I feel bad for the salary men & salary women working hardout late at night & the boss expects them to go socialise with him at the restaurants & bars afterwards. Who wants to hangout with your boss & fellow coworkers after work? Bugger that, I'm going home....👀😳🤔🤷♂️🤦♂️
Right?! I can't even count how many times I've rejected offers to hang out after work or on a weekend. Like I don't even wanna see y'all while at work, what makes you think I'd want to spend my free time with you too?
Exactly. I have two groups of people: work people and outside of work people. Work people belong at work, outside of work people belong outside of work. I don’t cross the two if I can help it.
Super accurate. For some reason people outside of Japan try really hard to deny these realities, but live here outside of a privileged foreigner bubble and you'll quickly see how it affects everything here. I would rather use energy on figuring out how to make it better than trying to pretend it's not true.
I know that I hate the work culture in America, so you probably don't want to emulate us. I suggest creating something new that the rest of the world can learn from. There are certainly some elements of Japanese work culture that Americans envy such as longevity with a company and a sense of community among workers. Some of it we can never have because we are not as homogeneous of a population.
Tis the goal of a cultural exchange brother. Unfortunately corporations only try to copy the parts of another culture that can make them the most money. Example: American companies copying Toyota's "just in time production model".
You would hate the work culture in Japan, too. And Japan isn't the one who is going to be creating something new when it comes to work culture as disrupting the status quo is anathema to them.
Not all work culture in the US is bad, though. Many companies here are explicitly focusing on work-life balance for their employees now, because the company heads understand that happy workers are more productive and worker burnout benefits no one. This is the shift that Japan needs.
While I wouldn't say collectivism is inherently bad, Japanese collectivism is highly toxic and lacks compassion. Collectivism cannot work if respect for the individual is not a virtue held by the group.
Let's call it what it is: collectivism and capitalism are inherently at odds, which leads to worst of both worlds in Japanese culture. Philosophically I am a collectivist, but I recognize it's contradictory to venerate cutthroat competition and status (capitalism), and harmony (the collective) at the same time. One has to give in, and in Japan it's the collective which suffers, while exploiters prosper at the expense of everybody else.
I work at a major Japanese firm outside of Japan and after several years...im going mad here. Dealing with Japanese senior management on a daily basis and you cannot believe the amount of stupidity and incompetency at such mid/senior levels despite being a "global" firm. They are afraid of taking risks, afraid of change, discriminate against non-Japanese more so than any other firms. Age based title systems and company politics are crazy! Job for life, age based promotion system and lack of risk taking are major contributors for failure of Japanese firm's standing in global markets I think. I am not even mentioning lack of work life balance and gender inequality even in abroad offices...I don't see this is changing anytime soon unless somehow whole country decides to start changing some things in their culture overall.
No he sounds like he is absolutely correct on the fact that Japan is shooting itself on the foot and will go down in history very differently than it’s state of affairs now. An unfortunate outcome that only they brought unto themselves. I see no hope for reversal at this point in time in 2024, Japan has already passed the proverbial point of no return. It’s a damn shame and I so hope I am wrong.
The country while stagnant remains stable so no one wants to change anything. Can you blame them? Why should a someone sell out the culture that provides them safety and good motorcycles?
This has been a problem in Thailand too because decades of Japanese-led FDI has trained our industries to do things the japanese way. In contrast, China who experienced an American-led FDI grew exponentially during the same period.
In China We have hustle working culture also toxic lower paid, sadly 😕, also because we're Asian, our cultural similar, sometimes promotions based on age sadly
*@sdfsafasfsf5545* I don't think you know what it's like in Japan. There are actually very little similarities between Japan and China in terms of working culture.
I makes me think of GODZILLA MINUS 1 winning an Oscar for thier VFX CG. A great win for Japan film industry yet if Hollywood VFX artists knew what the Japanese VFX artists made financially for thier work they'd be shocked at how little money it was.
So have you experienced this work culture? Or are you just talking about it? Kind of sounds like a bunch of stereotypes from 20+ years ago. A lot of this has changed.
過労死 karooshi is not an expression its a word written with three letter: 過 over due, excessive 労 work 死 death. Outstanding video and very informative! Great job!
I would call them words rather than letters. So to me 過勞死 is more like a phrase. Or if you insist on calling it a word, then I would call it a compound word, meaning it's a word made up of a combination of other words.
@@ChinaSongsCollection from the grammar standpoint it is a noun. It functions as a nouns so… it is a noun. You can talk about how these nouns form from different letters that give them as much meaning as an expression in other languages but if you intend to use it in Japanese… it is a noun. Point blank period. Anybody who has studying Japanese understands the structures of the language and in aaaaalll those structures that say noun + this or that… it would fit like that. From a Japanese grammar point of view it is a noun. Independently of how you or I see it
Super interesting to hear what’s it’s like to be a cog in the machine in Japan as someone who is a cog in America. They both seem to have their pros and cons and ultimately both have a lot they can improve on
Very interesting video. Do you work in computing? I ask because you cited a lot of specific examples in computing. I do, and in my area (HPC), the Japanese companies lead pretty strongly. But I don’t disagree with what you say. The Nissan ceo had a massive scandal when he tried to change things at corporate.
The amount of generational overexhaustion will show it's scards in the future. The bill always comes at the end, unless you ask for it to be earlier, yourself.
The problem in Japan isn't just capitalism, but also his history since the cold war. Japan was the first country to have influences from the USSR, but the USA sent a lot of money to Japan influencing them not to have influence from socialism, and in this process, fascists and Nazis from the Imperial Japanese Army of WW2 were saved by the USA and placed in power. Some examples of fascists in Japan were: Hideki Tojo, Yōsuke Matsuoka and Kishi Nobusuke the Sinzo Abe's grandfather. There is a video on TH-cam here that explains it, if someone is interested, you can search for: "US-backed fascism in Japan: How Shinzo Abe whitewashed genocidal imperial crimes" It's really sad to know that a beautiful country with a wonderful culture is in this situation. I really enjoyed the video, Greetings from Brazil!
Aaaaah eu tava lendo o comentário e pensando em como recomendar o vídeo do Ian Neves sobre shinzo Abe pra um gringo. Fica a recomendação se ainda não tiver visto
From my experience, people complain and b*tch about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. The quickest and fastest solution is CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT. Be accountable for your negative feelings about whatever/whomever, don't try to reinvent the wheel (it is what it is), and just get out of your COMFORT ZONE ASAP.
I doubt it’s as much as going out of your comfort zone as it is adopting a new way of doing things. Going elsewhere doesn’t necessarily feel uncomfortable. But if it acts differently then maybe you’re not the problem. And if you aren’t there not need for self improvement
Living in japan for about 8 years you summed up Japanese work culture and why no one likes it, but the part where you say go back to America or every country has its problems japan has that massive problem
Imagine a young person moving from japan just to encounter a US city, it has everything they were trying to escape PLUS unaffordable housing prices, homelessness, crime, food insecurity, no public transit so you have to buy a car. But I guess the US is better because if you’re part of the top 1% of successful (lucky) people then you can maybe make a billion dollars. P.s. Im not saying japan isn’t still a capitalist hellscape, but you’re not going to be any better off moving to the US. If you want a decent standard of living… move to the EU I guess and try to build a good pension before the nazis come back and sack social security. Idk, the whole world is on fire so… 🤷♀️
Well you guys you’re always welcome in Thailand 🫰 we may have ladyboys but we’re all very friendly and party people 🎉😅 I won’t be as bouji and asteathic as Korea but Pretty nature and beaches will do the trick
I would go absolutely insane in that culture. It certainly is anathema to American values. It shows how little regard the Japanese have for family, for personal enrichment, and mental health. When do you have time to say, read a novel for pleasure? Although I admit we perhaps go too far the other way. I get very annoyed when people come back from visiting Japan and rave how wonderful it is. Yes, it's clean, safe and orderly, but at what cost?
Excuse me, but this video is full of ignorant concepts based on misleading pop culture by a young person who probably hasn't been exposed that much to how modern industrialization works. Every aspect of automation in the world these days more or less has something to do with some Japanese companies, whose names you probably have never heard of or will never know unless you work in that specific industry.
japanese people inventing it doesn't mean it's being used a lot in their own country and available to everyone and accepted by everyone. they definitely lag behind everyone else in terms of digitalisation, innovation and modernisation. japan is an amazing country but the fact they still use fax for so many things, do almost everything with paper, and cash is still very prevalent and places don't accept cards, etc. japan is definitely responsible for many technological advancements, but that doesn't mean it translates into the average japanese citizen's life. it's also important to keep in mind that with japan's rapidly aging population, politicians are voted for by old people that in most cases are conservative and consciously resist progress and change, so it's bot just a myth that japan developed rapidly in the 80s and then got stuck in the 2000s. politicians will do what grants them the most votes, and that is appealing to old people. also, with the way you're talking about this as if it's all lies, you must've never worked under a japanese company in japan, because the points she makes and the facts she presents are real. people die from overwork, and it's not funny.
