RESOURCE PAPER - 8

What Makes
Japan Clickby
Geethanjali Rajan
N. Krishnaswami&
Suguna Ramamoorthy

RESOURCE PAPER - 8

What Makes Japan Clickby
Geethanjali Rajan
N. Krishnaswami&
Suguna Ramamoorthy

Japan is one of the smallest countries in the world and it is amighty economic power - third in the world ; may soon become
the second. How is it possible?
This Resource Paper on What makes Japan click? tries to analyse
the answer to the question. The authors have pointed out the
innate strength of the nation is in its people.
It is our earnest desire that everyone of us reads this Resource
Paper and emulates Japan to make India vibrant.

August 2016

N. Krishnaswami
ChairmanWhat Makes Japan Click

Introduction
Japan is Asia's game-changer in economics, politics and in sociocultural fields. It is the world's 4th largest economy in terms ofrdpurchasing power parity and is ranked 3 in terms of nominal
GDP. This land where the Sun rises is an archipelago of 6852
islands situated in the Pacific Ocean. Located along the ring offire, consisting of around 200 volcanoes, Japan is also the home ofinnumerable natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoons andtsunamis. With almost three quarters of its land being
mountainous, very little land is available for sustained agriculture
and development. A country with one of the highest life
expectancies (around 83 years), Japan is seen as a nation of“silver” citizens. The declining fertility rates are, to say the least,
alarming for a developed nation. But, Japan is the nation of
successful cutting- edge technology, natural beauty, cultural
savvy and successful industries. What gives this island nation
with its population of around 127 million people (decreasing
rapidly) its motivation to strive and succeed? This paper attempts
5to take an elementary look at the factors that contribute to theJapanese success story.

Socio Cultural Milieu

Homogeneous society
Japan being an island nation, has managed to keep itself as
insulated as desired. This is a controversial statement but
looking at its history, one can conclude that the external
influences have been managed rather well. This might also be
the geographical circumstances that the country found itself in.
Look at the case of India. In a contrasting study of externalinvasions and influences, India was geographically open toalmost anyone who wanted to visit and stay on Mahmoud
Ghazni, the Moghuls and much earlier, Alexander the Great.
However, Japan's influences have been China and the West atdifferent times. The absorption of culture from China and evenlanguage, did not erode the society of Japan. This is because
there was no invasion of Japan. In fact, the society of Japan is
one of the most homogenous societies in the world. Again, thisis a statement that would attract the ire of western social
scientists who would rather not talk about the homogeneity of asociety. However, let us not link the uniqueness in Japan to asmall foreign population or to the lack of acknowledging thehistory of a class system that existed till a hundred odd years
ago. Instead, let us acknowledge the desire of the Japanese wholook for a national identity and also place the group's identity
above the individual's own desire to shine. This is the very
quality that lets a country, regardless of its millions of varying
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opinions, stand up together and as one, after each great natural
disaster that claims hundreds of lives.

Hard work
The value of hard work is something that every nation aspires toinstill into its people, especially people below the age of sixty.
Productivity being a great determiner of the fortunes of nations, it
is rightly so. An average Japanese person puts his or her work
above self, family and friends. There is an old adage that many aJapanese man dies of hard work (karoushi or death fromoverwork). As is the case with statistical data, though the deathfrom overwork is a significant number, it could just be that Japanis one of the few countries that report these deaths as a separate
category. But this apart, Japanese men do live a good part of the
day at the office. The value of hard work is instilled in the earlyschool days itself. Working hard to keep up at school and to dowell is considered to be the duty of a student. Slackers are looked
down on and the message is clear from the beginning. As a result,
adults in society understand the necessity for hard work. They
also see the need to conform and be one with the group. Moreoften than not, Japanese are driven more by this need than any
other. As a result, the group thrives on hard work and the results
are seen in the phoenix like rise from the ashes of the nuclear
bombing of the World War II.

Teamwork
In Japan, teamwork is considered a responsibility and not justsomething one does at work. Being a member of a team orcompany or society ensures that one behaves responsibly and in a7manner that helps those around. This also ensures that everyone isworking towards a common shared goal.
Individual accomplishments and shining at the expense ofanother is looked down upon. The senpai and kouhai culture ofmentoring also helps newer employees understand that they arepart of the larger vision of the organization and not justindividuals looking at climbing the corporate ladder. This is very
different from most countries, where a junior employee has tolook out for himself almost as much as he works with his team. In
heterogeneous teams, team building might be something that
corporate managements invest in out of necessity. However, inJapan, even the morning exercise that is done to radio music is an
exercise that unites people across the country! All businessmeetings begins with self- introduction and it is part of etiquettethat one says the name of one's organization before one's own
name. This simple act itself is a pointer to the importance of theteam before the individual.
Of course, decision making in Japanese firms is a time consuming
process from the point of view of foreigners. Very often, it is citedas the stumbling block to clinching deals or negotiating withJapanese companies. However, decision making is an inclusive
process in a Japanese company and all parts of the organization
are included in the process. This ensures that the decision taken is
accepted by all and is mainly a group endeavor.

