Structure of the Japanese career system

In the United States, your career growth is primarily dependent on a few assets, but two of them are arguably the most important: the degree of specialization of your skills set and your performance. Typically, you develop yourself in a single market, moving from job to job, to develop specialized skills in order to move up the ladder and/or fatten up the paycheck. Your pay increases as you develop a highly specialized skill set, but eventually tapers off when you hit the limit of your progression. Your employment remains secure as long as you are productive. You have the option to jump from company to company, job to job, and obtain a position you are qualified for.

On average, an American goes through 5-8 different jobs and 3-4 different occupations in their lifetime. In other words, we are nomadic when it comes to who we work for; Short-term workers in a sense.

The United States style of career progression heavily contrasts that of Japan’s.

There are a few concepts that distinguish the Japanese from the United States style of white collar career growth

1. 終身雇用 (しゅうしんこよう; shuushinkoyou). Life time employment. A hired professional under the 終身雇用制度 (しゅうしんこようせいど; shushinkoyouseido; lifetime employment system).
2. 年功序列 (ねんこうじょれつ; nenkoujyoretsu). Seniority by length of service. Salary is dependent on individual’s status under the 年功序列制度 (ねんこうじょれつせいど; nenkoujyoretsuseido; seniority system).
3. 人事異動 (じんじいどう; jinjiidou). Constant job position changes within the company, not necessarily tailored to one’s skill set.

Once out of school and hired on, the expectations are for the employee to commit themselves to the company until retirement. One life, one employer.

Requirements for getting hired by a firm are usually an excellent set of general skills, and an attendance at a reputable university under your belt (for example: University of Tokyo, Keio University, Kyoto University, etc.). No skill specialization is required early on because the company will ensure you get the training you need throughout your career. The trade-off for this is a low entry-level salary.

The loss of salary during the entry-level phase is made up later in the career. Unlike the U.S. system where salary is based on performance and specialization, the Japanese salary is increased by length of service. Late in their careers, the growth percentage of a Japanese salary tends to be greater than the U.S. counterpart. Additional benefits are also given based on length of service. For example, after reaching a certain seniority level, the employee may be offered free company paid housing near the office.

The importance of the general skill set is emphasize throughout the career of the Japanese employee. Human resources will assign the individual positions in various departments, and a lot of times the position given will in no way match their education or current skill set. In the end, the employee will be able to play out many hats and understand the company as a whole. This is great for shaping employees into managerial roles.

Promotion to a higher status position is based on length of service. Job performance and skill set are secondary when it comes to promotion time for the employee. Higher level positions tend to be filled from within. Thus, it is not easy to leave a company for another because doing so essentially resets your “seniority counter”, which will stall your career growth and salary.

While it is great that experience is valued, the downfall of the seniority system is that upper level positions are filled with aged workers (the old guard), regardless of their productivity levels and qualifications. How the system is set up, firing low productivity workers is difficult. This puts younger, more capable employees at a disadvantage, since they have to wait in line behind everyone else in order to be promoted to a higher status position. In addition, having all been trained under the same system, the culture doesn’t lend itself for “radical” or “outside” ideas.

On the upside, the Japanese career structure builds a strong loyalty culture amongst the company. Having everyone commit to one company in their careers and without the fear of being laid off, people tend to trust each other more. It is like being a part of a second (or third) family.

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Certainly the concept of overworking yourself to death is not unique to the Japanese, however the country perhaps does take the issue more seriously than others. Coined with the term 過労死 (かろうし, karoshi; added to the Oxford English dictionary 2002), overworking to death has become a problem in Japan and a favorite topic to cover among the media circles; As a social issue by the Japanese media, and as a characterization of the Japanese society and culture by foreign media. Causes of karoshi deaths are from developed health issues that result in heart attacks and strokes due to long periods of high-level stress. It can also lead to suicide, which is given its own term, 過労自殺 (かろうじさつ, karojisatsu; literally translated to overwork suicide).

According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW), “sudden deaths of any employee who works an average of 65 hours per week or more for more than 4 weeks or on average 60 hours or more per week for more than 8 weeks may be karoshi.”

How serious is it?

The first recorded case of karoshi occurred in 1969. Nearly a decade later (1978), the concept was given the name “karoshi”. In 1982, the release of the book entitled Karoshi by Tajiri Seiichiro, Hosokawa, and Uehata brought the issue in the public view, but it wasn’t recognized as a major social problem until the 1980′s Bubble Economy.

A few high-ranking corporate executives died without any hints of illness leading up to their deaths. The deaths were picked up by the media, which promptly developed growing concerns from the public. They had every right to be concerned, since they too were putting just as many hours into their jobs as the dead executives. Concerns reached to the point where the government took action and started collecting and publishing information on karoshi as a cause-of-death option.

According to the Labor Force Survey, nearly one-fourth of male employees (7.8 million) clocked in more than 60 hours per week of work in 1988. Based on the numbers in 1975, it’s nearly a 2.4 times increase. Even though the statistics threshold is 60 hours and above, a typical work week can easily be 70-90 hours per week. Why do this? To show loyalty to their company. This loyalty stems from the Japanese culture of living for one’s master and superior. More often than not, the extra work is done as cloaked overtime (furoshiki), where the employee does his work off the clock and the employer turns a blind eye.

A survey conducted by the government showed that 90% of workers didn’t understand the concept of work-life balance. Four out of five would cancel any dates or plans if their boss asked them to work overtime.

More recent statistics showed the situation hasn’t changed. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 28% of Japanese employees worked 50 hours or more per week in 2001. The percentage is significantly a lot higher than many European nations: Germany (5.3%), Finland (4.5%), Sweden (1.9%), and Netherlands (1.4%). Japan is on the same level with the U.S. as developed nations that put in the most work hours, although many believe that the Japanese work significantly more hours than the U.S.. A lot of the Japanese overtime hours are left unrecorded (cloaked overtime), therefore not taken into consideration when generating the statistics.

In 2005, the MHLW reported 328 Japanese employees who suffered karoshi. The number is a little over 7 times higher than the recorded result in 2000.

Bear in mind that the statistic numbers are believed to be not on par with reality. Many families accept the death with silence and don’t push the issue any further. And most companies won’t outright accept responsibility for the deaths. Lawyers and scholars estimate the annual number of karoshi victims to be in the ballpark of 9,000 deaths, which is near the annual number for traffic fatalities.

