Japan Essays (Examples)

Japan Tsunami Disaster March 2011 -- Present

The objective of this study is to analyze the incident of the earthquake tsunami of March 2011, in Japan and to propose three important lessons that might be learned from this incident by those wishing to improve the quality of emergency response and recovery of those affected by such an event. This work will discuss the issues related to mental health and societal consequences and what the impact was to the citizenry and finally, why it is important to understand these issues. This work will identify possible lead agencies for such a catastrophe in the United States and discuss possible roles of Non-Governmental Agencies (NGOs).

Japan is still feeling the impacts from the earthquake tsunami of March 11, 2011, and the radiation leak at the nuclear plant resulting from this incident. It is reported by the New York times that the recovery effort…

The Thai foreign minister Nitya Pibulsonggram was reported saying that Thailand is not willing to renegotiate with the Japanese authorities on controversial economic agreement. The Thai government expressed its concern over the pertinent issues of toxic waste and microorganism patents in EPA. The foreign minister stated clearly that Thailand is not willing to reopen the negotiation with reference to the shortcomings in EPA. 'I believe it is in our mutual interest that the JTEPA will not encounter protest or public disagreement before or after the signing' (Nitya, 2007). The health care organizations have already expressed their concerns and protest against the implementation of EPA, the civic society has expressed its fear that the EPA will permit the Japanese authorities to dump their toxic waste and patent microorganisms in the country. According to the EPA, Article 28 stated, 'items which can no longer perform their original purpose and are only fit…

One of those changes included mandatory education. During the 1950's children were legally bound to attend school between the ages of six and 15 years old. By the time the 1950's came to an end not only were families complying with that law but were also voluntarily sending most of their children on to college.

It was an era that valued education and realized the way to become a power hitter in the world global business markets.

A typical day in the life of a man or woman in Japan during the 1950's would include getting up each morning and eating breakfast, while preparing to go to work. The children would get ready to go to school and everyone would leave the house. Women at that time, just like in other parts of the world were not treated with the same respect and honor that men were treated so they…

The Japanese economy stagnated since 1990:

when real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an average of just 1.2%.

Since 1995, growth was extremely slow averaging less than 0.7% on year-to-year basis." ("Banking Crisis... "5) During the last quarter of 2003, however, the GDP increased 7% (Annexure 2), the most since 1990, demonstrating growth rate of 2.7%, for the entire year. Some economists argued, however, this 2003 growth did not reflect a complete economic recovery but signifies a short-term phenomenon, not a long-term reality.

Nakamae contends that the BOJ's reaction to the Japanese weakening economy only weakened the economy further and that doing nothing would have been better than the steps Japan took and further argues that.".. central banks react to economic bubbles by creating further bubbles....

Amid the economic and political fallout that descends when a bubble bursts,... In an effort to boost demand and thereby reduce the fallout…

Japan's conomic Crisis

Japan is currently in its worst recession since World War II. The country's economy slowed dramatically in the early 1990s after the bubble economy of the 1970s and 1980s. Section 2.0 takes a detailed look at what caused Japan's economic crisis and subsequent problems related to declining Gross Domestic Product (GDP), failed stimulus packages, banking inefficiencies, ineffective interest rate policies, deflation, currency devaluation and Japan's aging population. Given a consideration of all these factors, Section 3.0 makes recommendations most likely to have a positive impact in rejuvenating Japan's struggling economy. The paper concludes that Japan's best course of action includes raising its nominal GDP by increasing its monetary base, engaging in massive bank restructuring, using inflation targeting techniques and putting distressed real estate and other foreclosed collateral on the market.

Literature Review

Japan has been in recession for more than ten years. The economy that dazzled the…

Japan's Economic Crisis

Following the United States terrorist attacks on September 11 and the outbreak of mad cow disease, economic analysts are predicting the onset of a deepening recession in Japan. Some are even referring to the possibility of a depression in the world's second largest economy, due to the global economic downturn.
Recently released surveys of future trends together with economic data recording economic performance over recent months point at least to the onset of Japan's fourth official recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth- in the space of a decade. Japan was last in recession in the first half of 1998 following the collapse of major financial institutions. The current downturn will be deeper, with private investment drying up amid slack global demand and bad loans weighing down the domestic economy, say analysts.
The news means the world's three biggest economies - the United States,…

Japanese inflow has not been as productive, due to ongoing bans by the country that were only relaxed in the last decade. Because of this, in 2003, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced that the government aims to double foreign direct investment in Japan in five years to stimulate its stagnant economy and create employment. The government's Japan Investment Council (JIC), which is chaired by Koizumi, announced the program would focus mainly on the barriers faced by foreign companies in entering the Japanese market. The 2003 report by Fukoa found the following:

Foreign companies have 10% higher productivity

Productivity at acquired Japanese companies shows improvement after merger/acquisition

Foreign firms usually have higher profitability than their Japanese counterparts, and greater (more active) capital investment

Therefore, FDI does not cause the loss of "management resources" from Japan, but rather their accumulation

