Episode #127: Mr. Kurokawa’s Real Japanese Customer Service

Why do “simple notices” matter so much for brand loyalty in Japan?

When a store closes for reconstruction in Tokyo, most notices just share facts: the closing date, the reopening date, and a polite thank you. Functional, but emotionally empty.

In today’s Japan, where earthquake codes are driving many rebuilds in Tokyo and across the country, every closure notice becomes a moment of truth for how a brand relates to its customers. For Japanese companies and foreign affiliated companies alike, this is a chance either to sound like a faceless corporation, or to deepen emotional loyalty.

Toraya, the famous traditional Japanese sweets maker, shows what happens when a leader chooses the second option.

Mini summary: Even a routine “we are closing for rebuild” notice can become a powerful tool for loyalty, especially in Japan’s relationship focused market.

Most notices:

List facts such as closure period and reopening date
Add formula greetings
Promise to serve customers again

Toraya’s president, Mr. Mitsuhiro Kurokawa, the seventeenth generation leader of the family business, did all this, and then went far beyond it.

He:

Put the change into historical perspective:

Founded in Kyoto in fifteen eighty six near the end of the Muromachi period
Moved to Tokyo in eighteen sixty nine
Opened the current Aoyama Street location in nineteen sixty four

He subtly reassured customers of:

Long tradition and stability
Capacity to adapt to changing times

He positioned the rebuild not as an interruption, but as the next chapter in a centuries long story.

This is high level leadership communication, not just logistics. It shows how a leader can frame change with continuity, pride, and respect for history, essential signals for Japanese customers who value legacy, trust, and hospitality.

Mini summary: Kurokawa’s notice transforms a construction update into a leadership message about heritage, adaptability, and long term commitment to customers.

Instead of only talking about the building, Kurokawa talked about the people who had walked through the doors for fifty one years at that Akasaka location. He chose simple, real episodes that any reader can visualise.

There was the man who came every three days for sweet red bean soup with grilled mochi, which is unusual in a culture where men are not stereotypically sweet lovers. This shows how the shop becomes part of someone’s personal ritual.

There was the kindergarten boy and his mother, buying one bite sized yokan each day. The first time he comes alone, the staff worry and step outside, only to find the mother discreetly watching from a distance. This reveals staff concern, care, and emotional connection beyond the transaction.

There was the one hundred year old lady in a wheelchair, whose family kept bringing fresh sweets and dried sugar sweets to the hospital. Even when she could no longer eat normally, they crushed the dried sweets so she could still enjoy the taste. This story shows how products are tied to memory, dignity, and family love.

Kurokawa writes that he cannot list every story from the last fifty one years, but that he and his staff hold them one by one in their hearts forever.

This is not marketing copy. It is sincere, specific, human storytelling. That is why it stands out even in a culture famous for hospitality.

Mini summary: By sharing vivid customer episodes, Toraya turns a practical announcement into an emotional tribute, strengthening the bond between brand, employees, and customers.

In many organizations, especially larger Japanese companies and foreign affiliated companies, corporate communication becomes:

Mechanistic
Risk managed and safe
Full of generic marketing language that sounds like departmental output, not a human voice

The contrast with Kurokawa’s notice is sharp.

He writes with heart, not just procedure.
He treats customers as partners in a shared story, not just recipients of information.
He demonstrates hospitality by remembering specific people and moments, not just expressing generic gratitude.

He also avoids fake propaganda or exaggerated claims. The stories are small, ordinary, and therefore believable and emotionally powerful.

For leaders, this raises direct questions.

Are we communicating a special bond with our customers, or just sending updates?
Do our messages sound like a human leader, or a marketing template?
Can our clients picture real people in our stories, or just abstract customers?

Mini summary: Most corporate communication is safe but forgettable. Using real customer stories makes your message sincere, memorable, and trust building.

How can we systematically weave authentic customer stories into our messaging?

