Moving to Japan. Culture shock, and how to become part of the culture ?
Posted on March 12th, 2010 by admin
I’m an Indian. I want to move to Japan. So is there any racism against Indians in Japan ?
Is it very hard to adjust to the culture shock ? I was thinking of learning their culture and language before moving there, will this help to ease off the culture shock ? Is it difficult for a foreigner to make friends in Japan ? I wish to become a part of the Japanese culture, I’m even thinking of changing my name to a Japanese name. So doing all this, will I still be treated as an outsider and discriminated against, or will I be treated as one of them ?
I’m also thinking of changing my religion, will that help in my being accepted into the Japanese culture ?
Japanese people will have no idea where you are from. The only thing that matters to them is that you are not Japanese. It doesn’t matter if you change your name or your religion.
You will never be treated the same as a fellow Japanese would be treated and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Really, only Japanese people with exceptionally high income or social standing are treated "well". All others are expected to be silently diligent, outwardly pleasant and keep a polite distance from others. Japanese people do not make friends easily, have next to zero social skills and find communication with each other troublesome, difficult and awkward. They feel most comfortable when they are in a obligation based relationship where the rules of the relationship are clear. They as a people are constantly calculating the possible advantages of interaction with others and need a clear sign that they will profit from their association with you. If there is no profit, there is no interaction. As a foreigner in Japan you offer no chance for them to rise above the crowd. In fact, association with you would be seen as a negative to most.
As a foreigner in Japan you may be able to create a small bubble around yourself with one or two Japanese people that will temporarily enjoy your "exotic" nature. This will involve taking you with them to restaurants, coffee shops and movies to be seen by other Japanese. Your conversations will be limited to the most superficial aspects of your life and the many differences they see between your culture and theirs. Your relationship with them will end suddenly when they become "busy". Your bubble will also contain other foreigners who will provide the only real friendship you can expect to find. This will be your protection against the culture shock you will feel in the beginning.
You might be told that learning the language will help and it will to some extent. It will keep you busy and help make some things easier in Japan. Still, most Japanese will not desire to have conversation with you in any language and are so programmed to believe that you cannot speak that they will not understand simple things you say in their language.
Please don’t change your religion. Your religion will comfort you and guide you through difficulty. The Japanese are not even remotely religious.
March 12th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Not specifically, the only discrimination you’d get would be being a foreigner, not being an Indian.
Sure, learning the country’s culture and language before you go to that country will reduce the culture shock.
It is hard to make friends in Japan, even if you’re Japanese, but if you can speak Japanese and know its culture,
I suppose it wouldn’t be too difficult.
I don’t think that changing your name to a Japanese one is a good idea, but your name is really hard to pronounce to Japanese people,
it would be helpful to katakanize your name a bit so that Japanese people can pronounce your name easier.
You’ll be treated as an outsider no matter what, but that does not necessarily mean you’ll be discriminated against.
References :
Hello, I’m a Japanese person.
March 12th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
>So is there any racism against Indians in Japan ?
The fact is Indians are seen as "weird people" in Japan. If you call it racism, it is.
>Is it very hard to adjust to the culture shock ?
It’s up to you.
>will this help to ease off the culture shock ?
I think it will.
>Is it difficult for a foreigner to make friends in Japan ?
It’s up to you again. But if you learn Japanese, it’s not.
>So doing all this, will I still be treated as an outsider and discriminated against, or will I be treated as one of them ?
One of them? It’s extremely rare that Japanese people treat others as one of them.
>I’m also thinking of changing my religion, will that help in my being accepted into the Japanese culture ?
What’s your current religion?
Japanese people do not believe in religion so much. So if you want to change, you need to change to an atheist. Or become indifferent to religion as Japanese people are.
References :
a native Japanese
March 12th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Japanese people will have no idea where you are from. The only thing that matters to them is that you are not Japanese. It doesn’t matter if you change your name or your religion.
You will never be treated the same as a fellow Japanese would be treated and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Really, only Japanese people with exceptionally high income or social standing are treated "well". All others are expected to be silently diligent, outwardly pleasant and keep a polite distance from others. Japanese people do not make friends easily, have next to zero social skills and find communication with each other troublesome, difficult and awkward. They feel most comfortable when they are in a obligation based relationship where the rules of the relationship are clear. They as a people are constantly calculating the possible advantages of interaction with others and need a clear sign that they will profit from their association with you. If there is no profit, there is no interaction. As a foreigner in Japan you offer no chance for them to rise above the crowd. In fact, association with you would be seen as a negative to most.
As a foreigner in Japan you may be able to create a small bubble around yourself with one or two Japanese people that will temporarily enjoy your "exotic" nature. This will involve taking you with them to restaurants, coffee shops and movies to be seen by other Japanese. Your conversations will be limited to the most superficial aspects of your life and the many differences they see between your culture and theirs. Your relationship with them will end suddenly when they become "busy". Your bubble will also contain other foreigners who will provide the only real friendship you can expect to find. This will be your protection against the culture shock you will feel in the beginning.
You might be told that learning the language will help and it will to some extent. It will keep you busy and help make some things easier in Japan. Still, most Japanese will not desire to have conversation with you in any language and are so programmed to believe that you cannot speak that they will not understand simple things you say in their language.
Please don’t change your religion. Your religion will comfort you and guide you through difficulty. The Japanese are not even remotely religious.
References :
March 12th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Hey, I’ve been studying japan and the language for quite a while now. I haven’t been there yet, but I’m going in a few months. And based upon what I’ve seen and read, I can tell you right now – changing your religion or name for Japan isn’t going to help. It won’t make you Japanese, and it won’t fool them. Your an outsider, a foreigner (or as they will call you, a "gaijin") coming into a new land. You can’t change this.
To minimize some of the culture shock, I highly recommend you read up on "onsen", "gaijin (gaikokujin)", and of course, try eating some traditional Japanese foods. Studying the language a little bit too would also be helpful.
I don’t agree with everything that Sonny said, but some of it I agree with. The Japanese will never treat you the same as a native Japanese person, (cause your not) and while most people there will seem nice, the few who gravitate towards you will probably do so because your different, exotic, from everyone else in their country. But it’s not racism, its not discrimination, its just that your nationality is different from theirs.
Happy travels.
References :
Myself, ?? ? ??? ? ?????