If the share (as percent of GDP) of foreign affiliated firms' total…

Japan's Current And Politic

Japan's effort to become a permanent member of U.N. Security Council

The Security Council is the most powerful and crucial agency of United Nations. It is liable for maintenance of peace and security among the member countries. While the other organs of the United Nations has only advisory power of recommending to the member nations the Security Council has the authority to impose upon the member government to abide by its decisions in consonance with the United Nations Charter. The decision undertaken by the Council is known as UN Security Council esolutions. There have been many deliberations for enhancing the number of permanent members. Among the nations those have strengthened claim for the permanent seats are Japan and German those respectively appear to be second and third largest funding nations. Germany also constitutes the second largest contributor of troops to UN mandated missions only next to…

Japan has been, for the past ten or twelve years, a miracle of contradictory economic factors. Japan experienced little inflation, little economic growth, a deterioration in trade, more government spending than previously, and unreliable savings and investment both by business and individuals. Added to that was the specter of an aging population requiring more services, and an international trade picture that included oil price fluctuations, as well as more unemployment than had ever happened in Japan before. Despite all that, Japan was not apparently as economically whipsawed as one might first suspect.

The reasons for that may appear from just a brief glimpse at the conduct of the Japanese economy through the end of the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Inflation: In 1998, Japan was trying to avert a deflationary spiral and some economists wanted to create a mini-bubble of inflation to jumpstart a sluggish economy. That would have been…

Japan complex set of factors affect the culture of any country. One of the most important aspects that determine the way of life of a people is the geography of the area in which they reside. In case of Japan, a single geographic feature of the country alone -- it being an island -- determines much of the country's insular character giving rise to a unique language, culture and religion. In this paper, besides analyzing Japan's language, religion and politics, I shall identify some important socio-geographical features of the country such as the importance of religion and language in defining the Japanese culture; the connection between political systems and languages and religions, and how the religions and cultures of Japan relate to and differ from those in the United States.

Geographic Peculiarities

Japan is about the size of California, consisting of 4 major islands and hundreds of smaller ones that…

Japan

I do not think that Japan avoided the monstrous hybrid trap. The monstrous hybrid can manifest itself as a government entity using guardian methods to impact on commerce. During the economic rise of Japan, this was very much the case, as the government maintained strict control over the trading function through the keiretsu, commercial groups with close ties to each other and to government officials. This system was deliberate on the part of the Japanese government, and the corporations in question received substantial support over the years. This is the form in which Japan developed its monstrous hybrid. The period of economic stagnation that Japan endured from 1990-2005 is symptomatic of a banal outcome of a monstrous hybrid -- an economy dependent on tight relationships and fierce loyalty struggled over a long period of time specifically because of the way those bonds inhibited innovation and the trading function.

nce…

Japan and the United States of America are two countries which have chosen to be allies in spite of tremendous differences and a fairly recent history of war between the two countries.

One of the most obvious differences lies in their cultures. In Japan, when people interact careful attention is given to differences in both social status and power, even in informal settings (Kitao, 2003). In the United States we have valued the right of anyone to overcome adverse circumstances at birth and rise as far as he or she can go, and we work hard to ignore differences in social standing in everyday dealings with others. Other cultural differences occur because Japan, as a country, is much older than the U.S. And markedly less ethnically diverse, allowing them to focus on what it means to be Japanese. In the U.S. we constantly redefine ourselves based on the many diverse…

Employment for life and other inefficiencies valued by the Japanese public were becoming threatened. This had the effect of shocking consumer confidence, but the corporate world became stuck, knowing that the systems would need to be changed but seemingly unwilling to make those changes. The banking system would need to be purged of its bad debts. That the economic crisis in Japan lasted so long was a result of resistance to making the necessary structural changes in order to modernize the economy. These structures, designed to bring Japan strong economic growth, had lost much of their value in the wake of the economic crisis.

These structural issues contained the Japanese economic crisis mainly to the Japanese market, but there were some impacts on the global economy. In the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis in 1997, Asian economies were in need of leadership. Japan was the region's largest economy but…

Japan has done without its own official army since the end of World War II. Today's world and Japan's place in it though, have dramatically changed since World War II So, too, it should follow logically, should Japan's current non-military status. It is high time Japan had its own official Army, not just a Japanese branch of the United States Army. Japan is a much different nation than it was immediately following World War II, as is the United States. Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan states: "The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes." For decades now, those words have been globally interpreted as permitting a standing army the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), to exist in Japan, yet prohibiting the SDF from either being deployed outside Japan or possessing nuclear…

The predominant line of thought amongst the Americans was that it would be best to condemn Tojo and preserve the figurehead of the Emperor to hold the nation together, for fear that doing away with the imperial system would be too great a shock to the Japanese. Yet the relationship of the Emperor Hirohito to the militaristic leaders of Japan was far more complex than might be initially suspected. Dower suggests that the Emperor was far more complicit in wartime actions than has been portrayed in the past, and that Japan's democratic tradition before the dominance of the military took hold of the government was and has been overlooked. The Japanese intellectuals who were embittered by the eventual system enforced by the Americans raged that rather than a true democracy, what came into being was "a charade" and instead of revolutionizing the Japanese consciousness the Americans merely set about reinforcing…

apan

Both China and apan emerged from their self-imposed isolationism to become major political and economic forces by the late twentieth century and into the twenty-first. However, these two Asian powers gained their position on the world's stage in different ways and responded to international threats and trends far differently throughout the past century. In particular, apan's embracing the Western imperialist model and China's resistance to it shaped their respective futures during the first half of the twentieth century. Imperialism in fact brought immense military and political conflicts between China and apan, culminating in the latter's invasion of China immediately before World War Two. apan made up for its relatively tiny geography through a beefed up military, industrial development, and political and economic ambitions of pan-Asian control. China, though industrially underdeveloped, responded to the apanese invasion through a systematic defense. Their subsequent roles in the Second World War led to…

Additionally, relocating the production facilities helped avoid any protectionist practices that the U.S. government might have applied in the case of Japanese car producers and exporters.

