On the surface japan is great. Good Culture, Good Food, Very advanced and you can't be into anime, manga and video games without giving a shout out to the land of the rising sun. So yeah great place to visit.....I don't think i would want to live there though.
From what i can piece together the way japanese society is run is...to put it simply almost like a hive mind.
Narrowing it down to 3 basic tenets
1:Obey Authority no matter how absurd the request
2: Do not stand out
3: Do not "Dishonor" your family.
The first one comes from observing multiple parts of the Japanese work force, The notion that you are obligated to work ridiculous hours for the sake of the company, on top of that you must always follow the rules even if said rules make no sense at all. There are times when people have asked why the rules are the way they are, the higher ups even said they have no idea and just roll with it anyway. I guess it's just the notion that you must always follow the rules without once questioning why is absurd to me.
The second one is the biggest one for me. The whole notion of not standing out, not only does this make native Japanese feel somewhat samey to me, but it also in a way discourages any sort of critical thinking or individuality. This may also be the reason why you see so many people complaining about how if you know certain words you can understand at least 50% of japanese conversations.
The Last one is in air quotes because when i say dishonor, i mean doing or attempting something that doesn't approve with your family. A prime example is hideo kojima, who was disowned by his family when he was insistent on perusing a career in video games, and they only attempted to patch things up with him when he made a name for himself in the world, which he eagerly welcomed. Personally I wouldn't be as forgiving, but I digress.
To put it simply for what they have on the surface, as far as I can tell, japan as a society seems to encourage the cog in the machine mentality. Not so much snuffing out but in a way actively discouraging having any sense of self. I'm fully aware that there are many MANY exception to this rule. But that's the general feel i get when i research Modern Japanese Society and...honestly asian societies in general.
If this isn't the case then by all means point out why. I would love to be proven a liar.
From what i can piece together the way japanese society is run is...to put it simply almost like a hive mind.
Narrowing it down to 3 basic tenets
1:Obey Authority no matter how absurd the request
2: Do not stand out
3: Do not "Dishonor" your family.
The first one comes from observing multiple parts of the Japanese work force, The notion that you are obligated to work ridiculous hours for the sake of the company, on top of that you must always follow the rules even if said rules make no sense at all. There are times when people have asked why the rules are the way they are, the higher ups even said they have no idea and just roll with it anyway. I guess it's just the notion that you must always follow the rules without once questioning why is absurd to me.
The second one is the biggest one for me. The whole notion of not standing out, not only does this make native Japanese feel somewhat samey to me, but it also in a way discourages any sort of critical thinking or individuality. This may also be the reason why you see so many people complaining about how if you know certain words you can understand at least 50% of japanese conversations.
The Last one is in air quotes because when i say dishonor, i mean doing or attempting something that doesn't approve with your family. A prime example is hideo kojima, who was disowned by his family when he was insistent on perusing a career in video games, and they only attempted to patch things up with him when he made a name for himself in the world, which he eagerly welcomed. Personally I wouldn't be as forgiving, but I digress.
To put it simply for what they have on the surface, as far as I can tell, japan as a society seems to encourage the cog in the machine mentality. Not so much snuffing out but in a way actively discouraging having any sense of self. I'm fully aware that there are many MANY exception to this rule. But that's the general feel i get when i research Modern Japanese Society and...honestly asian societies in general.
If this isn't the case then by all means point out why. I would love to be proven a liar.