Motivation in Japan: One word – Jealousy!(Part one)

This week I will share one of the worst kept secrets about people in Japan, i.e. jealousy, and the ramifications for everyday life.

Now I am not sure how you were raised, but in my upbringing jealousy was a sin. However, in Japan, I am pretty sure it ranks right up there with favorite pastimes such as running to catch a train, slurping noodles, or working unpaid overtime. In fact, one of the most common expressions in Japan is “ii na” – often pronounced “iiiiiii naaaa” for emphasis. This expression is used when someone is envious of what someone else has or is doing. However, depending on the situation, many native speakers of Japanese will do all they can to deflect the envy – while secretly gloating inside. See, being the object of jealousy means being set up for a downfall. Whether it is politics, business, the Japanese world of entertainment, or simply ones neighbors, being envied almost always means being brought down to size – often with a considerable amount of pain and embarrassment. In a way, people and institutions in Japan are their worst enemy! Watching the daily news is more or less a lesson in watching someone being set up as “special” – or the flavor of the day – and then eventually being ripped to shreds. Happens all the time! Which ultimately begs the question, why the fear of foreigners? Who knows? But, no one will ever hurt institutions and people in Japan more than their “hobby” of looking for someone to be jealous of and then destroying them.

So how did I come about this knowledge? Was it personal experience? No. More than 15 years ago I worked for a woman who worked for Ferragamo – the fashion house. Like most enlightening experiences it also consisted of a lot of pain. Ever seen the “Devil Wears Prada?” My boss was exactly the same! But even to this day, lessons I learned from her still “help” me. One of which was the culture of jealousy in Japan and how it works. My boss, for example, thought anyone who wanted to be “famous” on TV in Japan was an idiot. She probably could have been with her style, knowledge, and background in fashion, but  she absolutely refused. Staying ”under the radar,” she said, was so important. And over the years I have seen that it is very true! When I asked what motivated consumers in Japan to spend so much money on brand-name goods in Japan she said it in one word – JEALOUSY. For many people (not everyone obviously) nothing will drive them nuts more than seeing Tiffany, Gucci, or Louis Vuitton on their friend. They will absolutely need to have something equal or better, i.e. more prestigious and expensive - whether they need it or not. But then you would say that doesn’t make sense, and you would be exactly right! Like I have said in previous posts, logic is not a value in Japan and this is a perfect example.

In short, thinking of selling your product in Japan? Simply get people jealous of one another over it and it will sell like hotcakes!

Thanks for reading,

GBUJ 

Peaceful Japan – My Ass!

One of the stereotypes about Japan that bothers me the most is that people in Japan somehow value and practice “peace” more than other people around the world. In reality, I feel that the opposite could very well be true and here are a number of examples to prove my point:

•  Come to Japan and be prepared to be: pushed, bumped, and stepped on – and that is just from the old ladies or “babas” in train stations or on trains! Then there are the smokers who will blow smoke in your face or dump cigarette ashes on you. And don’t get me started on the motorcycles without mufflers!

• In terms of educating: pain is the best teacher. This is “common sense” for many people in Japan. I have seen teachers, parents, and others in teaching roles literally beat their lesson into their pupils – and it is commonly accepted! One would think that those “shy” little women in Japan would never be violent, but you would be wrong! If they have the upper hand, i.e. are senpai – or senior, anyone will commonly revert to physical and psychological violence towards their ward. The worst I have ever seen was on a TV program on the police. The cadets are basically beat silly (physically and psychologically) and this is considered professional.

• Probably one of the biggest jokes in Japan is the just the term “peace.” I see rallies, textbook entries, movies, TV documentaries, and newspaper articles praising Japan’s contribution to peace in the world, but what is really meant is peace for Japan that wants nothing to do with the rest of the world. In short, these peace activists in Japan want to act like ostriches and bury their heads in the sand and ignore the reality of the  world around them. When North Korea fired missles over the country, the Japanese government did nothing. Heck, if I recall correctly, the American government told CNN and the Japanese had learn about the “tests” from America. Shocking! One letter in the Japan Times hit the nail on the head with this:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/rc20080228a2.html

Thanks for reading,

GBUJ

“Japanese” First and Foremost

An interesting aspect of life in Japan, and something that readers of this blog may have noticed, is that I refer to job titles in Japan or vice versa. What I am intimating at is the adjective “Japanese” takes precedence over everything. There are no liberals, there are Japanese liberals. There are no communists, there are Japanese communists. There are no Catholics, there are Japanese Catholics. There are no athletes, there are Japanese athletes. There are no hospitals, there are Japanese hospitals. And so on…. One would think that being a “homogeneous” society (quotes are added to emphasize the falsehood of this claim) people in Japan wouldn’t need to endlessly stress the “Japaneseness” of everything in Japan. But it is stressed and stressed, again and again. In the business world, there is probably a good reason for this.

