japanese people and society (for jica, 2015 update)
TRANSCRIPT
Japanese People and Society
2015 update by Steve McCarty
Japan International Cooperation Agency
JICA Kansai
Demographic shift, its reasons, and difficulty of solutions“Six out of 10 respondents said the biggest reason for having fewer children than they really want is that ‘it costs too much money to raise and educate children’.”
From: https://japanforum.nbr.org/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind1307&L=list&F=&S=&P=70494
伊勢神宮外宮別宮月讀宮 - Tsukiyomi no miya (Geku of Ise Grand Shrine) by Tamago Moffle, 2010, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/7QLJKP
NARA: 法隆寺 Horyuji temple by ume-y, 2013, CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/eSekCB
Japanese Society - 2
• Traditions & new attractions
• Gradually changing values
• The Lonely Crowd
• Difficult to meet strangers
OSAKA
Big Issue Stall – Osaka Station by GanMed64,
2011, CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/aGkhiz
SHIKOKU island
DSCF0752.JPG by Kazu Letokyoite, 2007,
CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/LcWcC
HIROSHIMA: Peace Memorial by
Stripy T-Shirt, 2004, CC BY-SA 2.0
https://flic.kr/p/2fuzj
NORTHEAST JAPAN
earthquake/tsunami:
Volunteer at Kesencho,
Rikuzentakata by Hajime
Nakano, 2011, CC BY 2.0
https://flic.kr/p/aGC8ia
Japanese ways
of thinking
• Other-oriented values
• Individual and peer group
• Concept of time
• Environment and nature
• Status and hierarchy
• Male-female differences
• Importance of age
• Reasons for many suicides
• Human relations most important
Social behavior
& relationships
• Levels of social distance
• Intimate circle, face relations, strangers
• Politeness, indirectness, formality
• Avoiding confrontation
• Inside and Outside
• uchi & soto, honne & tatemae
• Private self (reserve) & public self (restraint)
• Many Obligations: gimu, on, giri
• Balancing give & take of gifts & favors
• Symbolism of gifts and objects
Lessons of a
Japanese family
• Putting others first
• Pressure to assimilate
• Being a professional foreigner
• Child-raising, bilingual issues
• Husband-wife relationship
• Employment and faithfulness
• Fitting in while sticking out