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What are key Japanese phrases for starting a meeting

Japanese for Business Success: Communicate with Confidence in Meetings and Presentations: What are key Japanese phrases for starting a meeting
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Japanese phrases for starting a meeting

The key Japanese phrases for starting a meeting are polite greetings, a brief thank-you to everyone present, and a clear transition into the agenda. In business settings, the standard opening usually combines おはようございます if the meeting is in the morning, 皆さん、お集まりいただきありがとうございます to acknowledge attendance, それでは、会議を始めたいと思います to begin, and どうぞよろしくお願いします to signal cooperative intent.

Core opening phrases

  • おはようございます (Ohayou gozaimasu) – Good morning.
    This is the safest opening greeting for a morning meeting. In Japanese business culture, even a meeting with familiar colleagues often starts with a formal greeting rather than a casual おはよう.

  • 皆さん、お集まりいただきありがとうございます (Minasan, oatsumari itadaki arigatou gozaimasu) – Thank you everyone for gathering.
    This phrase is common in presentations, team meetings, and project briefings. It politely recognizes the effort people made to attend.

  • それでは、会議を始めたいと思います (Soredewa, kaigi o hajimetai to omoimasu) – Well then, I would like to start the meeting.
    This works well as a clear marker that the formal part of the meeting is beginning. The phrase is slightly softer than a blunt “let’s begin,” which suits Japanese workplace style.

  • 本日の議題に入ります (Honjitsu no gidai ni hairimasu) – We will move to today’s agenda.
    This is useful once the greeting is finished and the meeting is ready to shift into discussion. It sounds organized and professional.

  • どうぞよろしくお願いします (Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu) – Thank you in advance; I look forward to working with you.
    This is one of the most important Japanese phrases in professional communication. In meetings, it often functions as a courteous closing to the opening remarks and expresses cooperation rather than a literal request.

How these phrases work together

A typical Japanese meeting opening often follows this order:

  1. Greeting
  2. Thanks to attendees
  3. Statement that the meeting is beginning
  4. Transition to the agenda
  5. Polite collaborative closing

A natural short opening might sound like this:

おはようございます。皆さん、お集まりいただきありがとうございます。それでは、会議を始めたいと思います。本日の議題に入ります。どうぞよろしくお願いします。

In English, that sequence is roughly: “Good morning. Thank you everyone for gathering. Well then, I would like to start the meeting. We will move to today’s agenda. Thank you in advance.”

Useful variations by situation

Japanese meeting language changes slightly depending on formality and the people present.

  • 朝以外の時間帯: In an afternoon or evening meeting, おはようございます is usually replaced by a general greeting such as こんにちは in less formal settings, or omitted entirely if the meeting starts immediately with the agenda.
  • Smaller internal meetings: With close teammates, the opening may be shorter, but ありがとうございます and よろしくお願いします are still very common.
  • Client or cross-company meetings: The language becomes more formal, and longer expressions like お集まりいただきありがとうございます fit especially well.

Pronunciation notes

Some of these phrases are easy to recognize in writing but harder to say smoothly at meeting speed.

  • おはようございます is pronounced ohah-yoh go-zai-mass.
  • ありがとうございます is often said quickly as ah-ree-gah-toh go-zai-mass.
  • どうぞよろしくお願いします can feel long at first, but the rhythm matters more than perfect speed.
  • 会議 (kaigi) means “meeting,” while 議題 (gidai) means “agenda” or “discussion topic.”

Speaking practice is especially valuable here because meeting openings depend on timing, rhythm, and politeness level, not just vocabulary. Repeated oral rehearsal helps these phrases become automatic in real conversation.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Using casual Japanese in formal meetings: ありがとう or よろしく alone can sound too plain in a business context.
  • Over-translating English openings: Japanese meetings do not always use direct equivalents of “Shall we begin?” or “Can everyone hear me?” at the start.
  • Making the opening too long: A Japanese business opening is usually concise and polite, not overly enthusiastic.
  • Forgetting the collaborative tone: よろしくお願いします is often more important than a perfectly literal beginning phrase, because it sets a respectful working relationship.

A simple meeting opening formula

A reliable formula for starting a meeting in Japanese is:

Greeting + thanks + start phrase + agenda transition + よろしくお願いします

For example:

おはようございます。皆さん、お集まりいただきありがとうございます。それでは、会議を始めたいと思います。本日の議題に入ります。どうぞよろしくお願いします。

This formula works well in corporate meetings, project check-ins, interviews, and formal group discussions.

References