Japanese for ALTs: Office Basics

Welcome to the Office

Moving from ALT work to an office job is a major shift.

Even if you used Japanese with coworkers as an ALT, moving to the office means changing context. That not only means using more formal Japanese (kenjougo, sonkeigo), it means knowing the structure in which it is used.

Schools have hierarchy, but offices are defined by it. Every interaction is shaped by:

• Titles (who someone is)
• Departments (where they belong)
• Activities (what’s happening right now)

If you don’t understand those, you’ll feel lost, no matter how good your keigo is.

As a new hire, you won’t be expected to have perfect keigo. You don’t need to know every industry buzzword or company-specific term.

What you do need is the ability to understand who people are, where they fit, and what’s going on around you

Get that down, and everything else becomes much easier.

Who Are You? (Titles & Hierarchy)

Japanese workplaces are strongly hierarchical.

Titles, which define a person’s place in the hierarchy, become a part of a person’s identity. Often, titles are used instead of names!

Understanding those titles will guide you in understanding:

• who has authority
• how formal to be when talking to them
• when to speak (and when not to)

Common Titles (Top → Bottom)

While every company will have its quirks, the core roles in the hierarchy are fairly consistent across organizations.

Because of this consistency, you can often estimate how much experience a person has by their title, particularly in more traditional companies.

社長（しゃちょう, shachō） – company president

Typically 20–40+ years experience. Either the founder or long-term company insider.

部長（ぶちょう, buchō） – department manager

Typically 15–25+ years. Oversees an entire department.

課長（かちょう, kachō） – section manager

Typically 10–20 years. Mid-level management.

係長（かかりちょう, kakarichō） – team leader

Typically 5–15 years. First level of management.

主任（しゅにん, shunin） – senior staff

Typically 3–10 years. Experienced, and will have some supervisory/training responsibility for those under them, but not management.

社員（しゃいん, shain） – employee

Typically 0–5+ years. General staff.

Related Key Terms

• 上司（じょうし, jōshi） – boss / superior
• 部下（ぶか, buka） – subordinate
• 同僚（どうりょう, dōryō） – coworker
• 担当者（たんとうしゃ, tantōsha） – person in charge
• お客様（おきゃくさま, okyakusama） – customer/client

What These Titles Imply

Traditionally, a person’s title and place in the hierarchy is more closely related to seniority than skill.

Age and years at the company matter more than in Western companies. You are expected to adjust your behavior based on rank – yours and theirs.

That said, the actual decision makers on a project are often lower ranking kachō, even when the official responsibility is with the buchō or shachō.

That doesn’t mean you should ignore protocol and snub the official leaders. It means you need to develop relationships with all of the stakeholders. Keeping the balance between respecting outward forms and understanding internal reality is an essential skill for navigating the Japanese workplace.

Know Your Place

In business meetings, where you sit depends on your rank:

上座（かみざ, kamiza） – far from the door (most important)

下座（しもざ, shimoza） – near the door (least senior)

This comes from samurai times, when the person closest to the door would be the first to deal with an intruder (i.e., die first if an attacker entered the room).

When you’re a new hire entering your first team meeting, someone will usually guide you to the appropriate seat. If not, default to the seat closest to the door.

Of course, this hierarchy shows up everywhere, not just meeting rooms. Pay attention to who goes where in taxis, elevators, restaurants, and other situations – you’ll notice patterns.

Where Do They Belong? (Departments)

In the Japanese business world, people don’t just introduce themselves by name and company. They introduce themselves by department.

Departments act as internal teams, each with their own hierarchy inside the company’s hierarchy.

In many cases, you are identified as much by your department as your role.

Common Departments

総務部（そうむぶ, sōmubu） – general affairs

人事部（じんじぶ, jinjibu） – HR

営業部（えいぎょうぶ, eigyōbu） – sales

経理部（けいりぶ, keiribu） – accounting

技術部（ぎじゅつぶ, gijutsubu） – engineering

開発部（かいはつぶ, kaihatsubu） – development

購買部（こうばいぶ, kōbaibu） – purchasing

企画部（きかくぶ, kikakubu） – planning

マーケティング部（māketingubu） – marketing

カスタマーサポート部（kasutamā sapōtobu） – customer support

When introducing yourself in a business context, it’s common to mention your department before your name.

This lets everyone know your place in the organization and how you’re connected with others within it.

However, your department identity is ultimately not as important as your company identity. Full-time employees are often rotated between departments so that staff can better understand how the company works as a whole.

This means you’re unlikely to stay in your original specialty throughout your career, particularly if you’re being considered for leadership.

Companies value flexibility, internal knowledge of the company’s systems, and a generalist mindset. Narrow specialization would be more common in contract-based roles.

That said, you’re most likely to be assigned to departments that can make use of your strengths in one way or another.

