Customs and Values Wisdom Humour
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Cultural Differences Between Australia and JapanHistoryFor a 1,000 years, Japan was ruled by a Samurai class that spent its spare time in the quest for perfection. The Samurai pursued a code of behaviour that not only made them better soldiers, but also made them appreciate their lives while they still lasted. At the same time that the Samurai were seeking perfection, people in the Britain Isles, another island group disconnected from the Eurasian continent, were being continually invaded by mainland armies. The continued rape and pillage of Britain Isles ended up producing a motley crew of cultures that the English authorities struggled to gain control over. In 1788, the disturbers of the peace were exported to Australia to lay the foundations of Australian urban society. For the next 80 years, Australia was supplied with the humans that Britain didn't want. During World War II, Australia and Japan locked horns in Papua New Guinea. Although the Australians emerged triumphant, the fear of another Asian invasion motivated the Australian government to try to increase migration to build Australia's power. As the British had little desire to migrate to their old Convict dumping ground, the Australian government targeted economic and social refugees from Southern Europe who were likewise accustomed to unsavoury labels. The Immigration Restriction Act (White Australia Policy) initially prevented Asians from following the European riff raff. The policy was deconstructed after Australian soldiers stationed in Japan married Japanese women and insisted on bringing them home to Australia. These marriages subsequently opened the door for Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese refugees to head down under. After the low class Asians laid the groundwork, high status Asians started migrating to Australia. The different histories of Japan and Australia are reflected in their respective cultures today. As Japanese history is considered to be noble (World War II excepted), the Japanese use it as a muse of inspiration for their creativity. On the other hand, because Australian history carries some unsavoury labels, most modern Australians either ignore it, or seek an excuse to degrade it. For example, they might argue that it is not relevant to non-British migrants or Aborigines. Ironically, the desire to disassociate the present from the past is one of the most defining features of modern day Australian culture and one of the most telling example of a Convict legacy. Economy
EgalitarianMost Australians like the idea of a labourer being able to sit down and have a beer with the Queen and seeing her as different but his equal. For example, the trucking magnate Lindsay Fox (net worth $350 million) said of Australia: 'We don't have a class structure. We have people who relate to people. No body is superior. No body is inferior. The people who I went to school with collect the garbage around here. But if they want to come in and have a drink, that's fine with me.' The egalitarian sentiments are reflected in Australian English. Australians may refer to some foreigners as "mate" instead of using more respectful titles such as your honour, sir, madam, mrs, mr, ms, lord, and your highness. Likewise, cricketer Dennis Lillee expressed his egalitarian sentiments when he greeted Queen Elizabeth using the words:"G'day, how ya goin'?" Unlike Australia, Japan is a hierarchical society. A different language is used for addressing people of different status. This can cause some confusion when dealing with Australians. For example, in 1980 a Japanese prefecture sponsored a weekend seminar to discuss problems that Japanese people might experience in Australia. One speaker, Hiro Mukai, stated: "Australians appear very naive to the newly-arrived Japanese. They speak the same way with everyone." SensualityThe Japanese are very sensual people. They seek stimulation of their sense of taste, smell, touch, sound and sight. To stimulate their sense of taste, they seek highly quality food made with fresh ingredients. To stimulate their sense of smell, they seek the best French perfumes. To stimulate their sense of touch, they seek carnal pleasures or the joy of sitting in a hot spring. To stimulate their sense of sight, they pursue artistic development with classes in flower arrangement, calligraphy, or fashion design. When they aren't actually being stimulated, Japanese like to watch television shows of others being stimulated. Australians are not sensual by comparison to the Japanese. On Australian television, there is very little in the realm of the senses. Australian television is dominated by political themed shows that exist in the realm of the opinion and moral activism. The focus on morality and opinion can cause some problems with Australians in Japan. Some Australians have a tendency to be critical of Japanese for being apathetic about issues the Australian believes is important.
Japanese ladies associating themselves with Hello Kitty to increase their sex appeal Cute - kawaiiJapanese love cute things. At times, the cuteness can be a little extreme by Australian standards. For example, vending machines in love hotels often sell Hello Kitty vibrators. Likewise, when Japanese women refer to each other, they may add the title ‘chan’, which means ‘child.’ As far as the Japanese are concerned, there is nothing strange about a business woman wearing a suit but having someone refer to her as a child as she adjusts her make up using a pixie power mirror. In Australia, women have an ideology of growing old gracefully and some of the Japanese customs would be frowned upon for having connotations of paedophilia. Somewhat in contradiction to their ethic, Australian women often remove their pubic hair in a way that the Japanese would consider to have paedophilic connotations. Very few Japanese women remove their pubic hair.
