40 reasons to think that the Japanese are superficial
I would like to prove onc e and for all that Japan indeed is a unique society, as about any Japanese would claim. Well, at least it is unique to Western eyes, as Japan may share numerous similarities with its Asian neighours. Here is a summary of my observations of the Japanese people and mindset established after 3,5 years of "research".
To assess this uniqueness of the Japanese culture, I did not include material differences (different architecture, food, etc.) which can easily be copied or exported, but onl y psychological one s (what make the people different). In fact, I have onl y concentrated on one particular aspect of the Japanese midset : its shallowness (so this study is totally biased from the start, as it does not include anything else). I could very well do one to prove how much more polite, disciplined, or respectful the Japanese are. But it is not the object of this analysis.
The purpose is not to animadvert, excoriate or disparage (sorry, couldn"t resist lol), but on the contrary emphasize the idiosyncracies of the Japanese mindset as opposed to the Western median.
The observations hereafter onl y represent a trend that characterize a majority (i.e. at least 50%) of the Japanese population (sometimes onl y for one gender group). It may apply to an overwhelming majority of the population (nearly 100%), or onl y to just about half of it. But still, please take it with a grain of salt and a good sense of humour. Have fun !
their favourite topic of conversation is food
when travelling abroad, they care little about the local culture except food
when they do not talk about food, they talk about money or s.ex
The proverbs "money doesn"t buy happiness/love" or "don"t judge a book by its cover" have no significance in Japan
clothes do make the man in Japan (which explain the success of brand clothes, black suits and even that of cosplay, bunny girls or the importance that Japanese women attach to their wedding dress)
people indeed do not get treated the same way (be it in a shop, by government officials, by the police or whatever) depending on how well they dress and look.
they think an opuent and expensive wedding is necessary for appearances" sake (even if that is way above their means)
some Japanese companies have a tiny head office in Tokyo (esp. Nihombashi) just for appearances" sake, as it is said to give them a higher status.
they judge people from their appearance and tend to be easily prejudiced (e.g. toward foreigner-looking persons)
they use gestures and speak strange Japanese to foreigners who address them in fluent Japanese (or before they have a chance to speak), as if they had convinced themselves that somebody who didn"t look Japanese could not possibly understand their language
however Japanese language is so deficient in vocabulary and acurate expressions that it has to borrow thousands of new words from other languages every year
the structure of Japanese language is so inflexible and clumsy (no relative sentences, few tenses, few nuances) that Japanese people end up speaking with isolated words (often adjectives, see below) rather than making full sentences.
they can"t debate and dislike serious intellectual discussions (probably due to the language issues mentioned above)
there are very few intellectual programmes on TV (documentaries, debates, political analysis, social phenomenons, literary discussions...), due to a general lack of interest of the population
people on TV usualy repeat the same few adjectives all the time (oishii, omoshiroi, hidoi, kirei...) , as if they were linguistically challenged.
people in everyday life actually do speak like mentioned above
they ask the same routine dumb questions to foreigners ("can you use chopsticks; can you eat sushi, is there 4 seasons in your country, etc.")
they tend of lack s.exual morals and don"t mind cheating "as long as their partner doesn"t know"
they have casual s.ex with several partners without protection and don"t worry about STD"s
they have a computer but don"t know much how to use even quite simple functions, due to a lack of interest for technology
they throw away a dysfunctuning electronic equipment (e.g. computer) or machine, rather than try to repair it
they call an plumber, electrician or carpenter to repair things in their house, because they are not interested in DIY (Japan is a service country par excellence, due to people"s lack of knowledge or interest in a wide array of things)
they go to juku after school because they sleep or are too slow to learn at school (slowing down the teacher"s rythm) and can"t assimilate the necessary knowledge to pass the exams. They still end up learning much less than European children in foreign languages, history, geography and critical thinking.
manga, porn and fashion magazines account for over 90% of convenience stores" literature.