It's not just "work culture" because it also happens outside of work. It's the entire culture. I think of the biggest struggle in Japan is how do they move forward without losing too much of their culture/values. I actually find the Japanese way can work well is some situations but they also need to create room for more liberal innovations. I think that will take a new wave of entrepreneurs in Japan that are willing to forgo the standard work traditions; the catch is that this company also needs to be the next big thing in Japan to create the tidal wave, as big as an Apple or Tesla. It needs to show every company that a new way works because of these new approaches. Otherwise, why would anyone change for something less. Japan has so many talented people, those folks just need to stand up for themselves and pave the way, not just for Japan, but for the world.
Most unfortunately I fully believe this tidal wave will only happen in Japan through collaboration with foreign elements. I’ve been in Japan 17 years and know the contemporary culture well. There is very little hope for new maverick entrepreneurs in the ultra controlled environment of the old boys clubs in Japan. They are destroying their own hope for survival, their youth’s hopes and ideas for evolving into the 21 century. It’s truly sad and a shame. It will be outsiders that save the Japanese ways and culture in the end. Hard to believe isn’t it? Just watch as decades go by if you live to see it.
What do you think Sony or Toyota are? LMAO It's a FACT that 50% of ALL CARS in the WORLD are Toyota and its subsidiaries including trucks. That means the other 50% of all cars are made up of all the other companies. What Japan doesn't need is foreign meddling. They don't need videos like this or stupid criticisms from foreign people of its culture, it clearly worked all the way through the 2nd half of the 20th century, and it worked prior to industrialisation where these hard-working, dedication values came from.
hear, hear. a lovely people but the "don't step out of your lane " and "come drink with and be semi-humiliated by/next to your boss" a punishment I do not wish on them. I oft' say "Japan is a great place to not be Japanese." Although some of the idiot antics of foreigners are starting to make me embarrassed to be a foreigner now. 😏
What liberal innovations exactly though? People need to be careful about this notion of modifying other cultures. There's different assumptions everyone makes that they might not be aware of. Like, why does a big company that can swing its weight like Apple or Tesla (both not great companies with the former being a shadow of its former self selling overpriced brands and the latter producing trucks with stuck accelerator pedals), have to "save" the Japanese? Why should a country conform entirely to the world instead of powering through adjustments like shrinking population (perhaps the population is too high actually?)
@@TheAilmam Ok sure. But I was responding specifically to the other guy's comment rather than to the video itself. He mentioned about Japan being in danger of _"...will turn into fossil"._ That's why I said what I said. Using a fax machine in 2024 is very close to becoming a 'fossil' ☺️
Excuse me for one second... *clears throat*... PREEEEEEEEEEEEACH!!!!! HOLY CRAP, I CANNOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE! I've only been living in Japan for a year, but I started realizing all these issues after my first month here. I agree with every point you've made (because you also thoroughly researched it), but I could not believe how scared and risk-averse Japan really was until I lived here. It drives me nuts how scared and sheltered this country is. Granted, it's a beautiful country with a rich history, but my god... I feel like Japan has been "gaslit" their entire lives (and generations) by the powers that be (corporations and government) to never go against the status quo or rise against blatant oppression. You've made a permanent fan of your content. Please keep up the great work and continue to post more videos. If there's one thing that bothers me more than Japanese Work/Top-Down Culture, it's Japan's "di*k-riders" who think Japan is the land of sunshine and rainbows, and there's nothing wrong with it.
They're feeling their decisions. Their economy is getting old and into retirement age and it won't live long enough to recover if something doesn't change.
The country is controlled by crusty old cronies that have an invested interest in maintaining the status quo so they exploit the culture. It’s conservative political ideology 101. It’s the same in every country but it’s been able to become rusted on here in Japan because the younger generations have been convinced there’s no need or no point in voting for change. They need to wake up because they’re holding on so tight they’re choking themselves.
A lot of it could be summarized as "misaligned and/or bad incentives". Example: "work work work!" is misaligned with "have children so the next generation actually exists". And then you have to consider: all parties are simultaneously individual parties, and coalitions, so companies want to selfishly maximize the resources they get from their employees, and would also love if the national economy was so strong that people would consume the company's products, but the individual company goal is misaligned with the national coalition in which the company partakes in. So Japan is unique in the way its actors are set up, but it has the same underlying problem to deal with as every other society: misaligned and/or bad incentives. See also: Game Theory, a field of math.
There are some good things about working culture in Japan. In Japan, lifelong employment is the norm and employees are protected by law, so unreasonable mass layoffs like in America rarely occur.Therefore, the unemployment rate is low and Japanese people are not afraid of being fired. I have worked at Western companies and Japanese companies, but I found it more stressful working at European and American companies because the competition in Western companies is fierce and if you don't produce results, you will be fired immediately.
companies can't just fire you in european countries. if you work in france or germany there has to be a huge clear reason for your firing. "not producing good enough results" will itself result in a lawsuit. which the worker will win 99% of the time. if you are a part-timer or contractor than yes you can be fired much easier. they can simply refuse to renew your contract once the time is up. but firing a full-time employee is next to impossible if you don't present a good reason or work out some deal with the guy.
@@FrancisYorkMorganFBI Which is why a European company is reluctant to hire at all and uses whatever freelance contract they can, whether zero hours etc.
@@FrancisYorkMorganFBI , you're spot on. Here in the UK, it is almost impossible to fire an employee. Employers know this, and they do not even go there; otherwise, they would be sued and lose a lot more from compensation payouts. Most of the workers, especially in very well-organised companies, are protected by very competent unions that are there to protect workers from even minor infringements of their rights. One of the few recourses for companies is to offer redundancy pay to someone who they feel is not performing to expectations, and that too can be met with much scrutiny and resistance if the reason is not very clear. In addition it is also unlawful to deny a leaving employee a recommendation even if they were underperforming or had misconduct. You will have to produce some evidence of a hearing that was conducted to show that they were warned of misconduct during the time they were employed
One small detail you missed was how much the Japanese government pushed "working harder" after WWII. They pushed that "if Japanese men didn't work hard with the county would collapse." Obviously they were able to work hard and "saved" the country economically, but it also passed down the idea that those who didn't "work hard enough" where not just disappointments to their bosses or companies, but were letting down the country and the Japanese identity as a whole. A system built in the foundations of fear and shame is inherently a weak system that can't support itself for decades on in. It will have to change or something bigger will have to change it for them. Maybe a large financial collapse is what is needed to be the kick in the pants that Japan needs to really think about who they want to be as a country.
A system “built in a foundation of fear and shame”... It seems that the influence of the postwar book “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”, written by an American who had never visited Japan, has always lingered. It is a prejudice-based mindset, and today this mindset is held by those who hate Japan and Japanese people. Of course, Japan has its problems. But there seems to be a cultural bias in your thinking. Many people have the cultural customs of the country they grew up in, and they probably view other countries from that value system. If you believe that Japan is such a country, it is only because you think with the concepts you have been educated with.
As someone coming from the west and prospecting for a job in Japan right now for me the main issue is the work/life balance. I've come across offers saying you get 110+ days of holidays during the year and realized later this sort of offer counts weekends and national public holidays so in the end it was just a week of real vacation 🤣 Not gonna lie i had to review my plans to go to and work to Japan because it seems to be the norm and i don't see the point in going in a foreign country working 50 hours a week the entire year so basically no free time and to not even earn big money due to the weak currency.
Japan is already losing on tech industry, the only thing left if the automotive, if South Korea and China pushes more, Japan is in trouble. The day will come that the only thing Japan can offer to the world is tourism
I totally agree with you, South Korea and China are making moves they have already set up manufacturing factories in Vietnam. Cambodia on the other hand had already approved the Funan Techno Canal so their goal is get the maritime trade going.
This video was incredibly informative! And it has made me understand where I live a little more. I work in Silicon Valley. Known as the hub for tech in the world, layoffs and companies going under have been the norm in the area for decades. Speaking to my older coworkers, it is rare to be in the same company for more than 5 years, companies would get bought or die out within a decade of coming out. But it was fine, unemployment was always low because new innovative companies would pop up and people understood that moving on was part of the game. That continuous shake-up usually meant people could implement better policies in their new companies because they could start fresh.
The work culture depends upon the company in Japan. I was lucky to be in a “globalized” company and a good team, where work is hard but there’s almost no people past 5pm. Although there is still a sort of barrier for foreigners… when you reach a certain level, you need business level Japanese to advance. Reading the room is important and navigating the social structure is key to survival. Overall, it’s not too bad. There’s no perfect country. It just depends on your preference and priorities
Thankfully, a lot has changed recently in workplace habits, especially in major companies. Managers are often required to force employees to take remaining paid vacations if they have, and harassments and compliance are monitored strictly by social labor attorney. Overtime work has to be paid and it’s not encouraged at all. I’d say if you choose a good company wisely, you won’t experience crazy work culture anymore. But the working hours still depends on which industry you’ll choose. Industries such as business consulting, Investment banking, Securities, Day care, Advertisement agency, TV production, etc. tend to have much longer working hours. Even in strategy consulting, people work much less than before. But maybe this is irrelevant to your video because employees sign in such companies knowing the notoriously long working hours beforehand. As a Japanese, I never overworked crazy hours and I would say all my friends are having normal work life too except one person who worked for a very small documentary production company. He worked 6 days a week and over 12 hours a day, and received the salary of fresh graduates, but he quit. Black companies are often in the places where people from very low level universities or no special skills would end up because they don’t have other choice and employers would exploit them.
