13. The group

1. Key distinction: inside "uchi" -- outside "soto"
 

many types of groups
generally have face-to-face relations
family (3/4 retired people live with children)
school, department, glass, e.g.. Tokyo U. Law School
faction, personal connections
village - neighborhood
employment group - company
hobby relaxation group, tour groups

value harmony, consensus, similar dress, indirection
non-verbal communication
use go-betweens
gifts to draw people into group
seniority, wait one's time
factions (e.g. LDP)

Treat outsiders differently

14. Relativity
 

Shame, not guilt

judgment by society counts more than God's view (no rigid natural law)
    Eastern view: yin and yang
        contradictory forces are in fact complementary, they alternate and balance

    Western view: good and evil, Manichaneism

Proper behavior is contextual, particularistic -- personal relations must be managed differently for different people, depending on the specific personal relationship

One must maintain "face," be careful to help people maintain their face
    critically important to maintain personal relations
    affects negotiation behavior

Suicide as response to social embarrassment

• Mishima Yokio 1970
• official's secretary (1989)
• Fugu fish chef
• Minister of Agriculture, 2007
• Failing Bank, 2000
• Debt  "I have three relatives and friends who committed suicide because of bankers," Miyazaki says. Many more, though, simply refused to meet their debts or hand over the properties they had used as collateral."