Punctuality
The concept of time is different in different cultures and theJapanese stand out as being the most punctual race. As a people
that value their time very much, their public transport system is8

built to vouch safe that. Meetings have to be started on time. One
has to make sure that one is at the meeting venue 5 minutes ahead
and not at the given time. Deadlines and schedules are adhered to.
Here again, time consciousness is instilled very early in life andthere is no excuse for tardiness. This makes the average Japanesenational very annoyed when working in other cultures that taketime management rather easily. In Japan, trains that are
unavoidably late have their staff issuing late slips (and apologies)
to their customers, so that they are not penalized by theircompanies. This quality of punctuality is seen more as a
responsibility and a duty towards their fellow beings and not as aburden. This is the beauty of the system! Often times, this has led
to the Japanese counterpart saying that even if the person does notknow Japanese language, it is not a problem; however, if they do
not know the value of time, it is impossible to see eye-to-eye.

Respect
The concept of respect is enmeshed into the Japanese, as is thecase with many Asian cultures. Respect for fellow beings be itsuperiors at work, colleagues, friends or acquaintances is
expected and understood as a concept. The Japanese language
too has the concept of keigo or a set of words and phrases thatare used to place the speaker and the listener at two different
levels one in an exalted position (listener) and the other in a
humble position (speaker). These complex levels of language
also indicate the familiarity between the two people interactingor their lack of it! Here, the concept of uchi and soto (insider andoutsider/ us and them) comes into play. If a company executive
is talking to a client, the client is placed at the honorific level
immediately. The study of a language and its structure can9reveal a lot about the culture of the people using the language.
In this case, respect is a complex concept deeply engraved in theJapanese.
It is not only people who are respected in this culture; the expanseof respect is extended to time, the environment, objects and ofcourse, to one's work. This quality is probably the one that any
culture, including the newer Japanese generation, will do well tosustain. What else can one do better than to encourage sustainable
development initiatives based on a framework of mutual respect
between people and the planet?

The Aged
According to a summary report of the national census of 2015 in
Japan, 26.7% of the 127.11 million population is aged 65 years orolder. This figure has surged over the previous 5 years and thenumber of senior citizens living alone is alarmingly high. 1 inevery 8 men and 1 in every 5 women aged over 65 lives alone.
This figure will increase rapidly in the next few years owing to thepost war baby boomer generation of people, who will cross overto the post 65 age group soon, if they haven't already. While thismeans that the nation is burdened with increasing healthcare
costs, it also is an opportunity for Japan to open the doors to
immigrant jobs and investment by overseas companies in Japan(with an overseas workforce, perhaps). However, the average
Japanese elder is not ready to sit at home and enjoy the comfortsof doing nothing. In fact, it is considered quite disdainful to do so.
Most people over 60 are happy to continue working wherever
there is an opportunity and the Japanese government has decided
to increase the age of retirement to 62 and is thinking ofincreasing it to 65 in the next ten years. The respect for work and10

recognizing it as the reason for one's well-being and good healthis perhaps, best learnt from the silver citizen in Japan. It is not an
uncommon trend in corporates to want to retain older employees
past their retirement age. In the near future, maybe it will result ina positive trend of re-employment.
Respect for the aged is again something that is taken for granted.
There is a Day earmarked for Respect for the Aged (keiro no hi)
too. However, nowadays it is not uncommon to see the youth ofthe country sitting down and pretending to not see the seniorcitizen standing in the densha (train). It is hoped that it is not a
generalization of the way things will turn, because one of theinspiring qualities of society in Japan is the presence of theirsenior citizens who are independent and actively volunteer invarious community initiatives.

Concept of honour
The concept of honour or face (mentsu) is something unique toAsia, particularly, East Asia. In Japan, an honoured position is
given to important people and guests. This way, there is abuildup given to their presence. Similarly, one also finds that
there is an extreme aversion to loss of face or honour in public.
This makes the Japanese very cautious of their actions andbehavior in a group. In meetings, great care is taken to prevent
any manner that may be perceived as being questioning to thepeople in higher positions. It also means that their actions will
be done in a manner that guards their own honour. Hence,
openly questioning superiors at work or in meetings is not
accepted. The concept of honour and the “way” may be traced
back to the bushido or way of the Samurai. However, many alsofeel that its roots lie in Confucianism. Whatever may be the11history, an honourable code of conduct ensures that once theword is given, it isn't broken and the task is also finishedhonourably. This is an easy concept to understand in the Indian
milieu too, where ancient India had its foundations in “keeping its
word” and “saving one's honour”.

