When executives visiting from Vietnam ask me what to watch out for when exchanging business cards, I'm always slightly stuck. The mechanics are simple, and the internet is full of them.
Hold it with both hands. Offer it lower than the other person's. Don't put it away immediately — keep it on top of your card case while seated. Start with the most senior person. That's it.
The problem is that performing all of this flawlessly doesn't guarantee the meeting goes well, and being slightly awkward usually causes no harm at all.
When the etiquette actually matters
The way you hand over a card matters only in the first few dozen seconds, while the other person knows nothing about you.
Those seconds don't convey ability or track record. They answer one question: did this person look up how things are done here beforehand? And that question works as a proxy for another one: does this person habitually imagine the other side's situation?
Which is to say: from the second meeting onward, you can essentially stop worrying about it.
Common misreadings
Misreading 1: You need an expensive card case. You don't. Black or navy leather with uncreased corners is plenty. What gets noticed is not the price but whether it's been looked after.
Misreading 2: A bigger title is better. Japanese business practice puts more weight on the title matching your actual decision-making authority. A title inflated beyond reality costs you credibility later, when the approval doesn't come through.
Misreading 3: The English side is enough. A Japanese side lets the other person read your company and your name correctly. A name that can't be read is hard to remember and hard to put in the minutes. For Vietnamese names, I strongly recommend printing katakana alongside.
After you receive one
The real difference shows up after receiving, not while handing over.
The same day, write on the back or in a separate note: the date you met, what you discussed, the next action. That alone gives you a completely different conversation when you meet again three months later.
Japanese counterparts think highly of someone who remembers the last conversation. The card ritual is only the doorway. What pays off beyond it is the habit of keeping records.