:18 Japan business works without LinkedIn and the role of the shokai-sha and JETRO

24:20 Unpacking nemawashi, why real decision-making in Japan happens outside the formal meetings, and the cultural disconnect between German and Japanese business norms

33:16 The Ringi system slowdown, Germany versus Japan on precision reputation

39:06 How chairing a Japanese culture PTA, volunteering, and coordinating rare disease research all inform cross-border business trust

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Japan market entry is not a trade show exercise. Real relationships are built months before, and cultural fluency goes far deeper than language skills.

💎 Japanese companies' operations in Germany reveal a two-way cultural gap.

💎 The tatemae and honne divide means that a pleasant meeting, an enthusiastic exchange of meishi, and follow-up promises can all mask a complete absence of buying intent.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Robert Heldt – CEO & Co-Founder of AIM B2B, with more than 20 years in Japanese marketing and media. He is known for bridging global brands into APAC through culturally sharp, data-backed growth strategies.

Richard Mort is a British strategic intelligence consultant and interpreter based in Düsseldorf, bridging Japan and Europe through The Human API. Twenty-four years across Singapore, Tokyo, and Kobe shaped his deep reading of both cultures. He holds Japanese permanent residency, works in four languages, and serves as Japan Ambassador for the International FOXP1 Foundation, coordinating rare-disease research among Mount Sinai, Harvard, RIKEN, and NCNP. He has published 135+ long-form LinkedIn articles and mapped major global events, including Web Summit, Expo 2025 Osaka, and Davos. Father of two, Sheffield Wednesday supporter, and committed English tea addict.

Richard Mort – The Human API | LinkedIn

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