Space Utilization
Japan has a land area of 364560 square kilometres according to
the World Bank (2014). Of this, very little can be used for
agriculture and living. (Most of its land is mountainous and manya mountain is volcanic). Space is at a premium in Japan, be it in
the vertically expanded largest metropolis of the world, Tokyo, or
the more idyllic towns and cities of other prefectures. Hence, theJapanese have mastered the art of optimum use of space in theirhomes and work environment. Multipurpose rooms, collapsibleor removable walls and room separators, assembled and easily
dismantled furniture, roll and put away futons (mattresses) are alla norm and not just luxury. Sometimes, this is taken to an extreme
too. How else can one justify the development of capsule hotels
where one gets just enough space to sit or lie down in a bunker
type capsule?
The urban planning in Japan is detailed and the zoning system
ensures that the use of land is controlled. Its people are highly
aware of the restrictions of space and do not accumulate
unnecessary paraphernalia in their living spaces. This also gives aminimalist approach where the concept of less is more isemphasized. Traditional art forms in Japan too seem to haveimbibed the concept of minimalism. Perhaps, there is a definite
link between physical space and the space in art.
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Technology
Think of Nihon and the first association is probably technology
and gadgets, for a majority of people. In the early days,
technology was seen in industrial development and later, thebuzzword was consumer electronics. The complete capture of theelectronics mind space by Japan overshadowed their capabilities
in all other fields, at least in the minds of the people of the world.
Japan stood for superior quality and design. Technologicalprowess is seen in the automative industry and even today, holds
the sway over many an Asian market. Today, Japan is seen as theleader in robotics, with innovations in the fields of robotics inconstruction, automation, diagnostics, medical devices andhealth care. The problems of loneliness, isolation and evenfriendlessness of our current urban existence are looked at with asolution of talking dolls and tail-wagging dogs in Japan.
Mobile devices and the internet- enabled devices-sector are thefocus of technology now and Japanese majors are rushing toincorporate features (software) that will make smartphones think
like human beings.

ResearchResearch and innovation are seen as keys to development andthinking and Japan has the funds and the determination to
pursue this. This country has produced over twenty Nobel
Laureates in Physics, Chemistry and Physiology and Medicine.
There are many more scientists in Japan who have not been
given the Nobel but have contributed to new scientific theory
and development in their areas of pure and applied sciences.
The first Nobel went to Yukawa Hideki for his prediction of the13existence of mesons and the latest in 2016 to Yoshinori Ohsumi
for his study on cell autophagy. The Japanese government
values research in many fields and funds are allocated to
S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y u s e , I n f o r m a t i o n a n dCommunications, Social sciences, Life innovations,
nanotechnology and now, green and sustainable innovations.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology has promotion of research and development as a
key focus area and has as many as nine independentadministrative institutions to implement the National Policy
Objectives with regard to science and technology. These bodies
include Japan Science and Technology Agency, RIKEN, andother specific area related institutions like Earth science,Radiological sciences, Space exploration, Marine science,
Material science and Atomic energy.
When there is a policy driven focus on research and innovation,higher education institutions will also strive to makeprogrammes, and structure the education system with theobjective of fostering excellence and developing students whoare capable of pursuing the goal of discovery, creation and finally,
usefulness to society.

A Commitment to Superior Quality
The Japanese have always been known for the superior quality of
their wares even in traditional and old handicrafts. Woodproducts, cloth, handmade articles are all known to excel in theirfine details. As a people, the Japanese are as particular about how
things are done as the outcome. Hence, the process and the
product are essentially important, as is the maker of the product.
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The fine quality of Japanese products today, be it electronics or carsor mobile phones, is not just an incidental result of a keen andwatchful race. It is the result of much research and practice and has
been the fulcrum of industrial success in Japan. Think of Toyota andone automatically has a vision of superior quality. It is true thatmany of the quality initiatives that the world has come to follow, hasstarted from the factories of Toyota. The concept of fine quality
applies to the majority of products made in Japan and the Japanese
themselves, are proud of the fact (nihonsei manufactured in Japan).
The concept of kaizen (continuous improvement or gradualimprovement for the better) is the key quality management
principle adopted in the manufacturing sector. This includes theconcepts of 5S (seiri, seiketsu,seiton, seiso, shitsuke tidiness,
standardized clean up, orderliness, cleanliness, discipline), 3 M(muda, mura, muri avoid waste), JIT (Just in Time), Lean
production, SMED and TQM. These quality processes that theworld has embraced have their beginnings in Japan. The greatest
contribution towards quality by the Japanese is perhaps, therealization that every employee is involved in the quality initiative
taken up by the company. In this process of organized kaizen, it is
the individual employee who is empowered and all other steps (likequality circles) stem from this. The whole approach has harmony as
the underlying principle (和wa = harmony = the Japanese way inkanji). The Japanese concept of quality has come to mean that theinterests of all stakeholders are taken into account and valued.

Conclusion
To the outsider, Japan is a land of mystery and probably thought ofas incomprehensible because of the language barrier. Hence,
Japan is often thought of as a monolith. However, a closer look at
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its culture and society reveals that its people are vibrant,
hardworking and forward looking (maemuki). To shake off theravages of the nuclear bombs and to rebuild the nation brick bybrick is no mean feat. To climb to a position of economic powerand capture the markets by superior quality products andinnovative research is commendable. The newer challenges of thetwenty first century - the economic downturn, sustainable
initiatives to prevent environmental collapse and keeping the next
generation motivated, will be on the minds of the Japanese, as is
the case in most other countries. With their respect for the past,their eye for fine details and precision in the present and aharmonious vision for the future, the Japanese can continue toinspire the age that we are in.

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