Japan’s culture consists of a blend of island culture as well as culture from neighboring Asian countries. This ultimately helped them form their own unique culture. Along with cultural influences from other countries, their geographical location formed much of their way of life.
“Japanese culture developed with strong contributions from Chinese civilization, but did so under the conditions of self-sufficiency characteristic of an island state” ( Prasol, 2010). Living on an island measn that much of their resources must either come from the resources on land, the surrounding waters, or by means of importing and exporting. The second method can become quite costly. This can be seen on other islands such as Hawaii. The cost of living in Hawaii is higher due to its lack of natural resources needed for modern day development. At the same time, living on an island often gives a certain landscape that can be difficult to find in other parts of the world. An example could be the Japanese pear, which is large, round and crispy like that of an apple but has a taste closer to that of a pear. Here, you can find them at some grocery stores labeled as “Asian pears” and I highly recommend trying one if you haven’t before.
“While modern Japan no longer functions solely this way, the work ethic and creativity that arose from that type of economy persists today to solve other problems such as shrinking habitable land because of the dense population” (Pennsylvania State University, 2016)This type of mindset is persistent throughout the generations from their tough work ethic was essential to developing the island. This is something to keep in mind when working with not only Japan but cultures that come from an island life in general being that they likely had a similar experience. Being on an island means that the water is very crucial to their resources such as fish. Back in the day and fishing was more manual, this required much more physical labor and therefore was in more physical shape.
Prior to technological advancements, the work ethic that came with living on an island greatly influenced their survival. Now a days, their work ethic continues to influence their daily lives. The dense population and limited land available on an island is now becoming their key to survival.
References:
Pennsylvania State University (2016). Lesson 11: Asia: Focus on Japan from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179129
Aleksandr Fedorovich Prasol (2010). Modern Japan: Origins of the Mind : Japanese Traditions and Approaches to Contemporary Life. World Scientific.
Hi Joey and Kore,
Japan is certainly looking gloomy for it’s millennials and their population growth potential. Japan is still sitting on it’s three-decade long economic stagnation with no visible improvement in the immediate future. I agree that a large portion of Japan’s issue is contributed by it’s stance on immigration. However, I believe a significant portion of Japan’s underlying issues exist within it’s constrictive social norms. Because Japan has such high Uncertainty Avoidance and Masculinity, it’s hard for the country to employ new and differing tactics despite their potential to boost it’s economic status quo.
It’s still quite normal for women to remain at home upon giving birth to children and never returning to the workforce again (Shmuel, 2016). This serves as another issue for the millennials because of the lack of job security and financial security– the millennials don’t want to get married unless they know they are capable of supporting their marriage and their families. The combination of high Uncertainty Avoidance and Masculinity is especially constrictive due to the genera societal l unwillingness to hire potential employees that are anything less than spectacular and/or extremely-qualified.
As Kore mentioned in his comment, currently, Japan is expected to lose approximately a million people of its population per year for the next two decades. This is especially a problem because over a third of the country’s population consist of the elderly. Japan needs to hit a population growth rate of approximately 2.1 children per woman, but is currently only hovering at 1.46 children per woman (Shmuel, 2016). Alongside a change on immigration stance, I believe Japan needs to discover the willingness to explore unorthodox solutions.
Jonathan
Schmuel, J. (2016, August 11). Trapped by its past success, Japan aims to fix economy with Abenomics’ ‘three arrows’. Financial Post.
Retrieved from http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/japan-in-transition-world-watching-to-see-if-abenomics-works
Japan definitely has a unique culture. They are a nation that has allowed no immigration and citizenship to outsiders keeping themselves very sheltered from other cultures. Japan is not a culturally diverse place and is currently facing a dilemma on its immigration. Japan is projected to lose 34% of its population down to 83 million by the year 2100. They are an aging nation with one of the lowest birthrates in the world at 1.4% and will need to consider adding diversity to the island in order for it to survive.
Japan Population (LIVE). (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2016, from http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/japan-population/
Taylor, A. (n.d.). It’s official: Japan’s population is dramatically shrinking. Retrieved November 23, 2016, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/26/its-official-japans-population-is-drastically-shrinking/