A Japanese Society



A Japanese Society

Darlene Porter

St. Petersburg College

A Japanese Society

Overview of Japan

Japan is an island located in Eastern Asia on the Pacific Ocean bordering North Korea, South Korea, and Russia. It has an estimated population of 126.08 million (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs). Japan is one of the world’s leading economic powers; it boasts of having the third largest economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product and purchasing power.

The country consists of several different islands with Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku being the four largest, accounting for 97% of Japan's land area (Contributors). The culture of Japan has evolved from its feudal roots to a modern day outlook that has been influenced by many countries from all over the world, including those in North America, Europe, and other parts of Asia (Contributors). In Japan, it is a social responsibility to react to social norms, but the younger generation has brought many exceptions to the everyday norm due to their mocking of the culture of their ancestors.

Most recently, developments within Japanese culture, which are growing at an astonishing rate are related to industrial technology, modernization, and westernization. The Japanese tradition is very old and deep, its ancestral background gives many more thoughts on the human being than any other cultural background. These adaptations have made the society one of the most developed countries in which to live (Smith).

The type of government in Japan is based on three branches. The Diet, also called the bicameral parliament, which makes up most of the governmental body, consists of the upper House of Councilors and the lower House of Representatives (Maciamo, 2004). The officials elected for the Upper House are elected from constituencies, at the national and local level while members of the lower house are elected from the lower level. The lower house members have more political power than upper house members.

The cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister is the executive branch. At any time, the Prime Minister can dissolve the House of Representatives, but he cannot do the same with the House of Councilors (Maciamo).

The Supreme Court, High Courts and other courts make up the judicial branch (William “Bill” Carraway). This branch holds a good deal of decision making power, since they have the power to elect the next Prime Minister.

Japan's population is growing every year. In June 2008, the population of Japan was estimated at 127.7 million (Inc). There is an average of 327 persons per square kilometer in the country. The population consists of 98.5% ethnic Japanese, and much of the remaining 1.5 percent are made up of Koreans (approximately 1 million people). There are smaller groups made up of Brazilians, Chinese, and Filipinos (Unknown). There is also a minority of indigenous people called Ainu, who live mostly in the northern Hokkaido (Unknown).

The official language in Japan is Japanese, but they also have the ability to speak English since it is mandatory within their educational system (Unknown). Approximately 120 million people speak the Japanese language (Miyagawa). The two main religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism, but most Japanese only follow the traditional religious ceremonies like marriage, birth, and funerals (Unknown, 1996-2011). Shinto is the belief that all things natural are possessed of some type of divine power. Buddhism was brought to Japan over a period of many years, and has been shaped by Japanese cultural practices and values (Unknown).

The gender roles with the Japanese society places a majority of authority with its males and females are considered to have little or no power. However, with the adoption of western ideas as well as continual business developments, times are changing within the society creating an environment where most females prefer to stay independent in order to preserve their freedom (Mark Lim Shan-Loong). For the most part, women’s roles in Japanese society have changed from the old days, which was a time when a woman could not even fish and they were considered subordinates of their male counterparts.

The most fundamental unit of the Japanese society is the family. The family is very important in their society because its roles and behaviors have importance for political and economic institutions (Kawashima, p. 239). The family can also be called ie in Japanese society, which is the formal ordering of family such that each member has a specific role (RimRod).

Child rearing is also a very fundamental part of Japanese society. In order for it to be appropriate, it requires emotional attachment between the parent and the child and infant care is typically a responsibility for women.

The marriage norms can be fit into two categories, love marriage and arranged marriage. Love marriage is based on an attraction between two people, but an arranged marriage is common in the traditional ways where the parents chose their child’s partner. The head of the household title is held by the man in the family in order to continue traditional family values and pass on family assets, social status, and traditions. There are many positive aspects to the Japanese family organization, but like all things, it also has its setbacks.

Social Problems in the Japanese Society

Social problems are a part of every society; they are an aspect of what makes up every part of a working community. Some of the problems that are dicussed openly in Japan are gender division, the decreasing educational system, and the role of women within the society. One of the most significant social problems with the Japanese society would be social withdrawal, also known as Hikikomori.

Hikikomori involves isolating yourself from social and personal activities. Social withdrawal within the Japanese society can mainly be found amongst teens and young adult men who remain confined to their parents’ homes for months and even years (Teo & Gaw, 2010). People within this society completely withdraw themselves from everyone at a slow gradual rate. Some signs in the beginning of being diagnosed with Hikikomori are that they begin to appear unhappy, lose their friends, become insecure, shy, and talk less (Contributors). Approximately, 6% of Japan’s teenagers and 12% of male teen population has dropped out of society and refused to leave their bedrooms (Unknown, 2003).

According to Japan Today, a survey released by the Cabinet Office, work was the main trigger for social withdrawal (Unknown). As stated earlier, people who suffer with Hikikomori can stay in that state for either months or years; so, there is a short term and long term impact on that individual or society as a whole.

