Last August, I had a wonderful and fruitful journey to Tokyo for an international conference. We enjoyed the intercultural exchange with students coming from many countries who have their different native languages, interest, background etc.
However, throughout the whole conference, what actually stroked me was Japanese’s time perspective. They tend to follow the timing exactly as it was stated in their plan. If you offend their “norm”, they won’t be so easy on you. I experienced this when I was still in the canteen eating lunch during the moment when we supposed to gather in the hall for a seminar. The time-keeper suddenly turned up and stood by my side, staring fixedly at me with an unpleasant look and ordered me to immediately dash to the hall without any delay. Honestly, I was quite shocked and unpleasant with his attitude. Yet I knew that I shouldn’t be late at the first place. This unpleasant feeling became more intense at one of the nights when the time-keepers sort of chasing all the attendants out of the hall by shouting and putting up the blocks surrounding the hall right after a night event has ended. I was just wondering… Is that any more appropriate way of keeping a good time than being rude on people?
I couldn’t deny that Chinese has a very bad habit which is “being late”. Usually when we are invited to a wedding dinner, if the starting time stated is 7pm, the dinner would for sure start at 9pm instead as most of the guests invited are expected to be late. Thus, obviously Chinese’s time perspective has a marked contrast with Japanese’s punctuality. To Japanese, time is precious. This is more or less associated with their hectic and stressful life style. The competitive working and studying environment which they have to face everyday trained them to be more disciplined than we are to keep pace with it. Apart from that, they might expect us to show the same respect to their culture (since they are the organizer) when we have stepped into their country.
After knowing more about their culture, I started to understand why they tend to behave this way when people didn’t keep the time well. From the other way round, I also see Japanese’s time perspective as a virtue that we ought to learn. Thus, I am instead grateful to be given such a good chance to know friends from other countries who give me a deeper insight into their culture which are so different from mine.
Post #7 - Final Reflection
16 years ago
Late-coming is also pertinent in the local Malay culture. A similar situation occurs during a Malay wedding when the itenaries get delayed.
ReplyDeleteIn response to this observation, I think that late-coming is a bad habit of most Singaporeans. Due to the hectic and fast-paced lifestyle in Singapore, many could not adhere to time constrains and eventually they will end up being late for appointments. I admire The Japanese as they could be punctual even though their lifestyles are similar to Singaporeans. Kudos to the Japanese!
Japanese do take punctuality seriously. I remember that there was a massive train accident in Japan some time ago. The driver of the train was behind his schedule and thus increased the speed, causing the train to derail. Massive property damage and many deaths ensued.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. I suppose on our part, we should abide by the Japanese culture. However, I do think that the action of the time keeper and the chasing of attendants were unwarranted. Ensuring that people obey by unpleasant or forceful action is not effective communication. Although such actions achieve usually achieves the intended results immediately, but it neither promotes understanding (if the offender is really ignorant) nor does it help build good relationship. A simple explanation or a reminder would probably be sufficient to get the people to move. People attending conferences or who are organizing the conferences are usually educated and thus they would probably understand the message. We should tailor our actions to the audience.
I applaud Hsuen Huey for seeing the incident positively and as a good learning experience despite what she had gone through. Such attitude is vital if we are to live harmoniously with people of other cultures.
I feel that the time-keeper could have reminded you politely to be punctual the next time instead of ordering you to dash to the hall which is rather rude. I am positive that majority of us do not like to be made to wait, likewise, we should try our best to be punctual for meetings/classes. The Japanese's sense of punctuality is definately something that we should pick up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Joyce. I also understand that Japanese are very strict in terms of time management. However , I think that as a host they should remind you all politely. There are many ways to resolve a problem , however , I believed that they have used the worst method because this has definitely created a poor image of them.
ReplyDeleteIt is a fact that the larger the number the people there are, the more difficult it is to keep to a schedule. However, if an unpleasant atmosphere and relations between parties are marred by prioritising timekeeping then it may be better to improvise on time.
ReplyDeleteMrs Richardson
I agree that "punctuality" is a good habit that everyone should follow. That's why Japan could become such an excellent country in Asia. Nevertheless, maybe a rigid rule could be made flexible through some effective communication that both party would feel comfortable with.:)
ReplyDelete