For Japanese doing business in China, tackling the language barrier and haggling with a communist government are just the beginning. Their biggest headache, they say, is the hands-off attitude of their own government.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was en route Thursday to an economic conference in China. But Japanese business officials complain that, like other Japanese leaders before him, Koizumi won't be doing anything close to what his European and American counterparts do to push their corporate causes.
In contrast, US Commerce Secretary Don Evans is visiting China this month with a delegation of American executives seeking business opportunities.
"Japanese leaders are pathetic," says Etsuo Hattori, Beijing representative of Toyota Motor Corp, Japan's top automaker. "If a Japanese leader brought along executives, people will immediately be screaming corruption."
It's not that Japanese companies are hopelessly lagging behind Western ones in China.
Many of Japan's top manufacturers have set up shop in China -- Toyota's rival Honda Motor Co, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, which makes the Panasonic brand, and Toshiba Corp.
The prevailing image of Japan is one of government-orchestrated growth during decades of modernization with powerful bureaucrats shielding giant companies from competition at home and paving the way into foreign markets through aid and lobbying.
But Japan's leaders have been largely silent when it comes to playing salesman on the world stage, forcing the nation's companies to rely on ingenuity to accomplish things in China.
At a time when the world's major companies are competing for a piece of China's massive consumer market, the Japanese world of politics seems left behind -- more caught up with scandals and infighting at home than with a global-trade-minded foreign policy.
Japan is fighting a decade-long slowdown. And its clear success in fast-growing China could make a big difference in Japan's fight toward recovery.
Japanese businesspeople say politicking is crucial in wielding economic clout in China. Unlike free-market nations, China is a place where the government still maintains tight control over deals with foreign companies. So even a little political push from Koizumi could go a long way, they say.
This year, the Asian neighbors are marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Handled correctly, the year could grow into a big opportunity for deepening ties -- and opening more doors for Japanese businesses.
"Japanese leaders should be doing more," Nobuyoshi Harashima, vice president of the Chinese wing of Japanese electronics maker Hitachi, said in his Beijing office. ``Every other country is gung-ho now in trying to be top salesmen in China.''
Harashima says he sometimes can't help but wonder whether Japan's politicians are seriously thinking about policy toward China.
Norio Hattori, spokesman for the Japanese Foreign Ministry, acknowledged that Japan should start taking more initiative in backing up business efforts in China.
"It's a difference in culture. Japan has been called Japan Inc. in the past, but the political sector and the private sector have been customarily separate," said Hattori, who is not related to the Toyota executive.
"Japan should change and start having the prime minister lead a delegation of executives on foreign visits. That's what US and European leaders do," he said.
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