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On the first contact, using either "san" or "sama" would at
best make you appear archaic to the average Japanese reader
and at worst make you appear presumptuous. In a business
setting where you do not know the other party, it is best to be
"international business formal" and stick to Mr. or Ms. until
you have established an ongoing correspondence.
If you do not write fluent Japanese, stick to your own
language, but the use of common Japanese phrases in the
saluatation and closing signature is fairly easy and often
appreciated.
The traditional format for correspondence usually includes
a brief secondary greeting following the salutation, such as
"how are you," or "how is the weather there" before moving
on the the primary subject of the correspondence. Most
younger Japanese consider this level of formality unnecessary
today and dispense with it, but if the person you are writing
to is an elder (say age 50 or above), it is often appreciated.
Gene Kim-Engg
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Ridder" <docudoc -at- hotmail -dot- com>
> Actually, unless the person you is addressing are already
> known to you, it is probably more appropriate to use "sama"
> rather than "san" as the honorific. And if there is any possibility
> that the person has a position of higher authority, "sama"
> would also be safer. Here is part of what Wikipedia has
> to say on the subject in a fairly comprehensive article:
>>From: "Mayur Polepalli" <dbmayur -at- gmail -dot- com>
>> It should read:
>> Dear Hart-San and Hudson-San,
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