To move from theory to practice, leaders and managers can build processes that capture and use real customer episodes across touchpoints, including:

Sales conversations and sales training scenarios
Leadership messages in town halls and leadership training
Client presentations and presentation training case examples
Executive coaching discussions
Diversity, equity, and inclusion training examples that highlight inclusion, empathy, and different customer perspectives

Practical steps.

Collect stories intentionally.

Ask frontline staff regularly to tell you about a customer moment that moved them this week.
Capture short anecdotes in an internal log. There is no need for perfect writing, just simple descriptions.

Curate stories aligned with your values.

Choose stories that reflect how you want your brand to be experienced, such as care, reliability, flexibility, respect, and inclusion.
Make sure they are real, specific, and respectful of privacy.

Integrate stories into standard communications.

Add one real client story into major announcements, leadership emails, and customer updates.
Use them in training for sales and service teams as examples of events that actually happened here, not just abstract theory.

Coach leaders to speak from the heart, not just the head.

In executive coaching, practice telling brief stories that demonstrate empathy and a service mindset.
Encourage leaders to share their own customer experiences and what they learned from them.

Mini summary: Treat customer stories as core strategic assets, collected, curated, and integrated into leadership, sales, and presentation communication across the company.

What mindset shifts are required in our leadership culture?

The Toraya example exposes several mindset gaps many organizations face.

From information to emotion.

Not just asking what customers need to know, but also asking how we want them to feel.

From transactions to relationships.

Seeing every touchpoint, including email, notice, sales call, and service reply, as a chance to reinforce a long term relationship.

From process to purpose.

Ensuring that even procedural communications express what the organization stands for, not just what it is doing.

Leaders can use questions like these.

Are we really thinking about creating an emotional connection with our clients?
Are we telling enough happy client stories in our communication?
Are we fully aware of the content and tone of all touchpoints we have with buyers?
Are we serving from the heart or just the head?
Are we instilling the right frame of reference in our staff about how to serve the client?

These questions align directly with the goals of leadership training, sales training, presentation training, and diversity, equity, and inclusion training for both Japanese and multinational teams in Japan.

Mini summary: Shifting culture from update and inform to connect and serve requires leaders to consciously reframe how they think about every customer touchpoint.

How can Dale Carnegie Tokyo help embed this approach in our organization?

Dale Carnegie has been helping organizations bring more heart into performance for over one hundred years globally and more than sixty years in Tokyo. Our work with Japanese companies and foreign affiliated companies focuses on exactly the capabilities highlighted by the Toraya case.

Leadership programs.

Help leaders communicate with authenticity, empathy, and clarity during change.
Develop the confidence to share real stories that align people emotionally with strategy.

Sales training.

Equip sales teams to build trust through human connection, not just product features.
Teach how to use customer stories ethically and effectively to illustrate value.

Presentation training.

Transform slide explainers into compelling storytellers.
Practice delivering messages that audiences can visualize and remember.

Executive coaching.

Support senior leaders in refining their voice, communication style, and personal leadership narrative.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

Strengthen the ability to understand and respect diverse customer stories and backgrounds.
Build cultures where empathy and psychological safety support stronger customer relationships.

By aligning training, communication, and culture, organizations in Tokyo can create the same kind of sincere, story driven customer bond that made Toraya’s notice so remarkable.

Mini summary: Dale Carnegie Tokyo helps leaders and teams turn empathy and customer stories into everyday communication habits that strengthen engagement, loyalty, and performance.

A routine closure or reconstruction notice can become a powerful relationship building message when it includes authentic customer stories and emotional sincerity.

Real, specific customer episodes communicate respect, memory, and gratitude far more effectively than generic greetings or marketing language.

Leaders should intentionally collect, curate, and use customer stories across leadership communication, sales, presentations, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Investing in structured development, including leadership training, sales training, presentation training, executive coaching, and diversity, equity, and inclusion training, helps organizations communicate with both head and heart in the Japanese market.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.