The following case study is based on the changes1) which took place in a teaching agency in Tokyo in 2002. Section 1 gives an account of the agency, describing its structure, culture, the interest groups concerned, and the wider environment in which the agency operated. Section 2 describes the innovations implemented and the reactions of the teaching staff. An extended section 3 explores the cultural divisions which existed between the native English speaking teachers and the Japanese staff, by drawing on the research of Hofstede (1980; 1991), Hall (1990) and Mead (1994). Finally, section 4 gives a brief account of the long-term consequences of the innovations and proffers a proposal which may have helped diminish the inter-cultural misunderstanding.