Japanese smile
I teach a cross-cultural communication class in English/Japanese to Japanese college students, and I wanted to give my students an example of “the inscrutable Oriental”, or an example of how ways to express emotion are not always the same across cultures, and therefore not always easy to “read”. I used this example: I used these [...]
In Japan, is a Tepco apology enough? – The Washington Post
The president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. came to an evacuation center here to apologize to whoever would listen. One of them was Yoshio Sato, wearing a pink trucker cap and a graphic T-shirt marked with a skeleton. via In Japan, is a Tepco apology enough? – The Washington Post. This post is about the [...]
Evacuation turns into chance to help victims | The Japan Times Online
More on the “fly-jin”. I don’t think this is a clear-cut, black-or-white matter, that those who “flew” were irrational cowards while those who stayed were hard-headed realists loyal to Japan, their families and their jobs. Comments below the quotes. With so much information available and even governments disagreeing on the best course of action, many [...]
The Japanese way of grief
Another social/cross-cultural commentary, not a news update. I received in the post today a cutting from the French newspaper “Le Monde”: an article by Philippe Pons in the column “Lettres d’Asie” of March 26 “Se degager des decombres”. He writes on the Japanese way of grief, and asks which is more dignified, the Japanese reserve [...]
Chivalry Japanese women would not appreciate | 世論 What Japan Thinks
Speaking of cultural differences, here’s a biggie: “chivalrous behaviour”. Do you open the door for women in Japan? Do you force ladies to go first? Are you sure they appreciate your gallantry? If so, the results of this online poll might surprise you. That people might have different values to us, we can accept. In theory. In [...]
Why are the Japanese such stoics? 2
This is a follow-up to an earlier social commentary post on the subject of Japanese stoicism in the face of the disaster. In that post, I wrote that a key to understanding Japanese behaviour is their concern for others: what others think and the effect on others of one’s own personal behaviour. Because of this [...]
Is fair sometimes unfair? – Part 2
This is a follow-up to my earlier blog-post Is fair sometimes unfair? I was reminded of the article When Fairness Runs Foul, and of my earlier encounters with the Japanese sense of “fairness” when I read a chapter by philosopher Ayn Rand. Rand is here playing devil’s advocate – illustrating with an example of her own [...]
Is fair sometimes unfair?
Life is so unfair sometimes (63/365) Originally uploaded by labspics A colleague recently gave me an article from the Daily Yomiuri. “The Language Connection”, “Cultural Connundrums: When Fairness Runs Foul” by Kate Elwood, Tuesday November 4th, 2008. It compares Western (North American) concepts of fairness with Japanese. Yes, they are not always the same! Intercultural [...]
Which Japanese people are known in New Zealand?
NZ by bbqkarubi This might be of use in English-language or culture classes: A Japan Probe entry tells of a Japanese quiz program that asked New Zealanders which Japanese people they were familiar with. A Japanese quiz show recently traveled to a foreign country and asked people on the street to name famous Japanese people. [...]
