C U L T U R E O F C O N T R A D I C T I O N S
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Japan is a marvelously efficient, polite, industrious society of people steeped in conservative tradition and discipline ...and then again, IT'S NOT!
The Japanese are truly wonderful people, as societies go, and completely dissimilar to any other Asian culture, with which they are so often commingled by the West. They defy the rest of the world by managing to retain their country's long, traditional heritage while embracing modern culture and leading innovation. However, in spite of this propensity to assimilate and adapt --or perhaps because of it-- the Japanese appear to have developed many cultural habits that strictly contradict one another.
Consider ...
# Group harmony must be maintained - The Japanese believe the success of the group is more important than the success of the individual. This is why business decisions must be a consensus and take so long to arrive, as no one person is given authority nor encouraged to act independently. Desire for individual recognition is suppressed in society and instilled all throughout their school years. YET, their society is fiercely competitive at the individual level. The Japanese employ grueling exams to weed people wherever possible, publicly post personal data for comparison and produce a myriad of TV shows that simply pit individuals against one another in various competitions: athletic, cooking, float making, skit performing, comedy, singing, trivia, ... ad nausium. How do you learn to be competitive in a society that represses exalting individual achievement?!
# A timid and conservative race - Japanese are believed to be a shy, humble and fairly conservative people by most outside Japan and indeed the Japanese themselves wish to convey this perception. People in Japan never say what they mean to avoid being too forward, typically don't speak up in a group and many learn a habit of covering their mouths or faces when expressing emotion in a public venue. YET, the Japanese have no hesitations regarding one of the most intimate and private of acts -exposing one's body. Public bath houses [same sex] are filled daily to capacity and the favorite vacation destination for most is an "onsen" --a public, natural spring "Jacuzzi" where clothing is not allowed. Men clean the women's bath houses during use, women clean the men's restrooms during use and often times there are no doors between men's urinals and public view. I guess "shy" is a matter of perspective ...and timing!
# In the interest of social well-being - Japan imposes very strict laws for the sake of protecting its citizens and social well-being. For instance, there is a "no gun" law that forbids all forms of firearms down to including children's BB guns. Japan also has a zero tolerance law for illegal drugs, placing Marijuana and Heroin on the same level. YET, heavy alcohol consumption is not only socially acceptable it is encouraged. Drinking in public is legal and the streets are littered with drunk businessmen and women after 11pm, having finished another hard day's work [which includes the "after work drinking party."] Drinking until inebriation is considered an acceptable means to fight stress and allow the "free expression of emotions." As final proof of the Japanese obsession for drinking alcohol, there are beer and cocktail vending machines throughout the city streets and it is not uncommon to be asked in an interview if "you enjoy drinking!"
# Eternal optimism - Each day the Japanese wake up, go to work, head off to school, begin the daily house chores and face another day in government, all with the shared view that "today might be a better day than yesterday." The hope that the future will bring better times than the past is interlaced throughout the Japanese culture, in the media, in morning pre-work lectures, company sales forecasts, traditional greeting cards and the plethora of "good luck" superstitions. Every year in December the national polls reveal the same results: overwhelmingly, Japanese citizens believe the next year will indeed be better than the current year. YET, Japan has been in a recession for the last 12 years running, has had the same governing party [Liberal Democratic Party] in power virtually uninterrupted for the last 45 years and was almost single-handedly responsible for the Asian Economic Crisis. The Japanese as a people, but particularly those in leadership positions [both business and government], are slow to act and almost always choose "no action" if the alternative will create conflict of any kind. It's baffling logic, to say the least, that better conditions can be hoped for, even expected, without ever acknowledging the requirement of "necessary actions" to bring about improvement!
Nevertheless, somehow it all works
Despite the peculiarities and seemingly opposing behaviors discussed, somehow it all works. The Japanese never question nor lose sleep over these contradictions and, so far, each new generation seems to accept their existence and embraces them without confusion.
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