Comments on: On Getting In With the In Crowd in Japan

By: Understanding Dr. Seuss in Japan | The Japanese Role Playing Game

Understanding Dr. Seuss in Japan | The Japanese Role Playing Game — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 01:18:46 +0000

[…] The ideas and lessons in the book are subtly American (Not overtly American, which is okay. Subtly American makes it harder to place.) […]

By: On Driving a Train Off the Rails in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

Wed, 18 Sep 2013 14:52:30 +0000

[…] unendurable, you actually start subjecting them to unendurable situations. Couple this with rigid hierarchies and lifetime employment that makes “take this job and shove it” responses more or less […]

By: On Inventing Yourself in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

On Inventing Yourself in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:46:21 +0000

[...] of course, showing up to work early; never expressing my objections to decisions of superiors; asking the permission of multiple people to do simple tasks, such as going to the bank on my lunch [...]

By: On Losing Your ID In Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

On Losing Your ID In Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:35:02 +0000

[...] turned the bureaucratic crank and walked through the stacked wheels of Japan. I spoke to my work supervisor, who spoke to the office supervisor, who spoke to the [...]

By: renmi86

renmi86 — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 02:44:38 +0000

Yes, I know that feeling so well. That moment when you become “one of the group” and stop being “that one there.” At first (when I first entered into Japanese society, via my Japanese step-mother) I was treated as the outsider and then became “the pet.” Then, as I got older (especially after my 20th birthday — at least when everyone acknowledged I was over-20 and no longer a college student) everyone seemed to buckle down. I was no longer the pet, but a young adult who had to play even better with others, with no complaints, without being told what to do (I was supposed to know.) It was so frustrating! ((and I know I have it, even this way, easy because I still am given the grace of “well, she wasn’t born here…))

But you explain very well the differences between Japanese and western cultures. Thanks for putting words to these feelings.

By: Wim

Wim — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 05:49:50 +0000

Thank you, interesting read giving a bit more insight on the working situation ..

By: Weilong

Weilong — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 01:17:03 +0000

New arrivals get to use the gaijin card, a free pass for all kinds of bad behavior. If you stay long enough, though, there comes a day when you are expected to know better. That marks the gaijin’s admission as a member of the group. That only means that you now have a status, and are no longer just an interloper who is not part of the system.