@@シンジ-o6d I checked the stats of overtime work of different pharmaceutical companies in Japan, but the working hours seems significantly different depending on your position and company. But overall, it’s not known for bad working conditions. As far as I read employees reviews of major farms like Astellas, Takeda and Sunitomo, people seem to finish their work by 18:00 〜19:00 normally. If you work as medical representatives, you may work longer hours time to time.
Just check the news, dozens of TH-cam channels, or simply Google “living in Japan” and you will see clearly that you have no idea - foreigners like me living in Japan are at a record high and record gets beaten every single year you can keep watching. The Japanese government is freaking out because they don’t know how to handle the demand. And I’m not talking about tourism, but it’s actually the same thing with tourism.
I'd love to end up living in Japan some day, but this side of the culture is one of the only things really keeping me from seriously pursuing it. As someone working in tech(ish) / an office at least, I just couldn't do this sort of life style. I want to go to work, work reasonably, and go home without thinking about work.
I am no sociologist or any of that stuff but i find it very sad how the birth rates are dropping because of workload. The only reason im working is to get married and have children honestly😂also on the other hand, I believe the change you were asking about will only come with future generations trying to break the norm however ive seen it in my country as well (Egypt) where the idea of “change” was not really the same for everyone. Some people thought of it as freedom to do whatever we want (which can and will lead to some unpleasant outcomes😣) others saw it as dropping our language because its “out of fashion”. It really depends on how younger generations are educated and if they are well equipped to lead such changes🤷♂️ Ps. Good luck with your channel love your videos
i admire that you're working hard not only for yourself but for your future family 🥺 many of my friends' parents and my own parents are the same way, and i think you will be successful with that mindset. thank you for your support!!
Japanese fertility rates behaved like most of the Western world, it therefore seems unlikely that it is connected to workload. Fertility rates already started decreasing around the late 1800s for most Western countries (from 5 to 3), seemed to bottom out around the Great Depression, picked back up after the war (2.5 to 3.5) and fell off a cliff around the 1960s (~1.5 already in 1980). The only difference is that Japan hasn't had a huge baby boom after the war (they went from 2 to 2.3), for obvious reasons. The causes, in no particular order aside faintly chronological: - Sharp decrease in infant mortality rates. - End of unprecedented economical boom. - Rise of feminism (emancipation of women). - Invention of birth control. - Rise of modern entertainment (people are no longer bored enough to go dating). - Decrease in religiosity and nationalism. - Increase in education and career opportunities.
@@noureldeenehab106 People wait to "make a career" first, then maybe have kids (if they succeed). More time between generations = lower fertility rate. And then there's people who don't see the point of kids *because* they have a fulfilling career.
@@jesperburns ah that makes a lot of sense and you can see this happening worldwide right now I think not just in Japan. All of the reasons you just listed are trending everywhere, maybe more so in some regions but it is definitely there. The wave of feminism for women and red pill for men spread through social media. Do you think any of that is reversible though?
Another example of Japanese traditionalist thinking comes from the military. In the 18th-19th century, rifles were becoming easy to produce and handle, the Japanese considered them vulgar and crude and continued to prefer the elegance of the samurai sword. This led them to being left very far behind in defence capacities, and the rest is history.
If a part of the culture is to avoid risk then it will never grown and advance. It’s also telling its young people to not have children, because child birth and providing for a child in a tough economy is the biggest risk of all.
In the building I work there was a Japanese company. I’m in Mexico so out work culture is different and our laws of course represent that, we might not have the best work/life balance but the companies are getting there and the laws do mention time off and vacation, as well as no bothering people outside of work hours, so companies have to abide because it is possible to sue and people often does… anyway… So, this Japanese company often would have Japanese employees from the main office doing visits and all that. My company was on the bottom floors of the building and theirs was on the last so it was pretty normal for me to share the lift with employees from other companies, and I would see them constantly because I think we had the same schedule. I didn’t mean to gossip, but I mean, it was normal to hear conversations now and then before the pandemic. I heard this Mexican guy ask a couple employees from Japan how they were doing and if they were settling well… they of course say it was nice and all the pleasantries one says, but one thing they said it was that after work or during days off, they often didn’t know what to do because they had so much free time, so he started suggesting museums and restaurants they could try… and I reached my floor. It was such a weird comment to me, because I don’t feel we Mexicans have a lot of free time. Specially because we have huge commute times, even people that own cars. But I feel it represents their culture very clearly. Our laws say 40 hours max, a specific number of vacation days, we do have paid maternity and paternity leave but is not as much as it should be, we do have laws stating lunch and break times… but it still feels like we barely get to enjoy life… but they thought we had a very relaxed life, and I can’t forget about it. And then I saw this documentary clip on tiktok about a Japanese salaried woman that didn’t even made it home most days and she would stay in a capsule hotel, she even had a list of them around her work for whenever she needed to stay after work… it was 3 am and she was just having dinner, and she needed to be awake again at 5. Then she goes on vacation but she still needs to be aware of her work laptop and phone in case her boss needs her… and he does. She has barely made it to her vacation destination but her boss is already calling her, so she goes to her hotel and gets her laptop out to work. And I understood completely. My weekends and vacation feel incredibly short, but I never have the need to worry about work outside of my working shift, I can go home and do nothing and at least I know my schedule will be the same every day and I will be out of the office at the same time every day - unless I delay myself by having conversations with my work friends… but yeah, it was such a small bit of conversation I gossiped ( a minute at most) that left me thinking. No surprise people struggles with mental health over there… if I find myself often feeling hopeless, I can’t imagine what it would feel like to live like that. I appreciate a lot of their culture, I think much of their social awareness and respect for others should be copied worldwide… but what’s all that worth if you don’t have time to just be and appreciate it?
im japanese, and it is so true.. even alot of company being called "black company" bcs of how excessive burden on the employees.. its not easy to take a holiday bcs its kinda embarassing to leave our task to our coworkers 😢 while we re having fun.. lots of workers rarely take their annual leave/holiday from their companies even the company already advice to go on holiday but most of us not doing it.. i start at morning and sometimes i back home at 10 pm not only in japan, in korea as well, there is this company that will suddenly give u alot of money and they said "here is ur salary for X months, u dont need to come back here anymore" without early notification they fire workers so easily
Portraying the imperialist "opening" of Japan as a stubborn american knocking on the door is...a choice. Not that isolationist policies are ever a good idea, but come on lmao
The Pro of working in Japan is When one is demanded to do high-level work Because people with high-level skill is rare, One can charge 100 for quality of 70/80 And the employer has to accept that cause it will cost them even more to find your replacement... But the con is.. when one has to do mid-level work You have to over-deliver You've to deliver 55 or even 60 But can only charge for 50.. Since the competition in that level is so tough
Lol funny some people dnt see the issues but only the outside. The moment you tell the people who wanna love there that they gotta work then they'd be a big baby and wanna leave.
I'm not japanese but I don't think importing foreigners and foreign ideas is the answer to all japan's problems. Of course japanese work culture has to change, but have you ever asked, why is it still like this? in a healthy economy, there would be other more efficient businesses with better work culture and productivity that would overtake these dinosaurs. yet in japan, it is impossible to challenge the big corporations, because they're effectively monopolies. japan's ultra-loose monetary policy for the last 30 years means large businesses like the zaibatsu companies and the very rich elite are able to amass wealth, while the rest 99% of the population toils with no hope of setting up their own businesses, like startups, small-to-medium enterprises, and to experiment with their own ideas. these sort of things are the reason why countries like the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries are able to achieve high standards of living, because their people have the time and money to experiment. meanwhile, in japan the government is facilitating a daylight robbery of the population. the rich is able to take massive loans at 0% interest rate, dump it into the stock market and property. there are 2 different rules, one for the rich, and one for the rest. do you ever wonder why the japanese stock market is at an all time high, which the real economy is in a recession? Japan needs to return to real innovation and manufacturing, but the government is only facilitating landlords and big businesses to profit from derivatives (e.g. stocks) and assets (e.g. house/apartments), instead of real profits. this wasn't the case before, as you can see from the rich older japanese people. working hard is an asian value, and it's not intrinsically wrong, as we should benefit from all that extra effort. the problem is when all those effort is being hijacked by a tiny minority. read about the Plaza Accord, and about Abenomics.
"working hard is an asian value" uhhh you mean working so hard you can't have friends, lovers, hobbies and kids, until you die from overwork? yeah nice "value". i think you make many valid and interesting points on japan's economic situation, but the biggest contributor to the atrocious state of the declining japanese population and unhealthy and frankly dehumanising work culture is the subhuman treatment of employees, as well as misogyny and ageism. there's no denying that simply fixing this glaring issue will in turn cause a domino effect and improve japan's situation for the better. denying this by embellishing it as an asian value won't bring back and prevent more innocent people from literally giving up on their life and straight up dying because of these so-called "asian hard working values". hard work while being able to have friends, hobbies, lovers and possibly kids for those who want them, is nice. dying from it isn't. edit: also "we should all benefit from the extra effort"? is that what you're going to tell to the acquaintances of people that died because of this modern slavery?
