When Japanese firms and government market the concept of "Cool Japan" abroad, a few formulas come in mind. For them, to get foreigners to "like" Japan and its culture, it simply cannot beat a demonstration of what are traditional combined with the country's modern quirks. The likes of martial arts, kimono, and tea ceremonies can expose foreigners to the historical depths, while singing idol groups, cartoon characters, and technological demonstrations can show how the country can combine its traditional values and mold it in a modern sense.
In some ways, the formula has worked quite well. The number of foreigners practicing various forms of Japanese martial arts are on the rise along with number of tourists heading to the country. The fervent fans of Japanese manga and anime have not lost their passion, while the country's image abroad is improving while those of others take a beating. Yet, what is effective as stock images and impressions projected abroad often do not translate so well when the foreigners, instead of residing somewhere where Japan is a faraway exotic land, happen to live within Japan already.
A recent conversation with a friend brought up long-time "pro-Japanese" foreigners' first impressions of the country when they first arrived. The friend mentioned an interesting phenomenon in which the said first-time arrivals noted just how disappointed they are of finding Japan to be a "real place with real problems." Unsurprisingly, the world of martial arts, kimonos, manga, and robots are often marketed as all-positive. It is a Japan marked by order,serenity, traditions, friendliness, and even widespread tolerance. It is a land without permanent conflicts and unresolvable issues.
Yet, those characteristics, observed from a third person perspective, quickly breaks down when the observer becomes a resident needing to navigate all the socio-economic intricacies for survival. All the sudden, communication with the Japanese became riddled with social faux pas, progress on needed processes became frustratingly slow, and that beautiful serenity previously observed from the outside became equated with inefficiencies once on the inside. Many many years of loving those martial arts and mangas certainly have not prepared the foreigners for the cultural shock, with love quickly turning to dismay.
The way Japan advertises itself to foreigners who live in Japan is at least partially to blame for foreign residents' frustration. In many so-called international exchange events organized by governments and companies in Japan, the activities and messages put forth is no different from those marketed toward foreigners who have never lived in the country. They still advertise the usual "Cool Japan" factors, topping the list of programs with martial arts, idols, and all other modern/traditional trappings of Japanese society. They do not distinguish foreign residents in Japan with those who have never lived here.
But the fact of the matter is that foreign residents in this country no longer need to be advertised with those superficial characteristics of the country. They see them everyday, inundated with their presence even as they struggle to get by on a day-to-day basis, in a culture they feel distant toward, using a language they barely understand. What they need now is not glowing demonstrations on the allures of Japanese cultural products, but highly practical methods on navigating a real society, with real problems. For these foreign residents, their blind love of the country has already be superseded by real considerations of its detrimental qualities.
To cater to these foreign residents, Japan must start asking itself some very tough questions on cultural differences. How come a generation of foreigners, inundated with Japanese cultural products and came to live here due to their supposed love for Japanese culture, feel so much cultural shock when they actually get here? Is there something fundamentally wrong with the way Japanese culture is propagated to foreigners that, intentionally and unintentionally, neglect the not-too-sanguine aspects of cultural communications just so that cultural products (and a positive national image) can sell well through blind, unquestioning love?
Perhaps the starting point of making real changes should come from asking the foreign residents about what really are the frustrations that they have from living in Japan, and devising solutions. There is no doubt that some of the frustrations expressed will be highly uncomfortable for a Japanese audience. Discomfort in dialogue with foreign exchange professionals, however, is still much more comfortable than conflicts with regular Japanese with little experience handling foreigners. If professionals can correct negative sentiments expressed by foreigners through more policies and processes for governments and firms, maybe there could be less conflicts in daily lives, even without having to re-educate the entire populace on handling foreigners.
In tandem, it really is necessary to bury a concept of international exchange based on the idea of sharing and selling certain cultural products, however subtle the process might be. By showcasing the likes of martial arts and idols to an audience of ogling foreigners, the only outcome is deepening that sense of highly erroneous illusion among the Japanese that foreigners love Japan and Japanese culture unconditionally. It glosses over the complex feelings all foreign residents in Japan have about the country and its actual cultural manifestations on the ground. Such a reductionist, unproductive way of thinking has no place for concretely making the country a more tolerant and convenient place for foreigners to live.