In the business world, the use of “Japan” is also widespread. For example, “Mickey D’s” is McDonald’s Japan. You think they would be the same, but you couldn’t be wronger. The menus are customized for the locals, the advertising is completely different, and there are no contests where you can win a million dollars. In fact there are (oddly enough) a number of companies that are out of business (or in trouble) in America that are thriving in Japan. You can go to Tower Records, eat at Sizzler’s, get a donut at Krispy Kreme (you’ll wait for over an hour though!), and evidently the Starbuck’s with the highest daily sales (over $30,000 a day!) is located in Shibuya. Their secret to all of this success? Refer to my previous posting on “pride.” Like I said before, even employees making 6-8 dollars an hour Japan will do things that many in other countries would never.

So, the adjective “Japanese” can have positive connotations, but trust me they are very few when compared with the darker side of the word’s use. Take another of my pet peeves, Japanese baseball. Recently, a number of players have been leaving Japan for greener pastures in the Majors. While some have found success and the rewards that are entailed, many have found it hard going and they are sent packing with a one-way ticket home. So, what is my beef? Well, every year a number of non-Japanese players take a chance on playing in Japan. Some are serious failures, usually because they refuse to learn something new, but many have pretty good seasons. The problem, just “pretty good” is not enough. Many of the non-Japanese will be released after one season while a bunch of Japanese shmucks are kept. What is behind this seemingly illogical situation? Simple, the mediocre are Japanese and the pretty good (if not better) are not. Furthermore, even after proving themselves, non-Japanese with outstanding stats will never be given multi-year contracts. Even high school kids (with a Japanese passport mind you) will get multi-year contracts. Every November it is shocking to me the talent that either leaves Japan or is released and picked up by another team in Japan. Even worse, watching a popular news show on Sunday mornings, it is hard not to scream when two old geezers sit and bad mouth MLB because they cut Japanese players who can’t make the grade. Excuse me?! Every Japanese player I have seen play in America is given a multi-year contract (right off the bat) and if they prove themselves they will be richly rewarded. Maybe someday there will be reciprocity? But the bottom line, it isn’t baseball, it is Japanese baseball. And this rule of thumb applies to just about everything in Japan! And that is a shame!

Thanks for reading,

GBUJ

My First Rant – Stereotypes on People in Japan and the Media

I guess what really bothers me most about life in Japan is the stereotyping. All Japanese are a certain way and all non-Japanese are the same, and so on….

Take for example – language. If you come to Japan from any part of the planet, many in Japan will automatically assume that you speak English – especially if your skin is white. When one considers all of the people from countries around the world who are white-skinned but do not speak English, this stereotype is bordering on being both racist and ignorant.

On the other end of the spectrum is all of the “othering” that has been and is still being done about “The Japanese.” I can’t tell you how many times I have read in print how “The Japanese” do this and “The Japanese” don’t like that. It is all bullshit! There is no such thing as “The Japanese!” I have been in Japan for 17 years and as someone completely integrated into the society, I can tell you that asking 10 people on the street about their thoughts on any given subject will give you just as many different answers/responses as you’d get with 10 people in any other country on the planet.

Now, and I will end this entry soon, who is to blame for these stereotypes? IMHO, I think it is primarily due to a willingness for most people to believe what they read, hear, and/or watch in the media. It is just too easy for people to be duped. One great example that comes to mind are certain female writers of The Japan Times newspaper. For years, I (and telling by the occasional letter to the editor many others) have read and put up with terrible, even atrocious, stereotyping. Off the top of my head, these have been generalizations made and stereotypes propogated in certain columns and comics:

• All Japanese women dating non-Japanese must be idiot bimbos.
• All non-Japanese in Japan have no idea what they are doing.
• All non-Japanese in Japan have no right to complain about how they are treated while in Japan.
• All intelligent Japanese women would never get married or have children (written by a Japanese woman!).

Well, I think you get the point. Anyway, while complaint letters seemed to have had some effect on the stereotyping in The Japan Times, I gave up on my subscription after one female writer still continued to write completely unprofessionally. Every once in a while I take a look at their homepage, but I refuse to ever give them another yen!

Thanks for reading,

GBUJ