{"id":17313,"date":"2023-09-25T08:54:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T15:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17313"},"modified":"2023-09-25T09:15:03","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T16:15:03","slug":"my-sna-vm-49-be-mindful-about-cultural-education-sept-25-2023-on-how-teaching-people-about-japan-can-backfire-if-the-regular-stereotyping-found-in-language-education-isnt-thought-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17313","title":{"rendered":"My SNA VM 49: Be Mindful About Cultural Education (Sept 25, 2023), on how teaching people about Japan can backfire if the regular stereotyping found in language education isn’t carefully considered"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hi Blog. Here’s my latest column. \u00a0Enjoy. Debito Arudou, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n

CULTURAL EDUCATION MUST BE DONE MINDFULLY<\/strong>
\nJapan\u2019s internationalization is inevitable. So is teaching Japan\u2019s future generations of diversity. If done wrong, educating about Japanese culture and society could do more harm than good.<\/strong>
\nBy Debito Arudou, Ph.D., SNA Visible Minorities column 49, Sept 25, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2023\/09\/25\/japans-internationalization-is-inevitable-so-is-teaching-japans-future-generations-of-diversity-if-done-wrong-educating-about-japanese-culture-and-society-could-do-more-harm-than\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Like it or not, Japan\u2019s internationalization is happening.\u00a0 <\/span>There are fewer Japanese and more foreigners than ever.\u00a0 <\/span>In 2022, the population of Japanese citizens<\/a> dropped below the 125 million mark for the first time in Japan\u2019s modern era, while the registered Non-Japanese (NJ) population reached a record high at over 3 million<\/a>, or 2.4% of the total population.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That can only grow.\u00a0 <\/span>Even if the NJ population numerically stayed the same as it is now, its percentage of the total population will still rise due to Japan\u2019s below-replacement birthrates.\u00a0 <\/span>But the NJ population will not stay the same \u2014 the economics of Japan\u2019s aging labor force is reaching the point where officials see the writing on the wall.\u00a0 <\/span>According to a recent Kyodo News<\/a> survey, a whopping 86% of Japan\u2019s municipalities want more NJ workers to do the jobs and save their senescent cities from extinction.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

All of these figures do not, of course, include all the multicultural and multiethnic children already in Japan with diverse identities and backgrounds \u2014 routinely ignored because Japan\u2019s Census does not measure for ethnicity. So if anything, Japan\u2019s internationalization is grossly underestimated.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

