Hidden Differences: Understanding Japanese Interpersonal Values

 

For Europeans and Americans, Japan has always been a paradoxical mix of the enigmatic and the exotic. Many Westerners feel there are many things about Japan that they will never understand. It is our theory that some of these enigmas result not so much from subtle, important cultural difficulties as from the Westerner's looking at the wrong things in the wrong places. A few words concerning Japanese history may be useful in orienting the Westerner to Japanese ways.

It has not been easy for foreigners to look beyond Japan's colorful and sometimes mysterious exterior in order to glean its deeper patterns and significance. Its religions are strikingly different from Western religions; its material culture has nearly mesmerized the outsider and has come to symbolize Japan to the West. Japanese art and calligraphy, geishas, Noh plays, the Kabuki theater, Buddhist temples, Confucianism, Shinto shrines, and, last but not least, the tradition of an emperor who was once revered as a living deity, are all aspects of a culture that has captured the attention and stimu­lated the imagination of the West. One could easily spend a lifetime learning about Japanese surface culture. Yet outward manifestations should not be confused with the basic under­lying culture. In fact, these surface culture traits which appear so significant to us are like the carapace of the tortoise: they hide and protect the real Japan. Commodore Perry may have thought he "opened" Japan to the West; in fact, as with all cultures, what was revealed on the surface was little more than an illusion.

 

 

THE CASTLE AND THE VILLAGE

 

To understand the past properly as well as the present in Japan, it is necessary to take into account two separate cur­rents in the stream of historical Japanese culture: the interde­pendent roles played by the feudal lord and the agricultural villages that sustained him. The influence of both can be seen beneath the surface wherever one looks in Japan.

The restoration of the Meiji line of emperors in 1867 signi­fied two important events in Japanese history. It marked the end of Japan's protracted period of feudalism as well as the end of the shogunate, the leaders who had governed Japan in the name of the emperor. With the downfall of the shogunate came the demise of the deeply entrenched samurai, or war­rior, class which had dominated that society for more than a thousand years. However, the shogunate and the system from which it evolved left an indelible stamp on Japan.

Beginning with the Meiji period (1868-1912) and Admiral Dewey's forced entry into the Japanese fortress, Japanese feudalism quite readily, and in a surprisingly short time, trans­formed itself via the mechanism of the great zaIbatsu (consor­tium of large business firms) into its own version of twentieth­century industrialism-by keeping the spirit of the samurai alive in modern Japan.

Several aspects of the village tradition are evident as "ide­als" in Japan's present-day culture. Among them are leisurely and task-oriented teamwork, which grew out of planting, cultivating, and harvesting rice; consensus decision-making; and equality among co-workers and members of the organi­zational family. The paradox here is that the Japanese appear to be very egalitarian in certain situations (when they work together as a team) and rigidly hierarchical in others. How­ever, closer examination reveals ever-present, subtle but binding status distinctions. The hierarchy is always there.

One of the most important characteristics of the Japanese is their strong sense of group identity. This pervades every level of the society. Group ties are so strong that members feel a collective sense of responsibility for each other's ac­tions.

 

LEADERSHIP: THE WARRIOR

 

While in the Western world the military man's role was commonly that of an adjunct or servant of religious, political, or economic institutions, in Japan the reverse has been true. For centuries, the warrior class in Japan was at the top, out­ranking all others. When Japan was stripped of the external, visible military trappings, it was still dominated internally by the pervasive spirit and structure of its military institutions.

Japanese society is organized and functions according to military tenets. We are referring to traits such as the strong hierarchical structure; insistence on following the chain of command; daily acknowledgment of differences in rank be­tween individuals; an obsession with loyalty; deep personal attachments; emphasis on the performance of the group (a major contrast to European individualism); willingness to make both individual and group sacrifices to reach a major objective; strong feelings of identity with, and loyalty to, those within the group, in contrast to those who do not belong (clear-cut lines between insiders and outsiders); a be­lief that the organizational objective is the raison d'etre for existence; and strategic ways of thinking (both in business and in government).

