Japanese Business Meeting Phrases for Work

Japanese business meeting phrases are easiest to use when you learn them by meeting stage: opening, agenda, reporting, discussion, online call trouble, decisions, action items, and follow-up.

You do not need the most complicated business Japanese to sound professional. In many meetings, clear polite Japanese plus a few reliable expressions sounds better than heavy, over-formal keigo. The goal is simple: help everyone understand the purpose, the decision, the owner, and the deadline.

Meeting Flow

A Japanese business meeting usually moves from greeting to purpose, agenda, report, discussion, confirmation, and follow-up. If the meeting is online, you may also need phrases for joining late, screen sharing, mute, camera trouble, or connection issues.

A practical flow is:

1. Greet everyone and thank them for their time.
2. State the meeting purpose.
3. Confirm the agenda.
4. Share reports or materials.
5. Ask for opinions, questions, and concerns.
6. Handle online-meeting issues clearly.
7. Confirm decisions, owners, and deadlines.
8. Close politely and send meeting notes.

Two workplace ideas are useful. 報告・連絡・相談 (hōkoku, renraku, sōdan, reporting, contacting, and consulting) means you should report facts, share updates, and consult before problems grow. 根回し (nemawashi, prior consensus-building) means checking important opinions before the official meeting, especially when a decision affects several teams.

If you are meeting a Japanese client in person, the meeting may begin with introductions and card exchange. Review Japanese business card etiquette for meishi before face-to-face client meetings.

Core Phrase Reference

Use this table as a meeting-stage phrase bank. Choose one natural phrase for the moment instead of trying to sound formal in every sentence.

Politeness and Tone

Use polite style with coworkers, softer requests with managers, and formal business wording with clients or outside partners. Your safest pattern is: make your own actions humble, describe the other person respectfully, and keep the business point clear.

For your own actions, clean forms such as ご説明いたします (go-setsumei itashimasu, I will explain) and 送付いたします (sōfu itashimasu, I will send) are usually enough. Be careful with させていただく (sasete itadaku, to be allowed to do). It is common in business Japanese, but overusing it can sound bloated when you are not actually asking permission.

For example, when confirming the agenda, 本日の議題を確認いたします (Honjitsu no gidai o kakunin itashimasu, I will confirm today’s agenda) is cleaner than a permission-heavy version. For smoother transitions and natural softeners, build on these basics with advanced Japanese expressions that make you sound fluent.

Example Sentences

Example 1
お世話になっております。本日はお時間をいただき、ありがとうございます。
Osewa ni natte orimasu. Honjitsu wa ojikan o itadaki, arigatō gozaimasu.
Thank you for your continued support. Thank you for your time today.

Example 2
現在の状況をご報告いたします。一点、懸念点がございます。
Genzai no jōkyō o go-hōkoku itashimasu. Itten, kenenten ga gozaimasu.
I will report the current situation. I have one concern.

Example 3
画面を共有いたします。画面は見えておりますでしょうか。
Gamen o kyōyū itashimasu. Gamen wa miete orimasu deshō ka.
I will share my screen. Can you see the screen?

Example 4
担当は私ということでよろしいでしょうか。締め切りは金曜日でよろしいでしょうか。
Tantō wa watashi to iu koto de yoroshii deshō ka. Shimekiri wa kin’yōbi de yoroshii deshō ka.
Is it correct that I will be in charge? Is Friday acceptable as the deadline?

Example 5
議事録を後ほど共有いたします。ご確認いただけますか。
Gijiroku o nochihodo kyōyū itashimasu. Go-kakunin itadakemasu ka.
I will share the meeting minutes later. Could you please confirm?

Common Mistakes

Learners often translate English meeting language too directly. The result may be understandable but too blunt for a Japanese workplace.

Another common mistake is using very formal phrases everywhere. Client-level keigo with close coworkers can sound stiff. Match the room: clear and polite for internal meetings, more formal for clients, senior people, and written follow-up.

If a meeting involves a delay, mistake, or inconvenience, use specific apology wording instead of a casual sorry. The guide to apologizing in business Japanese gives safer options for those situations.

Practice Drill

Practice this short meeting flow aloud, then replace the topic, company, owner, and deadline with your real work content.

1. お世話になっております。
   Osewa ni natte orimasu.
   Thank you for your continued support/business.
2. 本日はお時間をいただき、ありがとうございます。
   Honjitsu wa ojikan o itadaki, arigatō gozaimasu.
   Thank you for your time today.
3. 本日は新しい企画についてご説明いたします。
   Honjitsu wa atarashii kikaku ni tsuite go-setsumei itashimasu.
   Today, I will explain the new proposal.
4. 現在の状況をご報告いたします。
   Genzai no jōkyō o go-hōkoku itashimasu.
   I will report the current situation.
5. ご意見をお聞かせいただけますか。
   Go-iken o okikase itadakemasu ka.
   Could you please share your opinion?
6. 担当者と期限を確認させてください。
   Tantōsha to kigen o kakunin sasete kudasai.
   Please let me confirm the owner and deadline.
7. 議事録を後ほど共有いたします。
   Gijiroku o nochihodo kyōyū itashimasu.
   I will share the meeting minutes later.
8. 引き続きよろしくお願いいたします。
   Hikitsuzuki yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
   I look forward to your continued support.

Answers and substitutions

• Replace 新しい企画 (atarashii kikaku, new proposal) with your actual topic.
• Replace ABC社 (ABC-sha, ABC company) with the real company name.
• Replace 私 (watashi, I/me) with your team or company name when confirming ownership.
• Replace 金曜日 (kin’yōbi, Friday) with your real deadline.

To practise these Japanese business meeting phrases in realistic role-play, book a Free Trial lesson with Kind Japanese for one-on-one 25-minute online practice over LINE, Zoom, or Google Meet. If you are deciding how much guided study you need, read whether Japanese lessons are worth paying for.

FAQ

How formal should Japanese business meeting phrases be?

Use polite style with coworkers, softer request forms with managers, and more formal wording with clients or outside partners. The safest rule is to make your own actions humble, describe the other person respectfully, and keep the business point clear. Extra keigo does not automatically sound better.

How do I disagree politely in a Japanese meeting?

Avoid a direct phrase meaning “I oppose it” unless you truly need a strong objection. A safer approach is to say there may be another perspective, then explain the reason calmly. This keeps the discussion open and reduces the chance that your comment sounds personal or confrontational.

What should I say when screen sharing in Japanese?

Use a simple phrase meaning “I will share my screen,” then ask whether the screen is visible. If there is audio or connection trouble, state the problem calmly instead of apologizing repeatedly. Online-meeting Japanese should be clear first and formal second, especially when everyone is trying to solve a technical issue.

How do I confirm meeting minutes in Japanese?

At the end, say that you will share the meeting minutes later. After sending them, ask for confirmation if you need approval, corrections, or written agreement. Good minutes usually include decisions, open questions, owners, and deadlines, so the Japanese follow-up should make those points easy to check.

This standalone guide supports the Kind Japanese beginner curriculum by helping learners use polite Japanese in real workplace meetings.