At Wayfinder, we often work with clients to facilitate focus groups with Japanese participants. While focus groups can be a great method to gain insight into how Japanese users feel about your product, it is important to be culturally aware and adapt your focus group to local needs. Here are some tips that we have found are effective to get the most out of focus groups in Japan.
1. Consider if focus groups are the right method
As with any research, the first thing to consider is what your goals are. Based on your goals, you can decide if focus groups are the right method. For UX research focused on usability, or understanding how individuals use products in their everyday lives, other methods such as one on one interviews can be more effective.
This is especially true in Japan, as group-think tends to be stronger than in Western countries. We generally recommend focus groups for studies focused on understanding how certain demographics feel about a product category or new feature, or for testing products that are used by groups of people (teams of employees, families etc.)
2. Create structure & give participants time to think
While there are always a mixture of extroverted and introverted participants in focus groups anywhere in the world, Japanese participants tend to be more heavily affected by the opinions of those around them and more reluctant to spontaneously speak up.
Due to this, Japanese focus groups tend to be more structured, with participants given time to think, before taking turns to share their opinion.
We recommend incorporating activities and exercises that allow each participant to come up with a response and write it down before sharing. You might have participants rank products or features, choose adjective cards that best express their thoughts, or visualize their thoughts on a worksheet prior to sharing.
3. Work with a local moderator who can "read the room"
Japanese is a high-context language, meaning that paying attention to participants' body language, tone and choice of words can provide great insight into how they really feel.
An experienced Japanese moderator is essential to both create an environment in which participants feel comfortable contributing, and to pick up on contextual hints and drive the conversation in a way that uncovers deep insights.
Using a foreign moderator with an interpreter is not recommended, as it can make the participants uncomfortable and leads you to miss important context.
4. Keep participant numbers small
While focus groups in Western countries can have as many as 10 or 12 participants, this does not work well in Japan, where participants tend to be more reserved and focus groups are more structured.
We recommend 6 participants as the magic number, as any more can affect group dynamics and lead to some participants having limited opportunities to contribute.
5. Prepare well and participants will do the same
Particularly for in-person focus groups, it is essential that you provide detailed information about the focus group to participants in advance. Not providing the following information can result in participants feeling uncomfortable and increase the chance of cancellations.
• The date/time & duration of the focus group and when they are expected to arrive (if not stated, participants will arrive around 10 minutes prior)
• Detailed instructions of how to access the venue from the closest station (it is common to share a PDF with detailed photos of the path that one needs to take to arrive at the venue and what to do when they arrive)
• Details about the number of people who will attend and the topic of the discussion
• Anything they are expected to bring (or explicity state that they are not required to bring anything)
• COVID precautions (still common information to include in 2023)
• Name and phone number of a point of contact
In return for this information, Japanese participants tend to diligently prepare for the focus group and arrive on time. Late comers and no-shows are exceedingly rare, so no need to have more than one backup.
If you follow these tips, focus groups can be a great way to gain insight into how Japanese users feel about your product or service. Wayfinder offers planning, recruitment and facilitation of focus groups in Japan, so don't hesitate to reach out if you are considering a focus group in Japan.
