Alex Moss

Week 4 Essay question.

Characterise the relationships among family, school, and the workplace in Japanese society.

When characterising the relationships between family, school and the workplace, one must be careful not to fall victim to the presumption that there is a natural and defined trichotomy among these institutions. Whilst the predominate inclination in Western societies such as America or the UK, is to see each institution as three distinct and isolated entities, separated by vast stretches of social no man's land, the adoption of the viewpoint that each stage is an interconnected link in a chain provides a much more truthful representation of Japanese society. While I am not suggesting that there are no differences between the family, school and the work environment, it is important to note that the Japanese perceive the three institutions as mutually supported and interconnected in a continuing relationship, one directly feeding into the other and vice versa. Moreover that the socialisation that a person receives in one institution, directly effects their performance in another. This point is illustrated by the Japanese proverb, . The soul of a three year old, endures till the child is a hundred. Emphasising that what a child learns during their first three years, will last them until they a hundred years old. Thus success in school and the workplace, depends upon a successful upbringing by it's family beforehand. Subsequently, the school is not merely as an independent tool for socialisation, but as an extension on the socialisation that takes place in within the family. Katsube Mitake, a professor at Ochanomize Women's university and an ad hoc member of the central council for Education, further highlights this concept; You might think raising children is easy, especially in the first 6 years. The children do not understand much anyway. So you might say, "put them in a day care, just give them milk. They will

grow anyway without parents. Childcare is easy and cheap." but these are reasons why the "business" of raising children will fail and you will pay for it later. (Katsube Mitake, nobinobi kosodateron. 1984). A point worth noting here, is that a leading intellectual in Japan and a member of the council for education, is effectively denouncing education at an early age, a position that many western readers may find contradictory. A more striking incarnation of this attitude can also be found in Fujita Mariko's study of Kawa Day Care situated in a suburb of Tokyo;

The teachers criticized the mothers of their children. Since half the teachers were working mothers themselves, I had expected them to be more understanding., Even though the director is running a day-care center, she actually believes that "children should be raised at home until 3 years of age or their own good." ( Fujita Mariko,It's All Mother's Fault: Childcare and the Socialization of Working Mothers in Japan, 1989)

In the previous example we see the Education system, actually reinforcing the institution of family. Besides the personal attitudes of the daycare staff, Fujita argues that political factors also aid in reinforcing the family and mother-child bond as the ideal institute for early socialisation. In 1970 a government committee on family life problems issued a family charter (katei keshou), stressing the importance of the mother as the best caregiver and educator of her children;

A woman should recognise herself as the best educator of her child. An excellent race is born from excellent mothers.

Regarding the actual socialisation that takes place within family and the manner in which these naturally build a foundation for later socialisation in the school system, Joy Hendry provides some interesting insights. She argues that the utilisation of hierarchy as a means of preserving social

harmony in Japanese society, is first established within the family. Hendry cites the concepts of (elder brother), (elder sister), (younger sister) and (younger brother) as precursors to Senpai/Kouhai relations found in school and the work place. (Joy Hendry, Understanding Japanese Society, 1984). Further evidence of the interplay between Family and School socialisation, can be seen in Cummings study of Kyoto primary schools in the late1970s. Cummings reports that teachers endeavour to visit students homes a few times each year, and conversely parents are also invited to sit in and observe their childrens classes. (William Cummings, Equality and Education in Japan, 1980). Although the interconnected relationship between the home and school is strong during the early years of education, it begins to weaken as the students progress towards adulthood during middle and high school. During this period, responsibility for producing well rounded, respectable citizens, lies predominantly on the school. Cummings describes the large number of extra-curricular clubs found in middle and high schools, which practically all students are expected to participate in. The fact that these clubs are set up and managed entirely by the students themselves, with limited school support outside of supplying facilities and small amounts of funding, further socialises within students the roles they will be expected to fulfil as responsible adult citizens. As Miller and Kanagawa point out; In many ways, work life, at least for males, is a direct extension of school life, Or perhaps more accurately, school is a precursor to work life. By stressing social relations, individual responsibility, group loyalty, a strong sense of school (institutional) allegiance, socialisation practices during eduction, install the same norms and values that will be required and elicited once in the workplace. A more concrete example of the linkages between the two institutions can be witnessed in the examination process. By emphasising rote memorisation and pure time spent studying over critical thinking and actual skills that will be valuable during employment, the system paradoxically is geared towards creating ideal employees

for the Japanese workplace. As Fallows (1989) explains; Few people in Japan contend that the tests are primarily measures of ability or intelligence. Instead the tests are straightforward measures of memorized information. No ones seems interested in discussing whether the knowledge measured on the tests is related to skills that will later prove valuable on the job. That's not what the tests are about: they are measures of determination and effort, pure and simple, so the pointlessness of their content actually enhances their value as tests if will. (Fallows 1989, 45) The fact that students absorb next to nothing, after hours of cramming is immaterial: they show the world that they are in earnest and have the required endurance (van Wolferen 1989, 88). In short, the examination system predominantly grades students on their unquestionable, obedient determination and ability to adsorb new information in an undiscriminating manner, all characteristics that are valued in the Japanese concept of an ideal employee. Expanding upon the relationship between school and the workplace, it can be argued that the Japanese company, also fulfils many of the functions and idiosyncrasies, that are traditionally laid claim to by the home. Rohlen (1974) notes in the past the main social entity in Japan was the village however, now it has become the company. In his ethnographic study of a Japanese bank, Rohlen details how during induction, new employees are led into a large auditorium, where they meet current employees and listen to various speeches and songs, extolling and instilling the companies proud history, ethos and identity. Furthermore, the parents of the new inductees are also invited to the ceremony, and at one point a representative delivers a speech thanking the company for hiring their children, for what is often a lifelong employment position. A further, albeit slightly more metaphorical relationship between family and work life can be seen in the Japanese practice of conducting work in small teams. Each team, is usually employed on a long term basis, with the aim to creating strong, familial bonds, thus facilitating a productive work force and preventing individual dissent. As Rohlen (1989) explains; Small groups are rarely just instrumental, Through informal socialising a bonding process

