Contemporary diversity issues and their impacts

¶ … Japan and Japanese-Americans

During the 1980s, interest in Japan increased again in American culture because of what was then called Japanese economic miracle, and it was deemed essential for most international businesspersons to be fluent in Japanese cultural differences and communication patterns. Yet during the 1940s, Japanese-Americans were interned by the American government, for no other crime than having Japanese origins (McCarthy, 2004, citing Dower). These historical examples highlight a tension between understanding Japan and not stereotyping Japanese-Americans. On one hand, the differences between Japanese culture and the United States must be acknowledged, to show respect for societal and individual differences -- on the other hand, limiting stereotypes must not be inflicted upon Japanese-Americans or the Japanese people, so dignity and respect is accorded to them as human beings.

In contrast to the United States, Japan and most other Asiatic nations have been described as a high-context in their communication patterns, or manifesting a culture where who you know, to whom you are speaking, and the context in which you are speaking is of great and vital importance, more so than what you say. "Most of the information is either in the physical context or initialized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message" unlike the low-context communication style of the United States (High context vs. low context cultures, 2009, ViaWeb). In short, to fully appreciate the significance of what an individual in Japan is saying, it may be necessary to appreciate his or her 'difference' in communication patterns.

Additionally, when analyzing Japan, it may be fair to make some generalizations about the culture, such as a greater emphasis on the collective good vs. The individual's autonomy. This does not mean that one culture is better or worse than the other, but simply an acknowledgement that there may be different values in other lands (Japanese culture, 2004.The Japan FAQ)

However, these generalized differences have often been used pejoratively against Japanese-Americans. Most famously, Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II. Their patriotism was viewed as suspect by the American government and all Japanese people were portrayed as a faceless mass in wartime propaganda. Significantly, Japanese people were called 'Japs' by the media of the day, versus the German forces, who were called 'Nazis' which did not verbally implicate German-Americans or question German-American patriotism (Murphy, citing Dower, pp.81-82). This transference of the stereotyping of the nation to Japanese-Americans, simply because of their origin, continued long after the internment. When 'Japan' is covered in the modern media even today, for some individuals it can still be difficult for some people to separate possessing a Japanese heritage vs. The policies of the Japanese government -- and also because stereotypes are often used in business literature in dealing with Japan, this can seem to excuse negative and positive stereotypes against individual Japanese people and Japanese-Americans.

Japanese-Americans have also often in recent years been the subject of another kind of stereotype, in contrast to the World War II 'yellow horde' attribution, particularly after the nation's great success economically in the 1980s. The adaptation of many Japanese business practices by American companies wishing to be competitive, and the highly-publicized (although somewhat misrepresented) rigor of the Japanese school system lead to the 'model minority' myth circulated in the United States. "High- and low-achieving Asian-identified students experienced anxiety to uphold the expectations of the model minority stereotypes. The students who were unable to perform well academically felt depressed and were embarrassed to seek help....stereotyping has led to the neglect of the development of student services and support for the many Asian-American students who are undereducated and have low socioeconomic status" (Kim & Yeh 2009).

Acculturation for first-generation Asian immigrants can be rooted in language obstacles, but the assumption of a lack of fluency can even plague those who do not speak their native language. Japanese-Americans, because of stereotypes of Japan, may be particularly pigeonholed as uncreative, wealthy, and 'naturally' hard-working and good at math, regardless of their personal attributes, given commonly circulated stereotypes about the Japanese nation. Again, the tension: to communicate in Japan, one must understand linguistic and cultural differences between Japan and other cultures. A lack of eye contact, a greater affinity for silence and vague language, is not viewed as a marker of mistrust in Japan, and regarding Japanese body language, for example, and a child of Japanese parents living in America may adopt such practices to some degree, which can be 'misread' in an American context (American-Japanese communication 101, 2009, WIN Advisory Group). But one cannot assume all Japanese-Americans, because of their appearance or background, operate according to the same ideals as a person in Japan.

Awareness must not lead to stereotyping, or the assumption a Japanese-American is fluent in Japanese or Japanese cultural practices. Additionally, because of the 'model minority' myth, it might be assumed that stereotypes about Japanese people are not 'bad.' But the presence of cultural differences between Japan and the United States does not excuse stereotyping in jokes, or qualifications of off-color jokes. This is despite the fact that the mainstream news media and business literature may seem to unintentionally confirm such stereotyping as acceptable by speaking of 'Japanese culture' as a homogeneous unit.