On the other hand, relocation was doubled by strong austerity measures back home. This included improving the companies' productivity and efficiency and cutting the cost of production, but also market diversification. The latter implied the fact that the Japanese carmakers attacked market sectors that had been out of reach before: higher margin segments and the luxury car segment. Prices gradually rose to counterbalance the appreciating yen.

The 1994-1995 enkada proved an even harder to deal with problem, as the rates reached 80 yen for a dollar and, additionally, the competitive environment was much tougher than in the 1980s, with new companies in the market, like those from South Korea (Daewoo), with highly competitive price advantage.

In this case, there are several solutions that can…

Japanese companies have had to focus more on generating revenue for shareholders. There is less deference to authority and past company image. Long-term stable employment is less reliable, but still employment fluidity is less marked than it is in the United States. The seniority system remains, although industry analysts predict wage differentials will widen, terms of employment and working conditions will become more individually specific, and awards systems will be diversified (Takeshi, 2003). Before, quite often work team performance, rather than individual performance determined an employee's rating.

Anthropologists still describe Japanese people as having an insider/outsider mentality, namely that employees are concerned less concerned with issues outside their immediate company and see competitors as hostile, rather than as place for new, better-paying potential jobs (Yamakoshi, 2007). This insularity is seen as the root of Japanese corporations' commitment to quality, dedication of their employees to a certain, specific corporate culture and…

Loosening Up

From their traditional tight spending habits, Japanese consumers are learning from past lessons and letting loose and letting go on expenses (Gordon 2006). This phenomenal change of behavior is deemed to benefit not only their deflation-ravished economy. It will also be a relief to the country's neighbors and trading partners. Japan keeps its rank as the second largest world economy. It remains a record-holder with a 5.5% annual rate of growth in the fourth quarter of 2005 largely because of the revival in consumer demand. It registered five times higher than the U.S.' annual growth rate at 1.1% during the same period. It also registered as thrice the GDP growth in Europe in that quarter (Gordon).

Quarterly growth rate in GDP rose 4.5% in four quarters and this compensated for the slow 2004 count (Gordon 2006). China's domestic demand and import slowdown did not affect Japan's improved growth…

The U.S. And Allies (including Australia) wanted nothing less than a total defeat of Japan. The Allies began beefing up their "…line of communications across the southern Pacific to Australia" and America also strengthened bases in Alaska, Hawaii, and India, which could become launching points for "counter-offences" against the Japanese (Coakley, 503)..

It was not an easy task, as Japanese fighters were dug in deep in Guadalcanal and the southern Solomon Islands and it took the 1st Marine Division and the 2nd Marine Division (plus Army divisions) to take over Guadalcanal, where they then built air and logistics bases. Coakley goes into great detail as his report continues with specifics of each battle and each point of resistance by Japan. Every troop movement, every battle fought by the newer and faster destroyers and aircraft carriers, every new strategy carried out by the Air Force, the Marines, the Navy and the…

WorldBusinessCulture.com (2009) notes, "Meetings are often preceded by long, non-business polite conversation . . . Do not become exasperated by this use of your time, as it is an essential element of the relationship-building process" (p. 1).

Though Japanese business etiquette demands respect for those involved in business ventures, one area that is still dated is the treatment of women in business. In Japan, women are often discriminated against in the workplace. Author Charles Darwent (2008) notes, "If you - or any of your vital staff are female, then Japan is very probably not a place in which you will necessarily want to do business" (p. 126). It is noted that "the average annual income for women in Japan stands at around 50% of the male level -- which is a powerful statistic" (WorldBusinessCulture, p.5). This is one custom that may be difficult for many traveling into Japan to handle.…

Purpose of Attack:

As with its goals as a whole, the general purpose of the attacks levied against the Japanese public by Aum Shinrikyo is not entirely clear. As is often the case with cult-based acts of terror, there is a heavily mix of religious fervor, political rhetoric and self-indulgence. Indeed, all of these may play into the hazy motives of Aum Shinrikyo. Indeed, the Global Terrorism Database identifies the moment at which the organization transitioned into militancy as being in response to a lost parliamentary election. hen the cult's selected representatives failed to gain a single parliamentary seat, Asahara contended that the Japanese government had conspired to keep his party out of the decision-making body of their nation. This would be grounds for future armed resistance. Consistent with this act of self-interest, future attacks would directly target those who seemed to represent a political or legal threat to Asahara…

Japan

Binary Opposition in "Seishun no Ippo"