occurs. Nowhere is this more notable than in company work and the fact that week end trips, afterwork meals, and drinking parties are a regular aspect of the overall pattern, one encouraged by management. Eating, bathing, drinking, and sleeping together imitate in a limited way those most intimate of family activities. Whilst excepting that time spent socialising with fellow employees is time spent not being with one's family, thus to an extent influencing the employees family life, the above described familial characteristics are largely allegorical, however more direct, tangible linkages and influences between the family and workplace can be seen in many larger companies. For example, compaines often provide free or subsidised housing to employees. Although it can be argued that this practice, increases the visibility experienced by the employees, who is in effect rarely free from the Orwellian watch of the company management, it is seen as a fair trade off for affordable housing close to the workplace. In such a situation, the company can extend a substantial amount of influence into the private, home life of the employee, for example the discouragement of dating, and prohibition of taking romantic partners back to their residence. The linkage between the company and the employee's personal relationships is further influence by the hiring of many young, single female workers. As Alletzhauser (1990) describes; Young single women are hired on a temporary basis, largely to provide a dating pool for male employees to find marriage partners. In fact, there has being reports of several companies, keeping photo albums of prospective female partners for their male employees to select from. As the average Japanese company employee spends long hours working and a large proportion of his recreational time socialising with fellow workers, there is little time left to actively seek romantic relations. In controlling the women that will in a large part, fulfil this aim, the Japanese company has a very direct and salient relationship with the formation and regulation of the Japanese family. As an employee's family life can largely be shaped and influenced by factors extending from the work environment, so can an individual's family life and history, influence their employment

prospects to at least a limited extent. As Taylor (1983) identifies. A prospective employee's family koseki, which records their family's history, deaths, marriages, is often asked to be seen, when being considered for hiring from a Company. Thus the visibility of the corporation may also extend, not only to the employee himself, but back through the generations of his ancestry. Although the previous examples have focused upon the relationships between family and the workplace, an analysis of how the linkages between school and the workplace have changed since the 1980s can be found in Kariya and Rosenbaum's 2003 paper Stratified Incentives and Life Course Behaviours. The paper highlights the effects that the Educational reforms of the late 1980s had upon the behaviours of Japanese students at the time. According to Kariya and Rosenbaum, the Japanese education system was based on a uniform meritocratic approach. Positions for high paying, high status, careers were filled by graduates from top universities, entrance to which, depended on passing tough entrance examinations. Conversely, those wishing to proceed directly to work after high school, were required to perform well academically at school, as employers held close links with high schools, sourcing their employees from teacher recommendations. As Success in both the academic world and the workplace was born from success in exams based on a universal curriculum, Japanese students, spurred on by strong incentives, were socialised to be diligent and goal orientated. (Kariya, Rosenbaum, 1989, 1991). The late 1980's saw the implementation of education reforms, in response to a Japanese student population suffering from exam hell and a lack of original thought. The reforms aimed to soften the burden upon Japanese students, by reducing requirements and increasing the quota for university entrance, as well as providing more progressive courses and flexible teaching methods, more in tune with students preferences. However according to Kariya and Rosenbaum, the reforms had the effect of reducing incentives for students to work diligently in school, as competition for university places was reduced. As a result of more students choosing to attend university, employers where left with a only the lowest achieving students from which to source their workers. This led employers to begin looking elsewhere for recruitment, thus reducing the incentives for work bound

high school students to achieve academic success. (Kariya, Rosenbaum, Stratified Incentives and Life Course Behaviours, 2003). In summary Kariya and Rosenbaum argue that the apathy for study experienced by workbound high school students was due to a lack of viable employment opportunities, burgeoned on by the educational reforms. However as such reforms were enacted against the backdrop of the collapsing bubble economy, it is difficult to assess the extent to which wider socio-economic factors played a role in reduced employment prospects. A fact which somewhat undermines Kariya's and Rosenbaum's research in the authors opinion. Further more, the research argues that increased freedom of curriculum and a higher focus on nurturing creativity and free thought among students, has a detrimental effect on students motivation to study. However, I would like to argue that this is could be due to a disparity between the employers who still extol the virtues of rote memorisation and conformity among the workforce. Before the enactment of the education reforms, there was a congruence between the values of the school and work place. This resulted in students whom embodied the virtues of an ideal employee as defined by Japanese companies, allowing for a smooth, secure transition, instilling within students clear incentives to study diligently. However the post-reform educational environment stands in contrast to that of the workplace. Such students have not been sculptured into the ideal Japanese employee, and consequently Employers have turned their back on high school graduates, instead choosing to source their workforce from further up the academic hierarchy. However, in recent years there has been a growing trend among companies to establish work environments that nurture the creativity of its employees. This is evidenced by such practices as 20% time at Google, (where employees are granted 20% of their time, with which they are able to pursue any goal they desire at their own pace) and result driven approaches (which allows employees to work whatever hours they wish in what ever fashion as long as the work is achieved to a good standard). In light of such growing trends which more closely resemble the practices of

the educational reforms, it is interesting to speculate that if such trends penetrate Japanese employment environment, and a resonance between school and work-place value is re-established, will Japanese students once again have high incentives to study?