WORK & ETHICS - The Japanese Roadmap - 1

We are all products of the culture and prevailing paradigms that shape our personal evolution. These paradigms find expression in the core values that guide our conduct, relationships, finances, and ultimately our life outcomes. We are human “beings” first and foremost. The “being” rules our “doings”. Our personality and how well we have evolved are the things we bring to bear on all that we do. Whether we know it or not, our values, are the drivers of our lives. They are the rails that guide our life’s journey, largely determine whether we will truly succeed or not.

Over the next few editions, I will be focusing on the Japanese and how a country that was referred to as “the workshop of the world” after the devastating effects of World War II on it, has evolved to become one of the world’s five biggest economies. Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Japan was described as the “workshop of the world” at that time because it depended on raw materials imported from other nations to feed its fledgling industrial revolution. This series is not a historical analysis of the Japanese. It is a study of the impact of certain ingrained cultural values that helped them to rebuild and which continue to feature prominently in almost every significant aspect of the world’s development lexicon.

After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Allied Forces led by the USA were involved in rebuilding the vastly devastated Japan which had also lost a significant portion of its territory. The Allied Forces occupied Japan until 1951 when a treaty for its restoration as an independent state was signed. The region of Okinawa remained a US territory until 1972!

The most remarkable of Japan’s post-war accomplishments is the economic miracle that saw the country transformed from utter devastation into an economic powerhouse in less than three decades. By the 1980s, Japan was an industrial and technological giant, giving the world high-end electronics, automobiles and other quality products. I grew up on an array of Japanese products; Sanyo, Sony, Hitachi, Sharp, Panasonic, National, and more in electronics. For cameras and photographic equipment, we had Kodak, Yashica and Fuji. In 1969, less than twenty years after it “regained” independence and before the advent of digital technology, the Japanese watchmaker Seiko, gave the world its first battery-powered quartz wristwatch which swept the rug off the feet of the Swiss who until then, ruled the world of watches with the mechanical watch that had to be wound daily. Japanese automobiles like Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Suzuki, etc., are reputed to be among the most durable, fuel-efficient, and affordable to maintain in the world, cornering significant chunks of car market equity in any country where they are sold. Do you recall names like Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki in the power generator and motorcycle industries?

Until 2010 when it was displaced by China, the Japanese economy was the second biggest in the world after that of the USA. It kept the third position until it was upstaged by Germany in 2023.

The development trajectory of Japan is not just about the products it offers to the world, but about the values undergirding the making of the products. Ingrained in the culture of the Japanese and taught to every child as part of the cradle-to-adult education process are certain core values that have become the rallying point for all Japanese in their workplace and relational dynamics. In fact, the high suicide rate recorded among some Japanese communities is attributed to their commitment to such high moral standards that a person in breach of these moral codes feels a pang of conscience and finds it shameful living amidst others who he feels may ostracize him!

Some of these values, which reflect in a strong work ethic driven by strong, principled leadership include, a strong sense of community bonds and responsibility to and for others in the collective, respect for elders and those in authority (you will hardly find a Japanese look an elder or an authority figure straight in the eyes). Other attributes are patience, self-control, courtesy to all, modesty and frugality with finances (by the discipline of delayed gratification), punctuality, neatness and a good appearance. The Japanese try as much as possible to avoid conflict with others because they are raised to understand that in a collective, the individual is secondary, and being in good relationship with your neighbours or colleagues is the strength of community or the team. Disrupting group dynamics because of a personal offense or anger is considered “kowa”, meaning disruptive, shocking, or frightening. The average Japanese avoids controversy like a plague! From the cradle, children are taught to be polite and impeccable in their manners. The essence of this is to make other people feel at ease when interacting with them. When addressing superiors, the language must always be kept polite and civil, no matter how upset a subordinate may be. In the workplace, however, the emphasis is not on seniority but on capability. Productivity and enhanced capacity command more respect in the workplace than age or seniority. People who don’t know this would assume that they are timid. Far from it.

The Japanese are workaholics. For them, work is life, and life is work. Come rain or shine, whenever there is work to do, the Japanese simply rolls up his sleeves and sets at it. The Japanese work ethic is driven largely by the fact that his work is more than just a platform to earn an income. It is regarded as the duty he owes the collective. His productivity and responsibility are the things that give him the liberty to proudly proclaim himself as a significant member of the family, team, or community. His work is therefore seen as the outworking of his life essence and his utmost delight is in seeing things done and done well, hence the high quality, dependability and durability associated with Japanese products. The quality of their products is simply a reflection of their work ethics and their concern for the welfare and wellbeing of others.

Over the next few editions, we will examine some attributes of the Japanese in relation to their work ethics. These attributes have underpinned and continue to drive Japanese enterprise in a way that proves to the rest of the world that strong values build strong communities and strong, sustainable businesses. Many of the businesses I identified earlier are still in operation and growing bigger because of a culture of resilience sustained by enduring values.

If you function as a leader or ever aspire to see your leadership fully manifested, or your enterprise grow significantly and sustainably, you do well to learn and incorporate many of these attributes. Just keep faith with this page as we proceed… continued.

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

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