2025 Yuji's Blog

 When comparing Japan and USA on Hofstede's dimensions i can see that the US is pretty middle of the road in total. we scored highest (68) on indulgence which i would agree with, as the US is a pretty indulgent country. we scored lowest (40) on power distance which i would question, because the power distance between the rich and the middle class is huge but a regular boss and employee relationship is close.  Japan score the highest among all countries on long term orientation, and the idea that the longer you stay at a companies the more you can expect to be paid is a perfect example of this. The US got exactly half of that, the summary says that company's measuring performance on a quarterly basis is an example. Japan also scored very high on uncertainty avoidance which i take to translate in their long precise processes for administrative things. The US got a 46, which i would have expected to be lower as i know many Americans embrace unpredictable situations and even roman...

 konnichiwatsup clase! week 13's discussion was about communication other typical human interactions such as, asking for a favor, saying thank you and what it takes to build a relationship. Japanese communication seems to be much more about reading body language and faces then the direct deadpan honesty that is the western style of communicating. i would assume it has to do with the politeness that is so associated with Japanese society. this ties in with most Japanese communication. Favors are expected to be paid back, which probably relates to Japan's huge omiage culture. like i stated before western culture, is far more direct. if you want, something you ask. if you need to be paid back you talk to the person that owes you. you Dont have to be as good at reading faces and vibes to be polite. and honestly politeness is nowhere near as important in western culture. Personally i like combining to 2 ways of communication. being direct while speaking Japanese.  then for the hofs...

     Hello again youtube! For this blog we will be talking about uncertainty avoidance as well as extracurricular activities across the world. we will start with extracurriculars. in japan extracurricular activities are hugely important especially during schooling. the circle or club that you join will tend to be your friends, throughout schooling. if you are in your schools basketball club, then most of your friends will be on the basketball teams. it makes a lot of sense too, your main friends tend to be people with shared interests. In japan they are structured very well and if you don't do any extracurriculars you will find yourself falling behind. These activities teach teamwork, discipline and loyalty which will be large aspects of work life as well as Japanese life in general.      Next i will talk about uncertainty avoidance. uncertainty avoidance is tied to risk and change. it describes how well open a society is to unstructured and unpredictable s...

howdydeezy youtube! this week in class we talked about parenting across cultures. we took a survey about whether or not we want children, if we slept with our parents and when the most enjoyable time of our childhood was. some of these differ a lot more culturally than individually. i think how long you sleep with your parents is a cultural part, the Japanese students reported sleeping with their parents for far longer than those from other cultures. the best time i had was in elementary school because i felt so free as a child. no responsibilities, no need to think for myself, it was the best time. i also had a good time in high school but it was more degenerative and less pure than elementary school.  For the Hofstede part of class we talked indulgent vs restrained cultures. america as expected scales higher on the indulgent side. When dutch man was talking about the cultures and their differences in indulgence level. i would prefer to live in a more indulgent society, it just fe...

Whats up YouTubes, for last class we talked about feminist vs masculine societies and how they differentiate. America where i come from is a masculine culture but japan is an even more masculine culture. it focuses way more on gender roles and money is more important than quality of life. there is a larger gender wage gap in masculine societies as well. I thought before being told about how America scores on the masculinity scale that it would be more feminine. we also talked about shopping culture, and how you talk to the cashier and worker at the place of purchase. I think the ruder customers come from more masculine cultures but like most things the individual matters a whole lot, there are courteous and rude people in every country regardless of the masculinity and feminity scale in that country

     Whats up youtube! Today in class we discussed the habits of inviting people over to your house as well as individualism and collectivism in different countries. The U.S. is stated to be one of the most individualist countries. I can back this up being from America, as community is something that you really have to search for in my country.       Inviting people over in my country really is more of a personal thing, there is not much stigma when it comes to inviting people over, especially not as much as in japan. Ive never been big into inviting people to my house, because it is so small, also because when i was younger i felt embarrassed by my family.  i believe that a combination of collectivism and individualism is important in a country. Too much of anything is bad. take America for example, there is far too much individualism, to be successful and make a lot of money its hard to not sacrifice your morals, or at least be super individuali...

       hi class! For this blog we will be discussing education in japan. we watched a video in class about the typical day for a college student in Tokyo. it seemed like a pretty standard day for a student, with the exception of the maid cafe part. That part wont translate over to most college students lives, it seems like a pretty Japanese thing.         W e did another Survery which was focused on the amount of talking we did in class, the answers were pretty diverse mostly depending on personality for the amount you contribute verbally in class.  Personally I am a bit of a yapper in class because i dislike the silence that comes after a teacher asks a question that i know the answer to. if i have a response, insightful or not i will say it to break the weird silence in question.      Education while of course, different in japan seems to cross cultures pretty seamlessly. The method of education and learning may change c...

     Wassup readers, this weeks blog is about cultural perspective and how your view on certain subjects change depending on where you were raised. We looked at Japanese working culture and what things are expected from you when working in japan. Long hours, an hour long commute by train, minimal vacation time and group work are all apart of the normal Japanese work day.  this shows the dedication to work in japan but i feel as though this is a huge issue. work should not be your whole life and in the documentary we watched it seemed like it was 90% of the subjects life.     In my country your job is just your job, it doesn't make up most of your day.  Back home I feel as though the work i do doesn't match my pay or i feel under appreciated.  i can see that in japan they have the same problem only much worse. capitalism ruined this planet man why do i have to have a job GAWRSH. 

Watching the video on the Japanese sleep schedule was very interesting. I had no idea that the regular sleep schedule for Japanese people was such a small amount of sleep.  even listening to the Japanese students answers to the question was very eye opening (get it?).  I have asked other Japanese students the same questions and every single answer has been under 8 hours. It also explain the phenomenon of the Japanese salaryman sleeping on the street. It seems like all of the problems Japanese culture has stems from work. the sleep issue certainly seems to be. I also enjoyed learning about the futon master. The fact that there is a futon competition is hilarious. How can you even judge something like that. This makes me think about my mom and her sleep schedule because she wakes up very early and goes to sleep super late. i would occasionally think about how she could do that but now it makes sense. Being trained to do that throughout school will leave you with habits that foll...

this class we talked about cultural other awareness. What is the norm in different countries for introductions and who you would interact with. some similarities that most countries had are that everybody interacts friendly with their neighbors. people also agreed that they wouldnt really talk or interact with people on the elevator or random people on the street. the answers varied when it came to acquaintances and coworkers. we also watched a Conan O Brian video. he interacts with Japanese people and does a lot of things that are mostly normal for Americans but were rude and awkward for Japanese people. For example hugging, and chewing gum. i think though as a gaijin you will get a pass, as long as you come at the culture with respect and a open mind. not like logan paul. 

     Introducing yourself in Japan i feel, has less pressure associated with it and feels more polite than in the US. the way i see it in America it is more of a vetting process than anything else. When i introduce myself in the US i am trying to see if the other person is cool, and i feel they are doing the same to me. i dont know if this a cultural thing but when i meet a new person here, i am pretty authentically myself and if that person doesn't like it they can kick rocks. it might just be because i am super far away from home so i see the stakes to be lower.       I think my home culture compared to here is very open. American culture is very honest and you say everything that you think about. there is less importance placed in nonverbal cues, if somebody doesn't say something you aren't expected to have to understand the nuances that come with body language and somebodies face expression. Because of this the slightly more sensitive things that i...

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