Japan: An Independent Dependant Nation Essay, Research Paper

Japan: An Independent Dependant Nation

The main element of Japanese culture is their idea of a “family” oriented nation. There is no focus on the individual. In the Japanese culture your job comes before your wife and children, your wife and children come before you, and you come before nothing. There is no individual separation; there is only group separation. There is also the idea of others’ benefit for your benefit. Along with these two ideas, creativity of the individual is very discouraged. You are supposed to harmonize with the already made society that currently exists.

The Japanese culture of putting everything before you coincides very well with their large amount of human resource. The Japanese people live on an archipelago of islands, which is approximately the size of California and boast of a population of about 134 million. The United States, which has a population of approximately 278 million, is about fifty times the size of Japan itself. If the people of Japan were individualistic, selfish people, then they would live in a very chaotic world.

Remembering these two facts, that Japanese people value the family more than themselves and the gigantic amount of people which live on the Japanese islands, one may think it would be very easy to take advantage of these people. This is very untrue though. The Japanese people value education as well and put a very high emphasis on it. This education concept comes into play when dealing with outside nations, such as the United States. The major barrier in dealing with outside nations, especially with the United States, is the language barrier. The Japanese people know how to write and read the English language, but speaking it and hearing and deciphering what is being said is difficult for Japanese.

Along with the above-mentioned elements of Japanese culture, there is also a strong belief in loyalty. If you are accepted as a friend to a Japanese person you will forever remain their friend. They live by the rule that once a friend, always a friend. Through this friendship the Japanese people develop a sense of obligation. Therefore, the idea of family is intertwined with this. Because Japanese people put family before themselves, have such a high devotion of loyalty and have a sense of loyalty with friends, makes a very trustworthy and dependable business partner.

Due to the size of the Japan islands, being only the size of California, Japan must trade with other nations for everything. The countryside does allow for some farming, but very little. The need for trade is very great and the Japanese depend on imports from other nations for their lively hood. To compliment the enormous amounts of imports Japan receives, they also export an enormous amount of goods. The United States for example, imports a countless amount of electronic equipment from Japan, as well as automobiles. The two countries would not be as well off as they currently are without the other one helping.