How to Write an E-mail in Japanese

Alexander Lavrentiev

How to write

an e-mail

in Japanese

Translator:

Natalia Chegodar

Technical adviser:

Pedro Pita

About the author

The son of a diplomat and a prominent Russian Japanologist, Alexander Lavrentiev built his career in the field of trade and economic relations between Russia and Japan. Mastery of the Japanese and English languages combined with commercial skills and fifteen years of experience living in Japan opened up a career path from the starting position of a minor employee up to the Head of the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Japan. He continues his business career in the current position of the Director of a major international tobacco producing company - Japan Tobacco International, Russia.

About the translator

The third generation in a family of Russian Japanologists, Natalia Chegodar completed her studies at The University of Oxford where she attained a First for her BA in Oriental Studies (Japanese) before carrying on to complete an MSt course in the same subject, specialising in classical literature. She is currently using her linguistic abilities working in Japan where she lives together with her husband and two children.

Copyright

Originally published in Russian:

Как писать электронные письма по японски

М.: ООО ИПЦ Маска, 2012 - 160 с.

Copyright: Alexander Lavrentiev, 2012.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Table of Contents

Foreword.

Foreword to the English translation.

Translator’s note.

Chapter 1. The genereal rules of writing an e-mail.

E-mails: advantages and disadvantages.

E-mail: doubts and questions.

Chapter 2. A model of a business e-mail.

A model of a business e-mail.

Addressing correctly.

A greeting is always necessary.

Concluding phrases are necessary!

Signature: your full name + the name of the company.

Chapter 3. A model e-mail: formatting techniques.

An e-mail is effective in three rounds.

A reply within 24 hours.

The Subject should be clear at first glance.

State the aim and the reason for sending the e-mail in the introduction.

When sending by Reply, the Subject do not modify.

Who should you include a copy to?

Concerning attachments.

E-mails sent to a mobile phone.

Two topics - two Subjects.

A simple topic allows for a one-line e-mail.

One line - 25-30 characters.

One paragraph - 2-5 lines and a space between paragraphs.

The e-mail should look elegant.

What a properly constructed e-mail should be like.

Templates.

Opinions and facts.

Create sub-headings if the e-mail has more than one topic.

Use bullet points.

Write concisely: one thought - one sentence.

Imprecise phrasing is the cause of misunderstandings.

There is no tomorrow or next week - write the date!

The key message - in a single phrase!

Unacceptable words and phrases.

Chapter 4. Keigo.

The concept of keigo.

Why is keigo difficult for Russians?

Types of keigo.

Levels of politeness.

Some typical mistakes when using polite speech.

Incorrect but widely-used examples of keigo.

Unnecessary grammar.

Chapter 5. Titles.

The use of titles in Japanese.

The meaning of titles in Japanese.

How to use titles.

Everyday titles.

Other titles (private forms of address).

Forms of address using the position name.

Official titles of the Imperial family.

Addressing a company.

Chapter 6. Practical examples.

Invitation.

Request.

Gratitude.

Apologies.

Refusal.

Enquiry.

Notification.

Notification of personal information.

Congratulations.

Seasonal greetings.

Chapter 7. Examples of e-mails.

Cover letter when sending documents.

Request to speed up a reply.

A request to change the time.

Notification of a meeting.

Notification of the change of time of an event.

Invitation to take part in a seminar.

Notification about changing jobs.

Conclusion.

References.

Foreword

Is it difficult to write an e-mail in Japanese?

No, if you already have some experience writing ordinary letters in this language. Furthermore, any experience communicating in another language will be of additional help as well. This true especially for English which, with the development of electronic connectivity, has gained the new status of the language of international communication. It will be more difficult, however, for those who have doubts in their ability to write correct and elegant business or personal letters even in their own language. Nevertheless, it is always worth trying to learn!

In the modern world it is very difficult to avoid using electronic means of communication. If you are planning to work for a Japanese company, electronic correspondence will be an essential part of communication within the corporate environment. If you have friends and acquaintances in Japan, it is unlikely that a more convenient method of exchanging thoughts and information over large distances can be found.

It is also advantageous that in our day at least informal rules and expectations regarding electronic correspondence within the global Internet-space have already been established - this makes it much easier to acquire a new skill.

So what problems do inexperienced users of e-mail usually come up against? Naturally, here we are not concerned with the specifications and technicalities of fine-tuning e-mail programs. The difficulties of writing e-mails in Japanese can be summed up as follows:

・Bearing in mind the characteristics of spoken and polite Japanese, which words, expressions, and grammatical constructions ought to be used in electronic communication?

・How to create an elegant and well-balanced text that is pleasing to the eye?

・Why do all letters turn out the same as though written with an electronic version of carbon paper?

・Is it necessary to maintain the difference between masculine and feminine speech? Is it appropriate to use computer slang? To what extent is it acceptable to use spoken language in an electronic letter?

The truth be told, if the letter is composed without taking into consideration its purpose whilst the identity of the addressee, the content, and the structure of the letter are poorly tied in with one another, then e-mail in itself will do little to help establish business or personal communication. In practice, we see that the Japanese themselves do not always follow their own rules since from the early stages of the spread of electronic correspondence they have become used to considering e-mails as a substitute for a telephone conversation. Well, they have it easier than us!

So what are we foreigners supposed to do? Let us try and find out.

Foreword to the English translation

Dear Reader!

I am offering you a brief and easy-to-understand outline of the general rules for writing e-mails in Japanese as the Japanese themselves write, to as great an extent as possible. This is by no means an easy task, due to the fact that the practice of e-mail correspondence by its supranational nature falls outside the norms and traditions of any given language. Then again, neither is there a complete detachment from the specific culture and mentality.

So what are the key merits of the proposed book? It is based on personal experience from which I could draw real life examples that are actually used every day. Furthermore, together with the general rules, it offers the templates for composing e-mails for specific occasions as well as highlighting elements of correspondence that are self-evident to the Japanese but may be lost to those that are not native Japanese speakers, or that might manifest themselves in a different form in another language. Here, I am referring in particular to the use of titles when addressing somebody and the honorific form of language known as keigo.

The book deliberately focuses on business correspondence since the standards of communication between private individuals are no so stringent and the price of failure in the event of non-compliance are less significant.

Finally, I would like to mention that this is my first appeal to the English-speaking audience for which I would like to thank Natalia for her translation of the Russian text and editing of the final translation. I would also like to extend my thanks to Pedro, who provided his knowledge and expertise in software and programming whenever the technology threatened to take the upper hand.

I will be glad to hear any criticism and suggestions that I request be sent to [email protected]

Translator’s Note

The translator was fortunate enough to be able to collaborate directly with the author allowing any nuances in the texts to be accurately conveyed in the translation. Nevertheless, the reader of the current edition should bear in mind a