The gap between the work and everything around it
Many labs in Japan run their science in English: papers, code, often the slides. That makes the research itself accessible and creates a specific trap, because the surrounding environment is not in English at all.
The lab meeting may switch to Japanese for the discussion. The administrative email about your contract will be Japanese. The corridor conversation where a decision is really made will be Japanese. A researcher who is fluent in their field and absent from all of that is at a real disadvantage.
The reassuring part is that the technical vocabulary, which looks intimidating, is the easy half: it is a closed set, much of it is katakana English, and the context is shared.
The lab meeting
Lab meetings follow a predictable shape: progress reports, discussion, and announcements. Your own report is preparable; the discussion is where the listening load is.
Preparing three sentences of progress and one question is enough for most weeks, and having them ready means the meeting is not stressful.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先週の続きで、実験を行いました。 | Senshū no tsuzuki de, jikken o okonaimashita. | Continuing from last week, I ran the experiment. |
| 結果はまだ出ていません。 | Kekka wa mada dete imasen. | The results are not in yet. |
| うまくいかなかったので、条件を変えます。 | Umaku ikanakatta node, jōken o kaemasu. | It did not work, so I will change the conditions. |
| ご意見をいただけますか。 | Goiken o itadakemasu ka. | Could I have your thoughts? |
| 来週までにまとめます。 | Raishū made ni matomemasu. | I will have it summarised by next week. |
| すみません、もう一度説明していただけますか。 | Sumimasen, mō ichido setsumei shite itadakemasu ka. | Sorry, could you explain that again? |
Reporting that something did not work is normal and expected. A negative result stated plainly is a better report than a vague positive one.
Seminars and questions
Presenting is the preparable half; the questions are not, and they are where a seminar is actually judged. Japanese academic questioning tends to be indirect in form and direct in substance, which can be hard to parse.
Have the buying-time phrases ready. A question you did not understand is far better handled by asking than by answering the wrong one.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ご質問ありがとうございます。 | Goshitsumon arigatō gozaimasu. | Thank you for your question. |
| 確認させてください。……ということでしょうか。 | Kakunin sasete kudasai. ...to iu koto deshō ka. | Let me confirm: do you mean...? |
| その点はまだ検討していません。 | Sono ten wa mada kentō shite imasen. | I have not yet examined that point. |
| データがないので、推測になりますが。 | Dēta ga nai node, suisoku ni narimasu ga. | I have no data, so this is speculation, but |
| 後ほど詳しくお話しできればと思います。 | Nochihodo kuwashiku ohanashi dekireba to omoimasu. | I hope we can discuss it in detail later. |
| 貴重なご指摘、ありがとうございます。 | Kichō na goshiteki, arigatō gozaimasu. | Thank you for the valuable comment. |
Administration
University administration is where foreign researchers most often come unstuck, because the forms are Japanese, the deadlines are firm, and the international office does not handle everything.
The safest approach is to ask about deadlines explicitly and to confirm requirements in writing, since a missed administrative deadline can affect a contract or a visa.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| この書類の締め切りはいつですか。 | Kono shorui no shimekiri wa itsu desu ka. | When is the deadline for this document? |
| 英語版はありますか。 | Eigo-ban wa arimasu ka. | Is there an English version? |
| 必要な書類を教えていただけますか。 | Hitsuyō na shorui o oshiete itadakemasu ka. | Could you tell me which documents are needed? |
| 記入例はありますか。 | Kinyūrei wa arimasu ka. | Is there a filled-in example? |
| どこに提出すればいいですか。 | Doko ni teishutsu sureba ii desu ka. | Where should I submit it? |
| メールでも大丈夫ですか。 | Mēru demo daijōbu desu ka. | Is email acceptable? |
Asking for a filled-in example is the most useful question here. Most offices have one, and it resolves the whole form at once.
Seniority and who speaks
Japanese lab hierarchies are explicit, and they shape who speaks, in what order, and in what register. The professor, the associate professor, postdocs, doctoral and masters students form a clear ladder.
The practical implications are consistent: polite forms upward regardless of friendliness, do not contradict a senior person publicly, and raise disagreements individually rather than in the meeting.
| To | Register | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Professor | Polite, consistently | Never plain forms |
| Associate professor | Polite | Same as above |
| Postdoc | Polite, softening | May relax over time |
| Senior student | Polite or casual | Follow their lead |
| Junior student | Casual acceptable | Still be careful |
| Administration | Polite | Formal register |
The ladder is not about your own seniority in years or in career terms. It is about position within this group, which foreign researchers sometimes misjudge.
Practising the unpredictable half
Everything preparable here is genuinely preparable: the progress report, the presentation, the administrative questions. What cannot be prepared is the question session and the discussion, and those are what decide how you are perceived.
That half needs roleplay rather than study. Explaining your research to an AI Sensei in Unihongo's immersive 3D classroom and taking its questions supplies the condition that matters, since the follow-ups are not yours and the answer has to arrive now.
The session report is useful for a specific thing here: which of your explanations fell apart under a follow-up. Those are the two or three points to prepare properly before a real seminar.
Learn the corridor Japanese as well as the seminar Japanese. A surprising number of decisions in a lab are made in the five minutes after a meeting ends.