If you were going to a business meeting in Japan, what colours would you not wear?

Answer 1

There is no restrictions at all as for colours for business. What I can suggest is do not wear back necktie (it's for funeral only). Quite same as in the US, conservative dress, such as navy suit, solid dress shirt, and black leather shoes, is usually preferred at a business meeting.

Answer 2

You will always be safe if you wear a blue or dark blue suit. It also depends on what level of management you will be meeting with, but a blue suit and darker colored ties such as brown, blue, non-shiny red will be OK. Summertime we often have people wearing shirts T ties, but no suit jackets. That is mainly due to a government push to save energy and for people to wear clothes that are sensible for the summer time. Thus reducing the need for lower air conditioner temperature settings. They call it "Cool Biz"
I have had meetings in Japan with visiting Americans and or Europeans who wore dark green and dark tan suits. That was not out of the ordinary.

As a side note, sometimes the copy-fax-printer machine goes out of whack and they send a dude wearing a suit. Sometimes the send an field engineer wearing industrial work wear with a tie.

It is really funny at some small offices where the people remove their shoes. So you see men in suits walking around in house slippers.

Answer 3

just remember the rule in Japan is that the nail that sticks out gets hit. That means you need to go with the flow, be a sheep so to speak. Therefore don't wear bright colours, wear the usual dark blue suit, try to avoid black because it has links to funeral and organized crime. Tie can be any colour but be conservative. nice dress shoes and white shirt.
I was a full time missionary there and wore a suit for 2 years straight. That's basically non stop meetings everyday. Which tie to wear always becomes the hardest decision... :oP

Answer 4

Dress as conservatively as possible. There are no colors that are truly frowned on, but Japanese businessmen tend to dress in extremely conservative attire (suits, white shirts, ties that aren't too flashy). While Japan has a great and outlandish fashion culture, this has not trickled down to the office. In fact, the government nearly had to pass an edict last year to advise men in the summer that it was acceptable to wear short-sleeved shirts without a jacket in order to save energy on airconditioning systems!

If you dress in a similar manner to them, you'll be taken far more seriously than if you dressed more casually or flamboyantly.

Answer 5

Do not wear purple, it is a colour mostly worn by yakuza or yankee but being a foreigner would most likely rule this out.

Answer 6

Do not wear bright colors, or printed anything (except the tie). Go dark and solid. I would NOT recommend black because it is a business meeting, not a funeral. I would recommend Dark Blue.

Answer 7

I'm never wearing the yellow.
It is bad for the complexion and the my aura.

Answer 8

I will not wear cloth in red.

Answer 9

no bright obnoxious colors, like redor neons, a suit a tie, etc

Answer 10

I don't wear red and black