Archive for the 'Culture' Category
Today, February 14 is Saint Valentine’s Day. According to American Catholic, St. Valentine’s Day is ”the day dedicated to love, which has its roots in ancient Rome and on which the Church recalls a martyred saint.”
It is ”Chocolate Day” in Japan
In Japan, however, St. Valentine’s Day is the day for women to give chocolates to others. There is a tradition (created by chocolate manufacturers and sellers) that women give chocolates to men on that day. Originally, it was intended that women give chocolate gifts to men whom they have special feelings. Over the years, the definition of St. Valentine’s Day chocolates have been extended. Women give giri choco (meaning, “duty” chocolate gifts) to their male co-workers or bosses in the workplace while they give honmei choco (meaning, “true feeling” chocolate gifts”) to men whom they have romantic feelings.
Chocolates are not just for men any more
Receivers of the chocolate gifts are not limited to men in recent years. Women give tomo choco (meaning, chocolate gifts for friends) to their girl friends to thank for the friendship. There are also women who buy jibun choco (meaning, “my” chocolates) for their treats.
A good excuse to buy gourmet chocolates
What make St. Valentine’s Day chocolates so special in Japan? It is a good excuse for women, especially those who have been cutting back on their spending, to buy expensive grourmet chocolates for their special people and for themselves. Just once a year. Not a big deal.
It is not a man but chocolates that successfully capture a Japanese woman’s heart on St. Valentine’s Day. I wonder how many men feel jealous of chocolates…
February 14 2011 | Culture and Life and Weekly Articles | Comments Off
“Japanese are polite.” This is what foreigners tell me when they visit Japan for the first time, and I agree at first. It amazes me how courteous the service is of companies and shops in Japan, especially since I have returned from overseas. For instance, early one morning when I visited a bank branch office, all of the bankers greeted me with a deep bow and said: “Ohayo Gozaimasu!” (Good morning). When I walked through the door I also heard a voice saying: “Arigato Gozaimashita” (Thank you very much) from somewhere in the ceiling. Everyone certainly seems to be polite, even machines. But, are they polite from the bottom of the heart?
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July 18 2008 | Culture and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
Advertisements for tenshoku (career change) are found everywhere in Japan. On the packed commuter train there are wall banners advertising career change fairs and recruitment companies. On websites there are sections entitled “job vacancies” and “changing jobs”. On Japanese search engines such as Yahoo! Japan there are online recruitment sites for full-time, part-time and temporary workers. It seems from these advertisements that Japanese have no trouble in finding career opportunities.
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June 28 2008 | Culture and Economy and Weekly Articles | Comments Off
Did you watch ‘Around 40’ last Friday?” “Yeah, it was very good. I felt as if it was my story…”
“Around 40” is a television drama series, which TBS has broadcasted on Friday nights since April. The drama series consists of stories about Japanese women who are around forty years old, dealing with issues such as marriage, work and childbirth. Along with the popularity of the drama, Japanese women aged around forty, so called “ara-fo” (an abbreviation of around 40), have attracted the media’s attention. Many articles about “ara-fo” are published in fashion magazines and on websites. In addition, major Japanese websites such as Nikkei BP, and Yahoo! Japan have “ara-fo” in their Japanese lexicons.
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June 20 2008 | Culture and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
“Yesterday, you said that I had to do that. Now, you ask me to do this. What do you want me to do?? Why do you change your instructions so frequently? I am so confused!” A female worker in her 20s yelled this at a male manager sitting at his desk. The manager in his early 40s wiped sweat from his forehead without a word. A couple of hours later, the male manager was yelled at again by a general manager. “Why cannot you do this? Isn’t it your responsibility to manage your people? We have to do this by tomorrow morning!”
These are typical scenes in the office of a Japanese company. Middle managers in Japan are often in a position of “inside the sandwich”, somewhere between the top and the bottom. This sandwich press is pushing middle management harder than ever before.
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June 13 2008 | Communication and Culture and Research and Weekly Articles | 2 Comments »
On the morning of April 1st, trains bound for Tokyo were unusually crowded with young men and women wearing brand new business suits. They were new employees who were starting work with companies after graduating from school. They are supposed to be fresh, active, and individualistic. However, they were actually very quite and looked nervous.
Characteristics of New Employees – High Corporate Dependence with Low Corporate Loyalty
“New employees this year seem to need a great deal of care. Companies should take care of their new employees as if polishing the ice to slide a heavy stone towards the target in the game of curling.” This is how the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development characterized new employees in Japan this year.
Even if companies take a great deal of care, new employees are unlikely to respond with high corporate loyalty. “I will work for the company for a while. But I will change my job as soon as I find a better position outside”, a new employee said. “I do not plan to work just for this company for my entire life.”
More care than is needed?
Even if a company offers new employees a lot of training and benefits, the new employees may leave the company anyway when they find better working conditions elsewhere. So, why should companies take great care of new employees when they may just leave the company after receiving training? Well, Japanese companies may just stop offering new employees such training and benefits. As the old saying goes: “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
April 11 2008 | Culture and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
Blogging is relatively new to Japan, but its popularity is growing. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced that the number of Japanese bloggers numbered around 3.35 million people in March 2005, and was estimated to reach 7.8 million in 2007. So, what has caused the boom in Japanese blogging? Are the reasons for the boom similar to those found in European countries or in the United States?
Insights-out – What is Unique about Japanese Blogs?
1. Many free-of-charge blog providers
There are many blogging services that the Japanese can use. In addition to global blog providers such as Bloggers and Wordpress, there are domestic providers such as Livedoors, Nifty, and Biglobe, who offer free-of-charge blog services with easy-to-use guidelines for new bloggers.
2. Ranking the popularity of blogs
Most domestic blog providers show popular blog rankings in addition to blogging services, which is similar to what Technorati offers. They have a blog page on their website showing blog rankings in total, as well as by category, and the most popular articles, of which layouts are different depending on the provider. Japanese bloggers see the rankings as a measure of their blog’s popularity, in addition to providing details on the number of visitors they receive. Such ranking encourages the Japanese to write even more blogs. I have seen several Japanese bloggers who ask readers to frequently visit their blog, saying the likes of: “Thank you! My blog has received 10, 000 visitors in total! Please visit here again!”
3. Many private bloggers writing personal diaries
There are many Japanese bloggers who write about private matters in their daily life or about their own experiences. For instance, if you would like to get ideas about how to save money, you can just Google “Okaneno tamekata” (how to increase your saving money). By doing this you can get a lot of advice about how to save money from Japanese bloggers.
Reading Japanese blogs gives Japanese consumers a rich insight into markets. They may also be useful for international companies, as long as issues of language can be dealt with.
April 04 2008 | Culture and Weekly Articles | No Comments »
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