Two countries may have incompatible negotiating styles that could greatly hamper negotiations or even cause them to fail. As a mediator, it is important to consider what should be done in such cases to increase the chance that a negotiation will be successful by gathering information about the culture of the members of both countries.

What cultural information would you gather and why if you were going to serve as mediator between a Japanese delegation and an American delegation?
How will that information help you with moving the two delegations towards a solution?
In trying to resolve the conflict, what questions would you be uncomfortable asking the two parties and why?