To put some of this into perspective of how severe the overworking can be, let’s consider a karoshi case. Hiraoka Satoru’s story was featured in the November 13, 1988 Chicago Tribune’s article Japanese Live and Die for their Work. A foreman in charge of a ball bearing factory, Hiraoka usually clocks in 12- to 16- hour days, easily totaling up to between 72 to 95 hours a week for most weeks. The prior three years before his death, he clocked in at almost 3,700 hours annually. A typical 40 hr work week with no vacation equates to 2080 hours annually.

The thorn in most of the karoshi victims’ side is that they are often not compensated for the overtime work.

How is karoshi being handled?

A few Japanese companies are making some effort to reduce karoshi and promote a work-life balance to their employees. For example, Toyota has set a hard limit of 360 hours of overtime annually. In addition, some of their offices play a recorded message every hour during the evenings urging the staff to go home and get some rest. Some companies enforce no overtime days where everyone must leave the office at 5:30 pm.

Sometimes the measures implemented by these companies aren’t enough for the employees. While on paper it may seem like they are recognizing the problem, the competitive work environment demonizes those who decide to partake in these policies. For example, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking has a program that allows their employees to go home up to three hours early to care for children or elderly relatives. Only 34 out of 7,000 employees are signed up for the program.

Frustrated with the situation, more and more workers and/or their families are taking on their negligent employers in court.

Some individuals are avoiding the situation entirely by taking on short-term jobs, rather than be a worn out salaried cog for large companies. Although the pay and benefits don’t match to a corporates compensation, the work-life balance is significantly better.

There is this adage I like to use when differentiating U.S./Japan work culture to the European style: U.S. and Japan live to work, while the Europeans work to live. I do believe that everyone should give their 100% effort in performing their jobs, however having your health deteriorate to the point of death is certainly not worth it. Many Japanese are slowly coming to realize this.

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Featured Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesjustin/
Sleeping (Really! They are not dead, just sleepting!) Japanese Salaryman Images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/torek/

Hiyama, T & M Yoshihara. “New occupational threats to Japanese physicians: karoshi (death due to overwork) and karojisatsu (suicide due to overwork)” Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol.65 No.6 (June 2008): 428-429. Print.

Morioka, Koji. “Work till You Drop” New Labor Forum Vol.13 No.1 (Spring, 2004): 80-85. Print.

Rowley, Ian & Hiroko Tashiro. “Recession Puts More Pressure on Japan’s Workers.” Bloomberg Businessweek, 5 January 2009: <http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2009/gb2009015_807968_page_2.htm>. Online.

“Karoshi Strikes Japanese Businessmen” British Medical Journal. Vol.303, No.6815 (Dec 7, 1991): p 1419. Print.

What is Yukigassen?

Just like the literal translations implies, it is a sport of snow battles, or more specifically, snowball battles. The difference between Yuukigassen to your typical neighborhood snowball fight is the wealth of regulations and professionalism one needs to adhere to. Two teams of seven on-field players duke it out, battle-royale style. Game mechanics are similar to capture the flag, where a team can come out victorious by capturing the opponent team’s flag or “tagging out” the opposing team. The end goal? Fight their way for one of the coveted spots on the Showa-Shinzan International and obtain the top prize, the Public Welfare and Labor Minister’s Award and Cup.

This game is very serious business. An official international federation exists with a strong sponsorship backing. A few of the sponsors are the major media outlets NHK, HBC, Yomiuri, Mainichi, Asahi Shimbun Presses, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan Airlines, and Sapporo Beer(!). There are many Japanese men who dedicate their lives to this sport, training themselves everyday for the big games that only occur for a couple days out of the year. Some even forgo having spouses and raising a family due to all the time required to dedicate themselves to perfecting the throwing strike or volley.

The sport isn’t limited to inside the borders of Japan. Many countries participate in the games, many of which have their own leagues and tournaments: Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and the USA.

So how did the idea of regulating snowball fighting came about in Japan?

(Short) History of Yukigassen

The idea came about in 1987 by a small, sub-3,000 population Hokkaido town called 壮瞥町 (そうべつちょう, Sobetsu). At the time, Sobetsu’s claim to fame was a summer tourist town. Nearby is Mt. Showa-Shinzan, the main attraction for many visitors.

During the long, snow-filled winters, tourism halted to a stand-still. The town’s young, aspiring population saw a need to improve Sobetsu’s economy during the long winters. Forming an ideas committee, they began brainstorming methods of luring in tourists. They already knew that their idea had to be unique and not have been implemented elsewhere in order to fully realize their goal. Days went by with no home-run idea in sight. What began to be an optimistic search to improve their town slowly spiraled into the thought that in reality they might have to settle to just being a summer town. Then the fateful day finally came.

Members of the committee took noticed that tourists were having playful sessions of snowball fighting around town. The flashing light bulb appeared in the minds of the committee, and the rest was history. The first Yukigassen tournament was held the following winter, which brought in 7,000 visitors and 70 teams for the event. Twenty-three Showa-Shinzan Yukigassen tournaments later, the event is now drawing in an annual average of 25,000 visitors, with a set 128 coed and 24 female participating teams.

How is it played?

As mentioned earlier, a game of Yukigassen is played out with two teams of seven on-field players each. Each team can have two additional back-up players and a captain, making it a total of ten players.

In a tournament style setting, three teams are grouped together and pitted against each other round-robin style. Games are played best two out of three, where each game’s length is a maximum of three minutes. Victor is decided when either

1. The enemies flag is in possession of the opposing team
2. All players on the opposing team are knocked out (one hit from a snowball is considered out; doesn’t matter where the source of the snowball came from, either the enemy, your teammate, or even yourself), or
3. The time runs out one team has more remaining players than the other team.

The team with the best record moves on to face the other victors. This continues until one team comes out on top.

The map of the battlefield is pictured below.

Each blue box represents a snow-made shelters, while the red solid circles encompassed by the black bordered circles are the flagpole points. Field areas are either 40m x 10m (~130ft x ~33ft) or 36m x 10m (~118ft x ~33ft).

