27
Jun
Things You Don’t See in the US
Topic: Japan 2004
Today I’ll take a break from writing in travelogue mode and offer some cultural observations.
Maria used to live in Japan, so she knows what to expect when she travels here, and she has a habit of just leaving our bags on the sidewalk when we do something like going into a busy and crowded store. This causes me untold anxiety: as an American, it just feels fundamentally unnatural to me. But for the Japanese, it’s normal. For example, bicycles are routinely left unlocked and unattended on city streets. Of all the things I noticed that were different from the US, this is the one I just couldn’t get over: there is virtually no street crime. The police have a widespread presence, with little police booths scattered throughout Tokyo’s neighborhoods. But they don’t carry guns, and I never saw any policemen on patrol - their primary purpose seems to be giving directions. Why are things so different here? I imagine a lot of it has to with Japan’s ethnic homogeneity, coupled with the consensus-oriented nature of its society. The power of shame, and an aversion to stirring things up are noticeable aspects of the culture. For example, when those Japanese workers who were kidnapped in Iraq were finally released and returned to Japan, the only public comment they had was to apologize for any disruption of Japanese foreign policy that may have resulted from their kidnapping. Another likely factor is the deterrent effect of a lack of legal protections for those accused of crimes, and a court system stacked in favor of the state. The conviction rate here is 99%, and someone accused of a crime can be held for 25 days with no access to counsel. Coerced confessions are not unusual. So, I think the explanation for the low incidences of crime involves a variety of factors, and many of them would be too alien or just unacceptable to most Americans (but, of course, crime isn’t all that acceptable either!). But as you can see in the pictures, not having to worry about vandalism or people who can’t control themselves means you can allow all sorts of cool things in public places, from highly realistic toy guns to beer in vending machines.
The other thing that really struck me was how professional all the workers are. I don’t just mean the stereotypical salarymen - I’m talking about taxi drivers, parking lot attendants, the folks who clean the trains, etc. They all wear snappy uniforms, and seem focused on doing their jobs well. For example, when the conductor on the bullet train was finished checking tickets in our car, he turned adroitly on his heels in an almost military manner, bowed, and slowly backed out of the car. Watching this as an American, it really seemed a bit over the top, but then I figured it’s a lot better than having the woman in the SEPTA booth screaming in your face, as happened to our friend Yuka (she was visiting us from Japan a couple weeks ago, and that’s what happened to her when she got confused handling her tokens and transfers for the first time on the Philly subway). I asked Maria about all this, and her explanation was disarmingly simple: Japanese workers get a living wage, and are treated in such a way by their employers and customers so that they feel they are making a valuable contribution, which results in them taking pride in their work. Shocking. Of course, having a culture with a strong work ethic is a significant factor too.
There are other things I’ve learned from Maria that wouldn’t be obvious to a tourist: Japan has universal health care, a quality public education system, and - at least when it comes to families with children - a strong social safety net. I don’t see cultural homogeneity as a prerequisite for these things, which gives me at least a shred of hope that someday we can solve the US’ problems in these areas.
Putting it all together, if you apply US political labels to Japanese society, it’s a combination of being more liberal in some ways (universal health care, social welfare), more conservative in others (social responsibility and mores, law and order), and since the Japanese are not sue-happy like we are, more libertarian in interesting ways (beer in vending machines, cigarette advertising, boat rentals without life vests).
June 30th, 2005 at 12:24 am
i was in japan for 3 weeks near the end of 2001. i could just never get over seeing those unlocked bikes all over the place in the city. contast that with new york city, where i lived at the time. as a security precaution i would apply two locks to my bike (to ensure that front and rear wheels were secured), and also remove the seat post :))