STUDENT VIEW

Group Mentality Versus
Individualism in Japanese Society
By Miki Yokotsuka
Group mentality is valued over individuality in Japanese society as
it provides both benefits and protection to the individual and theJapanese system. In Western societies where individuality is highlyvalued, group mentality is seen as inimical to creativity and progress.
It is commonly perceived as a constraining attitude, keeping people
from expressing their feelings and thoughts. A famous Japanese
proverb – “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down” –illustrates the concept that strong individuality might be moredangerous than group mentality as it may create divisions amongpeople.
Working with a group in a company taught me the importance ofgroup mentality in creating a better environment for everyone tounderstand the goals and objectives of the company, and to express
one’s feelings and thoughts more easily. Working in a group not only
makes you a good communicator, but also makes you think more
consciously than impulsively, leading to a more positive andproductive life. I would like to use my own experiences ofovercoming the dilemma of balancing individuality and groupmentality to suggest the importance and implications of the latter.

My Working Experience
Since my graduation from university, I have been working for threemonths in a company handling office supplies. I have come to realizethat the goals and objectives of a company can only be understood
through working within a group. General goals and objectives caneasily be understood as concepts, but incorporating them into dayto-day work can best be done when communicating with colleagues
on-site.
Japanese civilization has a long history and in the development ofsocial communication in the country a great emphasis has been laidon understanding the implicit rules of a group community, as well as
the language used in the group in accordance with these rules. Thus
group-oriented behavior has acquired a greater importance overindividualism. The way individuals think and behave is mostly basedon personal experience and the values that an individual mightprioritize may often not match the aspirations or goals of a group.
While working in a company we have to align our personal interests
to the goals and objectives of our workplace. When seniors andcolleagues teach us these implicit rules in a group, we start to56 Japan SPOTLIGHT • November / December 2019

Author Miki Yokotsuka

understand how we should behave in keeping consistency with thecompany’s goals and pursuing our own individual goals in thecompany. New knowledge and experience can be acquired throughcommunicating with other people and that can also inspire in us agreater willingness to learn.
Here are three examples from my own experience in which I
learned about the importance of communication in the company.

Communication in a Group
Communicating and sharing what you understand and do notunderstand about the company with your seniors and colleagues assoon as possible is the key to creating a good environment at work.
When I joined my company, I thought that it would be unnecessary
to speak to my seniors about topics that are not related to work. Thisidea came to me from the thought that the office should not be aplace to express myself and it made me feel a bit ill at ease about myworkplace. In fact, I started to feel stressed about talking to myseniors about my work as well. After working for a month, I made a
mistake on my given task, but the first thing that came to my mind
was that I did not want my seniors to realize my mistake. I stayedsilent until it started to affect my other work. After that I talked
honestly to my seniors about my mistake and the problem wassolved in a second. They advised me then to talk to them if I had any
issues or problems emerging.
This incident made me realize that it is important to talk to mysuperiors about my work. It should be important to talk to yourseniors honestly, and to share thoughts with them to create a betterworking environment for everyone. From that day onwards, I started
to talk to my seniors more often about work and eventually about
myself. They were very generous and always helped me improve myskills. This created a comfortable atmosphere in the office. Moreover,as time went by they started to sense my issues even without
speaking to me but by reading my mind, and advised me how torespond to them, which helped me improve my efficiency as well as
my skills. From this experience, I realized that it is always importantto talk with one’s seniors about anything, as it can lead to better
mutual understanding, stronger bonding, and efficiency throughcooperation.

https://www.jef.or.jp/journal/

STUDENT VIEWHeart-to-Heart Communication Most Important
As many may know, in Japanese society people use different
styles of “keigo” (polite language) to show consideration and respect
to people who are older than them. When I started to work, I was notconfident about using keigo, which frustrated me very much incommunicating within the company. I felt I could not communicatesmoothly with my seniors due to the different usage of keigo but at
the same time thought that I was able to make myself understoodsomehow. However, one of my seniors told me that he could notunderstand what I was really trying to say. I was very shocked, but it
made me realize for the first time that I was too conscious about
trying to make myself seem like a very polite person, and failed toconvey my exact meaning. From that day onwards, I concentrated on
speaking more clearly about what I really wanted them to know. This
made me realize that even if you forget to use polite words, others
can feel the appreciation and respect you have for them throughactions or the way you communicate. In other words, having respect
at heart for others is important if you want a heart-to-heart
communication.

Communication at Izakaya
In sharing thoughts and creating a better understanding with yourseniors, it is also important to listen and to know about your seniors
as well as talking with them about yourself. An Izakaya, a Japanesestyle pub, is a great place to share your thoughts more freely in an
informal and relaxed gathering while drinking beer or sake. Izakaya
are known as places to enjoy drinking and spontaneous conversation
with your friends and colleagues to relieve stress from work. But
young people today in Japan often say they do not want to join suchgatherings or go out with their seniors to any other place to eat ordrink. When I was looking for a job in my senior year at university,
my fellow students usually asked in Q&A sessions with assessment
officials about how often these informal gatherings are held incompanies. Many young people looking for jobs are concerned about
the role of such informal gatherings in a company’s social
communication culture, and perhaps they are not confident about
their communication skills at such gatherings. So some companies
may now think that fewer such gatherings for drinks would be more
effective in recruiting people.
However, I believe these gatherings are a great opportunity to gain
new ideas and skills from your seniors. Whether you understandthem well or not, it could change the working environment and yourdegree of stress. You could feel more secure and concentrate moreon your work, as well as gain insights from those who have moreexperience than you. It is a great opportunity to learn about people in
the workplace and create better harmony with others, as well as agreat opportunity to think about your future career and avoid making
huge mistakes or wrong decisions.

My Conclusion
When we start working, we realize how important it is to befriendly with our colleagues. I joined the company that was my first
choice. However, after the training period, they posted me in a
department which I was not expecting and to an office located in arural area where I had no connections. I could not state mypreference about the posting and had to comply with it. But afterworking there for a week, I began to think that starting my firstcareer in a new location as a salesperson was a great opportunity forme to gain knowledge and skills. I realized that if we strengthen ourability to communicate, it will help us gain new points of view fromothers and find new perspectives on life and work.
The joy of life increases as awareness of ourselves and oursurroundings increases, and we can achieve this only when we try togain it consciously. Without communication with others, we will justdrift in subjective thoughts and selfishness, and we will fail in life andin the workplace. If we stop insisting on our own views and are readyto be open to others’ thoughts, we can create a comfort zone withina group. Often, we would tend to stick to only one way, which may
differ from the ways of our colleagues or seniors. But if we stop
doing so, we may find a new understanding.
In most situations, living happily is based on communication. It is
possible to say that group communication can be developed better ina society where group mentality is valued over individuality. In sucha society, happiness or wealth can be achieved by being a part of agroup. So I think it is possible to say that the valuing of groupmentality over individuality in Japanese society provides bothbenefits and protection to the individual, and ultimately to theJapanese economic and social system.

Miki Yokotsuka, a graduate of Soka University, works for a stationerycompany in Japan. She spent her childhood in the United States, and previously
studied at Delhi University, India (2014-2015).

Japan SPOTLIGHT • November / December 201957