The conditions of "Seishun no Ippo" are hinted at in the visuals of the opening credits, but the viewers must watch the full first episode to understand the magnitude of those conditions. Ippo is the title character. He comes from a single parent family, which is fairly uncharacteristic of Japanese culture. Where Ippo's father is not eluded to in the first episode, and the writers leave this open to play out later on in the series. One day while walking home from school, pondering his social anxieties, Ippo comes across and unlikely father figure over the course of the episode, a strong, famous boxer. Ippo was in the midst of a severe beating by bullies at school. At one point, the bully insults Ippo's mother, and while he becomes angry, his cowardice makes give up. He saves Ippo from a pack of the…

Culture Analysis: Japan
The nuances of the modern Japanese culture are based on a variety of Asian and Western influences. Japan was much more of a traditional Eastern society prior to WWII, but after the War Japan became highly subject to the West and thus adopted a great many of its practices and perspectives. For that reason, Japan is less traditionally Asian than other Eastern cultures—but it still retains enough of its own culture and identity to be considerably different in a number of dimensions. This paper will examine those differences and show that a combination of leadership styles, such as innovation leadership, transactional leadership, autocratic leadership and democratic leadership styles, should be used for Japanese workers as they are highly dependent upon seeking approval for their employers (Merchant, 2018), like to be consulted in decision-making, enjoy creating innovative solutions to problems, but also want to be able to identify…

Japanese-Arab Relations from Meiji Era to the 1980sIntroductionThe Meiji Era in Japan established a new centralized form of government with the goal being to cement Japan as a nation-state and world power. Meiji was very interested in learning from and collaborating with other nations in order to strengthen Japan. Were it not for the Meiji Era, Japan would not have blossomed into the powerful state it is today. It was not until the 20th century, however, that Japan began importing oil from the Middle East. The energy crisis of the 1970s and the Gulf Crisis of the 1990s presented new challenges for Japanese-Arab relations, and in recent years Japan has become the primary trading partner of the UAE. This paper will discuss how relations began between Japan and the Arab world, what Arabs and Japan trade, and how relations developed between Japan and the UAE.How Relations BeganIt was in 1921…

There are four hypotheses about this:

Some industries are more productive and create more high-wage jobs.

Some industries are faster growing and contribute more to economic growth.

Some industries do more to improve productivity in other sectors. High investment in dynamic industries accelerates growth."

The following chart labeled Chart 1.0 shows the respective shares (%) of Exports in China compared to the U.S., China compared to Japan, the U.S. compared to China and the U.S. compared to Japan:

Chart 1.0

In the event that the growth rate of the economies of the East Asian countries slow what is unlikely to disappear is the increasing dependence on economics terms that exists between the U.S., Japan, and East Asia, inclusive of the country of China. This type of reliance or interdependence expresses a sense of vulnerability between the countries which should be taken as a caution in actions, regulations, or other interactions…

Indeed, the comment cited above underscores the ire which Japan has earned
by functioning as one of the world's chief exporters while failing to
invest itself in any meaningful aspect of importing. Likewise, it has
resisted foreign investment and corporate assistance even as it has
actively pursued corporate ownership in other countries. The overarching
impact, most especially in the decades following western occupation, would
be a rapidly modernizing economy in Japan, a flooding of the world market
with more affordable Japanese-manufactured automobiles and electronics and
a continued closed-door policy to western goods or companies.
In a certain regard, it is reasonable to argue that modernization
under these terms has been very successful. In just 50 years, Japan
emerged from its role as an agriculturally-based military culture to serve
as one of the core industrialized nations defining the path of
technological and retail modernity. However, there are also myriad
trespasses against…

It became a staple of Japanese life and took on symbolic meaning. amen has given a national identity to Japan even though it is a hybrid food. Most people in Japan who love ramen would probably be aware that ramen was traditionally a Chinese food, but in other places, like the United States, for example, ramen is almost always associated with Japan and thus we can see that it is something that has transgressed national boundaries (Iwabuchi 51).

Even though ramen is a hybrid food, it doesn't take away from that fact that people associate it with Japan. It has taken on cultural significance and has become a way of identifying a culture. How ramen became to mean so much to a culture can be compared to potatoes in Ireland or bread pretty much anywhere. It was a food that filled you up and could be made very cheaply. It…

Japan, it may be called a period of "Chinese fixation."

Chinese Fixation in Japan

The Japanese were concerned about adopting attitudes brought from China during the country's early years. Prince Shotoku in particular was interested in introducing Chinese ideas into his community because he appreciated the fact that the Chinese were well organized and that their political system was structured so as for it to address the needs of both the people and their leaders. Emperor Kotoku was also concerned about adopting behaviors that would make the Japanese state more similar to the Chinese one and established the Taika reforms in an attempt to promote Confucian thinking and philosophies from China. hile some of these reforms were meant to help Japan experience progress in a series of domains, they were generally purposed to restructure the political system in order for a strict hierarchy to dominate the Japanese social order.

Political…

Japan be seen as a Model for Understanding of 'Asian Modernities'

This is an essay which explores the reasons behind the perception of the west which regards Japan as a model of Asian Modernities'. It has 5 sources.

