You asked a Japanese team for a progress update, and the reply sounds polite and positive — but you still do not know how far the work has actually gone.
Short answer: most Japanese status phrases tell you about effort and process, not about percentage done or a delivery date, so the useful move is to ask for the next checkpoint instead of a clearer adjective.
Short answer
A phrase like "we are pushing ahead earnestly" is not evasive on purpose, in most cases.
Known: It is a standard, polite way to say work is in motion. It carries no percentage, no date, and no promise about the outcome.
My read: The gap is structural, not personal. Japanese business replies often report attitude and process first. A date is given separately, when it is given at all.
Don't know: From the phrase alone, you cannot tell whether the work is 20% done or 90% done — and neither can anyone else reading the same line.
That is why translating the words is not enough. You need to translate what the phrase does, and does not, tell you.
Five common phrases, decoded
- 鋭意進めております (eii susumete orimasu) — Literal meaning: We are advancing it with all our effort. What it usually signals: Work has started and is being treated seriously. What it does not tell you: Percentage done, or a finish date.
- 確認中でございます (kakunin-chuu de gozaimasu) — Literal meaning: It is currently being confirmed. What it usually signals: Someone is checking — a person, a document, or an approval step. What it does not tell you: Who is checking, or when the check ends.
- 追ってご連絡します (otte go-renraku shimasu) — Literal meaning: We will contact you following this. What it usually signals: A reply will come at some point. What it does not tell you: When that reply will arrive.
- 検討中です (kentou-chuu desu) — Literal meaning: It is under consideration. What it usually signals: The decision has not been made yet. What it does not tell you: Which way the decision is leaning.
- 前向きに検討します (maemuki ni kentou shimasu) — Literal meaning: We will consider it in a forward-looking way. What it usually signals: The request was received politely and will be looked at. What it does not tell you: That the answer will be yes.
Known: None of the five phrases above contains a date, a percentage, or a yes.
My read: "Maemuki ni kentou shimasu" is sometimes read by outsiders as a polite no. That reading goes too far. In many offices it simply means the review has not finished. Treat it as "not decided," not as "decided against you," until you have other evidence.
Don't know: How long "under consideration" will last varies widely by company, by topic, and by who has to approve it. No phrase table can give you that number for your specific case.
How to check: ask for the checkpoint, not the percentage
Asking "What percentage is done?" often produces another polite, vague answer, because the person replying may not track the work in percentages either.
These three questions usually work better:
- What is the next step, and when will it happen? — This asks for a checkpoint, which is how the work is often managed internally.
- Who is confirming it now? — This tells you whether the work is with one person or waiting in an approval chain.
- Is there anything you need from me before the next step? — This surfaces a blocker without sounding like pressure.
A short reply you can adapt:
Thank you for the update. To plan on my side, could you let me know the next step and roughly when it is expected? If you need anything from me before then, please let me know.
Known: A question with a concrete object — a step, a person, a date — is easier to answer precisely than a question about overall progress.
My read: One checkpoint question, asked once, reads as organised rather than impatient. Asking every day does not.
What this guide does not cover
This is one view from inside Japan. Wording and habits vary by company, industry, generation, and region. These phrases also appear in formal letters and automated replies, where they can be closer to fixed formulas than to real status reports. If a reply involves a contract, a fee, or a legal deadline, check the document itself rather than relying on the tone of the covering email.
A small next step
If phrases like these cross your inbox often, I made a free sample table of 12 common Japanese business expressions — each with its literal meaning, what it usually means in practice, and how to check it.
- Free sample — 12 expressions, labeled Known / My read / Don't know: https://payhip.com/b/zR8nsIt is the starting point for a longer guide I am preparing, Working With Japanese Teams: Meetings, Email, and Silence. The sample is free, and it is the same labeling method used in this post: what is known, what is my reading, and what cannot be known from the words alone.