Communication problems in the modern Japanese workplace: An exploratory investigation of employee opinions

Communication problems in the modern Japanese workplace are growing increasingly serious and complex, threatening both health and prosperity. Public commentary on these problems by journalists and big-name CEOs frequently appears in the press, but systematic investigations of the problems and their causes occur far less frequently, thus making it difficult to discover how these problems might be solved. This paper addresses this shortage of research by disseminating the findings of one small exploratory investigation of communication problems in the modern Japanese workplace, based on online and face-to-face communication with 20 Japanese employees in 20 different workplace contexts, who experience modern communication problems firsthand. Findings from this investigation suggest where pre-employment training at Japanese universities might be improved as well as where further research might be effectively targeted.