Gender studies have revealed that men and women think differently, and both are confused about each others thoughts. Perhaps such a dichotomy does exist between the western world and the Asian world. As the era of globalization marches forward it has become a necessity for the west to expand its knowledge and understanding of the east. Such an understanding is not only important for global trade but is also important for peace and stability between the nations of the world. Understanding and the search for common objectives would not have been possible if Japan had not surprised the world with its rapid development and prosperity during the years after World War II.…

When Neo-Confucianism arrived in Japan in the 16th century, it built on the pre-existing ideas of Confucianism that had already been imported into the island centuries earlier (Tsutsui 104). As far back as the 5th century, the Japanese had mixed with Confucian ideas about society and the role of the person in the world. Confucian ideas taught the Japanese about what it means to be a moral person. However, the Japanese also incorporated Buddhist concepts into their culture -- and these focused on the metaphysical side of nature and how to define reality (or unreality). These two systems of thought, along with Taoism, molded Japan for hundreds of years. By the time Neo-Confucianism arrived, the Japanese were ready to address the issues that the schools left unresolved. Buddhism presented life as basically unreal and that nirvana was the real reality. Confucianism taught values about society and how to respect life,…

While many argued that it was a mistake the attack happened anyway and the result was a punishment that had never been experienced before in the history of the world. The dropping of an atomic bomb changed the strategic thinking of Japan for the rest of history. Today, and for the past five decades the nation has spent its energies trying to be a friendly ally to America and Great Britain instead of trying to become more powerful than they are. It has focused its attention on technological development and assisting the world in moving forward and not on which nation has the most power, the most money or the best military forces. The strategy behind the attack on Pearl Harbor was founded in the fear of economic and trade threats. Now the nation addresses those fears through advances in technology and the sharing of those advances with the nations…

Globalization

There are several examples of Japan struggling with the social impacts of globalization. ecent scholarly and media coverage has highlighted some of these impacts, and they all seem to be fairly negative. One of the major issues is that Japan had a closed culture, so it developed in a manner that allowed Japanese society to address all of its different issues. Globalization changed Japanese society, and this has led to a number of these issues going unaddressed.

Webster (2001) discusses how Japanese business culture has been impacted by the changes brought about by globalization. It is known that Japanese companies where among the early adopters in the mid-20th century of the multinational or international business model. As a result of this, they have gained significant experience, but that does not mean that there are not problems. Webster notes that many Japanese managers working overseas struggled with culture shock and…

Japan's post World War II military rights and capabilities, an article that was written for the Japanese Constitution, following Japan's military defeat by the Allies in World War II, states, "The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes." Based on that Constitutional decree, then, Japan has not had an army of its own since World War II. Japan now needs its own original independent army, and should have it for the 21st century, in order for Japan to maintain the economic and political respect it has earned for itself, internationally, since World War II, and because Japan also needs other nations' respect for its military capability in order for it to maintain itself as a significant economic, technological, and political player on today's world stage. If Japan is not granted the…

The first of these is proposed by Ozawa. Ozawa proposed leaving the first two provisions as they are, and only adding a third to the effect that the second should not prevent Japan from maintaining forces to defend itself.

This however appears to directly contradict the second provision, which states that absolutely no military forces should be maintained. While it does therefore provide for the defense forces, it appears almost as contradictory as currently having these forces in the first place. I would therefore rather advocate a more substantial revision than only adding a third provision.

The second proposal is submitted by Hatoyama. He bases his revision upon the existence of the Japanese SDF, which, as he maintains, is in effect maintaining forces of war. The existing Constitution forbids this. This is why Hatoyama proposes a complete revisal of both provisions. In contrast to Ozawa, Hatoyama goes to the other…

Japan abolishes current nuclear plant Fukushima Crisis. What effects immediately long-term Japan world a case stop operation of nuclear power plants.

As a brief description, Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power plant was an operating energy facility in Japan particularly in the Fukushima prefecture or province. The plant was established in 1971, which occupied a total of 3.5-kilometer site that makes it as one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world by land area. This nuclear power plant was very useful in the Japanese energy regulation system because it has an economical generation costs that is more reliable than using hydroelectric power sources from dams and streams. It is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company that is the largest operating agency around Japan as claimed by Arnold (2010).

On March 11, 2011, a powerful earthquake hit the northeastern portion of Japan with an epicenter just off the coast of Fukushima…

Asian Studies

Countries are very much representative of human nature. If you were to examine a microcosm of a nation at its basic level, it would be a local community or neighborhood. The people who live in the same community usually tend to share similar economic levels and cultural attitudes. Neighbors also influence the behaviors of each other. For example, affluent neighborhoods tend to have good school systems, active kids (as in after school programs), and involved parents. To a certain degree, these things are expected. This notion is applicable to the nations of China, Korea, and Japan. This paper will examine similarities and differences between these counties in a historical context. China and Japan were traditional societies that responded differently to the external stimuli of foreign relations. Korea is also similar in this regard but their foreign invaders were Japanese not estern imperialists. All three nations also suffered under…

...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…

Confucianism the Major Religion of Japan?

Religion is a cultural phenomenon and institution that involves specific behaviors and practices. Religion has been present for a great deal of human history. Religion is concerned with beliefs. Belief is a powerful tool in a person's life. People live their lives in conjunction with and in support of their beliefs. There are ways to interpret and pinpoint the ways in which religion and beliefs manifest in a culture. This paper will contemplate Japan and religion. The paper will consider what religions are present in Japanese history. With specific focus on Confucianism, the paper will ask if Confucianism is the major religion of Japan; whether it is or not, the paper will render an understanding as to why.