@@eri_sama oh don't be dramatic, nobody is suggesting to work yourself to death. if you have been anywhere in asia you'd see how different the service level is, because people here actually give a damn about their work. that's something to be proud of. people don't die because they do their jobs properly.
@@freemanol spoken like someone who has no idea about japanese work culture outside of your own experience with customer service, and you can't even do a teeny weeny bit of research about it. death from overwork is a big problem in japan, so much so they even gave it a name (forgot what it was though).
@@eri_samaIt's called karoshi. These are just what you see on the news, and of course yes the work culture is too intense. But to say that that is the root cause of people's suffering is naive, since you fail to understand the bigger picture, at the macroeconomic level. Monopolies and labour-unfriendly practices are facilitated by the elites, i.e. the zaibatsu in japan, and thr chaebols in korea, which hold immense power to continue the exploitation of the population
Loyalty is a virtue, but you have shown that any virtue can lead to poor outcomes when taken to extreme or even when you are more concerned with the appearance of virtue than with actual virtue. Giving up is the right thing to do when what you are doing isn’t working. Working harder leads to burn out and hurts your organization! Because even member of a group is the source of the groups strength! You must value yourself to value your community because you are part of that community!
This country has more integration though between organizations, communities and the people that work there. Not everyone works for a detached entity they have no stake in.
My answer is partially based on recent events that have happened I won't go into this because it would take AGES to explain but I think things will change in Japan due Japan's potential resurgence in certain economic industries, industries of immense interest to foreign, especially American investors such as the chip and superconductor industries, as well as general growing distance between America and China and Japan being increasingly forced into a position of choosing its economic relationship with China or America. This will bring in alot of foreign shareholders that will have a great deal of influence over some companies, especially if many foreign companies directly involve themselves more in Japan and are unwilling to let things stay stagnant as it affects their bottom line. RESULTINGLY I think change will eventually come, but it will be slow, and once everyone involved is happy with things 'as is' that change will also suddenly lose most of its momentum before by the end of a generation if not just half of one going fully stagnant again. Especially as with an economic resurgence in Japan with all of this there suddenly be more capitol in the hands of Japanese investors eventually that will reinvest in their own country and bring back older traditional ideas to the fore again or simply the maintenance of the 'new' ones over any further change. Essentially I think Japans corporate culture has an impending 'jolt' it should go through some years from now before returning to stagnation once the energy from said 'jolt' runs out to summarize things.
I am Korean 🇰🇷 Your statements are incorrect and merely an offensive insult against Korea. Why do you compare Korea to Japan, which is not your country, to cause discord between Korea and Japan? Why don't you disclose the country you live in? There are many videos of people traveling to Korea on TH-cam. I have never seen a video of a Korean trip with opinions like yours. Which country are you from?
When the Japanese economy was at its strongest during the 80s, dedicating your life to one's company was expected and admired. However, their culture never allowed this practice/standard to adapt to the changing landscape. This is highlighted by the fact that there is almost no semblance of a work-life balance. Mental health is largely ignored. Workers have no voice to express their concerns lest they be construed as the nail that needs to be hammered down. As a result, early in 2024, Japan lost their ranking as the #3 economy of the world. They got passed by Germany and are now #4. Some economists are saying it may take years, if at all, to regain that spot. If Germany continues their output, Japan may never catch them. This is a damn shame because I love Japan. I have friends and family there but they are a shadow of their former economic selves. I wish them well and I hope the politicians change their Edo period draconian style of thinking. However we all know there is a fat chance of that happening. Old culture and mindsets die hard
I disagree with being a capitalist system. Because the successful east Asians that opted out can make these choices under capitalistic doctrines. Because you follow the money and markets, not rigid and jaded centralistic/collectivist bureaucracies. Corporations don't like capitalism because of being subjected to competition and lassiez-faire. It debilitates them to achieving a monopoly. So these ideals & values that are affecting finances and aggravating population implosion only benefits modern aristocratic elites within the regions. Its ironic with the proverb because they're the nails that never get hammered because how venerated they are and the exception within this order. Despite being disruptive and not allowing any new ascension to the ranks. Its a constant tax on the youth and lower secular caste. Just to maintain a neurotic demographic with their elitist demeanor.
One word or concept that’ll never change Sakoku 鎖国 / 鎖國 If there have been any changes ..relatively speaking from what I know personally ..basically superficial in nature … One of my ELDERS/Mentors told me to in order to understand 🇯🇵 Use (SWANS) as your reference.. I dare say it’s been 10+ yrs onward ..i doubt if I’ve been able to grasp 65% of this…. TBC
Sometimes traditional methods that are reliable can work extremely well. Toyota is one example of this as their vehicles are extremely reliable but they tend to use older technology. However when something is new that needs to be tried in order to keep up you got to do it. Rigerous testing is needed to make sure something that works properly should be encouraged more.
Japan is good at one big thing: doing what the rest of the world is doing as hard as it possibly can while mostly missing the point. Stiffing inventors on creations? Yeah, the rest of the world has that, but Japan does it harder. Christmas? Yeah, you can do Christmas pretty hard in Wisconsin, but not nearly as hard as Tokyo does Christmas. Tricking engineers into working excessive overtime to the exclusion of romantic prospects and hobbies outside of coding? Sure, California has that, but have you seen Japan?
Thank you kana for being honest about racial profiling in Japan 🇯🇵 I appreciate it very much and even though I look forward to traveling to these Asian countries I will be definitely be careful
Japan is still ahead of everyone , they know AI is nothing but software and man made. Remember 2000, we had y2k, Japan, knew it was fake. 2000. The internet bubble, they lost money in trusting Korean which they created fake companies . Today, Korea took that market in internet. Respect. They know , we are human and that is what it’s important my spiritual sister. Frank. Downey California 😅
Im biracial and light skin and never had a problem with Japanese doing that to me. I think they just doing their jobs (police) obey the laws and you won't have an issue
Japanese government should just do two things: 1. Reduce the higher tax brackets because 42% is obscene (no need to bring another EU there) - keep it around 25%. 2. Make the work weeks 32 hours and officially make the work week 4 day long. That's going to solve the overwork problem.
![[나리학당] Learn Korean in English_Workbook F(1) 동이](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vYSNuCL_hJg/mqdefault.jpg)
I feel bad for the salary men & salary women working hardout late at night & the boss expects them to go socialise with him at the restaurants & bars afterwards. Who wants to hangout with your boss & fellow coworkers after work?
Bugger that, I'm going home....👀😳🤔🤷♂️🤦♂️
Right?! I can't even count how many times I've rejected offers to hang out after work or on a weekend. Like I don't even wanna see y'all while at work, what makes you think I'd want to spend my free time with you too?
Exactly. I have two groups of people: work people and outside of work people. Work people belong at work, outside of work people belong outside of work. I don’t cross the two if I can help it.
miserable lot you all are lol. but to each miserable fool their own I guess.
I got no issue hanging out after work, but if we are doing overtime and I have a family to get home to... sorry boss, but I gotta go.
Super accurate. For some reason people outside of Japan try really hard to deny these realities, but live here outside of a privileged foreigner bubble and you'll quickly see how it affects everything here.
I would rather use energy on figuring out how to make it better than trying to pretend it's not true.
I know that I hate the work culture in America, so you probably don't want to emulate us. I suggest creating something new that the rest of the world can learn from. There are certainly some elements of Japanese work culture that Americans envy such as longevity with a company and a sense of community among workers. Some of it we can never have because we are not as homogeneous of a population.
Tis the goal of a cultural exchange brother. Unfortunately corporations only try to copy the parts of another culture that can make them the most money. Example: American companies copying Toyota's "just in time production model".
You would hate the work culture in Japan, too. And Japan isn't the one who is going to be creating something new when it comes to work culture as disrupting the status quo is anathema to them.
Not all work culture in the US is bad, though. Many companies here are explicitly focusing on work-life balance for their employees now, because the company heads understand that happy workers are more productive and worker burnout benefits no one. This is the shift that Japan needs.
@@zibbitybibbitybop If you try hard enough, you can find some positive things about North Korea's work culture too.
@@jdavid50ok ?
While I wouldn't say collectivism is inherently bad, Japanese collectivism is highly toxic and lacks compassion. Collectivism cannot work if respect for the individual is not a virtue held by the group.
Exactly. It is collectivism enforced by fear and shame, which is not productive in the long term. Look at the Soviet union or Mao's China
Let's call it what it is: collectivism and capitalism are inherently at odds, which leads to worst of both worlds in Japanese culture. Philosophically I am a collectivist, but I recognize it's contradictory to venerate cutthroat competition and status (capitalism), and harmony (the collective) at the same time. One has to give in, and in Japan it's the collective which suffers, while exploiters prosper at the expense of everybody else.
Already happening
girl im obsessed with your videos, you deserve to have way more subscribers and viewers
you’re so sweet, thank you for your support 🥹
I work at a major Japanese firm outside of Japan and after several years...im going mad here. Dealing with Japanese senior management on a daily basis and you cannot believe the amount of stupidity and incompetency at such mid/senior levels despite being a "global" firm. They are afraid of taking risks, afraid of change, discriminate against non-Japanese more so than any other firms. Age based title systems and company politics are crazy! Job for life, age based promotion system and lack of risk taking are major contributors for failure of Japanese firm's standing in global markets I think. I am not even mentioning lack of work life balance and gender inequality even in abroad offices...I don't see this is changing anytime soon unless somehow whole country decides to start changing some things in their culture overall.
