After exchanging business cards with several people in Japan, you may notice that multiple cards remain laid out on the table during the meeting.
In general, the cards you receive are kept in front of you, somewhere easy to see during the conversation.
If you are meeting only one person, this is simple. You can place the card near you, often on or beside your business card holder, so that you can check the person’s name or title if necessary.
This becomes especially useful when several people are involved.
In Japanese business etiquette, one common method is to arrange the cards so that their positions roughly match where the other people are sitting.
For example, the card of the person sitting on your left can be placed to the left, while the card of the person on your right can be placed to the right.
This is not just about politeness. It has a very practical purpose.
When you meet four or five people for the first time, it can be difficult to remember everyone’s name, position, and face immediately. By matching the cards to where people are sitting, you can quickly check who is who during the meeting.
However, you do not need to treat the exact arrangement as an absolute rule.
Business etiquette guides may recommend placing the cards according to seating order, but in actual meetings, it is often enough that you can clearly tell which card belongs to which person. With only a few people, some Japanese participants may not arrange them very carefully at all.
You may also come across more detailed rules, such as placing the card of the most senior person on top of your business card holder.
But if you are a foreign visitor attending a Japanese business meeting for the first time, you do not need to memorize every small rule.
The important thing is to keep the cards somewhere you can refer to them during the meeting and avoid losing track of who is who.
If several people are present, arranging the cards in seating order is useful. If you can already identify everyone easily, there is no need to be overly strict about it.
That is a practical way to understand how business cards are often handled in Japanese meetings.
References
- Okayama Prefecture, “Business Card Exchange”
- Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “Business Manners Training Course”