Confucius, an important figure in Chinese history, created Confucianism. Confucius was a political figure, educator, and founder of the Ru school of Chinese thought (Stanford: 2006).…

Mass Culture in Postwar Japan: As Seen Through the Films, Tokyo Drifter and Ohayo

Post war Japan was flung into a mass market that was unlike any she had ever seen before. Old cultural ties and values were challenged and sometimes discarded. Everything from traditional gender roles and family standards to westernized dress and mass media. The challenges that people faced were enormous and included a generation gap that might have paralyzed the entire culture. The changing values associated with family, respect, love, work and many other factors required many adjustments, for both the generation that remembered a more traditional past and the one who recalled only war and technology. One possible way to interpret such cultural changes is through the relatively modern cultural art of film. The Japanese films Ohayo and Tokyo Drifter both embrace and challenge mass culture in different ways.

In a film review which, contextually analyzed…

Japanese political history from the Meiji Restoration to Following the ousting of the Tokugawa shogun, the emperor embarked on his role as the "enlightened ruler" of Japan. From this point, known as the "Meiji Restoration," Japan began a transformation from an agriculturally based, feudalistic society to a nation that, by the 1912 death of the emperor, had a centralized government, developed infrastructure, well-educated general population, fast growing industrial sector, as well as a very powerful military.

Of course, one of the most striking developments of the period was Japan's "shaking off" of foreign influence in its trade and legal affairs, leading it to a full and independent standing in the world community. Arguably this transformation was only possible due to the nation's ability to transform itself from a fragmented nation, ruled by class distinction and feudalistic division, to a unified state -- represented by one national army and economic authority…

Preliminary Marketing Plan

Strengths

• Flexibility - Postmasters is small, flexible, and nimble with the ability to customize their services to meet the specific customer demand and create personalized service.

• Technology driven -- Postmaster technological foundation allows it to automate many of the business processes related to operations. This keeps the administration and overhead costs low while also positioning company for significant growth potential.

eaknesses

• Knowledge of the Local Transportation System -- the transportation system in Japan is complex and can be difficult to learn for foreign employees.

• Cultural Understanding -- the Japanese market represents a unique mix of social and cultural factors that can be difficult to accommodate for individuals that are not accustomed to them. Language barriers may also provide significant obstacles in communication.

Opportunities

• Develop Scalable Operations -- Since Postmaster's platform is technology based, it could utilize a network of affiliate partners to…

Japan

On January 29th, 2016, the Japanese government instituted a negative interest rate for the first time in history. The stated objective of this policy is to "encourage banks to lend, business to invest and savers to spend," but the policy has come under heavy criticism. It is, ultimately, a high-risk policy that essentially takes Japan into uncharted waters (euters, 2016). To suggest that this policy is unorthodox is an understatement, but it highlights the rather unique position that Japan is in with respect to its economy. Economists in particular will be observing what happens with this policy closely, because it is a new situation, and the impacts can only be theorized at this point. This paper will outline the context for this decision, and analyze whether it not this is a good move by the Bank of Japan.

Background on the Japanese Economy, 1940s to 1980s

Understanding how this…

Japan and Korea Occupation

How and why did the Allied occupations of Japan and Korea differ?

Allied occupations of Japan and Korea date backs to year 1945 when orld ar II got ended. Both the occupations occurred as a consequence of victory of allies over the axis. The allied powers included the United States of America, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France, and China whereas axis included Germany, Empire of Japan, and Italy (Schaller 1985, 1-11). The causes and effects of both these occupations were dependent on occupation of Japan by the allied forces. This paper will investigate and analyze that how and why did the allied occupations of Japan and Korea differ? After stating a brief hypothesis of this study, the paper will briefly inform the reader about the background that led to both these occupations. This will set the stage for understanding that how and why did both of…

Japan

Major Cities and Transportation Networks in Japan

From the vantage point of our own car-obsessed and sprawling American nation, it is difficult to conceptualize the vast network of high-speed bullet trains that links most major Japanese cities. A network of railways interlinks Japan's four major islands, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. This enables fast and easy transportation not only between such major cities as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, despite the fact that all such major metropolitan areas are relatively far apart, geographically, but also enables fast transport between the islands that make up the entire small nation of Japan itself. Trains are a very convenient means to explore Japan not only for foreign visitors, but also for ordinary Japanese individuals. The Japanese frequently use trains to commute on a daily basis between their homes and residents. One of the reasons so relatively few Japanese people have cars is because…

This has helped to protect the economy against sudden shocks from different events.

The government policies that are supporting growth are designed to encourage foreign direct investment in the South Korean economy. What happened was the Asian financial crisis (in 1997), underscored how government officials needed to open their economy up to foreign investors. As a result, the total amounts of money that was coming in began to increase dramatically with these figures currently sitting at $115.6 billion dollars. This is a part of an effort to diversify the economy away from the manufacturing sector. Over the course of time, this has allowed South Korea to build up their infrastructure and improve personal income with this coming in at $30,000.00 per year. This is significant, because in the early 1970's the average South Korean earned $1,200.00 per year. ("South Korea")

The different policies that were enacted have meant that the…

Bookselling Industry in Japan

Individual Integrative Case Study: The Japanese Bookselling Industry

This paper focuses on the Japanese Bookselling industry. Under this, it analyzes two successful firms, Bookoff and Amazon. These firms overcome the implications of Saihan Systems using unique ways, making them to achieve a competitive advantage over other firms.

