CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT JAPAN

Basic cultural specifics The language spoken in Japan is japanese, the sixth most spoken language in the world. Practically everyone living there speaks japanese. There are some dialects in Osaka and Kyoto, but the standard language is known everywhere, mainly because of the mass communication.

Japan is a very high-context culture - communication doesn't require a lot of words, which can be irritating for people from cultures with a lower context. The context also includes non-verbal communication, that is very important. There are books for foreigners that explain the different gestures and body language codes of japanese people.

Japanese avoid eye contact when they want privacy and to stare into someone's eyes, especially when this person is older or has a higher status, is very impolite. It is also interesting that nonverbal messages can be clearer than words, as the high-contextuality of this culture allows words to have several meanings - whereas in western societies, words seem more reliable than the nonverbal communication.

In contrast to western societies (and France), there is a high level of collectivism. At the same time, or rather because of that, it is crucial to japanese people to save their face. They avoid direct confrontation and always stay polite. Their feelings are much more expressed through facial expressions and different gestures such as scratching the eyebrow or frowning. Therefore the level of assertiveness is equal zero: being straightforward is social suicide. But there is not only this in-group collectivism - national institutions and the organization of the whole culture is group-centered. The organization of school and work reveals that fact very obviously. In school, children are taught to work together and in companies, you work for the common good and not only for the company. The company is the second family and a lot of time is spent there. What western people call self-evaluation is not important to japanese people - the group judges how effective something is, not the individual. Because of the strong sense for groups / the high level of collectivism, harmony is an extremely important value in Japan.

Japan has longterm orientation. Traditional values are very important. Older people are held in very high esteem. The oldest person within a social group is always honored and respected. When drinks are served, they are served first and the drink is poured for them. It seems like the importance of prestige and collectivism is somehow linked to this longterm orientation. The sad fact, that a lot of japanese men commit suicide can be explained that way. Back in the days, samurai used to commit suicide in order to rehabilitate their prestige. Until today, japanese men that face a dramatic loss of esteem, commit suicide. A loss of esteem can also be a scandal at work or a bad mistake that causes a setback for the company. Working for a company is also a longterm and future-oriented matter. That's why in Japan, it is not (only) important to have great profit in a quarter year, but to have a strong company and serve the steak-holders in the long run.

Men were and still are the leading group in Japan. Japan is a male-dominated country. It is common for women to stay at home as housewife and mom once they are married and have children. Before women introduce themselves to others, it is also common to mention their men's profession and children's school first in order to express her social status. Genders are not equal in Japan.

When it comes to power distance, it is important to notice that people have a strong sense for hierarchy. When your boss wants to drink tee with you, not accepting is a no-go. When you greet a person with higher power, you have to bend your back enough to be physically lower than your opposite. In school, children are taught to address to older students as "seniors". As all decisions are made by groups though, the power distance is not as strong as the social order suggests.

Concerning the level of uncertainty avoidance you can say that Japan belongs to the countries with the highest level of uncertainty avoidance. The geographic setting threatens their life with earthquakes, tsunamis and volcano eruptions. In order to deal with this situation, Japanese are used to prepare for worst-case scenarios. In order to ensure a maximum of harmony in all group situations, there are also a lot of rules about different things as clothing style, table manners and also the meeting and dining etiquette.

Otaku

In order to analyze the ads I chose, I will talk about the subculture called "Otaku" also. When I first read about it, I was confused and not sure if I was getting it right. Otaku seems to be the culture of nerds, geeks, video games and anime addicts. Otaku is the kind of guy that would play the part of an unwanted loser with no friends, no girlfriend, no style and no prom date in a teenage love movie.

Toshio Okada, founder of the most succesfull anime studio in Japan, explains: "It's been difficult to define with one word the variety of genres concerning "Anime", "Manga", "TV-games", "Cos-play ( Masquerade )", "Doujinshi (low print-run Magazines by fans for fans)", "Tokusatsu (Japanese style SFX movies)", "Science Fiction", and "Models". Those hobbies are relative minorities in Japan. Moreover, those who are obsessed by such hobbies are discriminated against, being called "Otaku" and looked down upon by the general public.

So basically, Otaku Culture must be something between obsessive escapism into an anime world and the passionate joy of anime or even both. The basic problem is, that the term Otaku doesn't really have a definition (yet). So instead of talking about a special Otaku culture, I will try to focus on different aspects, symbols and behaviors associated with Otaku. So one aspect that is essential to Otaku is the love for anime and anime styled video games. Instead of just reading/watching anime and playing video games - in 2D - , some Otaku (Otaku is not only the culture but also a noun for followers of this culture) meet in real life - in 3D - and dress up like their favorite characters - which is called "Cos-play". Again, there are different levels of emotional engagement: some of the Otaku really do fall in love with unreal anime characters, others don't take it that seriously.

In Otaku Cafés you can rent different services from maids that dress up like anime style victorian maids. You can let them give you a massage or put your head on their lap and talk to them for example. These innocent platonic adventures make Otaku happy.Critics of Otaku culture refer to this behavior as socially inapt, which is extremely bad - as Japan is a very collectivistic society. Otaku is definitely something that marks a change of attitude in the newer generation of Japan. The self is always dependent from others, all feelings and behavior depend on the group and the level of individualism is rather low. In my opinion the rise of Otaku culture and the rising popularity reflects the wish towards another way of life in Japan.

In order to judge the importance of anime for Japan in general the following quotation might be very helpful: "Unlike the children’s cartoons created by American artists, manga and anime are not only for children, but are targeted toward adults. In Japan, though, manga can refer to a range of publications that includes anime".

Takashi Murakami 

Talking about Otaku, it is important to mention Takashi Murakami. Takashi Murakami is a japanese artist. In 2000, he presented what he calls "Superflat". This art takes elements from anime and other contemporary japanese culture (popculture) and combines them into colorful pieces of art. The name Superflat refers to the tendency of two-dimensionality of japanese art in the 17th, 18th and 19th century. Superflat grew out of the Otaku generation.

Japanese love France

Even if I couldn't find a logic explanation, it is undeniable that Japanese just love France and french products. The Tokyo Tower is a replica of the Eiffel Tower and there are a lot of marketing strategies using french names (even if it doesn't make any sense). There is even a disease called "Paris Syndrome". It describes the cultural shock Japanese are experiencing when they travel to their land of milk and honey - Paris - , only to discover, that french waiters are very impolite and all the romantic Paris stories are nothing special.