Comment by dfabulich
2 hours ago
I made a very small and highly defensible claim.
You argued that this article (by David Oks) is an example of "how Westerners idealize Japan." I argued that this article does not idealize Japan, and that, if you interpreted Oks' article that way, then you didn't understand the article.
I didn't say that Japanese business culture is more "horizontal" than Western business culture, or that Japanese business culture is better in any particular way. I didn't even say that the article is right or wrong about anything.
All I did was to restate the thesis statement of the article, to clarify what the article actually says.
I don't harbor any particular affinity for Japan, or Japanese business culture. I know very little about it. I'm not an authority to speak on it, and I didn't.
You assumed what I believe without understanding what I wrote. You did exactly the same thing to me that you did to David Oks.
Don't be a coward about this, my friend. let me be honest with you. Why are you getting so defensive about an experience you haven't lived, when I was sharing my direct, firsthand experience (specifically dealing with automation equipment)? I know you probably didn't know I existed before today, and the feeling is mutual. For what it's worth, I checked out your game—it's really well-made. But that's separate from the fact that you attacked me.
The overarching tone of this entire article is clear: it is searching for something in Japanese culture that is supposedly missing in Western culture. Throwing in a few lines of critique doesn't negate the fact that it is fundamentally romanticizing the system. The author explicitly dresses it up with nice words like 'horizontally flowing information' and 'consensus.'
But that is purely a Western academic fantasy. It completely ignores the extreme vertical hierarchy, the lack of geographic mobility, and a social structure with zero socio-economic exit strategies. He looked at it entirely through a Western lens. Now, I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing in a vacuum—the way I see myself is different from how you see me, and there are pros and cons.
But the Andon culture acts like a Panopticon. If you pull it too much, it accumulates and ruins your performance review. There's a reason Toyota had massive issues with power harassment (pawahara), leading to a new employee's suicide. Frankly, as a Korean, I don't like criticizing Japan because people immediately assume I'm just being hateful due to our colonial history. I was purely pointing out the stark differences based on my own lived experience.
And now you're making cowardly excuses after initially being sarcastic and implying I couldn't read? Look, you make good games. Your game is beautiful, and your site is great. But let's just be honest here. If you just admitted it and said 'my bad,' we could move on. We are both adults. Yes, I got annoyed and spoke harshly, but let's not pretend your initial comment wasn't sarcastic. Don't treat people like idiots.
Let's just apologize to each other and end this. I've heard that the Japanese game industry actually does have a somewhat horizontal structure, so I understand why you might base your perspective on that. It's a natural cognitive bias.
Honestly, if you hadn't spoken so aggressively first, I would have just acknowledged your point and moved on. What's the point of fighting on the internet? Also, if you ever need a Korean translation for your game, let me know, I can help you out.
Anyway, I was pissed off and snapped at you, and since we are both adults responsible for our actions, I apologize for the harsh words on my end. But let's be real—it's perfectly valid for me to be offended when you accuse me of not properly reading the article.
Please go back and reread your own comment and ask yourself if it was truly a fair critique