Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Yokohama, Fukuoka, Sapporo

126 million

Location

The Japanese archipelago, situated in the North Pacific to the east of Korea, consists of four main islands – Hokkaido, Honshu (the largest, with 60 percent of the landmass), Shikoku (the smallest), and Kyushu – which together make up 98 percent of the country’s territory. The remainder is made up of a number of small islands, including the Ryukus (of which Okinawa is one), which lie strung out in the Pacific between Kagoshima in southern Kyushu and Taiwan; in addition, there are some 3,000 tiny islets that surround the coastline and extend southward.

The land

Running through the centre of Japan – endowing it with a rare scenic beauty – are six chains of steep, serrated mountains that are studded with volcanoes; some seventy-seven are designated as “active” (although few really are), especially Bandai and Asama in central Honshu, and Aso and Sakurajima in Kyushu. The highest is Fuji (known as Fuji-san), standing at 12,388 feet (3,776 meters), which last erupted in 1707 but is still on the “active list”. In central Japan, dense mixed forests of oak, beech, and maple blanket the slopes up to an altitude of 5,900 feet (1,800 meters).
Land shortage, particularly during the period of spectacular economic growth in the second half of the twentieth century, concentrated minds on the potential for land reclamation. This hugely expensive and painstaking process took place in many parts of Japan (and continues to do so), adding valuable new building land to Japan’s main landmass of 143,660 square miles (372,070 square kilometres); it included vast areas around the modern industrial cities of Tokyo and Osaka. Most remarkable was the creation of Port Island and three other adjacent islands, off the port of Kobe, involving the removal of millions of tons of earth and rocks from the top of neighbouring mountains – a solution that underlines the pragmatic Japanese approach to life and its challenges. On the other hand, all of Japan’s coastal; areas are at risk (The Inland Sea less so) from storm damage and tsunami – the giant waves generated by earthquakes activity.

Climate and Seasons

Many people have found it ironic that the exquisite art forms and cultural elegance of Japan (as well as the manicured beauty of her gardens) should have been created in a group of islands that straddle one of the world’s most dangerous tectonic regions – four tectonic plates, the American, the Pacific, the Okhutsic, and the Philippine, meet under the Japanese archipelago – and in one of its most hazardous climatic zones. Japan’s climate is the outcome of two competing weather systems, one from the Pacific and one from Continental Asia, involving, at tines, ferocious annual weather changes from deep snow and low temperatures to devastating typhoons and unbearable levels of humidity. These physical facts heighten interest in what can generally be called the “Japanese achievement” throughout history.
The Japanese themselves regard such notions of “achievement”, however, as transient and very fragile, likening them, as with life itself, to the brief flowering of the cherry blossom (sakura) in spring. They celebrate this natural phenomenon with outdoor events, public and private “viewings,” and the writing of poetry. As the countryside warms up, the blossoming fans out in an extraordinary six-week flourish, initially from southern \Kyushu in early March, then on through Shikoku and Honshu to northern Hokkaido, along a 1,100 mile (1,800-kilometer) journey. Seasonal changes, therefore, are well defined and vary considerably from east to west and from mountain to plain. In Tokyo, which sits on the Kanto Plain, the biggest of the coastal plains, the average temperature is 77ºF (25ºC) in summer with high humidity and 38ºF (4ºC) in winter. The sunniest months are December and January; the wettest June and September. Spring (March to May) and fall (mid-September to November) are considered to be the best months because the days are generally clear and sunny – the fall, like New England, having the added attraction of the leaves, especially the maple, turning to red and gold. Like the cherry blossom viewing, the fall colors are also celebrated with outings and ewcursions.
Seasons apart, it is worth remembering that Japan is often “wet” and, like the UK, is an “umbrella” society! Indeed, umbrellas are to be found everywhere in case of need – in hotels, offices, restaurants, and temples.

“Connecting” Japan

The requirements of modern life and political expediency have created a demand for increasingly easy access to Japan’s four main islands. This has resulted in some of the world’s most remarkable engineering feats, especially the building of the Seikan Tunnel, opened after twenty years in 1988, connecting Honshu to Hokkaido. It is 33,5 miles (54 kilometres) long from end to end. Connecting Honshu to Shikoku is a series of three groups of suspension bridges, including the world’s longest the Akashi bridge, which has six lanes and measures 4,277 yards (3,911 meters).

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The Japanese see themselves as a nation apart. Indeed, the Japanese language itself is unique to Japan, as is Shinto, its religion. Undoubtedly, more than two hundred years of isolation from the rest of the world have contributed to this level of national self-consciousness. But arguably even more important is the fact during this same period the Japanese people were systematically shoe-horned into a culture of conformity by one of the most highly structures and successful oligarchies in history – the Tokugawa Shogunate.
There is a natural inclination in Japan to seek consensus in all aspects of decision-making, combined with the desire to avoid conflict. Underlying the phenomenon is the Japanese ideal of harmony, or wa. Historically, the communal effort required for the planting of wet rice, in terms of planning, cooperation, and implementation, is sometimes cited as the key to understanding wa. Unsurprisingly, therefore, we find that Japan is both “shame” culture and a “face” –two sides of the same coin. This is a characteristic shared by the Chinese and other societies in Asia, but it is particularly well defined in Japan. Accordingly, the Japanese have developed a protocol for everyday life, that oils the wheels of social intercourse and insures against loss of face.

“I” AND “WE”

Because the voice of the group –business, family, school, and social groups – is more important than that of any one individual, Japan is very much a “we” (groupist) culture. In a business context, the Japanese will always refer to their company first and foremost, followed by the name of the department and their personal role within it, and them, lastly, their personal name.
Also, as individuals talking about Japan, Japanese will often use the phrase ware ware nihonjin, “we Japanese”, thereby distancing themselves from an individual point of view of the whole group, that is, the Japanese people or nation in general.

The work ethic

Historically, a heightened sense of the value and importance of work, combined with a goal-orientated work environment, has been commonplace in Japan. It may be that the rice culture and Confucian philosophy have played a part in fostering this attitude over time. It is also very much a matter of pulling together in order to meet goals or targets for the benefit of one’s company or enterprise (or institution or country), and by the same token of not losing face with one’s workmates or colleagues.

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The above extract is kindly provided by Culture Smart! the essential guide to customs & culture. The 168-page guide retails at £6.95 + P&P and is available directly from Kuperard, the publishers of Culture Smart! guides.

CultureSmart!Consulting in conjunction with Cactus Language Training creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate, public sector, and individual needs. Find out more at www.cactuslanguagetraining.com.

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