shops staff repeat "irasshaimasse", then "domo arigato gozaimashi.ta" like robots to anybody that enters or exit, even if the same person comes in and out three times in 5 minutes
they can"t think by themselves, and believe the media, commercials or what people tell them much too easily
they buy on impulse rather than after careful comparison and analysis
there are virtually no magazines that test and rate products such as electronics, books, movies, games, etc. They onl y introduce these products without critical commentary (because the makers/sellers would sue them for being critical !)
they are a nation of followers that suffer from the "sheep syndrome" => if every jumps in the river, let"s jump in the river too ! (i.e. lack of critical and independent thinking)
as a result, when something becomes fashionable, everybody must have it (e.g. Louis Vuitton handbags), even if that means it looses its uniqueness or originality.
when a restaurant is "introduced" on TV, one can be sure that it will be full to the brim for the week to come, then people will forget about it as quickly as they had rushed on it (just to show how influenceable the Japanese are).
they think that most women are just good to serve tea, smile, be beautiful and make children (I mean, the cultural influence is so strong that many Japanese women also think so, not just men)
politicians are corrupted and inefficient beyond redemption, because they onl y care about themselves, and not the nation"s welfare.
people accept that politicians are as mentioned above, because they don"t expect their own kind to act in a more virtous way
men don"t mind paying huge sums of money just to chat with bar hostesses, because they can"t get a girlfriend (sad) or feel that it give them some form of status (shallow)
about one out of three Japanese men frequents or has already been to one of these hostess bar.
not being married after the age of 35 or 40 can hurt some people"s credibility or status, as people think that there is "something wrong" with them
they care a lot about marriage, but little about the eventuality of divorce, so that prenuptial agreements are almost unheard of, because people "don"t like to think that bad things could happen" - while Westerners cannot not think about this eventuality and be prepared for it. Similarily, very few Japanese write their testament. Japanese seem to worry a lot, but rarely about things that matter most.
many Japanese fathers do not think that they have a role in their children"s education. This is so culturally ingrained that in case of divorce, the mother almost always get the exclusive custody of the child(ren), and the father often "never" see them again - and often doesn"t care much anyway.
they find pleasure in asking foreigners what kind of Japanese food they can"t eat - even if they can"t eat it themself (never really understood the purpose of those questions)
many Japanese are convinced that their nation is "unique for being unique" (i.e. they think that all the world is a big melting-pot, but Japan is the onl y country that is "pure" and homogenous, which makes it unique, and they are the onl y nation to enjoy such uniqueness.).
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40 reasons to think that the Japanese are superficial
I would like to prove onc e and for all that Japan indeed is a unique society, as about any Japanese would claim. Well, at least it is unique to Western eyes, as Japan may share numerous similarities with its Asian neighours. Here is a summary of my observations of the Japanese people and mindset established after 3,5 years of ¥"research¥".
To assess this uniqueness of the Japanese culture, I did not include material differences (different architecture, food, etc.) which can easily be copied or exported, but onl y psychological one s (what make the people different). In fact, I have onl y concentrated on one particular aspect of the Japanese midset : its shallowness (so this study is totally biased from the start, as it does not include anything else). I could very well do one to prove how much more polite, disciplined, or respectful the Japanese are. But it is not the object of this analysis.
The purpose is not to animadvert, excoriate or disparage (sorry, couldn¥"t resist lol), but on the contrary emphasize the idiosyncracies of the Japanese mindset as opposed to the Western median.