The reason the West doesn't do better in competition with Japan is that it is competing with a society that doesn't con­duct business, but rather wages business-with the intensity and concentration with which it might wage war. Con­versely, only a small proportion of the Western world, Euro­pean or American, consists of warriors at heart. Perhaps this explains why in our interviews the successful American and European business executives who really seemed to under­stand the Japanese and who felt at ease dealing with them frequently had a history of military service. It is interesting to note that, while military men are not known for their flexibil­ity of mind, they do for the most part pay very close attention to the way in which the opposition fights.

What makes the Japanese system work so well is the man­ner in which leadership and decision-making are structured. There has never been any doubt in the Japanese mind as to who is in charge. Possibly because they are so confident and secure, Japanese leaders are usually loath to throw their weight around. Proving that one is the boss becomes unnec­essary. One doesn't even have to give orders in the American style. It is up to one's subordinates to work things out, and subordinates know they will be rated on how well they per­form. Everyone in the organization is informed and has par­ticipated in the decision-making process in all matters con­cerning the welfare and future of the organization.

The military metaphor should give the American CEO a familiar conceptual tool in dealing with the complexity he will meet in Japan. At the same time the reader must understand that a knowledge of the American military will not automati­cally render the Japanese system accessible. The Japanese military is built on unique traditions and patterns, some of which have been in place since the beginning of medieval times. Still, the metaphor may help to explain, for example, why it is that Japanese managers of foreign subsidiaries are given unbridled latitude and authority to make critical deci­sions on their own. From this perspective it is possible to see that "headquarters" can't have the general staff interfering with its field commanders.

 

ORDER AND RANK

 

"There is no situation as awkward in Japan as when the appropriate order is ignored or broken." .

Chie Nakane, Japanese Society

 

The relation of leadership to the group pervades everything the Japanese do; the result is a vertical social organization. Important relationships are within the individual's immediate group: his family and his business or professional group, the people he works with every day.

The organizing principle for Japanese society is ranking rather than stratification. Therefore, it is important to learn some of the signs of rank and how to interpret them. During a conference, the highest-ranking individual at a table often sits farthest from the door; at other times he may sit at the middle, surrounded by lower-ranking associates. While waiting for his host, the visitor sits in the chair facing the door where his host will enter. In a group, the person of highest rank walks slightly in front, goes through the door first, and sits down first. Other subtle signs of rank are clothes that are conserva­tive and well-tailored and a bearing and manner that commu­nicate restrained power, poise, and politeness.

In the words of Thomas Rohlen, in his book about the social organization of a Japanese bank, For Harmony and Strength "Close attention to the implications of behavior and the arrangement of groups allows those with a practised eye to perceive differences in rank readily." For the japanese, order depends on people's knowing and accepting their proper place or rank and on not disturbing the "proper or­der" of things. This insures harmonious interaction, one of the japanese's highest priorities.

It is also very important for Americans to know that formal­ity should govern one's relations with the Japanese. Informal­ity is perceived as rudeness. They dislike intensely the use of first names and the American penchant for back-slapping and attempts to be "buddies." All of these are viewed as insulting and unwarranted familiarity. .

The American occupation after World War II imposed its own definition of order on the Japanese by eliminating pat­terns that it considered antithetical to personal freedom, such as the ironbound authority of behavior, institutions, and organizational patterns that are deeply rooted in traditional Japanese culture. To illustrate:

A very successful European businessman with more than a quarter century of experience with the Japanese awoke one morning to find his company incapacitated by a strike. To save his business, he immediately called in the best labor experts. Their report was a dossier of all the classic mistakes that one can make when applying one's own unwritten rules and concepts of order to a foreign culture. The report identi­fied numerous errors ranging from inadequate personnel screening to gross mishandling of how information and or­ders to subordinates were channeled. In effect, the rules governing the basic order of Japanese life (and business) had been violated. Chief among these was failure to follow the Japanese chain of command. The European businessman had assumed that since he owned the company he had the right to skip channels and give instructions directly to any em­ployee. He said: "I really learned that you have to pay atten­tion to rank, the honbucho, bucho, and kacho. If you ignore them, everything stops. Now I go by their rules." (Honbucho, bucho, and kacho roughly translate into general manager, division manager, and section manager.)

