Part 11.Competition in Japan : good, the Bad , and the Ugly

Competition in Japan : good, the Bad , and the Ugly
From the outside, Japanese are viewed as a peaceful people, embracing harmony and cooperation, and avoiding confrontation and conflict.
However , there is a harsh competitive side to Japanese society that outsiders seldom get a glimpse of.
This is especially true in the area of education.
From a very early age, students compete to get in to the best junior high schools, high schools, and universities.
Since the name and prestige of one’s school so strongly influences one’s future, the competition becomes fierce, and this only entrenches the ranking of schools all the more.
The same phenomenon occurs in the competition to get a job, especially with banks, large manufactures, and other reputable companies.
Some say the Japanese take this competitive system and tendency to rank schools and businesses too far.
Those who fall through the cracks often become highly discouraged.
But at the same time, one can say this system produces a sense of fairness.
A person who cannot pass an exam or interview at each stage in the game yields to the one who did.
It is a system of meritocracy that counteracts traditional systems where personal connection was often all that mattered.
Competitive energy, if channeled properly, can also foster teamwork.
Perhaps the best example of this is the annual sports festival held at primary and secondary schools.
Here the competition is also terribly fierce but youngsters compete as a team, being randomly assigned to harmlessly named “red” and “white” teams ( an auspicious color combination in Japan).
It may well be that this experience of repeatedly giving one’s all for the team from a very young age is what makes the Japanese such diligent workers as adults.
And yet, the competitiveness can take its toll.
Many youngsters spend three or more years going to cram schools, which means they have to give up not only valuable playtime but also important childhood activities like music, sports, travel,and other forms of recreation.
Some critics claim they sacrifice their childhood for the vanity of their parents.
A similar consequence of competition is that university level students have to spend much of their final year of university searching for a job when they should be studying in the classroom.
It seems unfair that the company that will occupy the rest of their lives robs them of a precious year which they should otherwise devote to learning and developing themselves as young adults.
All this competitiveness raises the question of how well Japanese can compete in the global arena.
Although Japanese scientists and scholars do receive their share of Nobel Prizes, Japanese universities do not rank very high in worldwide assessments.
And though during Japan’s economic boom its electronics manufacturers were unrivalled, their position in now being taken over by companies in other countries.
It seems that in many areas Japan has lost its competitive edge due to a lack of innovation and flexibility.
Could it be that those lost years in childhood and university are the reason?