Sounds like you are ready to leave Japan.
No he sounds like he is absolutely correct on the fact that Japan is shooting itself on the foot and will go down in history very differently than it’s state of affairs now. An unfortunate outcome that only they brought unto themselves. I see no hope for reversal at this point in time in 2024, Japan has already passed the proverbial point of no return. It’s a damn shame and I so hope I am wrong.
@@hansolo8225I thought he means a major Japanese firm outside Japan, for example Toshiba's American office.
The country while stagnant remains stable so no one wants to change anything. Can you blame them?
Why should a someone sell out the culture that provides them safety and good motorcycles?
@@krunkle5136their population is literally dying. Within the next century, Japan may cease to exist. What "safety" do you speak of?
This has been a problem in Thailand too because decades of Japanese-led FDI has trained our industries to do things the japanese way. In contrast, China who experienced an American-led FDI grew exponentially during the same period.
In China We have hustle working culture also toxic lower paid, sadly 😕, also because we're Asian, our cultural similar, sometimes promotions based on age sadly
*@sdfsafasfsf5545* I don't think you know what it's like in Japan.
There are actually very little similarities between Japan and China in terms of working culture.
I makes me think of GODZILLA MINUS 1 winning an Oscar for thier VFX CG. A great win for Japan film industry yet if Hollywood VFX artists knew what the Japanese VFX artists made financially for thier work they'd be shocked at how little money it was.
So have you experienced this work culture? Or are you just talking about it?
Kind of sounds like a bunch of stereotypes from 20+ years ago. A lot of this has changed.
過労死 karooshi is not an expression its a word written with three letter: 過 over due, excessive 労 work 死 death. Outstanding video and very informative! Great job!
Words an expressions are conflated in western culture. "Overworked" is both a word and an expression. Or, a noun and an adjective.
I would call them words rather than letters.
So to me 過勞死 is more like a phrase.
Or if you insist on calling it a word, then I would call it a compound word, meaning it's a word made up of a combination of other words.
@@ChinaSongsCollection from the grammar standpoint it is a noun. It functions as a nouns so… it is a noun. You can talk about how these nouns form from different letters that give them as much meaning as an expression in other languages but if you intend to use it in Japanese… it is a noun. Point blank period. Anybody who has studying Japanese understands the structures of the language and in aaaaalll those structures that say noun + this or that… it would fit like that. From a Japanese grammar point of view it is a noun. Independently of how you or I see it
And whoever has some curiosity it is one of those nouns in Japanese that uses する to transform it into a verb. Like 出発 and many many others
Super interesting to hear what’s it’s like to be a cog in the machine in Japan as someone who is a cog in America. They both seem to have their pros and cons and ultimately both have a lot they can improve on
Work culture has become similar but not as bad in the US. Its not uncommon to bring work home or to be-on-call at night/weekends
Great Observation and I think you hit all the correct points
bro moved to japan just to complain 💀
Very interesting video. Do you work in computing? I ask because you cited a lot of specific examples in computing. I do, and in my area (HPC), the Japanese companies lead pretty strongly. But I don’t disagree with what you say. The Nissan ceo had a massive scandal when he tried to change things at corporate.
Your explanation was AMAZING. Well done!!
I think giving some time to "Art & Culture" can improve both: 'Creativity' as well as 'Leisure' to maintain Work-Life Balance.
Wow this was great analysis!
Their birth rate is also following Japan's footsteps.
The amount of generational overexhaustion will show it's scards in the future. The bill always comes at the end, unless you ask for it to be earlier, yourself.
The problem in Japan isn't just capitalism, but also his history since the cold war. Japan was the first country to have influences from the USSR, but the USA sent a lot of money to Japan influencing them not to have influence from socialism, and in this process, fascists and Nazis from the Imperial Japanese Army of WW2 were saved by the USA and placed in power. Some examples of fascists in Japan were: Hideki Tojo, Yōsuke Matsuoka and Kishi Nobusuke the Sinzo Abe's grandfather. There is a video on TH-cam here that explains it, if someone is interested, you can search for: "US-backed fascism in Japan: How Shinzo Abe whitewashed genocidal imperial crimes"
It's really sad to know that a beautiful country with a wonderful culture is in this situation. I really enjoyed the video, Greetings from Brazil!
Aaaaah eu tava lendo o comentário e pensando em como recomendar o vídeo do Ian Neves sobre shinzo Abe pra um gringo. Fica a recomendação se ainda não tiver visto
@@bela1995100 ah sim, eu já vi kskskks sou comuna, assisto o Ian neves
I like this kind of videos, they are really informative. I´d like you do more videos like this and not just eat LOL.
From my experience, people complain and b*tch about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. The quickest and fastest solution is CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT. Be accountable for your negative feelings about whatever/whomever, don't try to reinvent the wheel (it is what it is), and just get out of your COMFORT ZONE ASAP.
I doubt it’s as much as going out of your comfort zone as it is adopting a new way of doing things.
Going elsewhere doesn’t necessarily feel uncomfortable.
But if it acts differently then maybe you’re not the problem. And if you aren’t there not need for self improvement
Love your content
Japan will be the next Hawaii if they do not change.
In what way? I doubt it’ll become the unaffordable hell that is Hawaii
Living in japan for about 8 years you summed up Japanese work culture and why no one likes it, but the part where you say go back to America or every country has its problems japan has that massive problem
you've got to go beyond culture and look at the post-war history of unionism, worker's rights, and the near-unbroken reign of the LDP in politics.
Japan lost its boldest, strongest, most courageous genetic stock in the war and has never recovered since
Imagine a young person moving from japan just to encounter a US city, it has everything they were trying to escape PLUS unaffordable housing prices, homelessness, crime, food insecurity, no public transit so you have to buy a car. But I guess the US is better because if you’re part of the top 1% of successful (lucky) people then you can maybe make a billion dollars.
P.s. Im not saying japan isn’t still a capitalist hellscape, but you’re not going to be any better off moving to the US. If you want a decent standard of living… move to the EU I guess and try to build a good pension before the nazis come back and sack social security.
Idk, the whole world is on fire so… 🤷♀️
Well you guys you’re always welcome in Thailand 🫰 we may have ladyboys but we’re all very friendly and party people 🎉😅 I won’t be as bouji and asteathic as Korea but Pretty nature and beaches will do the trick
The whole culture is just a natural process of weeding out the weak
All i heard was hive mind and no free thought allowed. Do better, Japan
Best video I've seen in a while. Very content rich and with good discussion
I would go absolutely insane in that culture. It certainly is anathema to American values.
It shows how little regard the Japanese have for family, for personal enrichment, and mental health. When do you have time to say, read a novel for pleasure?
Although I admit we perhaps go too far the other way.
I get very annoyed when people come back from visiting Japan and rave how wonderful it is. Yes, it's clean, safe and orderly, but at what cost?
Lady. You just made me Dislike Japan even more now.
Excuse me, but this video is full of ignorant concepts based on misleading pop culture by a young person who probably hasn't been exposed that much to how modern industrialization works. Every aspect of automation in the world these days more or less has something to do with some Japanese companies, whose names you probably have never heard of or will never know unless you work in that specific industry.
japanese people inventing it doesn't mean it's being used a lot in their own country and available to everyone and accepted by everyone. they definitely lag behind everyone else in terms of digitalisation, innovation and modernisation. japan is an amazing country but the fact they still use fax for so many things, do almost everything with paper, and cash is still very prevalent and places don't accept cards, etc. japan is definitely responsible for many technological advancements, but that doesn't mean it translates into the average japanese citizen's life.
it's also important to keep in mind that with japan's rapidly aging population, politicians are voted for by old people that in most cases are conservative and consciously resist progress and change, so it's bot just a myth that japan developed rapidly in the 80s and then got stuck in the 2000s. politicians will do what grants them the most votes, and that is appealing to old people.
also, with the way you're talking about this as if it's all lies, you must've never worked under a japanese company in japan, because the points she makes and the facts she presents are real. people die from overwork, and it's not funny.
You are doing a personal attack. No citations to defend your posture. Basically, you are a troll.
When a country has zero Christian influence…
Exactly! God bless them! 🙏
I moved to the Japan from Europe about 2 months ago. Now I saw your video. Maybe I made a mistake. 🥲
It's not just "work culture" because it also happens outside of work. It's the entire culture. I think of the biggest struggle in Japan is how do they move forward without losing too much of their culture/values. I actually find the Japanese way can work well is some situations but they also need to create room for more liberal innovations. I think that will take a new wave of entrepreneurs in Japan that are willing to forgo the standard work traditions; the catch is that this company also needs to be the next big thing in Japan to create the tidal wave, as big as an Apple or Tesla. It needs to show every company that a new way works because of these new approaches. Otherwise, why would anyone change for something less. Japan has so many talented people, those folks just need to stand up for themselves and pave the way, not just for Japan, but for the world.