Team players are split into a four strikers and three defender/feeder positions. No point during the game can the 4 strikers move behind their own back line. In addition, no more than three strikers can cross the center line into the opposing team’s territory.

A few of the common position strategies are outline below in the two figures below.

Standard Position

Attacking Position

You may be wondering why one of the figures points out a snowball storage behind the rear shelter. Each team is only allowed to have 90 snowballs per match. These snowballs must be made before every match. But wait, couldn’t the players make snowballs from their environment during the game? Nope, that is against the rules. So, if the strikers are not allowed to cross their back line and they can’t make their own snow balls, then how can they attack? They are fed snowballs from the snowball storage by the defenders (or feeders, as I called them earlier). Balls can only be fed to players by rolling it to them, no tossing allowed (think of all the friendly fire that’d happen if they did!).

Ok, but wait a minute, 90 snowballs sounds a lot. Is there an efficient way to mass produce the snowballs? Yep, there sure is. The Yuukigassen Federation would be more than happy to sell your a snowball making device for US$740; produces snowballs in batches of 36.

Follow these instructions...

... And you get perfect snowballs like these! No yellow snowballs, please.

After reading and watching the videos on Yuukigassen, we are fairly pumped to start our own team. Now if only we can get snow to stick around our parts for more than a day… I leave to you a video of a complete game, for your viewing. Check out the volley skills at work! Pew Pew!

Although Yukigassen isn’t quite ready to be a Winter Olympic sport (c’mon, Curling got in somehow!), we’ll be pulling for it every chance we get. To get into the Olympics, a sport has to be “widely accepted around the world.” Yukigassen is starting to get there, though it’s probably not quite up to the standards of whatever committee chooses this sort of thing. Still, I hope to see it sometime soon. Who thought childhood playtime could turn into something this cool, though?

So, are you ready to go out and join your local team, people-who-live-in-places-with snow? We hope to see you on the snow battlefield.

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Must be a costly fix after hitting a small bump

I do think it’s worth paying the $5,000 fines, though.

The Japanese sensation called, デコトラ (dekotora, short for decoration truck) has been around since the late 1960s. Originally present only in northern Japan, the art of truck decorations went mainstream with the release of the 1975 Toei (the company that produces the awesome Kamen Rider series) movie, とらっくやろう (Torakku Yarô, Trucker) and it’s subsequent sequels. Every guy in the nation wanted to drop their boring サラリーマン (salaryman) day job to live the life of a trucker rebel riding his デコトラ.

I’m sold. Changing my profession now. (Some parts NSFW)

What are some of the common themes among these trucks? Lots of stainless steel and chrome, enough flashing neon lights to produce light pollution seen miles away, random pipes sticking out, awnings adorned with more light fixtures than an Indian casino, huge bumpers that can mow down zombies, and paintings of  anything that may be dear to the driver. Each of these trucks art style usually fall into these categories: Gundam, retro, kanto, and kansai. It isn’t just the exterior that is blinged out. The cab is also adorned tastefully.

A chandelier can bring instant classiness to any truck

The truckers take pride in their vehicles, spending upwards of ten of thousands of dollars to add the modifications to their trucks. In their view, they spend most of their time in the trucks and not in their homes, so why not decorate their main living quarters?

Could you see yourself sleeping in one of these? I can.

The lighting set-up is very elaborate. This isn’t like going to your local Spencers, buying up their neon lights stock, super gluing the lights, powering them all through one breaker source, and calling it good. A lot of technology, engineering, and time goes into designing and setting up the light display.

No, this post wasn’t sponsored by Alienware

A majority of the paintings on these trucks are done by one man, Tatsuaki Matsumoto. With a huge backlog of commissions, the self-taught painter applies his art to fullfil his client’s sense of style and personality. Some of the paintings are a tribute to the Trucker movie. Others are paintings of gods to help bring luck and fortune while on the road. A few are of manga or celebrities. If you had a truck, what would you have painted on yours? I would have Steve Buscemi’s face on my truck, greeting every Japanese we pass by.

Here are some more dekotora photos. The images do speak for themselves.

Dekochari, the children’s version of dekotora

The craze is not just limited to adults awe-strucked by the movie. Kids are also digging dekotora. Unfortunately for them, their age obviously restricts them from affording or driving these rigs. Do these kids settle for some Hot Wheels? Nope. They bring the style to their bicycles, with full force.

Dekochari biker gang

Posing with their dekochari. What a badass.

Apparently, there exists legitimate dekochari biker gangs located throughout Japan. I bet they can give the Hells Angels a run for their money.

Would you own a dekochari? I could see myself riding one of these bad boys down the bicycle streets of hispter Portland with PBR.. errrr, I mean, One Cup Ozeki, in hand. Hipsters riding their double-decker bikes would have to eat their hearts out.

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Make Babies, Get Internet With AKB48

Creating virtual babies with your AKB sweetheart is creepy, no doubts about it. But what is even more creepier? Seeing Koichi’s face on a breast feeding mom! It even gets more creepier with the post’s accompanying video where Koichi wears a matching wig (wtf?) and trys to seduce wrinkly old ojisans with his Yakuza accent.

The saving grace was the community involvement in the making of the video. Thank you all that played along, willingly have their mugs become Koichi baby abominations. Read this post →

The Geneva Conventions Don’t Apply To These Japanese Giant Hornets [Genocide Doom Bringer]

We all know that Japanese Hornets are not to be trifled with. The post is riddled with lots of informative information and videos of their treachery.  But who knew the hornets had the antiquity and a network that ran deep into the bowels of historical malevolence. Connections with the Nazi Party and the man himself? What a surprise! I’m sure if photography existed in earlier times, we would see gray-scaled, blurry images of the bugs’ involvement in the Spanish Inquisition and the death of Mufasa (if you squint hard enough during the video, you can see the hornet). Read this post →

Yoro Park: The Site Of Reversible Destiny

This is the year that TofuguTV made its debut. Entertaining, fun, and different. Three characteristics each episode brought to the viewer. I particularly liked the Yoro Park video, with its fun editing and laid back approach. And who doesn’t love cats?