TEACH THE CHILDREN WELL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The front line of this trend is Japan\u2019s education system, where the children of immigrants make an immediate and urgent impact on society. This is not news. For more than a quarter century, local governments have begged for enhanced services to help their residents with language and acculturation barriers assimilate into their schools and communities. The national government has basically ignored them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But we are seeing some progress. Multilingual manuals about local customs and rules have long been issued by governments and civil society, including some helpful training videos to help explain elementary school rules and cultural practices in simpler Japanese. A good example was produced by students at Wakayama University and featured in the Mainichi last year.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is highly laudable. But a point of caution: This isn\u2019t just a matter of telling all Newcomers to \u201cDo as the Romans do.\u201d Without mindful production of teaching materials grounded in solid social science, cultural education could have the opposite effect: Solidifying stereotypes, entrenching prejudice, and making the perceived newcomer feel like a perpetually subordinated outsider.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider some bad habits that are the default mode:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One is systemic \u2014 the tendency towards stereotyping within language teaching itself. I recall my French language textbooks introducing \u201cFrench things\u201d (petit pan, grande pan, etc.) as something all French people ate. No mention, say, of couscous, or other ethnic but Francophone cuisines. Or for that matter of other Francophone people. All French people in my textbooks were white, which simply didn\u2019t reflect reality.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To the untrained eye, that meant that whatever doesn\u2019t fit a textbook image of \u201cFrenchness\u201d wasn\u2019t seen as \u201cFrench.\u201d It put up artificial walls between peoples simply out of habit or convenience. That\u2019s because basic language training necessarily tends to overgeneralize about societies and boil them down to foundational language. But resorting to prototype omits developments in society, such as cultural diversity from international migration.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we need trained eyes to avoids stereotyping. Let social scientists, not just linguists or untrained do-gooders, also have input into the learning process.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But there are also some bad habits that are intrinsic to Japan, easily seen when even the most educated people teach Japanese culture…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BEWARE \u201cUNIQUE JAPAN\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider the narrative focus on \u201cJapanese uniqueness,\u201d as in, \u201conly Japan has this,\u201d for just about anything worthy of portraying as \u201cJapanese.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>For example, I\u2019ve seen educational materials claiming that enjoying four seasons and eating octopus are \u201cuniquely Japanese.\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span>Calamari, anyone?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One problem with the \u201cuniqueness trope\u201d is that it prioritizes differences over similarities.\u00a0 <\/span>This is the natural outcome of humanities as a field seeing culture as a constellation of contrasts.\u00a0 <\/span>Anything not remarkable or dramatic enough to cause \u201cculture shock\u201d doesn\u2019t seem to be all that worthy of study.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet no matter what, people are far more similar than they are different (start with the fact that we are carbon-based mammals and work up).\u00a0 <\/span>And by portraying even the most mundane things (such as using chopsticks, taking off your shoes at the doorway, or sorting your garbage) as some kind of cultural minefield only serves to make study of other societies unduly formidable and anal-retentive. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So focus on practical goals.\u00a0 <\/span>Give them the right words to accomplish the tasks and things will flow from there.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The other problem with fixating on difference to the point of \u201cuniqueness\u201d is that it encourages ascription and exclusion.\u00a0 <\/span>Anything deviating from the portrayed image of \u201cJapaneseness\u201d automatically becomes \u201cforeign.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider the political outcomes of this.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s say you have a suggestion for how things could be done better, but alas, you\u2019re a foreigner?\u00a0 <\/span>Too bad.\u00a0 <\/span>It won\u2019t work in Japan because we are unique and not like any other foreign country and we do things differently.\u00a0 <\/span>Foreign things must automatically be different or they wouldn\u2019t be foreign. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But what if a Japanese suggests the same thing?\u00a0 <\/span>Well, we can\u2019t accept that either.\u00a0 <\/span>Obviously it\u2019s still not the norm, because if it were, you wouldn\u2019t be suggesting a change. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Either way, the door is slammed on social change.\u00a0 <\/span>Eliminating the possibility of any cultural overlap reinforces the \u201cus versus them\u201d mindset and feeds directly into social othering, all of which are counterproductive to societies evolving.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWE JAPANESE\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another problem is portraying Japan as a monolith.\u00a0 <\/span>Guidebooks on Japan tend to represent it as a one-size-fits-all experience, and that \u201cJapanese behavior\u201d is predictable down to topic sentences without exception:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe Japanese think or behave this way.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Switch on the TV (especially NHK World) and you\u2019ll see that narrative reinforced daily. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s just stereotyping all over again, and it ignores all the regional differences that plainly exist once you get to know Japan as individuals, regions, dialects, and local mores.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whenever I get asked to say something about Japan, especially by people who want to go there and experience it for themselves (which I always heartily encourage), I always add the caveat that, \u201cYour mileage may vary, depending on how you\u2019re perceived.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>If I were shorter, darker-haired or -skinned, female or non-binary, younger or older etc., my experience of interactions with Japanese society would differ. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Teaching people about life in Japan has to incorporate the inevitability of diversity and exception.\u00a0 <\/span>There are just so many Japans out there.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The knock-on ill-effect of portraying all Japanese as being a certain way (including physical appearance) means that those who aren\u2019t are not \u201creal Japanese.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This feeds directly into teaching the students and future residents of Japan that in the end they don\u2019t really belong here.\u00a0 <\/span>Even if they learn the rules, they never be part of the group that makes the rules. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why do you think so few of the Non-Japanese on Caregiver Visas who underwent Japan\u2019s very difficult nursing program stayed on afterwards?\u00a0 <\/span>Because they were only trained to work, not belong to the guild that trained them, or ever assimilate and become Japanese.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYOU FOREIGNERS\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

One final problem to be aware of is that teachers and students should not assume the mantle of what I call \u201cCultural Ambassadors.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Being told that \u201cJapan is this way\u201d and \u201cHow is it in your society?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>As if they as individuals could possibly represent whole societies with any real accuracy.\u00a0 <\/span>After all, being an ambassador takes very specific training in social science, including diplomacy, cultural representation, negotiation, and conflict resolution.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The problem with untrained \u201cdo-gooders\u201d indulging in cultural education, and \u201cculture vultures\u201d trying to be helpful and \u201ctaking foreigners under their wing,\u201d is that they\u2019re generally not mindful of what they\u2019re doing.\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019re often not trying to be a friend on your terms.\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019re often studying you like an animal in a zoo or a protozoan in a Petri dish, treating you like a pet or a means to an end. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How many failed relationships and marriages have resulted from people glomming onto you because they were \u201cGaijin Groupies\u201d?\u00a0 <\/span>They liked you as in idea more than you as an individual.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not let cultural education at the compulsory education level fall into these bad habits.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

SO WHAT DO DO?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of the tweaks are simple.\u00a0 <\/span>Make sure that language generalizing about Japan allows for exceptions.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSome Japanese\u2026 most Japanese\u2026 almost all Japanese.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But some educational materials must show some awareness of the politics of inclusivity.\u00a0 <\/span>Make sure that people of diversity are also included in textbook perceptions of the Self, as a part of Japanese society.\u00a0 <\/span>That if they learn the rules and assimilate, that they too can have a role in being part of the process of rule creation.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, be aware that there are always politics behind any cultural training.\u00a0 <\/span>Make sure that the \u201cHow-Tos\u201d don\u2019t overstep their bounds.\u00a0 <\/span>Focus on the rules and how to follow them, and avoid going beyond that to demand people give up their power and become obedient \u201cModel Minorities.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

