Japan

Living on promises

04/29/2010 Japan

It seems that the use of promissory notes is far more common in Japan than in other countries. Quite often a large company will only outsource work to a smaller company if they agree to the payment conditions set by the larger company that often include being paid by a promissory note if the monthly invoice total exceeds a certain amount. These amounts can be as low as 100,000 yen (approx. US$ 1,000), and the amount of time it can take before the promissory note can be cashed can be up to 150 days. So, in Japan, where it is common to bill for work at the end of the …