While most countries have business cards, Japan has taken it to a higher level.

             For in Japan everyone has at least one. Known as 'Meishi", these cards are an important part of social interactions. They are used for starting conversations, for if you know what the other person you are talking with does for a living you have an idea on what to talk about. It also allows you to be remembered after you both part company. You should always be prepared with your business card in Japan.

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             Another custom in Japan is gift giving. Gifts are given and received at any possible occasion in Japan. It is a way to show appreciation and is viewed as the thing to do. According to etiquette; if a person visits another country, they must be sure to bring gifts back for family and friends or risk being viewed as selfish.

             Mores:.

             Different cultures have different rules, and the Japanese culture is no exception. The view on age requirements for driving in America changes from state-to-state; however the requirement for drinking is set at twenty-one years of age. .

             The age requirements in Japan are set for the whole country: the requirement for driving there is fifteen, while the requirement for drinking is twenty.

             Taboos:.

             Wearing any type of shoes while walking into someone"s home is considered a sin in Japan. It is even restricted in the case of some business establishments, and other places.

             The rule of conduct in these cases is that you must leave your footwear at the door, and put on the slippers supplied just inside the doorway. The types of slippers often change from one season to the next. In the summer the slippers might be made of loose thin material, while in the winter wooly ones are supplied. There are also different slippers you must change into while entering the bathroom or kitchen.

             This might seem tedious and useless to some, except that it not only serves as a mean for cleaner dwellings; it also gives the impression of greater size to the many small homes found in Japan.