CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.102

On the Essential Values of the Japanese People

In recent years, Japan has been facing a serious labor shortage in
various industries due to the declining birthrate and aging society.

The same problem is becoming more serious in the IT industry, where the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry estimates that there will be a
shortage of 790,000 digital workers by 2030.

In order for Japanese IT companies to secure a stable supply of digital
human resources, it is widely expected that they will utilize digital
human resources from overseas.

I also expect that digital talent from Asian countries will play an
active role in Japan.
The biggest barrier for overseas digital talent to work with Japan is
the Japanese language. Compared to other languages spoken in other parts
of the world, the Japanese language.
It is very difficult to learn because of its ambiguous grammar and the
use of three types of characters: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
I hope that you will study hard and master the language.

I believe that foreign digital talents who have IT skills and have
mastered Japanese will feel a culture gap when they work with Japanese
companies.
I would like to give some advice on the characteristics and culture of
the Japanese people that I would like young engineers who are going to
work in Japan to be aware of.

One thing I strongly feel is the difference between foreign businessmen
and Japanese ones is their awareness of the word “I can”.

Generally speaking, when Japanese people are asked if they can do
certain jobs, they tend to say, “Can you do it ? ” They generally answer
“We can do it” only when they feel they can do it with a probability of
close to 100%.
If they are not confident that they can do the job, they will say, “No,
we cannot do it” On the other hand, they do not say “We can do it” when
they are not confident that they can do it.
Overseas people have a very aggressive mindset, so when they are asked,
“Can you do it? They will say “We can do it!” I think that most Japanese
people do not tend to answer “yes” even when they are not sure if they
can do something or not.

For many Japanese, “We can do it” is a promise and a commitment.
If they cannot do it, their business partner will judge them as having
lied. Many Japanese people tend to prioritize keeping a promise over
taking on a challenge.
I think this creates a culture gap in communication with the Japanese.

Another virtue that the Japanese possess is the spirit of
self-sacrifice. This is a virtue that the Japanese are losing these
days.
In the past, many Japanese were “able to sweat for others even if they
themselves were not appreciated.
Even if they did not succeed in their own generation, or even if their
own work failed, I think many of them thought that their experience
would be useful for the next generation of juniors.
I believe that many of them thought that they could make their
experience useful for the next generation's juniors. In addition,
Japanese people have an intrinsic desire to do what pleases others.

Many companies adopted the Western performance-based system from around
1990, but I think this system did not fit well with the Japanese
workplace culture.
Because they adopted Western values half-heartedly, they only do work
that leads to their own immediate evaluation, they do not take on
challenges out of fear of failure, and they do not work for the sake of
others.

Many foreigners may feel confused when they see Japanese people's
character and behavior, but it is natural that a culture gap exists, so
it is important to get along well with Japanese people and interact with
them.
It is normal, so I hope you will get along well with them and enjoy your
work exchange with Japan.

Okada Kotaro

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