Rules of order must be followed everywhere, especially at the highest levels of government and diplomacy. In world affairs, the Japanese are very conscious of their position as a nation. They do not take kindly any implication that they are not a first-class world power. Some Americans and Europe­ans have indulged themselves by patronizjng the Japanese, a monumental mistake.

 

THE FA MIL Y: ABSENT FATHER, OMNIPOTENT MOTHER

 

Japanese children, especially boys, are brought up permissively, and the bond between mother and child is strong. The indulgence of the mother creates extreme dependence. The Japanese mother sees her child as an extension of herself and thus sets the stage for lifelong dependency relationships.

During his early years the Japanese child begins to under­stand that his performance and behavior will be considered a direct reflection of his love for his mother. Any failure will cause her great pain and make the child feel guilty. The mother becomes his coach and tutor; the Japanese term is kyoiku-mama, which means "education mama." If he does well, she's proud; if he fails, she is disgraced. The fear of causing her pain or even disappointment is so great that the child is always spurred to greater efforts (see Garfinkel, "The Best Jewish Mother in the World," in the Reading List).

In her book Japanese Women, Takie Sugiyama Lebra de­scribes the training young girls receive at home that instills cultural values and conditions them to proper comportment. These values include modesty, reticence, elegance in han­dling such things as chopsticks and dishes, tidiness, courtesy, compliance, discipline for self-reliance, diligence, endur­ance, and a willingness to work around the house. Japanese girls are groomed to be skilled wives and mothers.

With her husband working long hours and seldom being at home, the Japanese wife often feels abandoned when her children grow up and she no longer has responsibility for their education. Many wives suffer from depression; some have nervous breakdowns, others turn to alcohol. Unfortunately, it is difficult in Japan for middle-aged women to find employ­ment, and since they have usually been raised to be wives and mothers they have little experience or education to pre­pare them for work outside the home.

 

TERRITORIALITY: CROWDING WITHOUT CONTACT

 

Most Americans are conditioned to avoid close physical contact and generally observe the northern European pattern of "keeping their distance." They tend to stand and sit much farther apart than the Japanese, who will endure crowd con­ditions in public that most Americans would find intolerable, especially on subways and commuter trains. Nevertheless, in social and formal situations, polite Japanese try to avoid acci­dental touching and guard against any sign of spatial inti­macy. It is important to remember that any violation of spatial patterns is experienced personally. In shaking hands with Japanese, avoid a hard grip; they neither like nor respect "bone crunchers."

As noted earlier, American business favors private offices, which are status symbols. In some American firms there is an open-door policy to facilitate communication and ready ac­cess. In Japan, most executives favor sharing offices to insure that information is shared so that each knows what is happen­ing in the others' areas of responsibility. Again, it's the sea of information that is vital to the Japanese. In Japanese firms there are ceremonial rooms for receiving visitors and for special meetings, but normally there are no other work areas that afford real privacy.

Traditionally, in Japanese homes there is little privacy as Americans think of it. The Japanese often live in very crowded conditions, especially in large cities, where the rents are very high (the average size of Japanese family housing is 282 square feet). In earlier times, paper walls (no longer common) screened sight but not sound from the other rooms, from neighbors, or from the street. Lacking auditory privacy, the Japanese have learned to tolerate loud noises, even the blare of loudspeakers from demonstrators. The American in Japan must find a way to cope with the distractions of audi­tory intrusions.

