Asia: Focus on Japan

In a nation that is comprised of four main large islands along with roughly 4,000 smaller islands (World Campus, 2018, Lesson 11), how does one bring the people together?  Is it necessary to bring everyone together?  Mainlands in Asia are connected by highways, allowing for easier trade and travel.  What the leaders of Japan have been doing over the last sixty years is Aquapelagic Assemblages, building bridges to connect the many islands.  In an assemblage, there is no absolute center that dominates the rest rather, everything participates with and/or comprises the other (Shima Journal, 2012). 

The dominant Japanese ethos includes familial relationships, loyalty, conformity, and the collective good (Moran et al., 2014, pg 437)  To answer the earlier question if focus should be placed on connectivity, based on the ethos, yes.  Collective good, people helping people in a nation that is faced with island challenges.  Limited resources, access, and national protection.  Besides the threat of mother nature, the people of Japan have been witness to the horrific military exercises of another nation.    

Xenophobia, like any prejudice, can breed hate.  As a culture, avoidance or dismissal may allow for the continuation of these types of beliefs.  With so much emphasis placed on honor and discipline, turning a blind eye to the current trend seems out of character.  Japan is a “high-context” culture that thrives on subtlety and consensus (Moran et al., 2014, pg 433).  How does a leader respond to a growing anxiety?  First, one has to admit a problem exists.  Currently, from the outside looking in, that does not appear to be the case.  In a society that values education, educating the newer generations may prove valuable in addressing any misconceptions or fears in this new trend.

Each part comprises the other.  A vision of the Japanese that has brought a once separated series of islands into a single nation.   This culture highly regards new ideas and technologies, swallowing them up until they are Japanized (internalized) after careful, detailed examination (Moran et al., 2014, pg 437).

References:

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Oxford: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University (2018). Leadership in Global Context-Olead 410. Lesson 11: Asia: Focus on Japan, Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University.

Shima Journal. (2012). Shima and Aquapelagic Assemblages. Retrieved from http://www.shimajournal.org/issues/v6n1/d.-Suwa-Shima-v6n1-12-16.pdf