Koichi deserves a pat on the back for working hard on these videos. There are many more videos to come. A little encouragement and prodding from the community may assist in getting their release dates pushed earlier *wink* *wink*. Read this post →

Japanese Scientists Learn How To Make Meat From Poop

The engineer in me got a kick out of this article. Meat made out of poop? Certainly, the next food monarch to dethrone America’s favorite ingredient, high fructose corn syrup. Possibly a replacement to the foodie craze “head-to-tail” cooking (what haven’t we consumed yet? Oh! Poop!). Is it better than the alternative, soylent green? Who knows! But I do know entrepreneurial Viet wants to get in on the action before its becomes HOT and MAINSTREAM. My lifelong dream of selling animal excrements disguised as health-boosting meat products to the Asian market (who doesn’t want the sex drive of a dolphin?) will become a reality. Read this post →

The Mother of All Pocky Days [11-11-11]

I could tell you why I find this post hilarious, thought-provoking, and a life changer. But I don’t want to ruin the excitement for you. You’ll just have to find out yourself. Read this post →

That pretty much it for me! See you all at the 2012 reunion party!

Also, be sure to check out Koichi’s, John’s, and Hashi’s favorites of 2011!

Ok I lied. I’m adding a sixth item to my favorite list. Technically it isn’t a post, but it’s still a Tofugu work of art. I present to you A Tofugu Halloween, a choose your own adventure YouTube video. Godzilla, Starcraft, Crying, Cats, it has everything! (Note: You’ll need to view the video on YouTubes webpage to be able to access the clickable tags on the video)

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Ainu Population Distribution Map

Unlike the Burakumin Dowa, the Ainu are genetically, physically, and culturally distinguishable from the Japanese majority. They are akin to what the Native Americans are to the United States (actually, there has been some claims that the Native Americans and Ainu are share an origin and language relationship). Government numbers point the population as 25,000 humans strong, but many alternate resources claim the numbers are as high as 250,000. The varied numerical claims can be attributed to many reasons that are common among the minority groups 1) The people are assimilated into the population through intermarriages that they now just consider themselves Japanese, and 2) Falsely claiming ethnicity for fear of racial discrimination. So who are the Ainu and what role do they play in Japan?

Brief Origins And History

The flag of the Ainu People

The origins of the Ainu and their cultural & racial relationships are, for the most part, speculative. It is believed that the group existed some 2000+ years and are descendants of the Jōmon-jin of the Jōmon period. Hypotheses have been made that the group is of proto-Caucasian origin, as opposed to the dominant Yamato ethnic group (Wajin) and the Okinawan Ryukyuan. Part of the rational behind this are the differing physical traits the Ainu people exhibit oppose to the Yamato people: lighter skin, hairiness, jaw protrusion, hazel-to-bluish eye color, and rounder heads. Characteristics that are more inline with the inland European and Asian Caucasian. One hypothesis believes that the descendants traveled to Japan from the mainland via previously existing land bridges.

Studies of the language is usually one way to determine a group’s origin, since most languages follow common roots. Unfortunately, researchers have found no conclusive origins and connections of the people, apart from some borrowings of the Japanese language. In other words, the language appears to be unique and isolated, and so are the people.

Researchers and scientists are surely baffled on the origins of the Ainu, but what do the Ainu believe? Their version of the account (folklore?) is that they are descendants of the first ancestor named Aiona, who was quite the traveller and stud, having traversed the globe and took on many wives. Taking on many wives from across the globe explains why so many foreigners resemble the Ainu. It is the name Aiona that the Ainu name was derived from. Specifically, it is a shorten version of “Aioina rak guru” or “persons smelling of Aiona.” However, Ainu is more commonly defined by many as “human.”  The name also has some negative connotation, popularly due to the Japanese during the old time periods associating the name (and the people’s social status) to a particularly kind of animal of similar name. Can you make a guess on what the animal was? A more historical, and tamer name for the people is Ezo, people of the northern modern Japanese lands.

Contact between the Yamato Japanese and the Ainu first began some 2000 years ago, but the relationship status between the two was a mystery until sometime around 700 AD, when the Japanese laid campaigns in “subduing” the Ainu, which were somewhat unsuccessful. Warfare between the two groups did help lay the foundation of the Samurai class in Japan.

Fast forward to the Tokugawa Shogunate era, the Ainu controlled much of Hokkaido, while the Tokugawa-led Japanese nation controlled much of southern Japan. There were a few scuffles here and there, but the relationship between the two groups stabilized and a lucrative trading network was set up between the two groups. It all came to an end in 1899, shortly after the Meiji Restoration.

The newly formed government passed an act declaring the Ainu official Japanese citizens, thus former indigenous group. The act wasn’t out of kindness, but it paved the way for the Japanese to take control of Ainu land and have access to its resources and provide some security to the expanding Russians up north. With newly economically untamed land in their possession, the Japanese began to flock to the area to establish a few new cogs in their economy. Even though on paper the Ainu were considered Japanese citizens, racial discrimination still persisted. Many were forced to work in slave-like conditions in the Japanese fishing industry, fishing for salmon from land that was once theirs. Worst is that they are now forbidden to fish for salmon in Hokkaido, which is a huge part of their culture. Displaced from their lands, faced with discrimination and slave-like working environments, and forced to assimilate, it was the beginning of a deterioration of the group’s culture and existence.

Ainu’s identification as an indigenous group was officially reinstated in 2008. Why the change of heart? The Japanese Government isn’t known to prioritize minority issues. Sure, the Ainu people and their supporters have been trying for years to get the Japanese Government to overturn the 1899 act. However, overturning the act was probably a reactionary response to a U.N. investigator calling Japan out on their profound racism and xenophobia.  After being called out, the Government put together a panel to draft up a report and policy suggestions towards the Ainu. There were panels like this before, but this was the first time an individual of Ainu descent was allowed to participate in the drafting. This kind of racism publicity and reactionary response (as opposed to being proactive) doesn’t help much for nation that has been trying to obtain a seat on the lucrative U.N security council.

Culture

Ainu-Japanese musician Oki Kano plays the tonkori, a traditional Ainu string instrument.

The Ainu culture is believed to be derived from the agricultural Satsumon culture, prevalent in Hokkaido and northern Honshu. They were a society of hunter-gatherers, hunting and fishing live game such as deer, bear, and salmon. All protein consumed were cooked, usually in form of stews with herbs and roots. This is opposed to traditional Japanese, where consumption of raw proteins is not uncommon.