How to do that?\u00a0 <\/span>See them as individuals here for good trying to learn the ropes.\u00a0 <\/span>Help them become residents of Japan, if not colleagues and friends.\u00a0 <\/span>Don\u2019t treat them something temporary, as if they are a rare bird with remarkable plumage that magically alighted on your windowsill, here only for an instant and gone tomorrow. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Simply put, show some real empathy.\u00a0 <\/span>What would you want to know if you were moving into a new society and trying to fit in?\u00a0 <\/span>Treat Newcomers and neophytes as you would like to be treated.\u00a0 <\/span>Sounds obvious to say, but all sorts of bad habits get in the way.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n

======================
\nDo you like what you read on Debito.org? \u00a0Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org’s activities? \u00a0Please consider donating a little something. \u00a0More details here<\/a>. Or if you prefer something less complicated, just click on an advertisement below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like it or not, Japan\u2019s internationalization is happening.\u00a0 There are fewer Japanese and more foreigners than ever.\u00a0 In 2022, the population of Japanese citizens dropped below the 125 million mark for the first time in Japan\u2019s modern era, while the registered Non-Japanese (NJ) population reached a record high at over 3 million, or 2.4% of the total population. <\/p>\n

That can only grow.\u00a0 Even if the NJ population numerically stayed the same as it is now, its percentage of the total population will still rise due to Japan\u2019s below-replacement birthrates.\u00a0 But the NJ population will not stay the same \u2014 the economics of Japan\u2019s aging labor force is reaching the point where officials see the writing on the wall.\u00a0 According to a recent Kyodo News survey, a whopping 86% of Japan\u2019s municipalities want more NJ workers to do the jobs and save their senescent cities from extinction.\u00a0All of these figures do not, of course, include all the multicultural and multiethnic children already in Japan with diverse identities and backgrounds \u2014 routinely ignored because Japan\u2019s Census does not measure for ethnicity. So if anything, Japan\u2019s internationalization is grossly underestimated.<\/p>\n

TEACH THE CHILDREN WELL<\/p>\n

The front line of this trend is Japan\u2019s education system, where the children of immigrants make an immediate and urgent impact on society. This is not news. For more than a quarter century, local governments have begged for enhanced services to help their residents with language and acculturation barriers assimilate into their schools and communities. The national government has basically ignored them. But we are seeing some progress. Multilingual manuals about local customs and rules have long been issued by governments and civil society, including some helpful training videos to help explain elementary school rules and cultural practices in simpler Japanese. A good example was produced by students at Wakayama University and featured in the Mainichi last year.<\/p>\n

This is highly laudable. But a point of caution: This isn\u2019t just a matter of telling all Newcomers to \u201cDo as the Romans do.\u201d Without mindful production of teaching materials grounded in solid social science, cultural education could have the opposite effect: Solidifying stereotypes, entrenching prejudice, and making the perceived newcomer feel like a perpetually subordinated outsider. Consider some bad habits that are the default mode:<\/p>\n

One is systemic \u2014 the tendency towards stereotyping within language teaching itself. I recall my French language textbooks introducing \u201cFrench things\u201d (petit pan, grande pan, etc.) as something all French people ate. No mention, say, of couscous, or other ethnic but Francophone cuisines. Or for that matter of other Francophone people. All French people in my textbooks were white, which simply didn\u2019t reflect reality. To the untrained eye, that meant that whatever doesn\u2019t fit a textbook image of \u201cFrenchness\u201d wasn\u2019t seen as \u201cFrench.\u201d It put up artificial walls between peoples simply out of habit or convenience. That\u2019s because basic language training necessarily tends to overgeneralize about societies and boil them down to foundational language. But resorting to prototype omits developments in society, such as cultural diversity from international migration. That\u2019s why we need trained eyes to avoids stereotyping. Let social scientists, not just linguists or untrained do-gooders, also have input into the learning process.<\/p>\n

But there are also some bad habits that are intrinsic to Japan, easily seen when even the most educated people teach Japanese culture…
\nhttps:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2023\/09\/25\/japans-internationalization-is-inevitable-so-is-teaching-japans-future-generations-of-diversity-if-done-wrong-educating-about-japanese-culture-and-society-could-do-more-harm-than\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,28,36,22,19,34,47,12,4,14,16,60,46,11,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-anti-discrimination-templates","category-bad-social-science","category-cultural-issue","category-education","category-exclusionism","category-food","category-immigration-assimilation","category-japanese-government","category-japanese-politics","category-labor-issues","category-nj-voices-ignored","category-practical-advice","category-problematic-foreign-treatment","category-unsustainable-japanese-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17313"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17321,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17313\/revisions\/17321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}