This is means knowing what person a department is in (and has been in) can give you clues about what type of person is and who they know. This is critical information when networking!

What’s Happening? (Office Activities)

Japanese business culture values structure and communication.

That means:

• lots of scheduled activities
• lots of updates
• lots of status reporting

Once you understand the rhythm, everything starts to make sense.

Activities and Daily Flow

通勤（つうきん, tsūkin） – commuting

出社（しゅっしゃ, shussha） – arriving at the office

会議（かいぎ, kaigi） – formal meeting

打ち合わせ（うちあわせ, uchiawase） – planning discussion (a more informal meeting)

出張（しゅっちょう, shucchō） – business trip

研修（けんしゅう, kenshū） – training

休憩（きゅうけい, kyūkei） – break

昼休み（ひるやすみ, hiruyasumi） – lunch break

残業（ざんぎょう, zangyō） – overtime

退社（たいしゃ, taisha） – leaving the office

会議 vs 打ち合わせ

Kaigi = formal, structured, often larger

Uchiawase = practical, smaller, working discussion

If someone says uchiawase, expect something more casual and hands-on, with a relatively more free flowing discussion.

If someone says kaigi, expect a more formal meeting with an agenda and a moderator running everything. There might be some limited discussion or time for Q&A, but it’s rare that serious, pointed questions get asked.

Communication & Workflow Terms

報告（ほうこく, hōkoku） – report

連絡（れんらく, renraku） – update / information sharing

相談（そうだん, sōdan） – consultation

提出（ていしゅつ, teishutsu） – submission

Make sure to take the initiative in communicating with your boss and other project stakeholders. They’ll want regular updates, particularly about problems or anything else that could set projects back.

This is also true of outside stakeholders like customers – maintaining touchpoints is an important part of building relationships. If you don’t take the initiative to reach out, customers may feel you don’t value the relationship.

Common Situations

You’re Meeting Someone New

Employee:「営業部の田中です。よろしくお願いいたします。」
元ALT:「人事のRobertsです。よろしくお願いします。」

Employee: Eigyō-bu no Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Former ALT: Jinji no Roberts desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Employee: I’m Tanaka from Sales. Nice to meet you.
Former ALT: I’m Roberts from HR. Nice to meet you.

You Don’t Know Someone’s Role

Former ALT:「すみません、担当者はどなたですか。」
Staff:「こちらが担当者です。」

Former ALT: Sumimasen, tantōsha wa donata desu ka?
Staff: Kochira ga tantōsha desu.

Former ALT: Excuse me, who is the person in charge?
Staff: This is the person in charge.

Asking What Time the Meeting Starts

Former ALT:「会議は何時からですか。」
Coworker:「三時からです。」

Former ALT: Kaigi wa nanji kara desu ka?
Coworker: San-ji kara desu.

Former ALT: What time does the meeting start?
Coworker: From 3:00.

Being Asked for a Status Report

Boss:「進捗はどうですか。」
Former ALT:「今、確認しています。」

Boss: Shinchoku wa dō desu ka?
Former ALT: Ima, kakunin shite imasu.

Boss: How is the progress?
Former ALT: I’m checking now.

Cultural Notes

1. Hierarchy affects:

• who speaks first
• who has official responsibility for decisions
• how directly people speak

It does not always affect:

• who actually knows what they’re talking about
• who really makes decisions
• how people talk behind your back

2. People tend to avoid direct disagreement, especially with superiors. This is why decision-making rarely happens in official, formal kaigi meetings. Those are for announcing results or decisions that have already been

Decisions are made in a series of informal, private uchiawase meetings, where participants can share their honest opinions.

Don’t expect to have input on a decision if it’s already been announced at the kaigi stage. You need to get involved with the conversation when the decision makers are still consulting people in private.

3. Silence does not always mean confusion, particularly in kaigi. It often means agreement or receptivity. Because kaigi are more formal, open displays of agreement or disagreement are generally avoided.

In other words, if people enjoyed your presentation, you won’t hear about it until later. If people hated it, you won’t hear about it until later. Mentally separate yourself from the need for immediate feedback.

4. As a new hire, you are expected to observe more than you contribute in meetings. But you are also expected to have an opinion when asked.

It’s very normal to spend 90% of a meeting with nothing to do but listen. It can be easy to let your mind drift.

This is a trap.

Be ready to be asked what you think at any moment. Being able to verbalize your thoughts at a moment’s notice is considered a sign of a promising employee.

What to Read Next

Japanese for ALTs: Job Hunt Vocabulary

Getting the job you’ll need this information for.

Japanese for ALTs: At the Bank

Learn how to withdraw all the money you’ll be making at your new job.

Thinking about becoming an ALT? Get the full guide on everything from applying to arriving in So You Want to Be an ALT.