Japanese culture has had some influence on the Ainu. For example, household utensils were formerly made out of pottery and bark, however they were replaced by Japanese wooden utensils and steel knives.

For physical appearances, the males grow out full beards and mustaches. Both males and females maintain shoulder length hair. The females begin tattooing their mouths and lips at an early age of 10-12. Once the tattooing process has been completed, typically around the ages of 14-15, the female is then considered to be a woman and fit for marriage. The traditional formal clothing is a robe made out of Elm tree bark.

Ainu Female with Traditional Garb and Facial Tattoo

Music and many unique instruments were also enjoyed by the Ainu. Every Ainu song is considered sacred and it is believed that musical instruments are infused with souls. The two common instruments played by the Ainu are the tonkori (pictured in the section header) and the mukkuri, a jaw harp.

Ainu Today

Shigeru Kayano, Japan’s first Ainu politician to enter the Upper House Diet, 1994.

The Ainu culture and people has been steadily garnering recognition and respect for the past couple decades due to the hard work and efforts of the Ainu people and their supporters.

One of the more landmark cases for Ainu recognition began in the early 1980s, when the Japanese Government (in the form of the Hokkaido Development Bureau) planned for the erection of two dams on the Saru River, located in southern Hokkaido. The issue with this is one of the proposed dams was planned to be built near a prominently populated Ainu village, one with historic and cultural importance. There’s something about the Japanese building/authorizing construction of  unwanted structures in areas where Wajin people aren’t as concentrated (an example would be a majority of the American military bases are located in Okinawa, which has been extremely unpopular with the locals and Ryukyuan).

Refusing the Government’s offer to buy the land, a Project Authorization was granted to the bureau, effectively requiring all residents of the area to vacate. Obviously not happy with the situation, the Ainu took the government to court. Unfortunately, by the time a verdict was drawn, the dam was already completed and standing. Nevertheless, the claims set forth by the Ainu were recognized by the court, most importantly that the court recognized the group as indigenous people for the first time and that the Japanese nation has not been, but should be, responsible for taking care of its own indigenous groups.

The attitude towards the group has certainly improved significantly the past couple decades, that is for certain. But what was the general attitude like in the early 1990s? I’ll end this post with an old documentary. As I’ve said before in my Burakumin Dowa post, there are multiple sides to this issue and a whole lot more going on. A lot of the readers had strong opinions to share on the assimilation choices made by Japan’s Ministry of Education toward the Burakumin. Now, having viewed a different minority group and the way the assimilation has affected the group, what are your opinions now? If you have any interest in Japan or ever thought about living there at some point, it may be worth your time to educate yourself on the Ainu and all of the minority groups in Japan. Japan is commonly referred to as a homogenous nation and does have the appearance of one from the outside, but it really is a multiethnic nation.

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Coffee, coffee, coffee! The kick-starter fuel that many of us consume every waking moment. For some, like us Pacific Northwest dwellers, coffee is pretty much a religion. We aren’t alone, of course. Many parts of the world enjoy and make a living off of this pleasing beverage. But how many coffee beans need to sacrifice their lives in order to appease us, their drowsy, crabby, overlords? Turns out that number comes out to nearly 2.5 billions cups of joe, per day. That’s about 40% of the world population, assuming that only one person drinks one cup (like that’d happen)! To further put it into perspective, coffee is the 2nd most traded commodity in the world, putting it right behind crude oil. The industry itself is valued to be 70 billion dollars. So where does Japan fit in all of this?

Coffee And Japan

Japan only ranks as the 39th largest consumption per capita for coffee, tallying in at 3.2 kg per individual. However, they are the 3rd largest importer of coffee, sitting behind the United States (1st) with 4.23 kg per capita and Germany (2nd) with 6.93 kg per capita.^1,2 Working out the numbers, Japan imports over 440,000 tonnes of coffee annually.³ This means they import about 7% of the world’s annual coffee exports.⁴ So what is a country where tea is the more common mainstay brew doing with a product that is common in the West and Near East? Is it to fill all those coffee bean sniffing cups for all of their insane department stores’ fragrance floors? Nope. Like a KFC Christmas, it is the result of fifty years of clever marketing and Western influence that helped coffee become the go-to-brew for the Japanese.

Brief History of Coffee in Japan

Nothing like a refreshing, cold bottle of coffee before battle.

Like so many Asiatic nations, Japan’s first introduction to coffee occurred in the 1800s via Dutch trade ships. However, coffee didn’t start booming until the 1960s. Shortly after the import suspension ended in 1949, coffee started to trickle itself back into the Japanese market. As noted earlier, Japan imports more than 440,000 tonnes of coffee annually. Back in 1960, the yearly import was 15,000 tonnes.⁵ Quite a huge difference, wouldn’t you say? A 3,000% increase in only 50 years.

Interesting there wasn’t much of a drop after the 1990s bubble.⁶

What is responsible for the coffee boom? It’s a combination of many things, but it can be boiled down to Japanese interest in everything Western (especially after World War II), and large investments in marketing and R&D.

The first breakthrough for coffee came in 1965, when Japan released the world’s first かんコーヒー (canned coffee) called Mira Coffee. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a success as the hype cooled down(!) shortly after. Four years later, UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., who is often credited for pioneering canned coffee, released their product to the masses and the rest is history.

Although the concept of canned coffee was a success, it alone was not responsible for the bean’s early success. In 1973, the hot and cold beverage vending machine was introduced in Japan. Coupled with the 100 yen coin that began circulation in 1967, vending machines and subsequently canned coffee became a huge hit. Ready-to-drink (RTD) products were just part of the equation for the rise of coffee.

On a different part of the spectrum, Japanese coffee houses and chains also began to emerge in great numbers. Doutor Coffee chain opened their first store in 1980 and established the coffee culture in Japan. Recovering from World War II, the Japanese spent great lengths to recover their economy. With their perseverance and hard work attitude, grabbing a meal and drink on the go for the long commute to work or the late-night working sessions was becoming a more common sight. Doutor Coffee anticipated this. In response, they modeled their business for the on-the-go working Japanese. This has been a successful model that many associated with coffee until the mid 1990s, when Starbucks entered the marketplace with their friendly, casual “third place” model.

