Executive Insights: Researching Markets in Japan—A Methodological Case Study

Foreigners studying markets in Japan face different sets of problems from those encountered in their own, familiar, domestic markets. They have to cope with the nuances of a different language, alien perceptions, different role expectations, and personal inexperience in business and social etiquette. There are unexpected difficulties with access to both published information and target respondents, and some may find they are on the receiving end of a program of deliberate disinformation. This case history is based on the author's recent decade of experiences in studying food markets in Japan. Attention is focused on some difficult methodological problems, and strategies and approaches are offered to maximize the quality of information obtained.