It's worth getting a role where you're forced into improving. I'm definitely a better communicator than I was before that job because of it.

This was buried at the end of the essay, but is one of the most important points.

I worked (not as a developer) in a company that was acquired by a Japanese company. Meetings were structured, and debate was kept to a minimum. If there was disagreement (typically framed as a difference of opinion or conflicting goals) there would be an effort to achieve some sort of balance or harmony. If the boundary was not hard, it was possible to push back. Politely.

Also, if Japanese colleagues expressed frustration, or were confrontational, that was a red flag that some hard boundary had been crossed. This was extremely rare, and replies had to be made in a very careful, respectful way.

I've hear this notion called "international English". English spoken in a way that non-native speakers find relatively easy to understand and follow.

The hard part of this is that non-native speakers will rarely ask for this. It's a gift that you have to give, and a gift you have to encourage others to give. And most of all, it needs to be done in a way so as not to be condescending, by simply being clear.

I worked with a talented older group in Japan for a while.

If on a call they said something would be “difficult”, that was their understated way of saying “never in a million years would we do that”.

They were also strongly hierarchical and would often defer to their leader to avoid any disagreement.

They could teach the British a lesson in understatement…

Even though we had a close working relationship they were very much trying to “save face” when issues came up and didn’t directly admit shortcomings.

Also, never address them by their first names !!