Most unfortunately I fully believe this tidal wave will only happen in Japan through collaboration with foreign elements.
I’ve been in Japan 17 years and know the contemporary culture well. There is very little hope for new maverick entrepreneurs in the ultra controlled environment of the old boys clubs in Japan.
They are destroying their own hope for survival, their youth’s hopes and ideas for evolving into the 21 century. It’s truly sad and a shame.
It will be outsiders that save the Japanese ways and culture in the end. Hard to believe isn’t it? Just watch as decades go by if you live to see it.
What do you think Sony or Toyota are? LMAO
It's a FACT that 50% of ALL CARS in the WORLD are Toyota and its subsidiaries including trucks. That means the other 50% of all cars are made up of all the other companies.
What Japan doesn't need is foreign meddling. They don't need videos like this or stupid criticisms from foreign people of its culture, it clearly worked all the way through the 2nd half of the 20th century, and it worked prior to industrialisation where these hard-working, dedication values came from.
hear, hear. a lovely people but the "don't step out of your lane " and "come drink with and be semi-humiliated by/next to your boss" a punishment I do not wish on them. I oft' say "Japan is a great place to not be Japanese." Although some of the idiot antics of foreigners are starting to make me embarrassed to be a foreigner now. 😏
What liberal innovations exactly though?
People need to be careful about this notion of modifying other cultures.
There's different assumptions everyone makes that they might not be aware of.
Like, why does a big company that can swing its weight like Apple or Tesla (both not great companies with the former being a shadow of its former self selling overpriced brands and the latter producing trucks with stuck accelerator pedals), have to "save" the Japanese?
Why should a country conform entirely to the world instead of powering through adjustments like shrinking population (perhaps the population is too high actually?)
@@Collector_Philwhat is evolving to the 21st century? Block chains and VR? More alienating tech no one asked for but nonetheless becomes ubiquitous?
If Japan doesn’t change fast, their country and economy will turn into fossil.
Maybe they are already. They still use the fax machine! 🤔
@@ChinaSongsCollection cmon, dont bring fax into this. Were talking about social culture, not machines. Fax is useful these days
@@TheAilmam Ok sure.
But I was responding specifically to the other guy's comment rather than to the video itself.
He mentioned about Japan being in danger of _"...will turn into fossil"._ That's why I said what I said.
Using a fax machine in 2024 is very close to becoming a 'fossil' ☺️
Excuse me for one second... *clears throat*... PREEEEEEEEEEEEACH!!!!! HOLY CRAP, I CANNOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE! I've only been living in Japan for a year, but I started realizing all these issues after my first month here. I agree with every point you've made (because you also thoroughly researched it), but I could not believe how scared and risk-averse Japan really was until I lived here. It drives me nuts how scared and sheltered this country is. Granted, it's a beautiful country with a rich history, but my god... I feel like Japan has been "gaslit" their entire lives (and generations) by the powers that be (corporations and government) to never go against the status quo or rise against blatant oppression. You've made a permanent fan of your content. Please keep up the great work and continue to post more videos. If there's one thing that bothers me more than Japanese Work/Top-Down Culture, it's Japan's "di*k-riders" who think Japan is the land of sunshine and rainbows, and there's nothing wrong with it.
They're feeling their decisions. Their economy is getting old and into retirement age and it won't live long enough to recover if something doesn't change.
The country is controlled by crusty old cronies that have an invested interest in maintaining the status quo so they exploit the culture. It’s conservative political ideology 101. It’s the same in every country but it’s been able to become rusted on here in Japan because the younger generations have been convinced there’s no need or no point in voting for change.
They need to wake up because they’re holding on so tight they’re choking themselves.
There's a name for these D riders. We call them the Last Samurais in the jargon 😆
A lot of it could be summarized as "misaligned and/or bad incentives".
Example: "work work work!" is misaligned with "have children so the next generation actually exists".
And then you have to consider: all parties are simultaneously individual parties, and coalitions, so companies want to selfishly maximize the resources they get from their employees, and would also love if the national economy was so strong that people would consume the company's products, but the individual company goal is misaligned with the national coalition in which the company partakes in.
So Japan is unique in the way its actors are set up, but it has the same underlying problem to deal with as every other society: misaligned and/or bad incentives.
See also: Game Theory, a field of math.
There are some good things about working culture in Japan. In Japan, lifelong employment is the norm and employees are protected by law, so unreasonable mass layoffs like in America rarely occur.Therefore, the unemployment rate is low and Japanese people are not afraid of being fired. I have worked at Western companies and Japanese companies, but I found it more stressful working at European and American companies because the competition in Western companies is fierce and if you don't produce results, you will be fired immediately.
companies can't just fire you in european countries. if you work in france or germany there has to be a huge clear reason for your firing. "not producing good enough results" will itself result in a lawsuit. which the worker will win 99% of the time. if you are a part-timer or contractor than yes you can be fired much easier. they can simply refuse to renew your contract once the time is up. but firing a full-time employee is next to impossible if you don't present a good reason or work out some deal with the guy.
Yeah, while you can enjoy "steady" you also cant compete cz some a hole employee use this loop hole to get off work easily & get paid 😂😂😂
@@FrancisYorkMorganFBIyes they can that mostly applies to unions
@@FrancisYorkMorganFBI Which is why a European company is reluctant to hire at all and uses whatever freelance contract they can, whether zero hours etc.
@@FrancisYorkMorganFBI , you're spot on. Here in the UK, it is almost impossible to fire an employee. Employers know this, and they do not even go there; otherwise, they would be sued and lose a lot more from compensation payouts. Most of the workers, especially in very well-organised companies, are protected by very competent unions that are there to protect workers from even minor infringements of their rights. One of the few recourses for companies is to offer redundancy pay to someone who they feel is not performing to expectations, and that too can be met with much scrutiny and resistance if the reason is not very clear. In addition it is also unlawful to deny a leaving employee a recommendation even if they were underperforming or had misconduct. You will have to produce some evidence of a hearing that was conducted to show that they were warned of misconduct during the time they were employed
Wow. U even cited. Amazing video.
One small detail you missed was how much the Japanese government pushed "working harder" after WWII. They pushed that "if Japanese men didn't work hard with the county would collapse." Obviously they were able to work hard and "saved" the country economically, but it also passed down the idea that those who didn't "work hard enough" where not just disappointments to their bosses or companies, but were letting down the country and the Japanese identity as a whole. A system built in the foundations of fear and shame is inherently a weak system that can't support itself for decades on in. It will have to change or something bigger will have to change it for them.
Maybe a large financial collapse is what is needed to be the kick in the pants that Japan needs to really think about who they want to be as a country.
A system “built in a foundation of fear and shame”... It seems that the influence of the postwar book “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”, written by an American who had never visited Japan, has always lingered.
It is a prejudice-based mindset, and today this mindset is held by those who hate Japan and Japanese people.
Of course, Japan has its problems. But there seems to be a cultural bias in your thinking.
Many people have the cultural customs of the country they grew up in, and they probably view other countries from that value system. If you believe that Japan is such a country, it is only because you think with the concepts you have been educated with.
As someone coming from the west and prospecting for a job in Japan right now for me the main issue is the work/life balance. I've come across offers saying you get 110+ days of holidays during the year and realized later this sort of offer counts weekends and national public holidays so in the end it was just a week of real vacation 🤣
Not gonna lie i had to review my plans to go to and work to Japan because it seems to be the norm and i don't see the point in going in a foreign country working 50 hours a week the entire year so basically no free time and to not even earn big money due to the weak currency.
Japan is already losing on tech industry, the only thing left if the automotive, if South Korea and China pushes more, Japan is in trouble. The day will come that the only thing Japan can offer to the world is tourism
I totally agree with you, South Korea and China are making moves they have already set up manufacturing factories in Vietnam. Cambodia on the other hand had already approved the Funan Techno Canal so their goal is get the maritime trade going.
This video was incredibly informative!
And it has made me understand where I live a little more.
I work in Silicon Valley. Known as the hub for tech in the world, layoffs and companies going under have been the norm in the area for decades.
Speaking to my older coworkers, it is rare to be in the same company for more than 5 years, companies would get bought or die out within a decade of coming out. But it was fine, unemployment was always low because new innovative companies would pop up and people understood that moving on was part of the game.
That continuous shake-up usually meant people could implement better policies in their new companies because they could start fresh.
Ooh that sounds like such a cool place!! Is Silicon Valley pretty?
19-46 28/09/2024
In other words, Japan is still stuck in time..
The work culture depends upon the company in Japan. I was lucky to be in a “globalized” company and a good team, where work is hard but there’s almost no people past 5pm. Although there is still a sort of barrier for foreigners… when you reach a certain level, you need business level Japanese to advance. Reading the room is important and navigating the social structure is key to survival. Overall, it’s not too bad. There’s no perfect country. It just depends on your preference and priorities
Thankfully, a lot has changed recently in workplace habits, especially in major companies. Managers are often required to force employees to take remaining paid vacations if they have, and harassments and compliance are monitored strictly by social labor attorney. Overtime work has to be paid and it’s not encouraged at all. I’d say if you choose a good company wisely, you won’t experience crazy work culture anymore. But the working hours still depends on which industry you’ll choose. Industries such as business consulting, Investment banking, Securities, Day care, Advertisement agency, TV production, etc. tend to have much longer working hours. Even in strategy consulting, people work much less than before. But maybe this is irrelevant to your video because employees sign in such companies knowing the notoriously long working hours beforehand. As a Japanese, I never overworked crazy hours and I would say all my friends are having normal work life too except one person who worked for a very small documentary production company. He worked 6 days a week and over 12 hours a day, and received the salary of fresh graduates, but he quit. Black companies are often in the places where people from very low level universities or no special skills would end up because they don’t have other choice and employers would exploit them.