The observations hereafter onl y represent a trend that characterize a majority (i.e. at least 50%) of the Japanese population (sometimes onl y for one gender group). It may apply to an overwhelming majority of the population (nearly 100%), or onl y to just about half of it. But still, please take it with a grain of salt and a good sense of humour. Have fun !
their favourite topic of conversation is food
when travelling abroad, they care little about the local culture except food
when they do not talk about food, they talk about money or s.ex
The proverbs money doesn¥"t buy happiness/love or don¥"t judge a book by its cover have no significance in Japan
clothes do make the man in Japan (which explain the success of brand clothes, black suits and even that of cosplay, bunny girls or the importance that Japanese women attach to their wedding dress)
people indeed do not get treated the same way (be it in a shop, by government officials, by the police or whatever) depending on how well they dress and look.
they think an opuent and expensive wedding is necessary for appearances¥" sake (even if that is way above their means)
some Japanese companies have a tiny head office in Tokyo (esp. Nihombashi) just for appearances¥" sake, as it is said to give them a higher status.
they judge people from their appearance and tend to be easily prejudiced (e.g. toward foreigner-looking persons)
they use gestures and speak strange Japanese to foreigners who address them in fluent Japanese (or before they have a chance to speak), as if they had convinced themselves that somebody who didn¥"t look Japanese could not possibly understand their language
however Japanese language is so deficient in vocabulary and acurate expressions that it has to borrow thousands of new words from other languages every year
the structure of Japanese language is so inflexible and clumsy (no relative sentences, few tenses, few nuances) that Japanese people end up speaking with isolated words (often adjectives, see below) rather than making full sentences.
they can¥"t debate and dislike serious intellectual discussions (probably due to the language issues mentioned above)
there are very few intellectual programmes on TV (documentaries, debates, political analysis, social phenomenons, literary discussions...), due to a general lack of interest of the population
people on TV usualy repeat the same few adjectives all the time (oishii, omoshiroi, hidoi, kirei...) , as if they were linguistically challenged.
people in everyday life actually do speak like mentioned above
they ask the same routine dumb questions to foreigners (can you use chopsticks; can you eat sushi, is there 4 seasons in your country, etc.)
they tend of lack s.exual morals and don¥"t mind cheating as long as their partner doesn¥"t know
they have casual s.ex with several partners without protection and don¥"t worry about STD¥"s
they have a computer but don¥"t know much how to use even quite simple functions, due to a lack of interest for technology
they throw away a dysfunctuning electronic equipment (e.g. computer) or machine, rather than try to repair it
they call an plumber, electrician or carpenter to repair things in their house, because they are not interested in DIY (Japan is a service country par excellence, due to people¥"s lack of knowledge or interest in a wide array of things)
they go to juku after school because they sleep or are too slow to learn at school (slowing down the teacher¥"s rythm) and can¥"t assimilate the necessary knowledge to pass the exams. They still end up learning much less than European children in foreign languages, history, geography and critical thinking.
manga, porn and fashion magazines account for over 90% of convenience stores¥" literature.
shops staff repeat irasshaimasse, then domo arigato gozaimashi.ta like robots to anybody that enters or exit, even if the same person comes in and out three times in 5 minutes
they can¥"t think by themselves, and believe the media, commercials or what people tell them much too easily
they buy on impulse rather than after careful comparison and analysis
there are virtually no magazines that test and rate products such as electronics, books, movies, games, etc. They onl y introduce these products without critical commentary (because the makers/sellers would sue them for being critical !)
they are a nation of followers that suffer from the sheep syndrome => if every jumps in the river, let¥"s jump in the river too ! (i.e. lack of critical and independent thinking)
as a result, when something becomes fashionable, everybody must have it (e.g. Louis Vuitton handbags), even if that means it looses its uniqueness or originality.
when a restaurant is introduced on TV, one can be sure that it will be full to the brim for the week to come, then people will forget about it as quickly as they had rushed on it (just to show how influenceable the Japanese are).
they think that most women are just good to serve tea, smile, be beautiful and make children (I mean, the cultural influence is so strong that many Japanese women also think so, not just men)
politicians are corrupted and inefficient beyond redemption, because they onl y care about themselves, and not the nation¥"s welfare.
people accept that politicians are as mentioned above, because they don¥"t expect their own kind to act in a more virtous way
men don¥"t mind paying huge sums of money just to chat with bar hostesses, because they can¥"t get a girlfriend (sad) or feel that it give them some form of status (shallow)
about one out of three Japanese men frequents or has already been to one of these hostess bar.
