Education
Mitsugo no tamashi, hyaku made, or "The soul of the first three years lasts up to 100 years"... This saying is in the consciousness of all Japanese people. They think that the games are made between birth and the third year. During this period, and indeed almost up to primary school, children are not subject to any prohibitions or strict rules. They are cared for rather than educated. They must enjoy life. We try to make sure, as the Japanese say, that there is no "hole" in the child's heart, that both the emotional and physical bond and his or her distance (emancipation) follow a full process. At home, children are taught above all how to behave in society in order to please others or not to hinder them, and the relay is taken by the school, which gives a peaceful and pleasant society, on the surface of course, because in reality it is less and less so by Japanese standards.Family
It would be wrong to use the term family to understand the Japanese way of life. In fact, although the Japanese take care of their families, they also have very diverse relationships in society. It really takes a terrible, aggressive parent to make a daughter or son decide to stop making the effort to maintain the relationship. Even though the emotional part exists between parents and children, we like to take care of our parents, grandparents, and, of course, the reverse is true. Caring goes hand in hand with natural affection for one's parents or vice versa. Body contact is important. Young spouses sleep with the little ones on the same futon.
School
The orientation of MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) responds to the national concern of globalization. In the era of globalization, there is a fear that the "co-harmonizing" side of Japanese temperament will not allow them to communicate well on the international scene. In primary school, classes stop at 2 or 3 p.m. The national education system provides basic education with the help of few textbooks. In order to help their children pass their exams, most Japanese are attracted to juku (small supplementary schools) which keep children busy in the afternoons or evenings. State universities are virtually free or very cheap, while a private university costs at least a million yen a year.
Work
It's a cliché to be dropped at this level, even if, as with all megacities, people in Japan's big cities spend a lot of time at work. However, they don't spend all their time there. On average, the Japanese have only two to three weeks of paid holidays per year. But there are one or two weeks of Golden and Silver Week at the beginning of the year and in the spring. We would also tend to use the term work to refer to Japanese people's lives, but "activity" is more appropriate. For the Japanese, work is an activity that gives animation. Healthy animation in work, sports, study or other activities is synonymous with happiness. Thus, it is a bit wrong to say that Japanese people like to work. They like to be animated at work, as in the rest of their activities. Work that lacks animation or a "stakeout" does not generally interest them.
Retirement
The Japanese retirement pension system is based on the simple principle that the population of contributors is larger than that of beneficiaries. The government has already raised the retirement age from 60 to 65. Indeed, Japan is one of the leading industrial countries in terms of population ageing. Moreover, the country, which has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, is no longer ensuring its generational renewal. It goes without saying that the principle described can no longer work in the long term. There is even talk of raising the retirement age to 70 again.
Contradiction
A brief visit to Japan allows us to understand, in a non-detailed way, that the country is a country of paradoxes. But the situation is much more complex than the simple opposition between black and white. There is what is said(tatemae) and what is thought internally(honne). At Kyōto, the Golden Pavilion expresses the very magnificence, while the Silver Pavilion evokes the stripping that leads to the heart of things. The great sanctuary of Ise is dedicated to the imperial court of the Yamato, but the same court built a sanctuary for those it defeated, that of Izumo. Haji means shame and confusion, but having this attitude means no more shame. The unity that expresses space(ma) also expresses time. These are only examples among many others, and this is why Japan is often described as a country of contradictions. That is true, but is it not possible to say instead that Japan makes contradictions coexist, and that this leads to the result that there is no more contradiction?
Superflu
In his behaviour, as a general rule (times change of course), the Japanese try to remove the superfluous, to see the bottom of things. Many Japanese architects are recognized as minimalists. What is beautiful in Japanese traditional dance Nihonbuyō is the absence of movement. The basis of ancient martial arts? It's to avoid using force, but rather to bypass it to create movement. The Japanese often prefer to let someone speak who has a strong conviction and wants to be right. They prefer to evade rather than argue or be right. Since early childhood, the Japanese have learned that they have work to do to erase imperfections. He does a lot of this and avoids emphasizing his qualities. In short, society teaches him what is called modesty. These few abstract explanations can surely give clues to the traveller who is a bit surprised by what looks like a lack of personality or an apparent shyness from his Japanese friends.
