JAPAN CORPORATE EVENTS

THEY improv now operates throughout the islands of Japan to provide team building on behalf of our clients. With a variety of American-styled corporate events and training programs, we can help bridge the cultural divides, as well as bring a little bit of home to employees working abroad in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka or wherever else they might be operating.

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WE WORK TO BRING PEOPLE CLOSER TOGETHER

CORPORATE TEAM BUILDING ENHANCES EMPLOYEE SERENITY

WE HELP BRIDGE THE CULTURAL GAP
While the people of the United States and Japan may grow up in vastly different circumstances, the reality is that the things we have in common far outnumber the things that keep us apart. We help to see the best in one another. Regognizing ourselves in those we work with, we bridge the cultural divide and create a safe and friendly work environment.

JAPAN CORPORATE EVENTS

WE HAVE MANY OPTIONS TO ENHANCE EMPLOYEE MORALE

TEAM BUILDING

We help your teams remove the borders that separate them from one another. We help them bridge the cultural divides and work together toward common goals.

MEETINGS & INCENTIVES

We can entertain your celebratory getaways to exotic destinations throughout the Land of the Rising Sun. There are rewards for achieving goals that are quite worthwhile!

BUSINESS CONSULTING

We provide a variety of business consulting services to better identify the causes of problems to root out the difficulties and come up with innovative ways to enhance the culture and processes that will enable your company to become stronger.

CORPORATE EVENTS

We can provide improv comedy, game shows, magic shows, and murder mystery dinners to entertain your company party for milestone events that will help your employees bond and feel appreciated.

PRIVATE PARTIES

For families and friends getting together, we have private party entertainment that can help make your special occasions even more special. We consult with you to come up with the best options for your group.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

We can bring a wide range of keynote speakers to liven up your events and to help bring to light subjects that you would like to address. These can be experts, people who have experienced amazing adventures, authors, or comedic characters.

A Bonding Workshop is a great way to bring employees together and get them to see each other as individuals rather than job titles. These workshops can be used to teach a variety of other lessons including presentation skills, sales, communication, electronic communication, conflict resolution, and mental agility. Ask us today how a bonding workshop can help you accomplish your goals!

Consult with us to better determine how to achieve your corporate goals without anyone knowing that you are doing anything other than providing entertainment. Our Murder Mystery Dinner Shows, Game Shows, Teambuilding Workshops, Scavenger Hunts, or Improv Comedy Shows can all be used for bonding your employees to provide team buliding throughout the country. We serve Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Yokohama, Kobe, Nagoya, and elsewhere with the goal of bringing people together. It is our goal to help our clients while facilitating understanding between our clients and their Japanese partners and employees.

WE COME TO YOU!
We do not have our own venues. We come to any restaurant, hotel, resort, cruise ship, club, or home. We can work with groups of any size in whatever location you want. The specific location may impact the cost and we will discuss this with you.

We can now consult for our clients throughout the Japanese islands, though there may be legal hurdles in some locations. These should not prove that difficult to surmount. Hiring THEY improv allows the best that the US has to offer for our American multi-national companies working within Japan and to help companies understand and respect the cultural differences of their hosts. This allows for familiar programs to be brought to their locations at potentially a fraction of the cost of some other more expensive options while saving very costly situations that a cultural faux pas may cause.

We lead the way, providing murder mystery shows to get people to bond as they work together in groups, solving a series of problems. By doing so, they develop relationships with coworkers while determining the culprit. We have versions with our actors, and others using your executives as the suspects. This can also be done virtually to allow interrogations to occur overseas and in several locations at the same time. Contact us to determine how we can help you to bond your employees and partners without them even knowing! Likewise, we have mysteries that do not involve a murder.

JAPANESE ETIQUETTE

THINGS NOT TO DO

Never Show Disrespect

Seniority and age are important. Don't introduce yourself. Someone will likly introduce you to the person most senior. There is usually a lack of shaking hands. Instead, usually there is a bowing. The depth of the bow depends on the difference in status between the people. The deeper the bow, the more respect is shown. There is a degree of acceptance for rude Americans and our lack of bowing. This means that we can bow less, but should still show appreciation for position and culture. This includes showing proper respect in all ways, such as handing business cards or other items with both hands.

Do Not Be Surprised

Your sense of personal space and what may be private is probably far different than that of your host nation. Certain questions may seem quite funny to you but may be quite normal to them. You are the guest. You are the foreigner with the funny ideals. Likewise, there is generally less eye contact. It is a sort of sense of privacy when even in a crowd. Allow them their cultural differences.

Don't Be Late

Punctuality is important and considered a virtue. Calling for a meeting long in advance is a good idea. The phone call is still considered more respectful in this regard. A letter, email, or fax won't suffice. Initial meetings may be slow-paced. They are trying to determine your reliability. Relationships are long-term with the Japanese. Always show your ability to follow-through with any promises you make and be prepared to renegotiate contracts as your relationship continues.

Less Touching

Touching and public displays of affection are generally not a thing. That is reserved for being in private. So, throwing someone you just met a big hug is a no-no. Bowing, by the way, is quite acceptable and more normal. Take your cues from others and show proper respect, and any shortcomings for being an American can be forgiven. Repeated shortcomings and signs of disrespect are thought of harshly.

Improvisational comedy is a great way to have an ensemble entertain your group. Catching the lightning in a bottle, you experience moments that can never be repeated because everything is made up in the moment. The audience shares the creative process and can be active participants in the fun. We are quite congnizant of the need to maintain the dignity of your employees and executives during the process. Simply put, we make them look like stars!