not being married after the age of 35 or 40 can hurt some people¥"s credibility or status, as people think that there is ¥"something wrong¥" with them
they care a lot about marriage, but little about the eventuality of divorce, so that prenuptial agreements are almost unheard of, because people ¥"don¥"t like to think that bad things could happen¥" - while Westerners cannot not think about this eventuality and be prepared for it. Similarily, very few Japanese write their testament. Japanese seem to worry a lot, but rarely about things that matter most.
many Japanese fathers do not think that they have a role in their children¥"s education. This is so culturally ingrained that in case of divorce, the mother almost always get the exclusive custody of the child(ren), and the father often ¥"never¥" see them again - and often doesn¥"t care much anyway.
they find pleasure in asking foreigners what kind of Japanese food they can¥"t eat - even if they can¥"t eat it themself (never really understood the purpose of those questions)
many Japanese are convinced that their nation is unique for being unique (i.e. they think that all the world is a big melting-pot, but Japan is the onl y country that is ¥"pure¥" and homogenous, which makes it unique, and they are the onl y nation to enjoy such uniqueness.).
Discuss this article on the Japan Forum
I would like to prove onc e and for all that Japan indeed is a unique society, as about any Japanese would claim. Well, at least it is unique to Western eyes, as Japan may share numerous similarities with its Asian neighours. Here is a summary of my observations of the Japanese people and mindset established after 3,5 years of ¥"research¥".
To assess this uniqueness of the Japanese culture, I did not include material differences (different architecture, food, etc.) which can easily be copied or exported, but onl y psychological one s (what make the people different). In fact, I have onl y concentrated on one particular aspect of the Japanese midset : its shallowness (so this study is totally biased from the start, as it does not include anything else). I could very well do one to prove how much more polite, disciplined, or respectful the Japanese are. But it is not the object of this analysis.
The purpose is not to animadvert, excoriate or disparage (sorry, couldn¥"t resist lol), but on the contrary emphasize the idiosyncracies of the Japanese mindset as opposed to the Western median.
The observations hereafter onl y represent a trend that characterize a majority (i.e. at least 50%) of the Japanese population (sometimes onl y for one gender group). It may apply to an overwhelming majority of the population (nearly 100%), or onl y to just about half of it. But still, please take it with a grain of salt and a good sense of humour. Have fun !
their favourite topic of conversation is food
when travelling abroad, they care little about the local culture except food
when they do not talk about food, they talk about money or s.ex
The proverbs money doesn¥"t buy happiness/love or don¥"t judge a book by its cover have no significance in Japan
clothes do make the man in Japan (which explain the success of brand clothes, black suits and even that of cosplay, bunny girls or the importance that Japanese women attach to their wedding dress)
people indeed do not get treated the same way (be it in a shop, by government officials, by the police or whatever) depending on how well they dress and look.
they think an opuent and expensive wedding is necessary for appearances¥" sake (even if that is way above their means)
some Japanese companies have a tiny head office in Tokyo (esp. Nihombashi) just for appearances¥" sake, as it is said to give them a higher status.
they judge people from their appearance and tend to be easily prejudiced (e.g. toward foreigner-looking persons)
they use gestures and speak strange Japanese to foreigners who address them in fluent Japanese (or before they have a chance to speak), as if they had convinced themselves that somebody who didn¥"t look Japanese could not possibly understand their language
however Japanese language is so deficient in vocabulary and acurate expressions that it has to borrow thousands of new words from other languages every year
the structure of Japanese language is so inflexible and clumsy (no relative sentences, few tenses, few nuances) that Japanese people end up speaking with isolated words (often adjectives, see below) rather than making full sentences.
