Japanese Culture Vs American Culture

Paulo Coelho states that “Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers” (Coelho, 2006). Coelho explains the universal truth that if you truly want to understand a person you need to understand their roots and where they come from. Japanese and American culture have a few similarities but have a lot of differences that form two very distinct cultures. Their differences can be traced from their beginnings and their founder’s beliefs. America was founded on principles of democracy, self-expression, and freedom, and Japan was founded as a kingdom with classes and divisions. Hofstede, a social psychologist, formulated five distinct

Japan was founded as a kingdom and is now a unitary state. The U.S. Library of Congress states that “Japan has a unitary rather than a federal system of government, in which local jurisdictions largely depend on national government both administratively and financially” (Worden, 2002). Japan’s structure of government forms a social and political structure where the power is at the top and all authority is controlled by the central government and does not have any real power unless granted to it. This forms a culture where power and authority is ultimately controlled by the central government. Japan does have free elections but are ultimately limited in power by the central government (2013). The people are often not heard in their government which leads to low approval rates of politicians. Also in Japanese culture the CEO’s and presidents keep their decision making closed off and the employees are expected to follow the rules and be loyal to their decisions (Worden, 2002). With an over controlling central government and illusion of power given to the people in elections and local government Japanese culture has a high

Over the years, America has become more and more progressive about women equality in the workplace, and breaking down gender roles and perceived notions in society about sexuality. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in their Gender Gap Report 2016, “The U.S. ranks 45th based on equality in the workplace and education system” (Mie, 2016). The country has come far in our education system to provide all genders with equal educational opportunity and women are able to hold the same jobs in the business world. Women and people of all genders are respected in culture and do not have a set role or limitation to their roles in society. On a more personal level, there are organizations such as LBTQ that support the community of people that identify in a range of sexualities and it is common place for people to be accepting in their conversations about women workers and leaders. It is looked at as socially unacceptable to be sexist towards women and wrong to be unaccepting. The male role in society is also flexible, he can be the caregiver or the provider depending on his relationship with his partner. Style is also flexible and unique to each person’s taste. Flexible gender roles, equal opportunity, and a general cultural