Humor and laughter in Japanese groups: The kuuki of negotiations

Abstract

The following article examines concrete examples of naturally occurring humor and laughter taken from simulated Japanese negotiations. Taskoriented negotiations were held in group settings, and participants were assigned conflicting interests to observe the occurrence of laughter in conflict situations. In-depth analyses of several negotiations are conducted in an attempt to reveal how humor and laughter are used to affect the negotiation process, and to shed light on how Japanese negotiators perceive and manage conflict situations. The current study reveals that Japanese conversations are governed by a concept known as kuuki, and various types of laughter can be explained through the appropriateness of an utterance in relation to the implicitly defined kuuki of a social situation.

Laugh it up: humor in inter-cultural management after international mergers

“…From the University of Tokyo, Maemura (2013) has been writing about the Japanese concept of kuuki or a group’s “climate of opinion” that requires specific reactions within a group. For example, a specific type of laugh should follow a specific spoken phrase.…”