Traffic / Alma Reyes

by Alma Reyes TRAFFIC

Japan in the State of Imperfection

In the eyes of many people across the world, Japan appears to be a utopian nation of sacred discipline, courtesy, generosity, and civility. Why not? For us who live through the day-to-day stagnancy of home and work routines in this so-called idyllic state, we naturally understand where the outsiders’ evaluation comes from. You can retrieve your umbrella on the same day you carelessly left it inside the train. It is customary to receive a call from the koban (police box) about your lost wallet that had been picked up by some stranger and who never touched your wallet contents. You may be lucky enough to be guided by a passerby to your destination when you lose your way in the streets. We have all received business calls or E-mails from almost any type of service establishment that start with an apology for disturbing your time, and end with another apology and gratitude for the precious minutes you have spared. These are just a few samples of the standardized “Japanese ways” (shikata) of social affability that locals and foreigners fondly embrace with the highest degree of positivity.

Hence, when the coin is flipped on “unexpected” incidents of crime, corruption, dishonesty, degradation, and even harassment and abuse, which rampage the news, foreigners react with mouths agape and disbelief. “Unthinkable!” would be the immediate consensus. Uncalled-for moments, such as the abrasive conduct of a man who pushes you to the side when he is hurrying down the escalator; an old woman who knocks your elbow in the midst of a bargain sale; sexual harassment and age discrimination at work; marital abuse; homicides, especially within families; robberies; or perversion don’t seem to belong in the Japanese encyclopedia of natural occurrences. Really?

Recently, a young man stabbed innocent passengers inside a train in one of Tokyo’s usually quiet residential neighborhoods because he didn’t particularly enjoy seeing happy people. Soon after, another young man splashed sulfuric acid on an ex-university mate also inside a train station. A man had been arrested for the death of his girlfriend’s 3-year old son whom he left under over 50 °C boiling shower. Some Japanese politicians have been arrested for illegal activities. No one in Japan forgets the infamous religious cult for their horrendous sarin gas attack in a central Tokyo subway that injured over 5,000 victims and killed around 14 commuters in 1995. Clearly, Japan’s social culture would not be complete without its Yakuza gangs. Finally, offensive perversion, such as underwear-stealing, photo taking under mini-skirts, hidden cameras in girls’ washrooms in schools, and other disturbing, but perhaps, less pronounced forms of ill behavior have become commonplace spices in our supposedly nonchalant life events. In fact, Japan buries itself in a long trail of crimes, which perhaps, just don’t reach the bubbly social media or the foreign press.

So, why the raised eyebrows of shock and skepticism? Aren’t Japanese people just as human as the rest of us? Couldn’t the social system be just as tainted as that of another country? Shouldn’t they be entitled to their fair share of flaws and imperfection?

The other day, I had a discussion with the director of the private English school where I teach at about how crime incidents have been lurking rampantly in the recent months. Instead of the expected reaction of “taihen desu ne” (that’s terrible), the director remarked, “Well, isn’t that a relief that Japanese society is returning to its normal state of chaos.” Now, that’s a man who recognizes human flaw. We may be appalled by the sporadic wrongdoings spurting left and right, but those episodes may actually enlighten the inevitable truth that Japan is evidently never perfect.

I am still amused by memories of certain “imperfect” situations I had encountered a few years back in Italy, where I had spent close to two months at one time. Once, the main subway line in Rome announced and flashed the wrong station names, and without apology. The interesting part was that the passengers did not seem to care. At another time, the local bus was running with a defective door that opened and closed incessantly. The bus driver, without much ado, called on an elderly male passenger to hold the door while the bus continued its journey, instead of opting to stop and adjust the door. In Japan, obviously, we see these instances as almost inexistent—which is precisely why, I was ironically filled with a bizarre sensation of warmth and relief during those moments. It was as though having been swarmed by such tints of imperfection had made me a part of the human circle once again.

Likewise, in Manila, unpleasant circumstances in everyday life often occupy the normal, instead of the abnormal mode—finding a scratch on your car door, screaming driver in traffic, miscalculated restaurant bill, and others. While many locals detest the unsophistication and impropriety of certain scenarios, perhaps, on the contrary, we could relish in the frigid thought that without natural flaws, we might as well exist as the next robot of mankind.

Certainly, we are continuously grateful for the unmatched politesse of restaurant staff, shopping mall salespeople, supermarket cashiers, and strangers we meet on a daily basis in Japan. However, this display of courtesy “service” arises from a manual of homogenous thoughts and norms that all Japanese minds have been obliged to master unquestionably since childhood. Any unrecognizable action or thinking outside of this manual invites sufficient reason for ostracisation. Here, we may define the essential core of social pressure. Committing a single mistake in the face of society can scar one for life, hampering the rightful chance for personal growth and community inclusion. Yet, it is those differing qualities, tinge of rebellion, individual opinion, free choice of language and action, and the muddy spots behind the white curtain, which are realistic aspects of human living, that we regrettably miss in Japanese life.

Maybe it’s high time for Japanese mentality to honestly practice its wabi-sabi philosophy of fallibility and incompleteness—to swerve around its sphere of moral expectations and recognize and accept human deficiency as part of natural existence. In so doing, both the Japanese and the rest of the world may downplay their magnified (and, apparently exaggerated) perception of Japan as being wholly and divinely righteous.

Foreigners may marvel euphorically at the elegant cherry blossoms that grace every picture-perfect postcard, but they also need to remember that sakuras bloom only briefly and wither after a week or two by force of nature.

Alma Reyes

Jeepney Press