Conversations & Discussions in Japan and the World

 Coming from a country that is multicultural, we tend to mix our languages when talking to each other. For example, I am of Chinese descent so naturally my mother tongue is Mandarin but my country's national language is Malay (Bahasa Melayu), and English is the primary language used in most subjects taught in Brunei along with business. And then there is the different dialects in Chinese, my family on both my mother's and father's side speak a dialect called Hakka, unfortunately, I was never taught the Hakka dialect so I am unable to speak or understand it, only certain words in Hakka I can understand.

When talking to people we first meet, there are just some topics then humans tend to avoid like politics or personal information like life goals or dreams; these are topics that need to be eased into and you have to know the other person for sometime to be able to talk about these things. People avoid these topics may be due to fear of conflict or to avoid awkwardness. Based on this post I found it stated that, from a psychological standpoint, topics we choose to discuss have a direct impact on our inner peace, it can invite unnecessary conflict (Hai, 2026).

In a business meeting, in Japan the major decisions are rarely made inside a formal meeting room, the formal meeting is to officially confirm the agreement and document the final decision (Fröhlich, 2026). In Japan, typically people will arrive a few minutes early and there are positions where people seat, the person with the highest rank sits the furthest from the door and there is the "ritual" of exchanging business cards and then the formal greeting which starts the meeting officially. In Brunei, business meetings, the process is less strict when compared to Japan. People will usually arrive early, greeting others with a handshake and bring their right hand to touch their chest, business cards are usually immediately exchanged after the initial introductions and it has to be received/offered using both hands. When communicating, like Japan, Bruneians rarely disagree directly to save "face", instead they answer in a way that convey the disagreement politely and it is considered rude to point with our index finger so we gesture using our whole hand or using our right thumb. 


References

Artem Hai (Stoic. (2026, March 8). Why Smart People Avoid These 10 Conversation Topics. Mentalzon. https://mentalzon.com/en/post/9117/why-smart-people-avoid-these-10-conversation-topics


Fröhlich, U. (2026, May). Japanese Decision-Making: Why Decisions Take Time. Understanding Japan. https://understanding-japan.com/decision-making-in-japan/

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