Cultural Shock in Japan by Nachika

When riding the train you might encounter ”女性専用乗車口”meaning the
section of a train is only available for ladies in a particular time. From Japanese
this “Ladies Only” sign is not particularly surprising however, from foreigners
this seems to be very surprising. Majority of the countries have public trains
however not many country enforce the train to have ladies only cargo. A foreign
friend of mine had taught me many things which are very interesting and
sometimes shocking to see in Japan; and one of them is gender roles.

A typical gender role in society will be considered as men going out to work
and ladies staying at home doing household chores. As women got their rights, they
gained a larger opportunity to have access to education and some women are more
educated compared to men. As power of men and women started to become more equal,
the gender roles have also started to change. Full-time house-husband is a word use to
explain the situation when the husband is at home doing chores while his wife is outside
doing work. In the past, the society disavowed such circumstances and looked down at
them however, in the modern day the number of full-time house-husband is increasing.
My friend who comes from a country where the gender roles are strictly followed upon
until this day and from his perspective, Japan is a very generous country due to the
amount of opportunities they give for the ladies. I agree with my friend’s idea because
Japan has become a very generous country compared to the past. Accepting ladies to
have education and giving high rank position in society was simply unimaginable from
the past Japan.
The other factor which had given a shock for my friend was how citizen have
small amount of interest in politics and governmental actions. The actions which
government makes will directly result in the life of the citizen therefore we should have
great attention however citizens in Japan does not. It was amazing to hear that some
didn’t know the name of its prime minister. I feel that people in Japan is less ambitious
than the past; meaning the citizens has somewhat given up fixing things to make their
life better.
Also religion was another factor which my friend was shocked about. Religion
can be associated as one of the key factor of making the society however, though Japan
has many shrines and temples, people will not go worship for God. Shrines are now just

a touring spot and the worshipping for God on the New Year’s Day is just a festival for
Japanese people.
Through speaking with a foreign person made me realize that Japan has many
weird characteristics and traits which other countries does not follow upon. Some are
weakness and some are uniqueness. Maybe what you think as normal can be a “Cultural
Shock” for other people.