I am in the midst of an interesting and challenging cultural exchange right now with my employer, regarding work values. My own first priority, regardless of what country I live in, is my health. I am unwilling to compromise my health, even if all cultural expectations ask for me to do so. I think that American/Western culture respects and upholds that prioritization of health: when injured we can take sick leave as necessary. If we are ill, we are encouraged to go home so as not to pass on the illness to others. At my last employer, EdgeLink, health and wellbeing was certainly the most important goal for all employees.
Japanese society is very different and there is so much that I do not understand. What I have observed is that regardless of how sick a teacher is, even with a communicable disease like influenza, they go to work. People go to work with slipped disks and cannot walk. People go to work two days after a close family member dies. Children go to school, cough on their classmates, and spread disease like wildfire. (The Japanese have a funny idea that wearing an anti-microbial paper mask over the mouth and nose prevents spread of infection; unfortunately often they pull down the mask to talk or cough. And there is NOT enough handwashing happening.) The motivation is about `group effort`; if everyone else is working (hard), then the ill employee should too. Employees gain respect of their coworkers and superiors by going to work even when ill or in pain.
While on our super-fabulous vacation in Thailand, we were in a scooter accident and my foot was broken and I have significant open wounds. It is not fun. I have not been allowed to take time off to heal. I am expected to feel guilty for having too much fun on vacation and furthermore affecting my ability to work effectively now that I have returned. What makes it all the more complicated is that I am now expected to APOLOGIZE for the serious burden I am to my Japanese schools and coworkers. (In Japanese society people apologize all the time, for everything. For walking near someone. For entering a room. For leaving a room. For receiving anything. For giving anything. Basically, it is the culture to apologize for existing.) In the last twelve hours I have been in four hours of meetings about what a burden my injury could be to students and teachers, and how I can possibly avoid being a burden. Apparently, my request of placing a chair near the entryway of the school, to be able to sit to change from outdoor to indoor shoes, is an inconceivable burden. My employer actually made a huge demand and THREAT that is against my contract so I had to contact the Prefectural leadership to, ahem, readjust their expectations. I hope my bosses feel chastized; I certainly won`t forget this. It`s an exciting day.
This further cements my opinion of the Cruelty of Japanese society. I certainly know many individually wonderful/kind/generous/compassionate/empathetic/open-minded Japanese people. However, I currently stand by my opinion that Japanese society is cruel and close-minded. Even the very kind people (like my wonderful supervisor) are required to uphold the rigid demands placed on eachother here. My disappointing examples of cruelty:
- There are very little social services available for those who are less able, for the mentally ill, for the poor. Almost nowhere is accessible to the physically handicapped. Although there is unemployment pay and something similar to food stamps, it is apparently very difficult to get. There have been numerous recently publicized examples of Japanese individuals who starved to death, literally, because they were judged for their lack of participation in the workforce and hence denied benefits.
- Those who struggle with mental illness are isolated as a rule. Doctors tell the patients to `go home, take this pill, and do not leave your home until you feel better`. It is an extreme shame to one`s family to be diagnosed with mental illness, and affects the family name in ways that I do not understand as I am outside of the culture. Also, it is a shame to admit to be friends with someone with mental illness, as those with mental illness are abnormal and thus abhorrent. In December two of my junior students stayed home from school, self-isolated, and attempted or considered suicide. Their parents refused to hospitalize or medicate their children, because of the shame involved. And even if they had been hospitalized, often mental health patients come out even less healthy.
- Bullying is a significant problem in Japan is is widely overlooked by school staff as `normal`. In a culture all about groupthink, the few isolated students are beaten down to the point of. . .self-isolating mental illness. I observed bullying, and when I addressed it with a teacher she dismissed its significance. Students hit eachother in class and in the hallways. Even on Japanese TV, the TV personalities frequently hit eachother on the head as a joke/admonishment. Everyone laughs.
- There are almost no charity organizations at work in this country. In the quest to raise funds for Habitat For Humanity, JETs have struggled to explain to Japanese people WHY one would wish to donate to a cause, let alone a cause that assists people outside of this venerable and superior nation.
- I observe that although Japanese society is extremely POLITE, and often those rules of politeness result in generosity. . . I don`t often have the opportunity to observe genuine, impulsive kindness. A painful example from a friend of mine occured when she returned to Japan after undergoing a very serious life-threatening surgery. When she returned to her small town, where everyone knows everyone`s business, NO ONE looked her in the eye, welcomed her back, or even asked her how she was. Her Japanese coworkers felt frozen by societal rules and didn`t know how to reach out to her, to express their concern; she was devastated.
- A famous, poignant and controversial example of Japanese cruelty, bigotry, misogyny, and racism is the issue of "comfort women". In WWII, the Japanese army systematically raped other Asian women as forced/enslaved prostitutes. Japanese textbooks still do not teach this, and the government is hesitant to acknowledge the issue. It demonstrates both historical and current justifications of cruelty.
- This is kindof an aside, but they like to eat some food ALIVE!!!! There are some seafood delicacies, like certain fish or `dancing squid`, that they eat alive. The justification is that it is fresher that way. In my opinion that is pretty far from the Buddhist tenant to avoid doing harm!
There is a lot that I do not understand about Japanese culture, and I hope that my mind is changed about the prevalence of cruelty in this society. I know that the longer I remain here, the closer I will come to some of the friends I am getting to know, and the more I will respect their kindness and acceptance. I also recognize that some of the above-listed issues are also problems in my own culture and in myself (which, if you read more of my blog, you see I am not hesitant to name). That being said, right now I have a lot of negative feelings about Japanese society as a whole. It is a blessing that I have such life-giving relationships with Nick, my coworker Hayden, and other extremely supportive friends.
