Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Do Japanese people believe that people are naturally good?
The careless behavior of Japanese people often surprises those who aren't familiar with Japan. Typical behavior is at self-service cafes. Many people first leave their personal belongings on the table in order to reserve their seats, and then they leave to go buy things. Some people even leave their cellphones or laptops. Although they are not able to keep watch over their personal belongings left on the table while standing in line, they don't care. They seem to assume that their things will not be stolen. I don't think it is safe to do that in Japan anymore, but there are still many people who don't mind doing it. Actually, Japanese people often behave based on a traditional idea that people can't do wrong since they are naturally good. Many people assume that this idea comes from 性善説/seizensetsu which was developed and advocated by 孟子/moushi in the ancient times of China, although the proper meaning of 性善説 is different.
People understand that this idea will expose themselves to danger outside Japan. However, Japanese tourists still aren't vigilant enough in other counties. Their careless behavior always invites someone to pick their pockets. They are still the first target for thieves. When it comes to business, I think that Japanese companies still tend to lack the awareness of risk and aren't good at risk management, although I don't know whether or not this traditional idea has caused it. Some people are surprised by contracts made by American companies since they cover much more detailed things than they expected. The detailed things sometimes include things they can't think of. When I lived in China, some Japanese took some time to get accustomed to checking whether or not small electrical appliances sold, even at well-known department stores, worked properly before purchasing them.