Koda Kumi - Mastery of feminine body language
War remembranceAustralia is one of the few countries in the eastern hemisphere that doesn't have an issue with Japan's approach to remembering its war dead. The Japanese approach to remembrance doesn't involve judging whether the dead were good people or bad. All that matters is that they died serving Japan. The approach comes from the Shinto religion, which views the spirit of the dead as being separate from the body of the living. Consequently, Shinto does not recognise the crimes of spirit's body when walking the earth. In the 1800s, the Yasukuni Shrine was designated as a place to pray for the souls of the fallen. The Shrine does not honour the soldiers. Because Shinto views all killing as a crime, the shrine exists as a place where spirits can be preyed for so that they may rest peacefully. Yasukuni literaly means "Pacifying the Nation." For the Japanese, the approach has a positive effect in creating passivism. Not only does it encourage the Japanese to remember the fallen, it discourages them from being bitter at their enemies. From the 1850s to the 2000, France, Holland, Russia, England, China, Japan and America all had competing self-interests in east Asia that expressed themselves in conduct many Japanese would consider to be morally objectionable. The Shinto faith makes it easier for the Japanese to simply forgive and move on. Concerning some of Japan's neighbours is the fact that 14 soldiers convicted of being Class A war criminals are enshrined at Yasukuni along with 2,466,000 other men and women. Visits to the shrine by Japanese politicians are therefore judged to be a sign that Japan lacks remorse over World War II. The Australian approach to war remembrance has some similar elements to Japan, and this may explain why Australians haven't had the same violent reaction to Japanese remembrance as have other countries. A central feature of Australian remembrance is the Ode, a paragraph taken from the poem 'Ode for the Fallen': " They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Like Shinto belief, the Ode doesn't encourage judgements about right or wrong. The only thing that matters is that people died and those who live should remember them. In addition to refraining from judgement, the Australian approach is on remembering fallen soldiers, not the evil of the enemy. Because it's more focussed on the self, there is less attention given to the wrongs committed by others. While the Japanese approach is anchored in the Shinto religion and national pride, the Australian approach is anchored in mateship. The tradition of Australian remembrance commenced with an informal gathering of ex-soldiers in 1923. These ex-servicemen were not interested in politics, nor national pride. They simply wanted to express their sorrow and remember fallen comrades. It wasn't until 1927 that their tradition received any political sanction or recognition.
A Ronnie Jones skit about true-life criminal Chopper Reid telling people to be mentally stronger (Harden the Fuck Up) has become a catch cry for many Australian males. Victim identityThe Japanese are reluctant to embrace a victim identity on either an individual or national level. The Japanese ethic is probably a legacy of 1,000 years of samurai rule. The samurai wanted to improve and felt no pride when defeated on the battlefield. To deal with the shame of defeat, they would kill themselves. Aside from being harsh on their own failings, they were harsh on the failings of others and dealt with the weakness of others by cutting off their heads. In such an environment, people who complained about being victims led a short life. Today, some of the samurai tradition can be seen in training for Sumo. Sumo wrestlers live a commune style existence in which the junior rikishi do all the work and the senior sekitori train and eat. There is a clear division in rank that symbolically states the riskishi are inferior. If the riskisihi are unhappy with the situation, they must work hard to become sekitori. In daily life, a similar mentality contributes to the high rate of suicide in Japan. Because no excuses are made for failing to succeed, traditionally the Japanese would kill themselves rather than live in the shame of not achieving their goals. At a national level, the reluctance to accept a victim identity can be seen in the country's relationship with the United States. In the eyes of some international observers, the actions of the US in regards to Japan prior to, during and after World War 2 were sufficient to define the Japanese as victims. Although the Japanese may have a logical argument about the rights or wrongs of America and their country's reaction, they rarely have an emotive response to what happened. Basically, America proved to be the stronger nation and that's all that really mattered. When Australian men have campaigned for the rights of victims, it has usually been for victims from a social group the Australian is not part of. With the exception of some ethnic groups, few Australian men embrace a victim identity on either an individual or social level for themselves. For example, Australian men have never sought an apology from England for the treatment of Convicts during the 80 years they were sent to Australia. Likewise, there has never been a united push to extract an apology from the Japanese over World War II. The ideology of the Australian men is exemplified in the personal motto of the late billionaire Kerry Packer, "never complain, never explain." The reluctance to personal identify oneself as a victim is probably a penal legacy. In Australia's penal era, etiquette prescribed that crying about being a victim was strictly taboo. According to the Convict J.F Mortlcok: "In Australia, silent composure under suffering is strictly prescribed by convict etiquette…some exhibit an incredible power of enduring all these inflictions, which however, killed or greatly debilitated many of them." Combined with the harsh Australian environment, the penal history created a battler mythology that placed emphasis on persevering against a problem instead of complaining about it. As was aptly stated by authors Michael Page and Robert Inapen:"The true Aussie battler and his wife thrust doggedly onwards: starting again, failing again, implacably thrusting towards success. For success, even if it is only the success of knowing that one has tried to the utmost and never surrendered, is the target of every battler." Some Australian women embrace a victim identity on an individual level. They also embrace a victim identity on a gender level. It is rare; however, for Australian women to embrace a victim identity on a national level.