In Japanese homes there is an important distinction be­tween the inside and the outside of a house or apartment. One always removes one's overcoat before entering a house or office. The outside area includes the entryway, where visitors remove their shoes, as visitors should always do be­fore entering a Japanese home (usually the host will provide slippers). Inside there is a floor covering called tatami, a very fine straw matting, and one never walks on tatami with shoes.

 

EDUCATION: CONFORMITY IN THE CLASSROOM

 

"Japanese achievement motivation, which is very high, is based not on training for independence and self-reliance as in the West, but rather on the instilling of affiliative and dependency needs."

Robert J. Smith, Japanese Society

 

Japanese students are among the best-educated in the world. Japan has an illiteracy rate of less than 1 percent compared to the United States' rate of 8 percent. Ninety-nine percent of Japanese students complete high school, com­pared to 80 percent of American students. Also, it should be noted that there are 240 days of school per year in Japan compared to 180 in the United States. The Japanese educa­tional system has produced students who consistently score high on standardized tests administered to high school stu­dents in twenty industrialized countries. In a recent article in Science, "Mathematics Achievement of Chinese, Japanese, and American Children," by Stevenson, Lee, and Stigler (see Reading List), the authors state: "Although a small proportion of American children perform superbly, the large majority appear to be falling behind their peers in other countries." The authors attribute this gap to complacency on the part of American parents, who do not see a need for improvement in part because they are unaware of the high performance of children in other countries.

From the close, dependent relationship at home the Japa­nese child enters school to find a highly competitive atmo­sphere where excellence and achievement are stressed. He reaches 'out to the group to satisfy his yearning for depen­dence and at the same time he is under enormous pressure to compete. Quite often his mother arranges after-school tutor­ing {juku school} and she also tutors him herself at home. The price exacted in terms of pressure to excel has been devastat­ing to some students.

High school pressures culminate in "examination hell," the time when students all over the country must compete for admission to the prestigious universities. There is widespread concern about the effects of this intense competition and the negative impact on many adolescents. Many of them be­come ill, some suffer breakdowns and depression, and a few even commit suicide if they do not do well on examinations. Another factor which weighs heavily on adolescents is the frequent absence of the father, whose long working hours prevent his spending much time with his family.

Japanese critics complain that the educational system relies too much on rote learning and discourages independent thinking. There is now talk of reform to make the system more responsive to individual differences and abilities as well as to reduce the pressure on students.

As one might predict in a society where everything is ranked, schools, colleges, and universities are also ranked. The old Imperial University, now called Tokyo University (Todai), is at the top, and its graduates form an influential network that penetrates virtually every power center in Ja­pan. With rewards such as these in mind, Japanese mothers do everything they can to get their sons on the right track academically and into the best universities.

One of the first things Japanese communities overseas do is start a Japanese school. This insures their children an oppor­tunity to keep up with their classmates at home so that when they return to Japan they can continue on their path toward acceptance by one of the good universities.

The bond between school classmates extends throughout life and includes all levels of education, grade school through university. Classmates occupy a special status in one's circle of friends and acquaintances. One is obligated to give them special consideration and assistance regardless of the level of personal friendship.

 

THE YOUNGER GENERATION TODAY: LOOSENING UP

 

As in so many countries today, the older generation in Japan is worried about the decay in traditional values and the lack of a strong work ethic in the younger generation. It is not uncommon for Japanese adolescents to act out their re­pressed anxiety and hostility against teachers and other au­thority figures. Some students revolt against the system. The older generation is becoming increasingly concerned by the fact that middle-class Japanese families often raise their chil­dren in affluence, providing for all their material needs; quite often the children, overprotected and indulged, are unsure of themselves and their goals and lack a sense of responsibility and purpose in life. A number of thoughtful Japanese voiced their concern about the future of the country and, in particu­lar, their fears about the future of business. We were told that some young Japanese are much less interested in working hard than their parents were. Some of the more sophisticated and experienced Japanese business executives fear that what has happened in Europe will happen in Japan. One Japanese executive made this observation: "We must never forget that behind the great suc­cess of German business in the world market lie many years of hard work. They struggled for years to rebuild their industry after the war and they worked very hard to achieve their success. Now they are becoming spoiled. Perhaps there is a les­son here for all of us."

