“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