Go hard or go homeBoth Australia and Japan have a strong work ethic. In Australia, the work ethic is reflected in sayings such as "go hard or go home." It is also reflected in words such as 'hard yakka' that are used to express appreciation for hard work and 'bludger' that are used to insult lazy people that don't contribute to the group. The sayings are also mirrored in statistics. In 2005, Australians worked an average of 1855 hours a year. This was significantly more than most Europeans who only worked an average of around 1350 hours per year. It was sightly more than the Japanese, who worked an average of 1802 hours. Although the average Australian worked more hours than the average Japanese, the Japanese had the world's highest percentage of people working in excess of 50 hours a week. (28 per cent in Japan compared to 20 per cent in Australia.) The Japanese work ethic is reflected in sayings such as 'gambalimasu', which translates as 'do your best.' Whatever the Japanese do, they try to do well. This means putting in extra hours at work.
Bleach - Japanese anime shows great creativity in logical, emotional, visual and moral realms. Byakuya, the captain of the greatest noble house, always obeys rules; including the rule that his sister must be executed. He fights Ichigo, an Australian like character who doesn't care about rules but cares for his friends; including Byakuya's sister. CreativityA common stereotype in the west is that Japanese are not creative. The stereotype is not grounded in fact. Japan leads the world in technological innovations and Japanese animation is very popular all over the globe. Arguably, only America has produced cartoon characters with more popularity than the likes of Astro Boy, Ichiro or Hello Kitty. Australia is a very creative place; however, most of that creativity just isn't any good. A lot of Australian movies, drama, architecture, modern cuisine, sculpture, and painting looks like a dog's breakfast. The problem is that most Australians fail to consider the community around them, or any traditional styles. While ignoring others is a very very easy way to be different from others, it is a difficult way to ever produce something appreciated by others, or in harmony with other forms of creativity. Not surprisingly, Australia's audio visual industries aren't popular in Australia, let alone the world. Likewise, modern Australian cuisine is always a lottery. Sometimes its great, but most of the time its not balanced or refined. A history of invention is Australia's shining light in regards to creativity. For a very small country, Australia has produced a lot of inventions that have changed the world. Australian inventors probably succeed where other Australian creatives fail because they have a clear idea about what they want to achieve and consider a wide variety of knowledge bases to achieve it. Traditional cultureJapan's highly successful modern culture draws heavily upon its traditional culture. For example, anime such as Bleach blends aspects of Shinto belief and samurai values with some modern day trends to create a unique, entertaining and thought provoking show that has proved to be very popular all over the world. Another successful example of Japan's blending the traditional and modern comes in its horror movie genre that has produce the Ring and Grudge series. The movies are based on traditional beliefs that all humans have a soul that leaves the body after death. If correct funeral rights are applied, the soul may join its ancestors. However, if a person dies in a shocking manner or funeral rites are not applied correctly, the soul may be influenced by powerful emotions such as revenge, hatred, sorrow which can then make a bridge back to the physical world. In regards to true life historical stories, Sada Abe has proved to be a use of inspiration for art-house movie makers. In 1936, Sada erotically asphyxiated her lover and cut off his penis after he died. Her story was told in A Woman Called Sada Abe (1975), In the Realm of the Senses (1976) and Sada (1998). Sturgeon's Law explains why Japan's mixing of the traditional and the modern has proved so successful. Sturgeon's Law proposes that "Ninety percent of everything is crud". When applied to story writing, 90 per cent of all new stories are crud and only 10 per cent is quality. The Japanese look at the 10 per cent of quality that has proved itself cross the generations and subsequently try to create within its confines. The Japanese see quality, and subsequently respect it, assimilate it, refine it and proliferate it. This increases their chance of producing something decent themselves.