Game shows invite your group to participate more directly through actually coming up on stage, and being put through TV Show-styled game shows to compete for not-very-expensive prizes (we wouldn't want anyone unhappy that they didn't win). This includes many of television's more popular shows along with more customized shows for your group. Truth Be Told is an offshoot of a popular import. This involves your people defending statements about their past which may or may not be true. Trivia Nights, similar to the popular pub games, gets teams to bond with one another and find out more about their coworkers outside of work. Our Audience Olympiads splits your group into two or three teams and have them compete in simple and fun feats of bravado. This can be Human Horseshoes or Face the Cookie, as examples. And if you don't know what those are, we look forward to a fun conversation!

WE CARE FOR YOU! We care for you and your guests. We will discuss your desires for safety measures regarding Covid-19 and want you to feel secure in the knowledge that we are looking out for you, our client.

CHOPSTICKS ETIQUETTE

THERE ARE RULES IN JAPAN

NO DRUMMING - you are not a member of the Beatles! And if you were, you wouldn't want to be Ringo! You shouldn't use Japanese chopsticks as drumsticks! It is insulting to your hosts, juvenile in action, and is actually an activity conducted by beggars as a way to beg for food. This puts you in the position of making people think that you are demanding as well as a member of the lower classes. None of this is a good thing for conducting business.
NO RUBBING - don't rub Waribashi together. In the US, disposable wooden chopsticks are often rubbed together to smooth the surface and to remove potential splinters. This is considered an insult to the restaurant implying that they would use the cheapest possible utensils.
NO BROWSING - though it should be logical for anyone, don't touch food that you are not going to take. After all, you eat from the chopsticks and so if you touch something that someone else might eat, it would be a bad thing to do. Of course, it's also an insult to lick, suck or otherwise touch the actual sticks with your mouth. You should grab the item brought to your mouth with your teeth and not really touch the sticks themselves. This can't always be done, but less touching is considered more of a sign of class.
NO PASSING - don't pass food by using your chopsticks. Even worse, don't pass them directly from your chopsticks to another set being used by someone else. If you must pass them, set the food item in front of them on their plate for them to then pick up. Better is to allow them to take it directly from your plate untouched by you.
NO POKING - do not poke your food. The proper use is to use the chopsticks to pick up food the proper way, and not by cheating by stabbing the food. They aren't knives, they are a cultural tool showing a degree of class.
NO CROSSING - do not cross the sticks when you lay them down and don't leave them standing in your food, especially rice. Crossing them is somehow unclean, which is only a small problem. It is generally seen as bad manners. Leaving them standing up is something that is done in rituals where incense is burned and offerings or remembrances are made to the deceased.

If you want to have a high-quality show for your friends and family, we can help you with unique performance options. These can give you a private party that your guests will remember! Talk to us and we can come up with ideas that you may never have been able to think of.

The Japanese people are the caretakers of an ancient civilization that far predates our own. Attempts by Americans to pass judgment on their customs are seen as pretentious, to say the least. Due to the war, there is a great amount of American media coverage over the years that greatly disrespected the people. They were presented as cartoons and made to look inept, cruel, or both. While most animosity has passed, assuming that the Japanese are As Seen On TV is a quick way to upset your hosts. And each part of the country has their own nuances. Because we mostly work with American companies operating in Japan, we tend to operate in the larger cities. This includes Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagoya. We can certainly operate elsewhere as needed. Simply let us know if you are looking for an event in Hokkaido, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Matsuyama, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kawasaki, or anywhere else in the Land of the Rising Sun.

PICK A LANGUAGE

We Can Literally Speak Your Language

ENGLISH

Most of THEY improv events are conducted in English. English tends to be the shared common language of our clients, though we may need to make some adjustments for varying cultures and backgrounds. Pop culture, for instance, might not be as shared. We will be happy to discuss your needs and adjust.

BILINGUAL

We can operate corporate events in a bilingual environment. Let us know your concerns and we will adapt our approach to address your needs in our program. This will likely be Japanese. We will go over rates and fees and determine the best approach.

ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGES

We do have facilitators from all over the world who can operate for your group remotely or in-person in a variety of languages. Simply reach out and ask and we can work on developing options for your needs.

TOKYO

Tokyo is the capital of the country and is both the political and economic cetner. It is where people most often come to do business from around the world.

KYOTO

The City of 10,000 Shrines is the cultural center of the country. Having events here is a great way to show respect for Japanese culture and to instill that respect in those visiting to work.

OSAKA

Osaka is a major financial hub for the country and often serves as a backdrop for the financing behind major business decisions that are made.

YOKOHAMA

Japan's Port City is the second most populous in the country. With the shipping industry, the focus is on international comerce and its impact locally.

KOBE

The city is a major port and has over 100 international corporations with regional headquarters located here. There are many facilities for holding events, including in Arima Onsen for their Hot Springs.

NAGOYA

A major hub for the automobile and aeronatics industries, the city has become known as a center for meetings & incentives events, conferences and exhibitions.

We serve Japan with Team Building options to enhance employees through our processes. This includes Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Yohohama, Kobe, Nagoya, and all the other areas of the country. Our goals are to bond employees, to help reduce employee turnover by improving working conditions of those operating far from home, and to bridge the cultural divides between transplanted workers and local hires. Simply contact us to find out how we can help!

CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE

We service the entire region from the THEY improv HQ in the United States. The best way to contact us is by email at info@THEYimprovAsia.com. Later, we can set up Zoom or Teams meetings or phone calls.

These are some useful links for sites that can help you with your business in the country.

Government Website
JNTO Tourism Website
Chamber of Commerce

Some of Our Clients

Our clients include a Who's Who of international business and feature major players including over half of the Fortune 500. These are just a few of our high-profile clients whose companies have been improved by hiring THEY improv to enhance their businesses with our programs.