Here are some typical titles, in descending
order of seniority:
| Japanese |
American
Equivalent |
Other
Common Translations |
| kaicho |
Chairman |
|
| shacho |
Chief
Executive Officer |
President
or Managing Director |
| fukushacho |
Chief
Operating Officer |
Vice
President |
| senmu |
Executive
Vice President |
|
| jomu |
Vice
President |
(sometimes
Managing Director) |
| torishimariyaku (supplementary
title) |
Officer |
Director |
| bucho |
Director |
General
Manager |
| kacho |
Department
Manager |
|
| kakaricho |
Section
Head |
|
| shunin |
Supervisor
(shop-floor) |
|
It is best to establish a person's
Japanese-language title because
of the vagaries and uncertainties of translations. There
is usually only one fukushacho in a company,
and he functions as a deputy to the shacho.
A jomu is a vice president in the usual American
sense of a "V.P., Finance" or "V.P., Marketing." A jomu
torishimariyaku or a senmu torishimariyaku is
a jomu or a senmu who is also a member of the Board
of Directors; the titles usually go together. Because of
the different organization of Japanese and American companies,
it is more accurate to think of a torishimariyaku as
an executive with an officer's authority to commit the
corporation rather than as a Board member.
In Japanese, the title san can
mean many things. For example, the approximate equivalent
of "Mr. Tanaka" is Tanaka-san, the form
to use when you do not know the person's title. But "Tanaka-san" can
also mean "Ms. Tanaka." or "Mrs. Tanaka" if
the woman is married. It is more respectful, however, to
address people in correspondence with sama, an even
more respectful form of san.
TIP: Commonly, a woman's given name often
ends in -ko, -e, or -mi (no hyphen (e.g., Masako, Kazumi)
but like most rules, there are many exceptions.
|