Coffee Products in Japan Today

Can you spot the famous Starbucks located in Shibuya?

The Japanese Coffee market is a very competitive, saturated market. A few of the popular Japanese canned coffee brands are Boss (produced by Suntory), Georgia (produced by Coca-Cola), Nescafe (produced by Nestlé), and Roots (produced by Japan Tobacco). Quite a diverse group of producers we have here, wouldn’t you say? Liquor, soft drink, food, and cigarette companies all making canned coffee. Some of the aforementioned popular coffee shops are Doutor and Starbucks. Starbucks entered the Japanese canned coffee market in 2005, partnering up with Boss’ producer, Suntory. Fast food joints are also joining the fray. McDonalds, not wanting to be left out, launched their own chain of coffee store fronts, McCafés, across Japan a few years back.

As with anything Japanese, coffee isn’t exempt from their weirdly fascinating marketing. Take for example Boss coffee. In 2006, the company hired Tommy Lee Jones to be their spokesman. Since then, he has appeared in many commercials as character “Alien Jones” who was sent to Earth to examine the human society. Roots Coffee also has their own celebrity spokespersons (Ewan MacGregor and Brad Pitt), however they aren’t on the same level as Tommy Lee Jones. Here are a couple commercials for your viewing pleasure:

Who watched all seven and a half minutes of these BOSS commercials? *Raises hand*

So, what Japanese coffee brands do you prefer? I don’t think I really have a preference, but I think the BOSS ads have affected me. Tommy Lee Jones coffee all the way, baby.

P.S. Want your daily dose of caffeine tweeted at you? You should follow us on Twitter.
P.P.S. More of a tea person? Perhaps Facebook or Google+ will meet your fancy.

¹ Takada, Aya (February 4 2003). “Japan brews record coffee demand, more growth seen”. Reuter News.
² ”Resource Consumption: Coffee consumption per capita“. World Resource Institute. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
³ ”Imports By Selected Importing Countries From All Sources: August 2011“. International Coffee Organization. Retrieved November 31, 2011.
⁴ ”Medium-term prospects for agricultural commodities: Coffee“. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
⁵ Lewis, Leo (November 23 2010). “Coffee at heart of a new cultural revolution”. The Times. London.
⁶ ”Resource Consumption: Coffee consumption per capita“. World Resource Institute. Retrieved November 30, 2011.

One of the things Western visitors notice on their visit to Japan is the homogenous population. As an urban-living American, walking through the streets of the U.S. and seeing a wide, diverse range of ethnicities is an everyday occurrence that doesn’t cause more than a blink of an eye. Not so much in Japan. To the unknowing, one may think that Japan is populated with ethnic Japanese and a few expats mixed in. However, among the Japanese population exists a few minority groups. Some of the ones you may have heard are the Zainichi Koreans, Chinese, Brazilians and Filipinos. And the ones you may not have heard about are the Ainu, Ryukyuan, and Burakumin. Each of these minority groups have their own interesting history and current affairs, but for today we’ll focus on the Burakumin.

Popularly labeled as Japan’s “invisible race”, the Burakumin is Japan’s 1.5~2% or 2 to 3 million people strong. The term invisible race means just that, the general Japanese population itself is unaware of their existence (the stigma behind the name is so bad, individuals of Burakumin origin do what they can to hide their ancestry) or choose not to address it. Although ethnically Japanese, the label that beset the people has been a product of religious and social beliefs that stems back to the beginnings of the Tokugawa era (1603). Throughout most of the group’s existence, they have suffered severe discrimination and prejudice by the majority of society. Although, today it seems that this discrimination has somewhat subsided partly due to lack of education on the matter. The group’s name often conjures up associations with being delinquents, uneducated, crime-ridden, violent, and ghetto. You could say the Burakumin to the Japanese is the rough equivalent to the popular generalized social views of the African-American to the Americans.

If these people are ethnically Japanese, then what makes them different from the rest?

Origins of the Eta Class

Mentioned earlier in the article, the group was a product of religious and social beliefs at the start of the Tokugawa era in 1603. To put it more specifically, Shintoism and the concept of kegare with a side of Buddhism. Death and anything associated to it is considered is considered “unclean.” Individuals that are in contact with this state of life are considered defiled, polluted, and tainted. Previously labeled as the more derogatory term, Eta (filthy mass), these individuals worked in necessary and instrumental occupations, such as leather workers, executioners, undertakers, butchers, sewage removal, etc. I think you got the point. They were the bottom of the barrel in an ancient social caste system; simply put, they were outcasts. As per the Tokugawa’s feudalistic social structure, individual status and occupation were assigned and permanently unchangeable. For those who are familiar with Indian culture, they are sort of the equivalent to the untouchables.

Eventually, those that held tainted and death occupations, started forming their own small villages or hamlets, known in Japanese as buraku 部落 (ぶらく). The min 民 (たみ) stands for people or nation. Thus the etymology of the word, Burakumin, people of the hamlets.

Although there has been no physical distinction between a Burakumin and a non-Burakumin in today’s age, during the Tokugawa regime it was easier to distinguish the group. Aside from living in known hamlets, each individual was required to wear designated clothing, slippers, and hairstyles. In addition, they were banned from having rice field rights and had curfews they had to abide.

The Burakumin were officially proclaimed emancipated by the government following four years after the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Unfortunately, the group’s assimilation into the new Modern Japan hasn’t seen immediate success and still somewhat lingers to this day.

Though the discriminatory situation has been getting better, there are a few practices that still exists. For example, a few major and minor Japanese firms employ background checks (via koseki) on potentials and the hired suspected of Burakumin origin,  to determine if any ancestry exists, either to exclude the individual from being hired or use as leverage to under compensate or restrict their career path. Some families also employ background checks to ensure that anyone marrying into the family isn’t of origin.

Education-Wise, How Is The Issue Being Addressed Today?

To put it simply, the issue isn’t being openly addressed in Japan’s compulsory education system. There exists two popular approaches among Burakumin organizations, scholars, and politicians: be overt or be silent. Japan’s Ministry of Education and a few of the major Burakumin organizations embrace the “if the issues are never discussed, then it never happened” approach.  The idea behind this approach is that awareness of discrimination and prejudice may contribute physical and psychological separation of those with Burakumin origin and those who are not. In other words, ignorance is bliss. And any mention of the issues would be considered an act of prejudice against the group. This is often why the common reaction among many young Japanese are of astonishment when they hear discriminatory issues of the Burakumin still exists. It is also a stark contrast to the approach many U.S. minority civil groups take when publicly dealing with social issues.