In some ways, the formula has worked quite well. The number of foreigners practicing various forms of Japanese martial arts are on the rise along with number of tourists heading to the country. The fervent fans of Japanese manga and anime have not lost their passion, while the country's image abroad is improving while those of others take a beating. Yet, what is effective as stock images and impressions projected abroad often do not translate so well when the foreigners, instead of residing somewhere where Japan is a faraway exotic land, happen to live within Japan already.
A recent conversation with a friend brought up long-time "pro-Japanese" foreigners' first impressions of the country when they first arrived. The friend mentioned an interesting phenomenon in which the said first-time arrivals noted just how disappointed they are of finding Japan to be a "real place with real problems." Unsurprisingly, the world of martial arts, kimonos, manga, and robots are often marketed as all-positive. It is a Japan marked by order,serenity, traditions, friendliness, and even widespread tolerance. It is a land without permanent conflicts and unresolvable issues.
Yet, those characteristics, observed from a third person perspective, quickly breaks down when the observer becomes a resident needing to navigate all the socio-economic intricacies for survival. All the sudden, communication with the Japanese became riddled with social faux pas, progress on needed processes became frustratingly slow, and that beautiful serenity previously observed from the outside became equated with inefficiencies once on the inside. Many many years of loving those martial arts and mangas certainly have not prepared the foreigners for the cultural shock, with love quickly turning to dismay.
The way Japan advertises itself to foreigners who live in Japan is at least partially to blame for foreign residents' frustration. In many so-called international exchange events organized by governments and companies in Japan, the activities and messages put forth is no different from those marketed toward foreigners who have never lived in the country. They still advertise the usual "Cool Japan" factors, topping the list of programs with martial arts, idols, and all other modern/traditional trappings of Japanese society. They do not distinguish foreign residents in Japan with those who have never lived here.
But the fact of the matter is that foreign residents in this country no longer need to be advertised with those superficial characteristics of the country. They see them everyday, inundated with their presence even as they struggle to get by on a day-to-day basis, in a culture they feel distant toward, using a language they barely understand. What they need now is not glowing demonstrations on the allures of Japanese cultural products, but highly practical methods on navigating a real society, with real problems. For these foreign residents, their blind love of the country has already be superseded by real considerations of its detrimental qualities.
To cater to these foreign residents, Japan must start asking itself some very tough questions on cultural differences. How come a generation of foreigners, inundated with Japanese cultural products and came to live here due to their supposed love for Japanese culture, feel so much cultural shock when they actually get here? Is there something fundamentally wrong with the way Japanese culture is propagated to foreigners that, intentionally and unintentionally, neglect the not-too-sanguine aspects of cultural communications just so that cultural products (and a positive national image) can sell well through blind, unquestioning love?
Perhaps the starting point of making real changes should come from asking the foreign residents about what really are the frustrations that they have from living in Japan, and devising solutions. There is no doubt that some of the frustrations expressed will be highly uncomfortable for a Japanese audience. Discomfort in dialogue with foreign exchange professionals, however, is still much more comfortable than conflicts with regular Japanese with little experience handling foreigners. If professionals can correct negative sentiments expressed by foreigners through more policies and processes for governments and firms, maybe there could be less conflicts in daily lives, even without having to re-educate the entire populace on handling foreigners.
In tandem, it really is necessary to bury a concept of international exchange based on the idea of sharing and selling certain cultural products, however subtle the process might be. By showcasing the likes of martial arts and idols to an audience of ogling foreigners, the only outcome is deepening that sense of highly erroneous illusion among the Japanese that foreigners love Japan and Japanese culture unconditionally. It glosses over the complex feelings all foreign residents in Japan have about the country and its actual cultural manifestations on the ground. Such a reductionist, unproductive way of thinking has no place for concretely making the country a more tolerant and convenient place for foreigners to live.
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