I have done a ton of business with the Japanese and their little Japanese sidebars during meetings and conference calls are legendary. Nothing is worse than being on a conference call with them and they start having a rapid conversation with each other that you can't understand but at the same time you know it's related to you.
I did some immersion schooling to learn the language quickly and got to the point where I could understand what they were saying. It was easily one of the best things I have ever done. Bastards.