they can¥"t debate and dislike serious intellectual discussions (probably due to the language issues mentioned above)
there are very few intellectual programmes on TV (documentaries, debates, political analysis, social phenomenons, literary discussions...), due to a general lack of interest of the population
people on TV usualy repeat the same few adjectives all the time (oishii, omoshiroi, hidoi, kirei...) , as if they were linguistically challenged.
people in everyday life actually do speak like mentioned above
they ask the same routine dumb questions to foreigners (can you use chopsticks; can you eat sushi, is there 4 seasons in your country, etc.)
they tend of lack s.exual morals and don¥"t mind cheating as long as their partner doesn¥"t know
they have casual s.ex with several partners without protection and don¥"t worry about STD¥"s
they have a computer but don¥"t know much how to use even quite simple functions, due to a lack of interest for technology
they throw away a dysfunctuning electronic equipment (e.g. computer) or machine, rather than try to repair it
they call an plumber, electrician or carpenter to repair things in their house, because they are not interested in DIY (Japan is a service country par excellence, due to people¥"s lack of knowledge or interest in a wide array of things)
they go to juku after school because they sleep or are too slow to learn at school (slowing down the teacher¥"s rythm) and can¥"t assimilate the necessary knowledge to pass the exams. They still end up learning much less than European children in foreign languages, history, geography and critical thinking.
manga, porn and fashion magazines account for over 90% of convenience stores¥" literature.
shops staff repeat irasshaimasse, then domo arigato gozaimashi.ta like robots to anybody that enters or exit, even if the same person comes in and out three times in 5 minutes
they can¥"t think by themselves, and believe the media, commercials or what people tell them much too easily
they buy on impulse rather than after careful comparison and analysis
there are virtually no magazines that test and rate products such as electronics, books, movies, games, etc. They onl y introduce these products without critical commentary (because the makers/sellers would sue them for being critical !)
they are a nation of followers that suffer from the sheep syndrome => if every jumps in the river, let¥"s jump in the river too ! (i.e. lack of critical and independent thinking)
as a result, when something becomes fashionable, everybody must have it (e.g. Louis Vuitton handbags), even if that means it looses its uniqueness or originality.
when a restaurant is introduced on TV, one can be sure that it will be full to the brim for the week to come, then people will forget about it as quickly as they had rushed on it (just to show how influenceable the Japanese are).
they think that most women are just good to serve tea, smile, be beautiful and make children (I mean, the cultural influence is so strong that many Japanese women also think so, not just men)
politicians are corrupted and inefficient beyond redemption, because they onl y care about themselves, and not the nation¥"s welfare.
people accept that politicians are as mentioned above, because they don¥"t expect their own kind to act in a more virtous way
men don¥"t mind paying huge sums of money just to chat with bar hostesses, because they can¥"t get a girlfriend (sad) or feel that it give them some form of status (shallow)
about one out of three Japanese men frequents or has already been to one of these hostess bar.
not being married after the age of 35 or 40 can hurt some people¥"s credibility or status, as people think that there is ¥"something wrong¥" with them
they care a lot about marriage, but little about the eventuality of divorce, so that prenuptial agreements are almost unheard of, because people ¥"don¥"t like to think that bad things could happen¥" - while Westerners cannot not think about this eventuality and be prepared for it. Similarily, very few Japanese write their testament. Japanese seem to worry a lot, but rarely about things that matter most.
many Japanese fathers do not think that they have a role in their children¥"s education. This is so culturally ingrained that in case of divorce, the mother almost always get the exclusive custody of the child(ren), and the father often ¥"never¥" see them again - and often doesn¥"t care much anyway.
they find pleasure in asking foreigners what kind of Japanese food they can¥"t eat - even if they can¥"t eat it themself (never really understood the purpose of those questions)
many Japanese are convinced that their nation is unique for being unique (i.e. they think that all the world is a big melting-pot, but Japan is the onl y country that is ¥"pure¥" and homogenous, which makes it unique, and they are the onl y nation to enjoy such uniqueness.).
Discuss this article on the Japan Forum
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