This site is to familiarize you with a few basic characteristics of Japanese culture and behavior that the westerner will encounter. There are many reactions and attitudes that Japanese will give off — many of them the typical westerner would ordinarily not pick up on. But if you come to Japan and want to have better relations, as well as a better understanding of how many Japanese people think and perceive you, there are a lot of key items you should be aware of.
Note: Japan has a lot of positive traits, and a lot of negative ones also. , the contents of this site center more on the negative aspects than the positive ones since these are what make life for westerners more difficult here. They are meant to show more of what culture shock is experienced and are *NOT* to be taken as an accounting of the number of good traits vs. the bad.
Here are a few basic traits to remember–
* Uchi-Soto — Us and Them
* The Gaijin Complex
* Honne and Tatemae — The Real Mind & The Veneer
* Osekkai! — Mind Your Own Business!
* “Goatism” — Giseisha and Urami — On Scapegoats, Victims, and Envy
* Amae — Dependency
* Tate-shakai — The Vertical Society
* Shikata ga Nai and Gaman — You Can’t Fight City Hall
* Nihonjinron and Kokusaika — We Japanese & Internationalization
* The Iron Triangle and the Empty Center
Subject: Culture
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