It’s something i have been thinking about lately. My experience with Japanese people is limited to those i have worked with or had relationships with so i’m looking for more opinions.
I’ve found on average there is a big fear of not only failure, but looking incompetent even if they are completely green/newb at something.
I think it may be related, and would like to hear others experiences, but i also think blaming others whenever possible comes from this. Is it “saving face”? Idk. I experienced it even with close relationships like my wife. In Japanese there are the phrases せいで and おかげで which don’t really exist in English even if they are easy to grasp. Perhaps its just a matter of having these phrases?
Either way, I find it hard to relate. I do not personally instinctively look for any possible reason to blame someone else no matter how air fairy it is nor fear making a mistake professionally or personally. In fact in my own country these are while not encouraged they are not seen as something to avoid or be afraid of. I do not feel like that is the case here and there seems to be a society wide fear of any failure at all.
Opinions and experiences appreciated.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt%E2%80%93shame%E2%80%93fear_spectrum_of_cultures
> In Japanese there are the phrases せいで and おかげで which don’t really exist in English
Really?
おかげで and せいで DO exist in English.
おかげで = Thanks to/owing to (something/someone)
せいで = Because of/due to/as a result of (something/someone) [mostly used in a negative way]
Thanks to +
‘s fault
Yes. Big difference. In the west (esp America) if you fail it’s Jeff Bezos fault. There’s no personal responsibility
This is very much an international thing. I’ve worked in big multinationals, and everyone likes to hold their umbrella open at all times. Pointing fingers, deflecting blame, and dodging responsibility for one’s screw-ups exists everywhere, not just in Japan.
せいで = at the fault of
おかげで = thanks to
They certainly exist in English.
I find the Japanese approach to *responsibility* to be very different here than in my home country. Despite the stereotype of it being a “collectivist society” (which I don’t necessarily agree with), there’s a very strong sense of 自己責任 (which I wouldn’t necessarily translate as “self-responsibility” because it means something quite different to what native English speakers are probably used to). Basically, responsibility is always foisted onto the person at the center of the issue, even if the issue is ultimately of organizational, systematic, or social nature. This, I believe, is why people and organizations are so risk-averse and why so many procedures and rules are put in place to provide insulation—people know that others around them will blame them if something goes wrong, even if it was clearly out of their control or someone else’s fault entirely or not even a real problem to begin with. According to this approach, the person at the center will be at fault because they should have known better and avoided the situation in the first place. Which I think is a very unhealthy attitude to have.
In Japan, they think it’s their fault even if it’s not. In my country, they think it’s the fault of everyone else even if it’s just the consequences of your own actions.