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  • Essay / Essay on Japanese Culture - 1235

    Americans take risks and invention is honorable. Therefore, while the Japanese are reluctant to venture into new and risky procedures, Americans seek glory through creativity and invention. For this reason, Japan lags behind in the services sector, a sector that finances a considerably high proportion of the U.S. economy. But then again, ten Japanese people work hard and learn quickly because they know how to listen. In addition, in verbal communication, the Japanese respect the feelings of their interlocutor and maintain harmony by being indirect. Basically, Japanese people often interrogate the other party using direct questions to understand them before engaging in communication. Making one’s voice heard is considered taboo (Brightman, 2005). The Americans apply exactly the opposite: they express what they think with very little regard for the reaction of the other party. Literally, Americans express their emotions while conversing, either through nonverbal signs or changes in tone of voice, including but not limited to raising their voice. The nonverbal code of respect involving bowing, standing, and sitting to honor the other party, evident in Japanese culture, has no place in American culture.