There is a reduction in the number of firms in the bookseller retailing industry in Japan. This is because of many reasons. First, the Saihan System, which makes it mandatory for publishers to fix prices of books before selling them to the retailers. The effect of this rule is that large retailers no longer push other firms out of the industry due to price.

Despite the imposition of Saihan System on the bookselling industry in Japan, both Bookoff and amazon have overcome its implications. The two are doing so through use of unique methods making them have competitive advantage…

The oeing 747-300 model was designed to hold 600 passengers. ut the founder of America's Flight Safety foundation, Jerome Lederer, commented that evacuation of such numbers in the event of disaster would be troublesome. Sitting next to an emergency exit did not promise anything, as shown by this tragedy. Only a bare few escaped and only as fate had it. These were the musings of many when dead bodies were brought down by helicopters from Mount Osutaka in bright blankets (Magnuson, Aviation Safety Network, AAIC, C, C (. This disaster and others before and subsequent call for more responsive prevention measures to save lives in this era of massive global air travel.

VII. Recommendations

The Safety Promotion Center was opened in 2006 to train employees and alert them to the importance of airline safety and personal responsibility for safety. The ultimate responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of Japan Airlines…

Fall of the Samurai: From the Tokugawa to Early Modern Japan

Fall of The Samurai: From The Tokugawa Era to Early Modern Japan

Japanese samurai are counted among the world's most popular military forces; they emerged in pre-medieval times and were active from the seventh to late nineteenth century. The samurai were initially employed as mercenaries, but quickly evolved to become the Japanese Empire's chief military force; before long, they transformed, in effect, into Japan's ruling class. While the transition of the samurai from leading ordinary military lives to being embroiled in inter-clan intrigues and elite political events was relatively rapid, their military-influenced moral principles and core values remained intact throughout. Their improved sense of devoted spirituality and integrity were, in fact, so well-known that they became the inspiration for great stories of courage, which resound even now with readers. This odd balance of deadly effective military strength with gentlemanly,…

ut in the 30s, most waves of Korean migrants came in because of the policy of forced conscription. Japan's economy rapidly improved at the time and there was a huge demand for labor. This and industrialization led to the creation of a Japanese national mobilization plan. This plan, in turn, led to the conscription of roughly 600,000 Koreans. Japan's military forces continued to expand and the government had to regular the increase in the Korean population. They were required to carry an identification card. In 1942, the government promised them equal citizenship if they extended their work contracts. They became eligible to vote, run for public office and serve in election committees. Conscription was implemented in the same year. Despite official political equality, Korean inferiority remained prevalent. Yet they were expected to observe and practice Japanese culture as a condition to political equality (Minorities at Risk).

With the defeat of…

EXPORTING SPIRITS TO JAPAN: POLITICALLY CORRECT?

ECONOMICS

POLITICS

SPIRITS & STATISTICS

EXPORTING OUTLOOK

Traditionally it has been difficult for many American companies to penetrate the Japanese export market. For over three decades, the Japanese laws and regulations created barriers to entry, by culturally binding allegiance and employing strategies such as cross-shareholding which favor keiretsu (local industrial groups). Officially, Japan's policy is to promote imports, but in practice this was often not the case. For the purpose of this exposition we will examine the economic, political and regulatory environment surrounding the U.S. export of whiskey, or distilled spirits, to Japan.

As an island nation, Japan is a worldwide net importer due to its geographical limitations. Japan is America's largest overseas trading partner and the largest importer of U.S. agricultural products. ith a gross domestic product of nearly $5 trillion, Japan's is the world's second largest economy. Japan's GDP is 70% of…

U.S. Japan

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched an assault on the U.S. Naval Headquarters for the Pacific Fleet, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This assault led directly to the open war between the U.S. And Japan, which several years later would culminate in the U.S. invaded Japan in the Okinawa archipelago and dropping two atomic bombs on Japan. The events that led to the U.S. invasion of Japan are therefore discussed on the macro, meso and micro levels.

Macro-Level Factors

If the U.S. invasion of Japan was spurred by Pearl Harbor, then one has to look at the causes of that attack to understand how the U.S. invasion came about. Japan was one of the world's great imperial powers during the decades prior to World War Two. After the rise of Emperor Hirohito in the 1920s, Japan embarked on a mission, believing that it could and should control "Asia,…

The rate of corruption in Japan is relatively low, at the same level as that of the United States (Japan Today, 2008). Given the popularity of luxury goods in Japan, there is a disincentive for politicians to treat luxury goods in a way that would make them more expensive or less accessible.