 

THE VOCABULARY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

 

Knowledge of the meaning of a number of key Japanese terms makes it possible to understand some of the heretofore hidden features of Japanese psychology and culture. One of the strengths of modern science is a shared agreement as to the meaning of scientific words and symbols; if there were no agreement, unified sci­ence would be impossible. To understand the Japanese, Americans must learn some new terms, words whose equivalents do not exist in English; these words have immedi­ate and profound meanings to the Japanese, but would re­quire volumes to be explained fully to Americans. These terms are very high on the context scale and constitute vital elements in the vocabulary of human relationships in Japan; they are well worth the effort required to appreciate their meaning.

 

“AMAE"

 

We begin with the term amae, a word with many meanings and varied connotations depending on the context. The clos­est English word is "dependency," but dependency in the United States has a negative connotation that it does not have in Japan. Amae is the glue that holds Japanese society to­gether.

Amae means feelings of closeness and dependency, the emotions an infant feels for its mother. These emotions and the needs they engender continue to operate throughout the Japanese lifespan. The loyalty that is felt between members of a work force is strengthened by amae among the group. A Japanese male, _hen embarking upon a career, will know­ingly enter into a dependency relationship with men of power, status, and influence. This binds him to them in a reciprocal relationship (the reciprocal term, amaeru, means "to depend on the affection of another"), and while he bene­fits from the favors (which must be repaid, of course) it is the emotional tie that is important to him.

Americans will find it difficult to understand how a man could actively seek dependence on another man. Our cul­tural currents (for males) run in the opposite direction-to­ward independence. Yet the amae syndrome is entirely con­sistent with other dominant themes in Japanese life. The Japanese find it easier to communicate with another human being if they are in a dependency relationship with that per­son.

The larger Japanese companies reflect amae in their rela­tionship to employees by providing health and life insurance, housing for some employees and housing allowances for others, low-interest mortgage rates, vacation facilities, week­end retreats, athletic facilities and team equipment, and edu­cation and training both in-house and at technical schools and universities. 'n return, employees identify closely with the company, which gradually becomes at least as important as their family. Employees depend on the company just as the company depends on its employees.

The crucial point about amae is that one's personal identity is rooted in the soil of one's dependent and interdependent relations to others as a member of a group. In contrast, the American and the European seeks his identity not as a cog in a larger machine but as an individual. Not only must he free himself from his parents but also he must maintain some distance from all groups, even if he is a member of the group. For Westerners, being too closely identified with a group is tantamount to giving up one's; identity. Herein lies the great­est distinction between Japanese and Americans. (For further information about amae, we refer the reader to Takeo Doi's insightful book, The Anatomy of Dependence.)

Strong drives to conform characterize the Japanese. The Japanese child is encouraged to conform at home as well as in school, where he is rigidly programmed; a child who tries to deviate from the prescribed lesson will be quickly brought back into line. As in calligraphy, there is one right way to do everything; nothing else is allowed.

In adult life, Japanese conformity focuses on the "refer­ence group," the group with which one works in a company. Loyalty to the group is felt to be one of life's highest values and is the principal means by which an employee's worth is measured. Conformity is a strong and dependable indicator of the individual's loyalty.

Two important differences spring from the soil of Japanese group identity: privacy for the individual is not important, and since the "public" is outside one's group, the Japanese have little of what Americans call "public spirit." To the Japanese the concept of individual freedom does not have the same value it has in the United States. To understand and appreci­ate such apparent contradictions, one must be able to "jump over one's shadow," as one of our respondents phrased it.

 

"GIRl" AND "ON"

 

Closely related to amae is giri  which means one's indebt­edness to others, past and present. A sense of indebtedness is ever present in Japanese society, and the concept of giri includes one's ancestors and all those who have gone before as well as one's contemporaries. In every relationship one feels the strong need to fulfill responsibilities.