Lies.
How about pharmaceutical/medical company ? Is it any better ?
@@シンジ-o6d I checked the stats of overtime work of different pharmaceutical companies in Japan, but the working hours seems significantly different depending on your position and company. But overall, it’s not known for bad working conditions. As far as I read employees reviews of major farms like Astellas, Takeda and Sunitomo, people seem to finish their work by 18:00 〜19:00 normally. If you work as medical representatives, you may work longer hours time to time.
Chat GPT story time.
Fax machines are better than email.
I'm not living in Japan, but it's literally my life...
You look like my favourite actress elle lee
Clear explanations. Thank you. That is why Japan probably will not attract foreign people to move to Japan. Some will do, but it will not be enough.
Thank you for the comment, but so many Chinese willing to Japan because Japan is fascinating, it's much better than China
@@sdfsafasfsf5545 Thank you. I didn't know this.
Just check the news, dozens of TH-cam channels, or simply Google “living in Japan” and you will see clearly that you have no idea - foreigners like me living in Japan are at a record high and record gets beaten every single year you can keep watching. The Japanese government is freaking out because they don’t know how to handle the demand. And I’m not talking about tourism, but it’s actually the same thing with tourism.
I'd love to end up living in Japan some day, but this side of the culture is one of the only things really keeping me from seriously pursuing it. As someone working in tech(ish) / an office at least, I just couldn't do this sort of life style. I want to go to work, work reasonably, and go home without thinking about work.
blessed are thy citations
I am no sociologist or any of that stuff but i find it very sad how the birth rates are dropping because of workload. The only reason im working is to get married and have children honestly😂also on the other hand, I believe the change you were asking about will only come with future generations trying to break the norm however ive seen it in my country as well (Egypt) where the idea of “change” was not really the same for everyone. Some people thought of it as freedom to do whatever we want (which can and will lead to some unpleasant outcomes😣) others saw it as dropping our language because its “out of fashion”. It really depends on how younger generations are educated and if they are well equipped to lead such changes🤷♂️
Ps. Good luck with your channel love your videos
i admire that you're working hard not only for yourself but for your future family 🥺 many of my friends' parents and my own parents are the same way, and i think you will be successful with that mindset. thank you for your support!!
Japanese fertility rates behaved like most of the Western world, it therefore seems unlikely that it is connected to workload.
Fertility rates already started decreasing around the late 1800s for most Western countries (from 5 to 3), seemed to bottom out around the Great Depression, picked back up after the war (2.5 to 3.5) and fell off a cliff around the 1960s (~1.5 already in 1980).
The only difference is that Japan hasn't had a huge baby boom after the war (they went from 2 to 2.3), for obvious reasons.
The causes, in no particular order aside faintly chronological:
- Sharp decrease in infant mortality rates.
- End of unprecedented economical boom.
- Rise of feminism (emancipation of women).
- Invention of birth control.
- Rise of modern entertainment (people are no longer bored enough to go dating).
- Decrease in religiosity and nationalism.
- Increase in education and career opportunities.
@@jesperburns wow you studied that stuff in depth😂
But how does increase in job opportunities and education reduce birth rates?
@@noureldeenehab106 People wait to "make a career" first, then maybe have kids (if they succeed).
More time between generations = lower fertility rate.
And then there's people who don't see the point of kids *because* they have a fulfilling career.
@@jesperburns ah that makes a lot of sense and you can see this happening worldwide right now I think not just in Japan. All of the reasons you just listed are trending everywhere, maybe more so in some regions but it is definitely there. The wave of feminism for women and red pill for men spread through social media. Do you think any of that is reversible though?
Another example of Japanese traditionalist thinking comes from the military. In the 18th-19th century, rifles were becoming easy to produce and handle, the Japanese considered them vulgar and crude and continued to prefer the elegance of the samurai sword. This led them to being left very far behind in defence capacities, and the rest is history.
I don't think Japan will ever change. I feel like the future of that country is getting dark.
We are living in the last era of Japan as it was known. The point of no return has already been passed years ago.. very grim and sad
You are correct. Unfortunately.
If a part of the culture is to avoid risk then it will never grown and advance. It’s also telling its young people to not have children, because child birth and providing for a child in a tough economy is the biggest risk of all.
Yet he government is urging them to have children without offering any encouraging reasons to do so
In the building I work there was a Japanese company. I’m in Mexico so out work culture is different and our laws of course represent that, we might not have the best work/life balance but the companies are getting there and the laws do mention time off and vacation, as well as no bothering people outside of work hours, so companies have to abide because it is possible to sue and people often does… anyway…
So, this Japanese company often would have Japanese employees from the main office doing visits and all that. My company was on the bottom floors of the building and theirs was on the last so it was pretty normal for me to share the lift with employees from other companies, and I would see them constantly because I think we had the same schedule.
I didn’t mean to gossip, but I mean, it was normal to hear conversations now and then before the pandemic. I heard this Mexican guy ask a couple employees from Japan how they were doing and if they were settling well… they of course say it was nice and all the pleasantries one says, but one thing they said it was that after work or during days off, they often didn’t know what to do because they had so much free time, so he started suggesting museums and restaurants they could try… and I reached my floor.
It was such a weird comment to me, because I don’t feel we Mexicans have a lot of free time. Specially because we have huge commute times, even people that own cars. But I feel it represents their culture very clearly. Our laws say 40 hours max, a specific number of vacation days, we do have paid maternity and paternity leave but is not as much as it should be, we do have laws stating lunch and break times… but it still feels like we barely get to enjoy life… but they thought we had a very relaxed life, and I can’t forget about it.
And then I saw this documentary clip on tiktok about a Japanese salaried woman that didn’t even made it home most days and she would stay in a capsule hotel, she even had a list of them around her work for whenever she needed to stay after work… it was 3 am and she was just having dinner, and she needed to be awake again at 5. Then she goes on vacation but she still needs to be aware of her work laptop and phone in case her boss needs her… and he does. She has barely made it to her vacation destination but her boss is already calling her, so she goes to her hotel and gets her laptop out to work. And I understood completely.
My weekends and vacation feel incredibly short, but I never have the need to worry about work outside of my working shift, I can go home and do nothing and at least I know my schedule will be the same every day and I will be out of the office at the same time every day - unless I delay myself by having conversations with my work friends… but yeah, it was such a small bit of conversation I gossiped ( a minute at most) that left me thinking.
No surprise people struggles with mental health over there… if I find myself often feeling hopeless, I can’t imagine what it would feel like to live like that. I appreciate a lot of their culture, I think much of their social awareness and respect for others should be copied worldwide… but what’s all that worth if you don’t have time to just be and appreciate it?
Thank you Kana!
Not sure how I found you but I really like how to do not romanticise Japan like so many others.
... do you work on a Japanese company?
im japanese, and it is so true.. even alot of company being called "black company" bcs of how excessive burden on the employees..
its not easy to take a holiday bcs its kinda embarassing to leave our task to our coworkers 😢 while we re having fun..
lots of workers rarely take their annual leave/holiday from their companies even the company already advice to go on holiday but most of us not doing it..
i start at morning and sometimes i back home at 10 pm
not only in japan, in korea as well, there is this company that will suddenly give u alot of money and they said "here is ur salary for X months, u dont need to come back here anymore"
without early notification they fire workers so easily
I totally agree with you said besides Japan was the last country for opening it's borders after two years locked down for covid, it's China not Japan
that's why i said japan was *one* of the last :) i visited shanghai after china reopened for tourism and loved it
You're cute!
Portraying the imperialist "opening" of Japan as a stubborn american knocking on the door is...a choice. Not that isolationist policies are ever a good idea, but come on lmao
"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down"
BUT
It always leaves a lasting mark
I wonder if Japanese worked this hard pre-WW2 ? My guess is unless your were dirt poor the work schedule was much more reasonable.
The Pro of working in Japan is
When one is demanded to do high-level work
Because people with high-level skill is rare,
One can charge 100 for quality of 70/80
And the employer has to accept that cause it will cost them even more to find your replacement...
But the con is.. when one has to do mid-level work
You have to over-deliver
You've to deliver 55 or even 60
But can only charge for 50.. Since the competition in that level is so tough
If Japan doesnt like risk why do Japanese people love trading? I think it probably has the most daytraders anywhere in the world)
Lol funny some people dnt see the issues but only the outside. The moment you tell the people who wanna love there that they gotta work then they'd be a big baby and wanna leave.
A simple fact: A person may be smart but people are stupid.