A recent example of keeping the Burakumin issue silent occurred in 2009, when Google released a version of Google Earth with an ancient Japan overlay, which detailed locations of Burakumin hamlets and districts. A huge outcry from civil groups and the Ministry of Education followed, which eventually led to Google giving into their demands by removing the feature.

I can see the reasons instituting ignorance, but is it the best approach? As someone who was raised in a Western society, especially the U.S., it is somewhat odd that an answer to discrimination is ignorance. But perhaps this is due to cultural differences. There’s a lot more to this issue than what is covered in the scope of this article.

If this has sparked any interest, or if you are even considering making Japan your home someday, then I would like to suggest doing some research on the Burakumin and the other minority groups via journal article databases or a simple Google search. It’s a large can of worms, but it does give some insight on how the Japanese approach and deal with issues and problems.

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Man Force Trio: Ya, Ku, and Za

Everyone’s most loved group, the Yakuza, is once again being brought down by “The Man.” The Japanese organized crime syndicates, known for their strict code of conduct and crimes such as extortion, prostitution, blackmail, protection money and fraud, are now in danger of losing a significant part of their revenue. Last October, organized crime exclusionary laws went into effect, and are starting to take a toll on the group.

Robin Hood And His Band Of Merry Yakuza

Few people knew how into tattoos Little John was

This isn’t the first time the Yakuza have been unfairly mistreated. Even though the group has came to the aid of Japanese inhabitants numerous times, Tokyo wastes no time in limiting their activities. Why all the hate Tokyo? Have you already forgotten the Robin Hood-like deeds of the Yakuza? Was Sega’s exclusion of important content (hostess bars) from the Western-version of Yakuza 3 not enough? Hostess bars are an important part of the Yakuza culture, you know! Geesh.

Setting aside all the illegal activities the Yakuza are involved in, the group does have an appearance of being a band of good Samaritans. In the previous two major natural disasters in Japan, the Great Hanshin earthquake and the Tohoku earthquake & tsunami, the major Yakuza groups have been one of the most responsive in providing significant amounts of supplies and shelter to the distressed. In less than a day, the major Yakuza groups were able to transport essential supplies to ground zero. FEMA could learn a thing or two from the Yakuza on emergency response for natural disasters.

Yes, you could say it is a PR move. But, like a boss, they asked the media and distributors to not reveal the source of the help, mostly out of concern for the individuals that would automatically turn down anything associated to the Yakuza. Putting others before themselves in a times of crisis. Could they be more saint-like?

So what are the new laws? To sum it up in one sentence:

Anyone doing business with the Yakuza can be charged as a criminal.

Paying off blackmail, hush money, or an evening with a hostess at a Yakuza-run hostess bar could potentially net you some jail time, a fine, and/or have your name publicly associated to the group (i.e. social suicide, just ask Shinsuke Shimada). But what constitutes ‘doing business’ with the Yakuza? The definition isn’t clear cut, but anything that fosters their activities could land the ‘innocent’ party in trouble. So, let’s check out how the new laws have affected the Yakuza and their “clients.”

Can’t Wait To Show Off Your New Yakuza Business Cards? Not Going To Happen

Look at that subtle off-white coloring, that tasteful thickness… oh my God. It even has a watermark.

Just like any other business, print shops are required to be in compliance with the new laws. This restriction also includes print-makers that do meishi (business cards). You may be thinking who cares if a bunch of mobsters can’t get a hold of business cards. Here’s the thing: business cards are extremely important in Japan. It is a very crucial element when one establishes business relations with another.

No matter of your business status, if you don’t have a business card to offer, you are often dismissed as unimportant or irrelevant. Business cards and the ritual around it is an art and very serious business that is also a part of the Yakuza culture (they are Japanese, after all).

Not having a business card in Japan would suck pretty bad. Looks like they’ll have to start changing their job titles to things other than “Yakuza boss” or “Sans-Pinky Driver” to get around this law problem. I bet Kinkos America would be happy to provide some Yakuza business cards, though.

It’s Not Delivery, It’s Digiarno.

Those aren’t hot dogs in the crust. Those are Pinkies.

Imagine that you are sitting in your Yakuza’s business office in downtown Tokyo, hard at work counting the hush money you have collected from, let’s say, Olympus (Oops, see what I did there?). But then it dawns on you that it is FRIDAY. Not just any Friday, but PIZZA FRIDAY! Every Yakuza’s member’s favorite day of the week (Sushi Sunday comes in at a close second). This is the (theoretical / made up) day when your Kyodai buys the entire group pizza for lunch.

Getting excited to fill your stomach with cheesy pizza goodness loaded with little hamburger patties, mini hot dogs, and lima beans, your Kyodai enters the room with a more stern-than-usual look on his face. “Grab your jackets and smokes you pieces of sh*ts, the Pizza Hut down in Shibuya needs a little ‘visit’.”

Apparently, the Pizza Hut refused to fulfill your big brother’s order due to 1) it being such a large order, and 2) the fairly obvious scary Yakuza dialect used when placing the order over the phone. Two indicators that the store managers were taught to look out for by the police in order to avoid doing business with Yakuza. Sorry, Kitano Takeshi, you won’t be getting your pizza today.

“We don’t know if the address we deliver to is the place of a yakuza,” said the Delivery Business Safety Driving Council. But don’t panic. “One or two pizzas are OK,” the Council said, “but delivering a huge amount of pizza, knowing that the customer is a yakuza is a no-no.” [Source]

But seriously, though… since when do Yakuza order so much pizza that this becomes part of the local Pizza Place employee training in Japan? Can you imagine how awesome the informational video must be for this?

Yazuka For Life? Hope You Weren’t Expecting Life Insurance With Your Benefits

Hopefully Dental Insurance Is Still Available To The Yakuza

Although not part of the newly enacted laws (this was just set up because of the laws) the 45-member Life Insurance Association of Japan have began to add cancellation clauses to their life insurance policies in the event the policy holder or any of its beneficiaries are a member of the Yakuza. This includes even post-death life insurance holders. Doesn’t matter if the death was natural or from an infected pinky from yubitsume, the insurance company now has the right to unconditionally cancel the policy.

