Comment by globalnode
2 days ago
I doubt people in Japan care more or less than anywhere else. They just buy into a different social contract, one where they believe that if you behave a certain way towards others, your life in turn will be better as well. Japan is right to discourage foreigners from moving and living there. Those sorts of social contracts only work when everyone is on the same page.
They do care more than most countries where I have visited or lived. There is a real send of "excellence" about their public behaviour that is hard to replicate. For example, when you queue to board a train, people stay to the side to allow passengers to exit. After others have exited, they board the train. (Tourists sometimes make the mistake of rushing into the train when the doors open, but it only takes one try to figure it out!) Ask yourself: Why do they do it? I don't why, but I observe it on the daily, and the incentive to behave well in public is pretty low in a modern ("selfish") society. I feel the same about littering -- the amount of litter in public places is astonishingly low in Japan. Another tiny thing that you may notice: When in a busy public place where two groups of people are crossing one another's path, people in Japan make an effort to allow one person to cross from each side. It is like watching a ballet performance when you see it.
This is a myth. Japan (and, coincidentally, Germany) welcomes three groups of foreigners: (a) students (language and university, mostly), (b) low skill workers (factory, farm, retail), and (c) high skill knowledge workers. I would say it is much easier to get (and keep) a work visa in Japan compared to the US.
This is how trains work in Bangkok also, and Thai culture is very different from Japanese culture.
This is just how trains work in that place. It’s not deeper than that.
Same in the UK. Isn’t waiting for others to get off before you get on just basic courtesy? There are definitely individuals who don’t do this, but most do. Same in lifts.
Other than that, I completely agree that people in Japan seem to care and take their jobs more seriously than elsewhere. Though my Japanese friends would probably tell me that it’s not because they deeply care — really they’re just terrified of standing out. Still, perhaps the resulting society is worth it! High trust is great.
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Not sure what train you got in Thailand, you were perhaps lucky. Usually it is the opposite. As a westerner working in BKK this drives me mad that they do not wait. They will only wait if there is no gap to try push in on.
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