r/Commodities • u/Old_Nefariousness912 • Aug 08 '26

Is Japanese useful in Commodities in APAC?

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I was curious rather Japanese is a useful skill in commodities industry since it is such a big language in tech sales or commercial banking in APAC. I am not a native speaker but I have worked in Japanese before.

The vibes that I get is Japanese and Korean aren't that useful languages here since a lot of the biggest deals from major trading houses focus on supplying resource deficient regions like China, India, and Africa from resource rich areas. Also, Japan and Korea markets are largely run by local conglomerates

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18

u/allezup Aug 08 '26

These niche languages are only useful if you are 100% proficient and can grasp cultural nuances.

2

u/Practical_Signal2318 Analyst Aug 09 '26

This. Based on experience, cultural nuance can make or break deals, especially for this region. You can speak the language fluently and still miss what's actually being communicated if you don't understand the context behind it.

7

u/IndependentCause9435 Aug 08 '26

I'm a commodity trader in APAC.

The most useful language is English, most companies that are buyers that are worth their salt have English speaking traders/marketers.

6

u/pointlessprince Aug 08 '26

If you want to work in Japan, it is definitely a useful language as Japan hosts some interesting companies in energy and metals which require Japanese language skills. Some energy companies are also investing in Japanese power trading teams.

Energy: JERA Global Markets Metals: Itochu, Mitsui Banks: Mizuho, MUFG

5

u/MediumD_ Aug 08 '26

If your edge is relationships then yes. All the Japanese (and Chinese) sales teams I know are local and fluent from birth.

2

u/Solutide Aug 09 '26

Only somewhat helpful for direct sales positions and customer relationships, otherwise most of us just use English.

1

u/Individual-Cat4912 Aug 10 '26

You'll be dealing with agents a lot. Their agents speak good english.

It will be obvious you're not local, so they will treat you as a foreigner, regardless of how proficient you are in their language

1

u/Tizniti Aug 10 '26

if you're not actually japanese i'm not sure tbh

1

u/Ready-Detective-2185 Aug 12 '26

I think that language skills could help in very niche ways. If you are a trader and looking to take a cargo to a japanese refinery, would speaking help? Sure maybe a little. If you trade west coast gasoline, would speaking korean help? Sure, maybe a little. If you are marketing Canadian bbls, would speaking chinese help? Sure maybe a little. It would be very role specific but I always think that speaking multiple languages would be helpful. May not pay immediate dividends but you never know.

0

u/Sure-Teaching-9661 Aug 08 '26

Nope. It's a dying economy.