"All Australians Are Friendly"

I enjoy teaching English here… but sometimes it can get a little mind-numbing speaking in my genkiest voice, trying to appear interested in hearing what Kenji had for lunch today, and spelling out words like ‘goggles’. So more than teaching English, I enjoy teaching culture. Luckily, the school I work at is pretty advanced in its English curriculum, and we have 異文化(i-bunka) classes, which translates as “different culture”. Awhile ago, I was helping a JTE teach a class about stereotypes. The idea of learning about stereotypes would elicit a groan from Australian high school students. The message has usually been drummed into them over their school years that “stereotypes are bad”. In Japan, however, I’m pretty sure kids never get this kind of input.

First of all, there’s no word for ‘stereotype’ in Japanese. The JTE told me that the loanword イメージ (imeeji, from ‘image’) is as close as it comes. Well, obviously a stereotype is an image, but a particular kind of image- an oversimplified image- that’s the point. The students didn’t seem to completely get the concept. Several of them had been on a homestay in Australia last year. We asked them what they had thought about Australian people before their trip. They ALL said “friendly”. We asked them if they still thought all Australians were friendly. They all said yes, without even thinking about it, and without elaborating.

One boy in the class had recently returned from a year living in Australia on exchange. I was sure he could come up with something more insightful than the other students. He used a Japanese word that the teacher translated as “carefree”, “happy-go-lucky” (or “slack”, if you put a negative spin on it). We asked if he still thought that about Australians, and he said yes. I asked “ALL Australians?”. And he replied, “Yes”. Fair enough... what we consider slack, or even carefree, in the West is vastly different from the less forgiving Japanese definition, in a country where meeting a friend 2 minutes late is inexcusable.

Of course, neither ‘friendly’ nor ‘carefree’ are bad things, and I don’t feel offended that Japanese high-schoolers perceive Australians that way. But it wasn’t so much what they thought, as how unquestioning they were of their own perceptions. The point of the class was to realize that stereotypes are often shallow and incorrect, not to simply regurgitate, and thereby perpetuate them.

This classroom experience got me thinking. The students seemed practically incapable of considering that changing their initial judgement of others is possible. They come across as extremely naïve in this respect, and really seem to lack the ability for critical thought. It’s not their fault; just a result of their culture and education system, I guess. Coupled with the lack of a satisfying Japanese word for 'stereotype', it makes me think that many Japanese people would have a hard time understanding and accepting the idea. When you think about the culture, this makes sense. Mainstream Japanese society actually relies on the perpetuation of stereotypes; more so than truly multicultural societies. Here, society is viewed as a collection of groups. The members of these groups are virtually one and the same- the individual doesn’t predominate. They stand together, united in a common role or purpose. If one member of the group does something wrong, all members are held at least partially responsible. That’s a given. Of course, this has some very positive results, like strong social cohesion and obedience brought about by avoidance of shame. But the group-centered mindset also provides fertile ground for the development and perpetuation of stereotypes… and its uglier cousins, prejudice and xenophobia.

This reminds me of another thing I’ve noticed: many Japanese perceive racism, discrimination and prejudice to be problems of other countries, not Japan. Of course when the population is 99% homogenous (racially speaking), it’s easy to be blissfully unaware of those issues. But discrimination and prejudice can exist within a relatively ‘pure’ society like Japan’s. And yet, because Japan is inclined to “spread the wealth around”, and because 99% of people share the same racial and genetic profile, the sector of society affected by prejudice and discrimination in Japan is easily ignored. So it’s not hard to see why these issues would go unrecognized and be swept under the rug. The popular perception is that Japan is homogenous – which it is- but more homogenous than it really is. I would venture to say that the senior high school student who knows anything about the burakumin, or Ainu or native Okinawans is a rare breed.

None of what I’ve just said is a novel insight- people (mainly outsiders) have recognized this about Japan for many years. And there are plenty of other more in-depth discussions out there than what I’ve come up with. But being here and seeing it first-hand in the young generation of Japanese is different, and more confronting, than just reading about it on some website.