Australians don't appreciate the importance of tradition or history, which explains why Australia doesn't have a successful anime or movie industry. By ignoring tradition and history, as well as lacking respect, 90 per cent of all Australian creativity is crud. The 10 per cent of quality then gets ignored by subsequent generations that try to re-invent the wheel and produce crud 90 per cent of the time. Although its movie industry is rubbish today, in the 70s and 80s, Australia had a successful industry in which cultural creatives had some respect for the past. Movies such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, Man from Snowy River, Bodyline, and Phar Lap were all anchored in traditional concepts or historical events. At the beginning of the 20th century, Australia was the world leader in film production and again, stories were anchored in history. Movies such as The Story of the Kelly Gang, The Eureka Stockade, The Assigned Servant, The Squatters Daughter, Attack on the Gold Escort, Sentenced for Life and The Mark of the Lash were very popular with the Australian public. Taking a lead to embrace the future, Australian governments then banned bushranging films and the Australian industry fell into ruins. Dealing with problemsThe Japanese deal with problems by looking the other way. This has led to a psychological condition known as Hikkomori Syndrome, which involves a young person withdrawing from society. Unusually, a kid will go to his room and stay there for years. His parents will leave food at the door. The parents are confused about what to do so they just ignore it. Due to the cultural mentality, gambling and pornography thrives in Japan even though both are illegal. According to the Japanese, someone is only gambling if money is won. If a prize is won instead, it is not gambling. To exploit the loophole, pachinko parlours (like poker machine palaces) give gamblers the chance to win prizes. These can be then be sold for money at a shop located next to the pachinko parlour. Even though it is obviously in violation of the spirit of the rule, the Japanese look the other way. Pornography is treated in the same manner. A loop hole states if the penis and vagina is pixelated, the material is not porn. Exploiting the loophole, pornographers depict extreme hard core sex acts yet can still sell it legally as long as the vagina and penis are pixelated. Australians are usually quick to denounce anyone exploiting loopholes or problems in societies. (Dealing with pornography is perhaps an exception. Technically, pornography is illegal in every Australian state. Even so, the porn industry thrives due to a mail-order business operating out of the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.) When Australians visit Japan, the cultural difference can cause problems. The Australians are in the habit of looking for problems in Japanese society so that they can be exposed to a wider audience. For example, Ryann Connel, the ex-chief editor of the English website of The Mainichi Daily News, busied himself with writing columns about a Japanese restaurant where patrons allegedly have sex with animals before eating them and Japanese men who cheat on their wives. For a while, Japanese politeness held sway and they simply ignored the Australian that was using alleged acts by individuals to denigrate the whole population. Eventually, the Japanese just returned fire. A blogging campaign commenced with comments such as: "Ryann Connell is a degenerate scatologist - a typical Australian." Sponsors also reacted, and pulled advertising estimated to be worth more than 20 million yen ($195,000). The newspaper issued a 1277-word apology, reprimanded several staff and put Connell on three months' disciplinary leave. The actions of Connel were quite typical of left-wing Australians in Japan. Instead of trying to learn something about the culture, they just find fault with it. In the left-wingers mind, finding fault means being "open minded." Opinions and discussionsIn general, Australians are more focussed on solving problems than learning from others. They want to give their opinion, not hear the opinion of others. Sometimes they apply their thinking in the engineering world to produce a lot of new inventions. Sometimes they apply it in the social world to become activists. While there is an upside to that, the downside is that Australians can be very close-minded. Furthermore, activism has a poor track record in Australia. More accurately, present day activists have judged the records of their predecessors very negatively. While Australians want to push their opinions, Japanese want to learn and they want people to tell them new things. On the downside, Japanese are often poorly skilled at using the knowledge outside of the classroom. Furthermore, Japanese are often poor at making independent decisions. They are so accustomed to being told what to do that they are unsure of themselves when they can make choices of their own. This is a strength in some areas but a weakness in others. A lot of the cultural differences can be seen in tourism styles. Japanese like organised tours, with people from their own nationality, where there is a guide to tell them lots of things about history, geography or culture. In some ways they are like a dry sponge with a real-thirst for knowledge. Australians are less likely to go on an organised tour, and are more likely to be happy to experience whatever unfolds. Furthermore, they often prefer to have fun in the country than learn anything about the country. ImmigrationAlthough Japanese are open to change, they don't want that change to include non-Japanese migrating to Japan. If they do, they are not recognised as Japanese. For example, the descendants of Koreans who migrated to Japan a century ago are still defined as Koreans and must carry foreigner cards. To deal with an aging population, Japan is allowing some Brazilians of Japanese descent to migrate to Japan. These people are classed as Brazilians, not Japanese. While the Japanese define migrants as foreigners, when a person migrates to Australia, they are pressured to see themselves as Australians. Many Australians dislike migrants waving the flag of foreign countries. They want the migrant to identify themselves as Australian and if they do, they will be treated as an Australian. The idea of a 3rd generation Australian identifying with a foreign country is off-putting for many Australians. |
Cultural comparisons Argentina America China Canada England France Germany Ireland Japan New Zealand Papua New Guinea South Africa South Korea
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