平成の時はそれこそブラック企業が横行してたよね。今でこそ働き方改革で変わろうとしてるけど。ブラック企業から抜けるための退職代行とかも人気だし。
I'm not japanese but I don't think importing foreigners and foreign ideas is the answer to all japan's problems. Of course japanese work culture has to change, but have you ever asked, why is it still like this?
in a healthy economy, there would be other more efficient businesses with better work culture and productivity that would overtake these dinosaurs. yet in japan, it is impossible to challenge the big corporations, because they're effectively monopolies.
japan's ultra-loose monetary policy for the last 30 years means large businesses like the zaibatsu companies and the very rich elite are able to amass wealth, while the rest 99% of the population toils with no hope of setting up their own businesses, like startups, small-to-medium enterprises, and to experiment with their own ideas. these sort of things are the reason why countries like the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries are able to achieve high standards of living, because their people have the time and money to experiment.
meanwhile, in japan the government is facilitating a daylight robbery of the population. the rich is able to take massive loans at 0% interest rate, dump it into the stock market and property. there are 2 different rules, one for the rich, and one for the rest. do you ever wonder why the japanese stock market is at an all time high, which the real economy is in a recession?
Japan needs to return to real innovation and manufacturing, but the government is only facilitating landlords and big businesses to profit from derivatives (e.g. stocks) and assets (e.g. house/apartments), instead of real profits. this wasn't the case before, as you can see from the rich older japanese people.
working hard is an asian value, and it's not intrinsically wrong, as we should benefit from all that extra effort. the problem is when all those effort is being hijacked by a tiny minority. read about the Plaza Accord, and about Abenomics.
"working hard is an asian value" uhhh you mean working so hard you can't have friends, lovers, hobbies and kids, until you die from overwork? yeah nice "value".
i think you make many valid and interesting points on japan's economic situation, but the biggest contributor to the atrocious state of the declining japanese population and unhealthy and frankly dehumanising work culture is the subhuman treatment of employees, as well as misogyny and ageism.
there's no denying that simply fixing this glaring issue will in turn cause a domino effect and improve japan's situation for the better. denying this by embellishing it as an asian value won't bring back and prevent more innocent people from literally giving up on their life and straight up dying because of these so-called "asian hard working values".
hard work while being able to have friends, hobbies, lovers and possibly kids for those who want them, is nice. dying from it isn't.
edit: also "we should all benefit from the extra effort"? is that what you're going to tell to the acquaintances of people that died because of this modern slavery?
@@eri_sama oh don't be dramatic, nobody is suggesting to work yourself to death. if you have been anywhere in asia you'd see how different the service level is, because people here actually give a damn about their work. that's something to be proud of. people don't die because they do their jobs properly.
@@freemanol spoken like someone who has no idea about japanese work culture outside of your own experience with customer service, and you can't even do a teeny weeny bit of research about it. death from overwork is a big problem in japan, so much so they even gave it a name (forgot what it was though).
@@eri_samaIt's called karoshi. These are just what you see on the news, and of course yes the work culture is too intense. But to say that that is the root cause of people's suffering is naive, since you fail to understand the bigger picture, at the macroeconomic level. Monopolies and labour-unfriendly practices are facilitated by the elites, i.e. the zaibatsu in japan, and thr chaebols in korea, which hold immense power to continue the exploitation of the population
Loyalty is a virtue, but you have shown that any virtue can lead to poor outcomes when taken to extreme or even when you are more concerned with the appearance of virtue than with actual virtue. Giving up is the right thing to do when what you are doing isn’t working. Working harder leads to burn out and hurts your organization! Because even member of a group is the source of the groups strength! You must value yourself to value your community because you are part of that community!
This country has more integration though between organizations, communities and the people that work there. Not everyone works for a detached entity they have no stake in.
wellcome to breadtube
After watching your video, I rush to watch a Little New Yorker video to wash away my anxiety. Thank you for your wonderful service.
My answer is partially based on recent events that have happened I won't go into this because it would take AGES to explain but I think things will change in Japan due Japan's potential resurgence in certain economic industries, industries of immense interest to foreign, especially American investors such as the chip and superconductor industries, as well as general growing distance between America and China and Japan being increasingly forced into a position of choosing its economic relationship with China or America. This will bring in alot of foreign shareholders that will have a great deal of influence over some companies, especially if many foreign companies directly involve themselves more in Japan and are unwilling to let things stay stagnant as it affects their bottom line. RESULTINGLY I think change will eventually come, but it will be slow, and once everyone involved is happy with things 'as is' that change will also suddenly lose most of its momentum before by the end of a generation if not just half of one going fully stagnant again. Especially as with an economic resurgence in Japan with all of this there suddenly be more capitol in the hands of Japanese investors eventually that will reinvest in their own country and bring back older traditional ideas to the fore again or simply the maintenance of the 'new' ones over any further change.
Essentially I think Japans corporate culture has an impending 'jolt' it should go through some years from now before returning to stagnation once the energy from said 'jolt' runs out to summarize things.
I am Korean 🇰🇷 Your statements are incorrect and merely an offensive insult against Korea. Why do you compare Korea to Japan, which is not your country, to cause discord between Korea and Japan? Why don't you disclose the country you live in? There are many videos of people traveling to Korea on TH-cam. I have never seen a video of a Korean trip with opinions like yours. Which country are you from?
The content is Very good 👍,Thanks you
Have you ever considered working for Caterpillar, the heavy equipment manufacturer? Your insight and innovating thinking will be HIGHLY utilized.
When the Japanese economy was at its strongest during the 80s, dedicating your life to one's company was expected and admired.
However, their culture never allowed this practice/standard to adapt to the changing landscape. This is highlighted by the fact that there is almost no semblance of a work-life balance. Mental health is largely ignored. Workers have no voice to express their concerns lest they be construed as the nail that needs to be hammered down.
As a result, early in 2024, Japan lost their ranking as the #3 economy of the world. They got passed by Germany and are now #4. Some economists are saying it may take years, if at all, to regain that spot.
If Germany continues their output, Japan may never catch them. This is a damn shame because I love Japan. I have friends and family there but they are a shadow of their former economic selves.
I wish them well and I hope the politicians change their Edo period draconian style of thinking. However we all know there is a fat chance of that happening.
Old culture and mindsets die hard
I disagree with being a capitalist system. Because the successful east Asians that opted out can make these choices under capitalistic doctrines. Because you follow the money and markets, not rigid and jaded centralistic/collectivist bureaucracies.
Corporations don't like capitalism because of being subjected to competition and lassiez-faire. It debilitates them to achieving a monopoly.
So these ideals & values that are affecting finances and aggravating population implosion only benefits modern aristocratic elites within the regions. Its ironic with the proverb because they're the nails that never get hammered because how venerated they are and the exception within this order. Despite being disruptive and not allowing any new ascension to the ranks.
Its a constant tax on the youth and lower secular caste. Just to maintain a neurotic demographic with their elitist demeanor.
One word or concept that’ll never change Sakoku 鎖国 / 鎖國
If there have been any changes ..relatively speaking from what I know personally ..basically superficial in nature …
One of my ELDERS/Mentors told me to in order to understand 🇯🇵
Use (SWANS) as your reference.. I dare say it’s been 10+ yrs onward ..i doubt if I’ve been able to grasp 65% of this….
TBC
Sometimes traditional methods that are reliable can work extremely well. Toyota is one example of this as their vehicles are extremely reliable but they tend to use older technology. However when something is new that needs to be tried in order to keep up you got to do it. Rigerous testing is needed to make sure something that works properly should be encouraged more.
Japan is good at one big thing: doing what the rest of the world is doing as hard as it possibly can while mostly missing the point. Stiffing inventors on creations? Yeah, the rest of the world has that, but Japan does it harder. Christmas? Yeah, you can do Christmas pretty hard in Wisconsin, but not nearly as hard as Tokyo does Christmas. Tricking engineers into working excessive overtime to the exclusion of romantic prospects and hobbies outside of coding? Sure, California has that, but have you seen Japan?
Thank you kana for being honest about racial profiling in Japan 🇯🇵 I appreciate it very much and even though I look forward to traveling to these Asian countries I will be definitely be careful
All those non digitised records mean that those details can be hacked.
I just want to add that movie fact is not always true about the audience waiting until the lights come on
Laugh out loud I wouldn’t last five minutes I am8 and out the gate
Special shout out to the Japanese "Herbivore Men." 🍺
Japan is still ahead of everyone , they know AI is nothing but software and man made. Remember 2000, we had y2k, Japan, knew it was fake. 2000. The internet bubble, they lost money in trusting Korean which they created fake companies . Today, Korea took that market in internet. Respect. They know , we are human and that is what it’s important my spiritual sister. Frank. Downey California 😅
That's not in K drama.
Get me some of that.
Im biracial and light skin and never had a problem with Japanese doing that to me. I think they just doing their jobs (police) obey the laws and you won't have an issue
They certainly worked overtime during ww2.
Ask the rest of Asia.
Japanese government should just do two things:
1. Reduce the higher tax brackets because 42% is obscene (no need to bring another EU there) - keep it around 25%.
2. Make the work weeks 32 hours and officially make the work week 4 day long. That's going to solve the overwork problem.
Sound quality is like an Echo..not really good
@ScottC.-dp7fx for you