Japanese People and Society

2015 update by Steve McCarty

Japan International Cooperation Agency

JICA Kansai

Fuji japan by Travelbusy.com, 2012, CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/da5BdG

Geography and Climate

Japanese People

Image and Reality

Japanese Society - 1

• Population structure

• Family structure

• Religions

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

KYOTO spring:Kiyomizu Temple

Summer: Gion Festival

KYOTO fall

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

Kids in the 1990s

Withwife’s

parents