For the beneficiaries, many of whom may be innocent family members, this puts them in a bind. Even after death the poor, defenseless Yakuza can’t catch a break :( Really, though, if anyone needs life insurance, it’s the family of Yakuza members. You know? So greedy, life insurance providers… so greedy.

I’m sure over the course of the next few weeks, months, or years, Yakuza discrimination will get worse and worse. Things seem to have reached a tipping point where Yakuza control over the government / big corporations have gotten weak enough for everyone to break free without having to worry as much about retribution. It’s a slippery slope, too – these laws won’t be the last we’ll see.

What’s next? Losing their dental insurance? (WARNING: this video is super duper grossssssss. Ewwwww)

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You have finally made that trip to Japan! Strolling along the streets of Tokyo, you walk jaw-dropped at the sights of lively Harajuku and the pure geekdom of Akihabara. But then, you stumble onto a sight where you aren’t sure what to make of it. Rows upon rows of little baby statues, where some, if not all, are adorned with little red outfits.

Briefly analyzing the situation, you think to yourself, how cute and creepy these statues are. What is the purpose of them? Why are there so many of them? WHY ARE THEY STARING SOULLESSLY INTO MY EYES.

Oh, Hello… Didn’t see you there. Do you like my hat?

What you have stumbled upon is the ever-so-popular Mizuko Kuyō (水子供養), or better known as the memorial service for dead children, specifically the miscarriaged, aborted, and still-birthed kind. Paints a pretty picture, doesn’t it?

Mizuko Kuyō has been around for centuries and is unique to Japan, however the participation and displays of the statues have become more prominent in the last three decades. The popularity of the service has brought it into the spotlight of controversial conversation, not because it deals with dead children, but because of the claim that temples are taking advantage of grieving parents by charging services to ensure their dead child is taken care of when they go through their journey into hell. More on that later.

The purpose of the practice varies. Some of the reasons are to ensure the child’s soul is comforted in the afterlife and/or to ward off vengeful spirits. The little statues themselves are representations of Mizuko Jizō, the Buddhist monk guardian of aborted and prematurely dead children. Mizuko Jizō is often depicted as a staff-welding monk with children in arm or under his robe. I’m sure you all have sleepless nights wondering, “why the statues?” How exactly do they protect and comfort the dead children? Glad you asked.

Lack of good karma? Off to the sandy beaches of hell with you!

Mizuko Kuyō is tied with Buddhism and its reincarnation system. Leaving out a lot of the details, when one dies and is reborn, where and what they are reborn as is based on their past behavior or karma. For all living beings, there are six different realms of possible rebirth, aptly named the “Six Paths” by Japanese Buddhists. The cycle of death and rebirth into one of these realms is an endless cycle, unless one obtains bodhi or enlightenment. The paths and their very brief explanations are as follows (in ascending order of appeal):

1. Jigokudō 地獄道 (Realm of Hell) – Let’s just say you don’t want to be a part of this realm, unless you are into torture/BDSM.
2. Gakidō 餓鬼道 (Realm of Hungry Spirits) – You might want to give this realm a try if the Atkins or Paleo diet isn’t working out for you. This realm blesses you with non-stop cravings and eternal starvation.
3. Chikushōdō 畜生道 (Realm of Animals) – If you ever wondered what living the life of your favorite animal might be like, this is the realm for you. The realm is characterized by stupidity and servitude. Although considered a downgrade from the  the next two realms, there is a possibility you might hit the jackpot and and be born as Tajima cattle.
4. Ashuradō 阿修羅道 (Realm of Constant War) – I hope your Call of Duty or Battlefield skills are up to snuff. This realm is filled with anger and jealousy.
5. Nindō 人道 (Realm of Humans) - The realm we all belong to! Greed and desire is what characterizes this realm.
6. Tendō 天道 (Realm of  the “Gods”) -  Opposite of the Hell, this realm is filled with pleasure. The beings in this realm hold godlike powers and live long lives. However, just like any other living being in the six paths, they have faults, consisting of pride and obliviousness to the sufferings of those around them.

With the knowledge of the Six Paths in mind, which realm do you think the dead children end up in? With not a single bit of good karma built up in their very short lives (babies don’t really do much, do they?), they are sent to the Hell realm to receive their judgement from the Juo (Ten Kings of Hell). The sad part is that not only have they not built up any good karma, but chances are they’ve built up bad karma by bringing grief to their parents and relatives! How selfish of them.

In order to get out, the children must travel to each king and receive their judgements. That, as you can probably imagine, isn’t all that easy to do.

Judging Babies In Hell

Between the first and second judgement kings lies a river called the Sanzu River. You can think of it as the Eastern equivalent of the Styx River of Western mythology. Beings judged by the first King as innocent are given access to the bridge that crosses the river. However, those deemed guilty must swim across the river. This is unfortunate for the guilty children, since they don’t have the strength and endurance to overcome the river.

It seems as though these poor kids are destined to stay in the Hell realm forever :(

These children resort to moping around the riverbed building stone towers as a sign of penance. However, their attempt at penance is often interrupted by club wielding demons.

Jizo, “Friend Of Children”…and Gamera.

It is believed that if the living parents and relatives had faith in Mizuko Jizō, such as displaying and maintaining a shrine, he’d come to the aid of the children, shooing off demons and assisting those that needed help crossing the river.

Although the Japanese aren’t super strong practitioners of Buddhism, the image of the possibility of having your children stuck and suffering in Hell is just something you can’t leave to chance.

So, just know that wherever you go in Japan you’ll be surrounded by shrines and statues dedicated to getting children out of Hell. I for one think that Jizo is there to get just enough children out so that there can never be too many in one place. If there’s enough of them, they’ll surely have the numbers to break out and take over the Realm Of Humans. Babies are terrifying, especially Hell Babies. I’m glad Jizo’s doing what he can to keep the Hell Baby population in check.

Oh, and if you liked this, be sure to check out the other posts during our “Scary Week” leading up to Halloween! WOooOoooOoo, spooky!

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