There is some degree of economic risk. hile the luxury goods market in Japan has thrived throughout much of that nation's prolonged economic slowdown, recent declines in the Japanese luxury goods market indicate that the sector's historic robustness may be under threat (Kirby, 2009; Degen, 2010). The outlook for the Japanese economy remains relatively poor for the coming years. ith a low interest rate of 0.1%, there is little room for monetary expansion, so it may be years before Japan's economy picks up significantly with strong external purchases of Japanese goods (Ujikane & Otsuma, 2010). This could have…

Therefore, although the current analysis took into consideration three of the most important countries in the world, they do not lack the problems facing each country because everywhere in the world there are poor areas and low income families who will abuse their children, will abandon them, and even torture them according to their own religious or personal beliefs. Taking these aspects into consideration, it is important to consider the three different child protection policies applied in Japan, Switzerland, and Germany in order to see the extent in which the economic development is related to the child protection policy.

Japan is well-known for the way in which the family ties and connections are mirrored in the society. More precisely, it is rather well-known the fact that in general the Japanese family is committed to their own beings and the relations that establish at the level of the family members are…

Economic activity in Japan [...] classification, categories, and types of economic activity in Japan. Japan's economy is one of the world's strongest economies, and it can influence other economies around the world. It is an industrial economy based on high technology and manufacturing. This is primarily because of geographical factors that limit the area that can effectively be farmed.

Japan's agricultural industries are not as prevalent as many others in the world, but what they do have they utilize quite effectively. The Japanese import large amounts of wheat, sorghum, and soybeans, but they grow enough rice to feed their people with a small surplus, and they also are beginning to export specialty agricultural items such as Kobe beef. Other agricultural industries in the country include fishing and poultry production. ice is so important to the Japanese that in ancient times, it was used as money, and it still plays an…

iordan Japan

Lord's Payer: iordan in Japan

Globalization has many different effects on the world, the nations within it, and the individual organizations and people that populate these nations. Many of the effects and challenges of globalization work in indirect ways, and these are the effects that are quite often areas of ethical concern when it comes to international business, however there are also many direct considerations that businesses must take into account when they are globalizing or engaging in any multinational/international endeavors. The day-to-day operations and the minute details of international business have immense legal and ethical implications that extend well beyond simply trying to conduct business in a way that benefits all organizations and nations involved. Careful consideration of even the most innocuous-seeming of business actions and transactions renders these complications strikingly clear.

Compensation for employees relocated to a foreign country is one of the issues that presents…

Cellular Phones in Japan:

It's different here.

Cell phone usage has undergone a tremendous jump in a relatively short amount of time. Indeed, the time has come when one feels slightly "naked" if one is out and about without one. Interestingly, however, cell phone technology within the United States is in its infancy compared to that found over the Pacific in Japan. In fact, the Japanese are so enamored of their cell phones and new cell phone technologies that Japanese companies are striving to create novel and powerful products to keep pace with the overwhelming demand.

Compared to American cell phone technology, Japanese products are truly striking. Indeed, for an industrialized nation, and a "world leader" at that, it is truly surprising to note the tremendous disparity between United States cell phone technology (in use), and the technology available and utilized even in the developing world. Consider, for example, that…

And it cannot be denied that there is evidence to support that concern in many respects. But for women, it would help to open certain pathways to personal advancement. According to Mackie, "the women's liberation movement developed out of a critique of modern Japanese capitalism, a dissatisfaction with the sexism of the New Left, and the need of women in Japan to theorise their place in East Asia." (p. 4)

Among the forces that would significantly aid in their ability to establish any such identity would be the new set of doors opened by the shift in Japan's educational principles. The goals of modernization and capitalist advancement -- which would ultimately call for more opportunities for women to make contributions -- would demand an emphasis on education in the evolving state of Japan. So would this be demonstrated by the policies on this front which passed into law concurrent with…

The internal measures refer to improving the quality of the human resource management, hiring specialized workforce and developing and implementing marketing strategies, such as advertising, logistics and promotional strategies. Measures related to the Japanese market environment refer to Gaillie's compliance with the import laws and acts and getting passed the cultural barriers.

A useful recommendation regards the particular features of the Asian market. As such, the American exporters have to conduct extensive studies in order to identify, understand and relate to the forces that drive the Japanese market and the demand for American cosmetic products.

ibliography

Carr, J., the Japanese Market: Information Sources for Overseas Companies, Warwick Statistics Service, 1984

Gummesson, E., Total Relationship Marketing..., utterworth-Heinemann, May 1999

Kotaro, T., the Japanese Market Economy System: Its Strengths and Weaknesses, Kodansha Ltd. Publishers, 1994

Vogel, D., Consumer Protection and Protectionism in Japan, Journal of Japanese Studies, Volume 18, Number 1, 1992…

business in japan.

L. Jones

Doing Business in Japan

In today's increasing era of globalization, more and more foreign companies and individuals are discovering the wonderful, profitable, and sometimes, challenging world of doing business in Japan. However, although many have been lured by the boom time of the recent past, leaner times require a thorough knowledge of the business and cultural environment. The simple fact is, those who understand the milieu of Japanese life will in general do much better than those who do not.

Of course, one of the first steps in considering doing business in Japan involves understanding the infrastructure of the country. Although Japan is widely touted as a technological wonderland (to some degree, rightly so), there remain significant public sector improvements to be made -- along with the accompanying investments. Unfortunately, Japans infrastructure has not kept base with its rate of economic growth (ITC). This is…