Exchanging cards helps us to know who the other person is. It's important for Japanese to know a person's business affiliation or profession. Once they know that, they know how to deal with him or her. Japanese are often called a vertical society. They usually interact with each other according to their relative positions on that vertical ladder.
What does it involve?
Japanese have to make a lot of choices - in the level of language they use, or in how they bow, for example. Once they see the other person's card, they both know what kind of language to use with each other, and who should bow lower to whom.
There are not exclusive social classes. Family background doesn't matter as much as individual achievement in Japan. Almost any man has a chance to make it to the top. That's why the company identification represents potential as well as achievement. It's all on the card.
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