So the Japanese

Author: Wang Zhiqiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Richard S. Rozelle, said that Japanese people are like pendulums, swinging between extremes of superiority and inferiority. When Westerners describe Japanese people, they often emphasize that they lack individuality. The Japanese have a very practical concept of hierarchy. They believe that status and identity are temporary. When you have strength and power, subordinates obey you. Once you lose those, your status and identity disappear, and your former subordinates immediately treat you differently. They generally have two forms and faces: one is social, and the other is personal. In personal interactions, they reveal their true faces and personalities, which is why people often "let it all out" when they drink, talking about almost everything and feeling as if they are very close. However, in social organizations, or groups, their behavior is entirely different. In Japanese groups, principles are ambiguous, theories are ambiguous, action goals and reasons are also ambiguous, yet there is a certain atmosphere. They sense and support each other, and the energy of the atmosphere gradually strengthens, becoming a trend and tendency. These groups form a highly cohesive, powerful, and impulsive action collective. To this day, the Japanese still cannot explain why they started the war over 60 years ago, nor can they clearly explain why the Meiji Restoration led to rapid transformation into a major power or why their economy developed so swiftly after the war. What exactly is this atmosphere mechanism, and what role does it play? From the outside, Japanese groups seem solid as a rock, but if you delve deeper, you will find that the factional struggles and intense rivalries among people within them are no less severe than in other ethnic groups. The difference is that Japan's internal conflicts generally do not surface to the outside world. Even when the internal struggles are chaotic, it often appears to outsiders as a "calm pond." Japanese-style bullying is more often subtle harassment rather than physical attacks. It aims to mentally crush people, leaving many victims in a constant state of tension and gradually developing a habit of suspicion. Japanese ambiguity is closely tied to the social structure of Japan, a group-oriented, single-language, and single-ethnic society. Understanding ambiguity, or "transmitting the heart," requires a deep understanding of traditional Japanese culture and customs, as well as an excellent Japanese-style emotional sensitivity.