Tips for sending Japanese business mail

When sending a mail, it is customary to include in the recipient name's field the company he / she belongs to, the name of the recipient and an honorific.

If the recipient is not a specific person, but a group of people, honorific forms that include groups are used, such as :

• 御中 = Messrs. & Co.
• 各位 = Ladies and Gentlemen 

 Examples:

- for communication between companies and organizations:　「～御中」　

- for groups and messages inside a company: 「～各位」、「～の皆様」

Formality level (from high to low)

Inside the company	Outside the company
鈴木太郎様	～株式会社　営業部部長　鈴木太郎様
鈴木様	～株式会社　営業部　鈴木太郎様
鈴木さま、鈴木さん	～株式会社　鈴木太郎様、鈴木様

 
Opening sentences

Before jumping straight into the matter at hand, there are some standard openings for an e-mail. If writing to someone for the first time, state the fact that this is the first time when you send them a mail, in a polite way:

「初めてメールを送らせていただきます」

If the recipient is someone who you've had exchanges before, use a fixed expression to show appreciation for their previous assitance:

「いつもお世話になっております」

Depending on the situation, you might use different openers:

- if you've had a meeting with the recipient the previous day, thank them for taking the time to see you: 「昨日は貴重なお時間をいただき、ありがとうございました」

- if you've been treated to a meal the day before, thank them for the treat: 「先日はごちそうさまでした」

- in case you need to apologize for a mistake on your part: 「ご面倒をおかけして申し訳ございませんでした」

Getting to the subject

After the opening, you can use certain words such as 「さて」 or 「さっそくですが」 to signify that now you are about to go into the subject of the mail. You begin by outlining your actions and the steps you took for a certain course of action, before requesting what is needed from the recipient.

Examples 

- asking for confirmation: 「確認して返事を下さい」

- requesting a meeting: 「日時 のご指定をお願いします」

Quoting

If you want to answer to some questions in the mail you received, you can copy them from the sender's mail and paste them in your answer, preceded by the > mark. That way you can answer directly to the query in a way that is clear for the other party as well.

> pasted content from the sender's mail
your answer here

Ending

It is impolite to end a mail abruptly. Instead, some fixed phrases are used at the end to conclude the communication:

「どうぞよろしくお願いいたします」

「それではご検討のほど、よろしくお願いします」

「まずはお礼まで」 

PS

There are 2 types of postscript messages that can be inserted after the ending.

「追記」 - content that is not directly related to the main subject. It shouldn't exceed 2-3 lines

「追伸」 -  words that express the concern towards the health of a close person, information useful for the recipient

Signature

In the signature you insert your contact details. These are generally comprised of your own company name, your department and name, the address of the company, the telephone number, fax and e-mail address. You can also include items such as the company website, your mobile phone, or the business hours.

Mail composition tips

• don't skip the opening passage (self-introduction, expressing your gratitude for previous assistance etc.)
• aim for readability (keep lines around 30 characters, don't exceed more than 3-5 lines for paragraphs, don't add too much blank space)
• highlight the important parts (use headings, underlines, bullets, brackets etc.)
• keep the content short  (not long enough to warrant scrolling). If it can't be helped to send a long mail, let the other party know in advance about it (before entering the main content). Use apologetic statements such as 「長文となりますがお許し下さい」 (I apologize for the long e-mail) or 「ご質問についての内容（長文です）」 (Regarding the received questions (long answer) )

The 3 things to keep in mind when writing a business mail are conciseness (keep it short and simple), correctness (don't have any mistakes) and  specificity (address issues that are to the point)

Sending e-mail to a mobile phone

Many Japanese users keep separate e-mail addresses from their mobile providers, which are limited in the amount of data they can receive. Because of this, sending business mail to a mobile mail address is generally avoided, unless there's an emergency. When you have to do it nonetheless, it's a good practice to also CC it to the recipient's company mail address. Keep it short and you can also include some apologies for e-mailing a mobile phone address like 「携帯電話にまでメールをお送りして申し訳ございません」 or 「形態にまで失礼します」