Andy, a 17 year old who has not left his room in 8 month states, “My room is like a cathedral to me—I feel safer here than I do when I go out there. And I’m not sure if it’s really worth returning back to school with all the animosity that goes along with it. There’s a very real possibility that I may never leave…” (Unknown).

One short term impact that affects the youth is that they are not able to finish their college education due to isolating themselves from normal activities while in college.

A person in Hikikkomori can also become violent. In a report by Phil Rees, it stated, that a father needs to carry a can of pepper spray to protect him against any attacks from his Hikikomori son (Taylor). As the person who is going through the short term impact of social withdrawal antisocial behaviors increase, it cripples the way they associate with people around them.

Another significant impact of social withdrawal is that the person remains inactive for a long period of time. By going through this phase, it is obvious that the person has completely withdrawn him or herself from any social or development activity, and is handicapped in any type of social development.

Another for social withdrawal among the youth has to deal with social pressure. Many young adults deal with lots of different pressures, such as fitting in at school, pressure from parents, and pressure from society based on family status and background.

Yoshiko, mother of her 17 year old son stated that the reason for her son to withdraw from society was because her son received hate letters and abusive graffiti about him in the schoolyard and after that he went into the family’s kitchen, shut the door, and refused to leave and he hasn’t left the room since then or allowed anyone in (Fogel, p. 188).

Reentry back into society for the young adults who have grown up to be of middle age find it difficult to adapt to the times that they did not expose themselves to during time they were in isolation (Dziesinski).

The drawback seen from current ways in Japan shows that a person who cannot adapt to the educational system might seclude themselves from society, which is considered a negative way of thinking on the rehabilitation part of recovery. Some would ask why educational institutions play such a big role with people who suffer with Hikikomori. That reason is that the Japanese society thinks their educational system adapts to everyone’s’ social class.

One effective way of combatting social withdrawal would be to educate in different ways and social perceptions. To be successful in the Hikikomori phenomenon requires development of a whole range of support measures which includes information and advice. Everyone from parents, teachers, employers, and young people need to get more of an understanding of how to live in this modern life and knowing how to cope with the discrepancies of today’s society.

Another issue that could help resolve the social disorder would be for employers to make the work environments more accessible for their employees in order to be more productive and keep their economy in good standing. Currently, Japanese males are forced to put job over self and family, which lean towards datsuzara, or abandonment of the work place, and then to Hikikomori.

Many look the other way when dealing with issues with social disorders. There are many who suffer with this disorder but there have only been ten known reported issues dealing with Hikikomori. A reason for this is that the media has more reports of Hikikomori than many people in the psychiatric field have actually ever studied, so without much knowledge of this disorder they cannot establish a pin point theory on how to diagnose or treat this disorder.

The treatments most have approached this disorder with are socialization and psychological methods. The socialization method brings the subject from their isolated surroundings and has them interact with small groups of recovering sufferers. The psychological method basically stresses the importance of getting professional help or counseling in order for them to have assistance in regaining entry into society. Many people have had different outlooks on removing people from their home and there are people currently working on setting up online counseling in order for those affected to get help while still confined to their secluded areas.

In conclusion, Hikikomori is a growing disorder and will continue to grow as long as there is slump in the environment or society the Japanese youths live in. Due to the recent tragedy in Japan and decreasing economy, many will still fall into becoming isolated because they will not know how to deal with the changes that happen in society. If more sufferers would get diagnosed with this disorder, physicians would be able to study it and get more information about how to treat someone who may be lapsing out of society.

Also, if Japan could change the way the society as a whole thinks or acts, they would be decrease the rate of people with social withdrawal.

Setting up support systems for families that have children who suffer with social withdrawal disorder would show them how others cope with this disorder and how they should approach their reentry into society. All in all, if the society is not changing then the numbers will grow for Hikikomori suffers in Japan and spread to other countries. By reading more information and asking more questions about the signs and symptoms of someone who may be suffering with this disorder, we as human beings would better know how to address the issue and know how to deal with those that are suffering today.

References

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Contributors, W. (2011, April 23). Culture of Japan. Retrieved from

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Dziesinski, M. (2008, July 31). "From Failed Sons to Working Men: Rehabilitating Hikikomori. Retrieved from

Fogel, A. (n.d.). Current problems of Japanese youth: Some possible pathways for alleviating these problems from the perspective of dynamic systems theory (p. 188). Retrieved from

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Kawashima, T. (1953, Summer). A Summary and Analysis of "The Familial Structure of Japanese Society". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 9(2).

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Smith, K. (2011, April 23). Culturescope Resources: Social and Cultural Continuity and Change. Retrieved from

Taylor, M. (Spring/Summer 2006). Strategies of Dissociation: A Mimetic Dimension to Social Problems in Japan. Retrieved from

Teo, AR, & Gaw, AC. (2010). Hikikomori, a Japanese culture-bound syndrome of social withdrawal?: A proposal for DMS-5. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 198(6), 444-449.

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William "Bill" Carraway. (2006, January 20). Japan: Land of the Rising Sun. Retrieved from

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