Came across an interesting article on the hazy future of Japan. It all starts with the youth and that’s why articles like this are pretty depressing. Sadly, I’m not surprised with the results. Here are some paragraphs that stood out to me.
Among students from foreign institutions earning doctorates in the U.S., those from the elite University of Tokyo ranked 425th overall with 23. In first place was Beijing’s Tsinghua University, with 472 candidates. Chinese institutions accounted for three of the top 10.
Even with all the regulatory/governmental problems coming out of China, you can’t help but give the country some credit. They are at least trying to build a foundation of intelligent, pro-active youth. Meanwhile, consider the paragraph below.
Japanese are also showing signs of falling further behind in realm of global business as well. According to a survey by the Sanno Institute of Management, 49% of new company freshmen in 2010 said they had no desire to work abroad. The responses were 29.2% in 2001 and 28.7% in 2004, but began to rise sharply from 2007, when 36.2% said they wanted to remain in Japan.
It’s hard to globalize when you’re afraid to leave your comfort zone (Japan). So while countries like China, Korea, and Singapore want to expand, Japan is going back to its room to eat Funyans and play video games. Safe and convenient.
This next paragraph kills me.
The disregard for ambition, moreover, appears to apply equally for both males and females. A survey of males and females in their 20s to 40s, conducted by JTB Motivation, determined that the type of person least desired as a “lover,” was “a person driven by ambition, who is obsessed with gaining rank or promotion.” The response, voiced by 40%, was the highest among both genders.
First of all, “who is obsessed with gaining rank or promotion” is a skewed result/question. So what question were these people answering to? Whether they want an absentee husband who only works and is never home? Or if they want a motivated man with goals and passions who is dedicated to working toward higher rank/promotion in order to provide more for his family?
In the current Japanese family model, financial “stability” is easily overrun by family instability. Unsatisfied wives, messed-up kids, cheating husbands…these are “normal” by Japanese standards but they are damn good at sweeping it under the rug.
If in fact people least desired a “person driven by ambition” then this country is in worse shape than I thought. I assumed the “driven by ambition” was a trait that was globally accepted as being something that most women want in a man.
Then again, the growing trend of “herbivore” Japanese males and the women who prefer them is utterly ridiculous.
Related but unrelated story: A friend of mine in his fifties recently went to a UNIQLO shop to buy a flannel shirt. The shop worker told him that it is very popular among “herbivore” men. He told the worker that he changed his mind and won’t buy it then.
The herbivore man is a (not much) meat eating homo-sapien that often wears v-neck t-shirts to show off their visible sternums. They often anime-spike their hair and wear make-up by choice. They don’t actively pursue their dreams, much less women.
How can women feel protected by these things? Would you use a stationary, Styrofoam, life-size Chia-pet for protection? I wouldn’t either.
“I was surprised to see a male student who came to a recruiting interview accompanied by a parent,” a personnel manager at a logistics firm tells Shukan Post. “I don’t think someone so attached to his parents can be expected to do good work. He didn’t get the job.”
Mother’s tend to “enable” their children to be weak and reliant on others. This could be because the samurai fathers work 14 hour days and offer no support for the wife. Could be that the mother has no life other than taking care of the kids and house that it’s a product of her loneliness. Or all of the above.
Regardless, parents should feel societal pressure to make their son’s live on their own. When you live at home with almost no financial responsibility for the first twenty-two years of your life, you will be much further down on the manliness curve. Parents need to accelerate this transition or it will be too late.
Sadly, there are many 22-40 year olds still living at home. Again, safe and convenient.
Human resources training consultant Naomi Hashimoto also expressed concern over the attitudes shown by members of the younger generation.
“A lot of these ‘laid-back company employees’ in their 20s seem to lack common sense,” she says. “New hirees at a regional bank didn’t even know how to pour tea. And as members of the cell phone generation, they have trouble responding to telephone calls from people they don’t know.”
This has got to be a parental problem right? Regardless of the change in society and technology, you can be taught the basics to communication. I lived in the U.S.A. and I learned proper Japanese speaking etiquette and manners. Japanese society hinges on proper etiquette, manner and respecting your elders (even if they are a few months older than you). If this trend gains momentum, who knows what kind of country Japan may end up like. Korea? China? The two countries that Japanese people swear are filled with the most rude, inconsiderate people in Asia. Time to look in the mirror my friends!
Seems to me like there is a serious lack of role models in Japan. With all of the “talents”, movie-stars and comedians saturating Japan’s airwaves, young people rarely have a chance to see international success stories. There has to be something visual for Japanese people to respond to.
There is some good news though. Companies like Rakuten and UNIQLO are becoming very strict with their hiring policies. English proficiency is now REQUIRED. If people can feel more pressured to seriously study English (or other languages) it will change the landscape of Japanese society. It’s not too late!
Being Bi-lingual/Bi-Cultural/Mixed Blooded, it’s probably not in my blood to take the safe route. I feel like I would feel a lack of fulfillment somewhere down the road.
I took a chance coming to Japan after High School in the first place and I am unbelievable happy that I did.
Leaving the comfort of your own home, leaving your family, having to work and provide for yourself is a life changer. It changes your priorities and forces you to become independent and responsible. Most of us need to be forced to be responsible at some point of our lives, I know I did.
Add in that you are in a foreign country and everything gets amplified. Is it scary? Yes. Is it easy? No. Is going through it an awesome experience? Hell yes.
The Japanese youth don’t seem to take the awesomeness factor into consideration.
Copyright © Ry Sullivan 2010
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I love japanese herbivore males! My Japanese girlfriends explained me about that while I was in Japan. About the herbivore males and the carnivorous females, like usagi( rabbit) and tora ( tiger). I would have died for having a Japanese herbivore boyfriend, but since Latin American culture is the opposite it never worked
well, now I’m happily back in Peru but really hope to go back to Japan sometime, I love that culture! I also enjoyed reading this blog while I was there, and it’s still interesting. Hope you keep us informed about your Japanese discoveries 
Sorry I’m late and thanks for the comment. Interesting to hear that you actually like herbivore males. I personally can’t stand them and their weakness may will lead to Japanese male extinction if things don’t change =) The issue here is that women don’t necessarily act as the carnivores, its that historically subservient women (this is changing) want to rely on historically carnivores males (this is also changing). Therefore we are getting a movement in weakness BUT also a movement in more Japanese women moving abroad to “broaden there horizons” thus resulting in more interracial dating. This isn’t necessarily that bad per se, but it does leave Japanese males with less confidence and dwindling opportunities. Not good for a country that needs to make more babies!