Excited
Except for Moye*, the Japanese/Japanese-American folks I know aren’t usually people who do much complaining. While that’s a pretty big generalization, we all know the stereotypes– both real and perceived– of the “quiet” Japanese men and women who don’t like to talk about or dwell on hardships. Those who work to document the Japanese American internment often report that many of the Issei and older Nisei wanted to leave those memories in the past– forcing a younger generation to push for Redress. But I digress.
Regardless of whether “not complaining” is a “traditionally Japanese trait,” there are reports that today’s Japanese have becoming increasingly vocal complainers. According to an article in Japan Today, the nation “…it seems, is fast becoming an “ichamon” [いちゃもん] society, where people don’t merely raise complaints, but make false charges and pick fights at the slightest pretext.”
Last July, Shinichi Sekine, author of “The Claimer Next Door,” (Chuokoron Shinsha, 2007) published a “White Paper on Complaints.” Of over 5,000 respondents to Sekine’s questionnaire, nearly 40% noted that complaints at their workplace have been increasing of late.
The highest response was among teachers and educators, of whom 53.7% of whom said they had been directly in the line of fire.
“Until 2008, I’d been an administrator at a university for three years,” a source from academia tells the magazine. “During that time, I constantly had to field claims by students’ parents. Their methods were hardly different from yakuza. They would latch on to the smallest problem and demand that I acknowledge it, and apologize to them. Whenever I conceded a point they would ratchet up their claims.”
The day after cream stew was served at the cafeteria of a Tokyo primary school, a parent called to confront a teacher, saying, “My kid hates stew, so yesterday he only ate bread. I want a refund for that day’s lunch.”
The author of the white paper believes this trend actually reflects a change in the temperament of Japanese people. “They are not just complaining; their methods are becoming increasingly spiteful, such as demanding money or an apology in writing,” says Sekine. “I think a key factor may be the declining sense of contentment.”
Maybe so. But a commenter suggests that this might be because Japanese people are just “spoiled.”
What do you think? Is Japan on its way to being a nation of chronic complainers? Or do Americans still have a lock on that?**
*Just kidding. I’m only picking on Moye ‘cuz it’s fun! She is not a complainer– though she does, however, make keen observations about things that truly suck!
**Ok, another big generalization. But am I wrong about that?!
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SmithinJapan hit the nail on the head - especially with his last paragraph in that article. But then again I'm just observing as a gaijin in Japan.
I've often been told by students that they just "deal with it" and accept minor troubles as "sho ganai".
A lot of people here pretty much want "what it says on the tin". So when a cafe says they will be serving mochi and green tea all day, they expect mochi and green tea all day (no excuses for shortages). Hence the plethora of apologetic notes in Japanese and Japlish in stores, train stations, elevators etc to cover their backsides.
What's the point in making self reflexive generalizations about nations and their populations? Read some post national discourse.
I find it interesting that you posit your question such that you frame discussion either as 'Japan is a nation of complainers OR America is.' This is of course working under the assumption that a nation can be ascribed a temperament.
SmithinJapan hit the nail on the head - especially with his last paragraph in that article. But then again I'm just observing as a gaijin in Japan.
I've often been told by students that they just "deal with it" and accept minor troubles as "sho ganai".
A lot of people here pretty much want "what it says on the tin". So when a cafe says they will be serving mochi and green tea all day, they expect mochi and green tea all day (no excuses for shortages). Hence the plethora of apologetic notes in Japanese and Japlish in stores, train stations, elevators etc to cover their backsides.
What's the point in making self reflexive generalizations about nations and their populations? Read some post national discourse.
I find it interesting that you posit your question such that you frame discussion either as 'Japan is a nation of complainers OR America is.' This is of course working under the assumption that a nation can be ascribed a temperament.
What's the difference between a real and perceived stereotype?
Great find from Japan Today, Joz! I suppose on one hand I (we) should be glad that Japanese are "finding their voice" but there's sometimes a fine line between speaking out/fighting for justice and complaining/whining. I don't think Japan'll ever eclipse the U.S., though -- just our litigious nature is a reflection of how much whining we do.
I don't know what I'm better at: whining or complaining. Someone forward this article to my mom.
It sounds like they're projecting, or complaining about the wrong things.
It's good to be vocal about daily injustices, but not about every little thing that doesn't go exactly your way.
I don't know much about Japanese culture nor have I visited so I can't say much about this.
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