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The Language Teacher | |
In the first two parts of this series we discussed some of the tools you will need to find a job in Japan. In part three we will focus on cross-cultural issues and skills which may affect the performance and maintenance of your job. Longtime residents of Japan may find much of this redundant, but it has been our experience that the most intractable problems which arise in this setting are cultural. Of all the information we have presented in this series, this material is the least clear-cut and most open to interpretation. This paper is not meant as the final word on Japan or cross-cultural communication. Indeed, many fine books have been written on these topics and we refer the reader to those listed in the endnotes. Broadly, there are two kinds of difficulties which confront educators in Japan. The first relates to the nature and purpose of the education system itself. The second concerns differences which exist in cultural norms and communication styles. The Japanese Education SystemThe education system in Japan underwent major reforms after World War II, when the old 6-5-3-3 system was changed to a 6-3-3-4 system (primary, middle and high school plus college). Though in most ways thoroughly modern, education remains greatly influenced by the Confucian ideals of a meritocracy centered on all-knowing teachers leading obedient students. Most students from grades K-12 wear school uniforms and are subject to stringent rules of conduct both on and off-campus. In 1995, most schools shortened their schedules by clos-ing two Saturdays per month. They then added extra class periods to other days of the week to make up for the lost time. Vacations are short and often followed by tests to check whether stu-dents complete the homework which is assigned during these periods. Relative to other industrialized countries, Japanese secondary school students perform well on standardized tests of basic subjects like math, geography and science. Drop-outs and juvenile delinquents comprise a relatively small, if growing, proportion of the school-aged population. More than 95% of junior high school students advance to high school, with over 13% and 30% of high school graduates advancing to junior college and university, respectively. It is rare for a student to flunk out of any school for any reason after being admitted. The goal of secondary education is to pass the university entrance exams, not to develop critical thinking skills. Competition to pass entrance examinations for universities, junior and senior high, and even some primary schools, is fierce. A huge industry of juku, or cram schools, supplements regular school education with after-school lessons. University life, in contrast, is viewed by students and schools alike as time for a well-deserved break from the rigors of high school. Requirements in the liberal arts are light compared to Western universities. Students are encouraged to sample a wide variety of courses rather than delve too deeply into any one area. While it is somewhat different for students of math and the hard sciences, this period of life is seen by most as a time for students to have fun and develop social skills. Critics charge that Japanese education does not encourage questions or creativity, but this seems to miss the point. The schools are part and parcel of a society which emphasizes the virtues of harmony and Confucian ideals. Blending into the crowd and avoiding being different is captured in the Japanese saying, "The nail that stands out gets pounded down." It would be surprising if the educational system failed to reflect these values. When confronted with differences of this nature, there is sometimes an impulse on the part of non-Japanese to conclude that because the goals or products of a Japanese institution are not the same as the goals or products of a similar institution "back home," there must be something wrong. However, the Japanese education system did not evolve into its present state by accident. It is the way it is because it meets the needs of this society. The same can be said for many other social institutions as well. It is not unusual for foreign educators to experience severe culture shock when dealing with these issues. Honne/TatemaeOne cultural difference which can make communication difficult for teachers new to Japan is the concept of honne/tatemae. Honne means one's real or true intention; one's true motive. Tatemae means a principle, a policy, a rule, a basis or a system. In daily usage they can perhaps be translated as the individual's voice and the group's voice, or as private versus public opinions. For those learning of this for the first time, it is the ability of Japanese to have two different (often contradictory) answers to a question. When first meeting Japanese you will often hear the group's position on a given issue. You may be amazed to hear so many different people with apparently different backgrounds expressing the same opinion and you might come to the (false) conclusion that all Japanese think the same. After getting to know people better you will come to hear their inner feelings and may feel you were lied to in the first place, a reaction which, while understandable, is misplaced. Japanese communication style is just very conscious of what other people and the group are thinking and will usually give outsiders the party line first. Because Japanese do not readily share their true feelings with strangers, they tend to distrust the sometimes effusive self-disclosure of foreigners. They find it difficult to believe that people they hardly know would show so little discretion when speaking of personal matters, and tend to doubt their authenticity. Our purpose is not to characterize any of these attitudes and behaviors as right or wrong, but to increase awareness of how things often are so that you can work more effectively in your school. For readers who are Japanese, if you see a foreigner looking very confused the first time you tell them your personal honne about something, it may be that they are remembering the tatemae position they heard from you the first time you discussed the issue. For those of you who are not Japanese, what you see and hear may not be what you think it is -- yes means no, maybe means never, difficult means impossible, and if asked if you want more tea in Kyoto, leave immediately.2 What is said is often meant only on a surface level. It is intended to avoid making others feel uncomfortable and is not necessarily indicative of the real situation. It is important to take this into consideration when processing information in Japan generally, and at your school in particular. If you really need to know someone's true feelings, the best bet is to use at least one good cultural informant. By this we mean a Japanese person who is fluent in cross-cultural communication and with whom you have a long-standing relationship of trust and friendship. Simply relying on a next-door neighbor or fellow teacher to explain what is happening may not suffice. Wa: Harmony and Village CultureMuch is made of the need for harmony (wa) in Japan. The importance of relationships within the group is