On is the term for obligations, from minor matters to major concerns. It involves giving and granting favors, again with a burden of indebtedness. A Japanese feels special lifelong obli­gations to his teachers and his bosses, past and present. The passage of time never weakens this obligation. If anything, it results in even greater feelings of indebtedness.

Giri and on begin in infancy and are carried within the individual throughout his lifetime. How well one discharges one's responsibility is part of one's kao (face). English has no term comparable to kao. Kao encompasses pride, self-es­teem, and reputation. It is vital to the Japanese. A foreigner should avoid criticizing a Japanese or demeaning him in any way, nor should one disparage his work. All of these actions are considered anathema.

A strong desire to maintain harmony characterizes the Jap­anese. They are very concerned about other people's feel­ings. They hate to say "No." Instead, they say, "I will con­sider your request very carefully." Americans often complain that Japanese lead them to believe they agree to something which, it later turns out, they reject. Remember, when you ask for something, the Japanese avoid saying no, even though that's what they mean. You must therefore learn to read the subtle signs of a negative reaction. (We refer the reader to Masaaki Imai's book, 76 Ways to Avoid Saying No.) Since saving face is very important to the Japanese, they do not criticize and they hate to make a mistake. You don't hear Japanese saying, "I told you that wouldn't work." The Japa­nese do not understand people who criticize their own coun­try or their company. They consider this extremely disloyal. Be warned-if you do this, you will lose face.

 

"NINGEN KANKEI"

 

"If Japanese society is seen as a network of inter­locking relationships, hierarchically arranged, the strands of that net are formed by ningen kankei. " Mark Zimmerman, How to Do Business with the Japanese

 

Ningen kankei involves closeness and cooperation be­tween people in mutually beneficial relationships which spring from a variety of sources. In addition to former class­mates it includes people who come from the same town or who are working for the same company. All of these shared experiences create special bonds between people that are part of ningen kankei. These relationships are carefully tended over long periods of time. Ningen kankei furthers the goals of those involved and is reinforced by feelings of duty and obligation and sometimes genuine friendship.

Employees of the same organization tend to form ningen kankei with people of their same level but in different parts of the company (those in the same department might be in competition). Ningen kankei is greatly strengthened by after­hours socializing in bars or on the golf course over the week­end.

As a foreigner develops contacts among the Japanese he would be well advised to keep his contacts informed on all matters of interest to them. In all likelihood the Japanese will reciprocate and the foreigner can start building his own all­important information networks. One never knows when a new acquaintance will prove useful. Our advice is try to build as many relationships as possible and remember that acts of thoughtfulness and kindness will be repaid many times over.

Cultivating relationships requires time; one starts slowly and spends a great deal of time learning about the background of people who might be helpful in order to be contexted to their interests and needs.

Most important, remember that these relationships are based on genuine good feeling, not exploitation. One gives and one receives from the heart.

But do not expect that, once you know them, your Japa­nese friends will then behave like Americans. The Japanese hide their emotions, and are very restrained in showing feel­ings. As one Japanese observed, "We share our sorrows and we hide delight./1 When Japanese are complimented or con­gratulated, they look abashed or embarrassed, which is con­fusing to Americans, who expect them to smile and look happy.As a corollary to ningen kankei, the Japanese distrust ver­bal facility because they believe it denotes superficiality. They communicate their true inner feelings by innuendo and nonverbal means. Chie Nakane, the distinguished Japanese anthropologist and author of the classic Japanese Society, gives a perfect example of a high-context interaction in her description of a Japanese dealing with his own group; ". . . members of the group know each other ex­ceedingly well. One's family life, love affairs, even the limits of one's capacity for cocktails are inti­mately known to others. Among fellow members a single word would suffice for the whole sentence. The mutually sensitive response goes so far that each easily recognizes the other's slightest change in behavior and mood and is ready to react ac­cordingly."