The country has never mandated masks or vaccinations, but it’s evaded the worst of Covid, thanks to a fear of public shaming and the “self restraint police.”
“People will stare at you,” Ms. Yanagihara, 33, said, explaining why she didn’t dare take off her mask. “There is that pressure.”
Japan’s Covid death rate, just one-twelfth of that in the United States, is the lowest among the world’s wealthiest nations. With the world’s third-largest economy and 11th-largest populace, Japan also tops global rankings in vaccination and has consistently had one of the globe’s lowest infection rates.
People will stare at you,” Ms. Yanagihara, 33, said, explaining why she didn’t dare take off her mask. “There is that pressure.”
Japanese culture is very different from that of the US - or of most other Western countries. There conformity is prized; here individualism is celebrated. One common proverb in Japan is “The tallest nail gets pounded”.
With a few notable exceptions (SONY, for example), Japanese manufacturing was not inventive, but they were brilliantly iterative: taking the best of the West and improving on it drastically. Their “improved” cars stomped Detroit, but they did not invent cars, or muscle cars, or pick up trucks, or vans. Their unions are run by the company, and workers are trusted to be working for the benefit of everyone.
Japanese have a higher trust in government, officials, and the common good; I have read it is highly unusual to have criminals who do not confess once apprehended, in the West it’s the other way around (numerically.)
The approach to the pandemic really can’t be compared, it’s a completely different mindset.
“ The approach to the pandemic really can’t be compared, it’s a completely different mindset.”
The approach can be compared, just not emulated.
That’s because we’re too independent and contentious to allow a benefit to others.
I was reminded this week when a distant friend scoffed that masks are ineffective. He got covid, wasn’t wearing a mask, hung around people not wearing masks, and thought people wearing masks gave it to him?
If we in this wonderful independent nation would only give up some of our petulant independence, and acknowledge our possible ignorance, we may enjoy a more cooperative society beneficial to all.
That’s because we’re too independent and contentious to allow a benefit to others.
A lot of immigrants to the US see this differently. Americans are very interested in their fellow man doing well.
We are missing something culturally that is not missing in other parts of the world. At least in western Europe where my family is from. We are missing an ability to really shout down cheats.
FB kept allowing anyone who wanted to screw anyone run ads. As usual with FB. Things have only barely changed.
The blogs with lies. It is not the liars that are the problem. In other nations if you believe a liar people openly will ridicule you. Here we get touchy feely for idiots that believe lies.
Or worse there is a group of people that are arrogant about believing lies. This in America is common. It is part of our DNA. Think people buying high in stock market bubbles and letting their friends know how high their shares have gone.
There is also a major divide in this country between women and men. Women who are brilliant wont often shout down other total idiots. That means we are using less of our collective brain power. I do not mean to stereo type. There are men also avoiding conflicts.(an example of men v women the two parties are somewhat of a divide)
Avoiding conflict is a problem in this country. The people I respect and like the best avoided conflict at times for professional reasons. That of course is how their day is used not arguing but tending to business. Then it is a mode when we need their voices. The misinformation wars on Covid were horrible.
Covid was such a botched operation here. Yet many people did better in this period until inflation peaked.