Conversation Between When you see it... and screenager2004

No, I am judging it from a biased personal perspective. I have no attachment to 'western culture' and I believe that we should make the world have a single culture as that would be fairer as it would mean everyone gets the same opportunities regardless of where they live. I am against hierarchy because I am against hierarchy, not because I am blindly following a western standard of morals (hierarchy is too big in the west as well imo, I assumed that it would be the same in Japan). Why should I alter my opinions because of the standards and customs of a culture/society? Would you refuse to criticise rape if there was a culture where rape was okay but you personally disagreed with it? It is the same principle. I will criticise their culture all I want (although I find Japanese games etc. very interesting and that is part of their culture which I like).

It's been part of traditional Japanese culture for centuries, since the introduction of Confucianism to Japan in the 5th century.

You clearly are unable to look at things from a different cultural perspective - you are just judging it from a biased western perspective and just saying "well why can't they do things OUR way". Japan is a collectivist culture. The west is an individualist culture. You are blind to anything other than individualism because you've been brought up thinking that's the way all human societies work. There wasn't even a word in the Japanese language for 'right' (as in individual human rights) until the 20th century.

BTW I didn't read that blog post all the way through but browsed through the opening paragraphs of some of the other posts (very lazy I know) and it seems that the hierachy thing is big in Japan. Can I just ask (since you seem to be big on Japanese culture), do you think that is a remnant of the military control of Japan when they were one of the 'axis powers' or does it go further back? (I assume the latter, I'm just interested.)

I am allowed to have an opinion on another culture. Before you were talking about 'ethnocentrism' and, according to wikipedia, that involves judging another culture against ones you are already familiar with, so how is this any different from what you were suggesting?
I don't see why you should respect your seniors any more than you respect people the same age or younger and why is a hierachy necessary (I assume this is what you mean by 'knowing your place'). You can have group harmony etc. even when people are allowed to express their opinions, so that to me just seems like an excuse that the 'leaders' use to make people obey them.
In your experience that we previously discussed, who 'ordered for the table'? I assume one person made the final decision, which just seems wrong to me. Why should they be allowed individual rights/choice and others not?

Dude you can't just go round calling other cultures 'backwards' just because it's not what you've grown up with. It's a completely different culture.

It's a well known and written about aspect of Japanese society. There's a very strong focus on age hierarchy (respecting your seniors and knowing your place) and group consensus and harmony. Individualism is equated with selfishness, Individual opinions are the source of group conflict.

http://podjapan.blogspot.com/2007/06/harmony.html

That sounds quite backwards. Are you sure it is not just the group that you have been dining with? (It sounds like you have been to proper formal occasions, so maybe it is different in the 'realer' aspects of their culture.)

No it's completely different. Individualism is not celebrated here, you follow the group. Individualism is interpreted as a typically western stubborn selfishness or inability to put the group first before the individual. Hence why meals are customarily ordered for the table, not the individual.

What is Japan like? Is it just like Britain but with extreme weather?