easy for newcomers to underestimate. You are likely to be judged more by how you fit into the group than by how well you teach. Japanese civilization began with the cultivation of rice and, despite urbanization, the society remains to this day firmly rooted in the values and mores of the agricultural village. Growing rice is very labor intensive. It requires fields to be leveled and diked, slopes to be terraced, irrigation systems to be built and maintained, the crop to be harvested and stored, and seed to be preserved for the next planting. None of this can be done alone. It takes cooperation in units larger than families, group consensus on what is to be done when and how. It requires more or less permanent settlements to justify the investment of time and effort in the fields. A strong sense of group, and the maintenance of wa within it, took precedence over almost all else. This lives on in the willingness of modern Japanese to identify more readily than Westerners with extra-familial groups like their company, neighborhood associations, national organizations and even government bureaucracies. Within groups there may be sub-groups, with sharply different interests or agendas, which compete or even conflict openly with one another. But to outside groups they usually come together and present a common front. In your workplace you will often find group activities which might be optional elsewhere, but here are considered mandatory. Attendance at school banquets, meetings and even parties is often expected. In other cultures, missing a meeting because you want to take advantage of a cheap airfare out of the country may be acceptable. In Japan it is not. Conflict Resolution and ChangeThe emphasis on wa can be seen in conflict resolution styles. To avoid loss of face for either party, conflict resolution resembles an elaborately choreographed dance. Rather than engage in open, direct confrontation, Japanese prefer quiet, private negotiations in which areas of agreement and prospects for long-term mutual benefit are stressed. Patience and a sense of decorum are valued and losing your temper, especially in public, is considered bad form. This is not to say that there is no conflict or hard feelings in Japan - there are plenty. But they tend to be sublimated much more so than in the West. There is a high premium placed on the preservation of at least the appearance of harmony regardless of underlying tensions. The need to maintain wa and engineer consensus (or at least acquiescence) in the workplace requires careful planning and groundwork well in advance of any action. As a conse-quence, decision-making is often slow and laborious. The Japanese word for this is nemawashi, which refers to the process used for transplanting a tree. First the roots are carefully dug up from around the base of the tree and bound with straw and rope. Then the tree is replaced in its hole for a year to see if it will survive. If it does, it is then moved to its new spot. The same care is given to almost any change in Japan. As many of you already know, in settings like government offices or schools change is very deliberate. Many in-formal meetings and discussions are held over what seems to be a long period of time before any new course is embarked upon. Only after every conceivable problem has been addressed can the project move forward. In most cases, after the decision has been made, there will be a formal faculty meeting to confirm publicly what has been agreed upon in private. Meetings of this type are not for questions or further discussion. They are like weddings held to bear witness to the fruits of a long and successful courtship. Pitfalls for teachers include confronting problems openly and failing to engineer support for an idea before trying to effect changes. Educators used to providing input and being listened to after a few months on the job may be surprised by their lack of influence in many Japanese institutions. If they then escalate their demands to be heard, they may find themselves isolated. Our advice is to make haste slowly. Sympathy, Fairness, Self-Control, DutyIt may seem that Japanese society and education do little to account for the individual, since many of Japan's most venerable institutions seem dedicated to keeping individual needs and desires in check in favor of the group. While on one level this is true, it is somewhat simplistic and seems to exempt Japan from standards one usually applies to other groups. We think this skews one's perceptions of the Japanese, making them seem radically different from other people in unflattering ways. There is at least one other way to look at it. James Q. Wilson (1993) suggests that while cultures differ in terms of their specific moral codes, they are similar in that they all have standards of individual behavior which are violated only at some peril. Societies, he says, organize themselves philosophically and morally to deal with four aspects of individual behavior, each of which impinges on the group's welfare. These are sympathy, fairness, self-control and duty. Every society deals with each of these facets of morality but does so in different ways. Part of what gives a culture its dis-tinct flavor is the manner in which these four moral senses are blended within that culture. Some cultures, like the U.S., tend to stress sympathy and fairness. Other cultures are oriented more towards self-control and duty. When the two groups come into contact, misunderstandings can arise. Westerners, for instance, may find Japanese indifferent to personal feelings or the suffering of others, while Japanese may see others as selfishly undisciplined and irresponsible. Neither reaction is entirely accurate nor does the other group justice. Japanese sympathy and fairness towards the individual may find expression in self-control and discharging one's duty to the group. At the same time, Westerners may feel the group benefits most when individuals remain true to themselves. A look at "friendliness" may help illustrate differences in attitudes and behavior between these two groups. Americans, for example, are famous for their congeniality and easy-going informality with strangers -- "That's a real pretty little temple you got there, call me Bob, I've been married twice, how about you?" This kind of instant familiarity puts many Japanese off, sounding presumptuous and shallow. By contrast, Japanese tend to be more reticent with new acquaintances, and even close personal friends may rarely share certain intimacies. Being warm and out-going is valued more by Americans. Discretion is valued more by Japanese. This does not mean that one group is inherently "better," more caring or more humanistic than the other. It does mean they are predisposed to see things and act differently. ConclusionIt is important to acknowledge that Japanese society is structured along different lines than other cultures and to act accordingly. Many foreigners have deeply felt opinions on the fairness or unfairness of Japan in general and Japanese education in particular. Regardless of which side you take, it seems safe to say that getting along in this setting requires different skills.
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