In the 1990s, Teikyo University of Japan started a junior college for 112 female Japanese students in Holland. These Japanese students stayed there for one year to visit Europe and learn some English. A group of Dutch students were paid to organize social activities for the Japanese girls. Below is one of the Dutch students, a young man, talking about his experience:

From this story, we can tell that the Japanese and Dutch students differ in two dimensions of National Culture. What do you think they are and why?

“Maybe We Go Ice Skating”

The Japanese girls never say yes right away when you propose something to them. For example, we wanted to go ice skating with the girls, but when we asked them to go they said “Maybe.” They asked many questions about what was going to happen, especially when it was something unknown to them. Many girls did not go ice skating because they had never done such a thing, and although we assured them that prior experience was not necessary, they were not convinced. When they finally did decide to go, they signed up as a group.

After an activity sometimes we asked for their opinion about that event. This was a very difficult question for them because they are not used to giving their own opinion. In general they would feel very shy and say things like “Difficult” and “I don’t know.” Sometimes, when the girls were in a small group, they started to talk in Japanese with each other and after a few minutes one would say, “We think that.” We now have substituted the opinion questions for the question, “What have you seen?”

Difficult words:

Right away = すぐ

Propose = 提案する

Assure = 安心をさせる (in this case)

Convince = 納得させる (in this case)

Hofstede, Pederson, & Hofstede (2004, pp. 130 – 132)