Movie in Japan "Thermae RomaeⅡ" (2014/4/16～ )

This is a very funny movie called "Thermae RomaeⅡ".

The main character Lucius (a Roman architect) accidentally time trips from Ancient Rome to modern-time Japan where he learns about the Japanese public bath system.  He then travels back to his time and creates a nice bathhouse in Rome for the Roman emperor. Lucius calls the Japanese "Hiratai kao zoku (Flat-faced tribe)".


http://thermae-romae.jp/

Fortune and personality checks by blood types

You may have been asked by some Japanese what your blood type was. I can tell you why Japanese wants to know your blood type. The reason is that Japanese use blood type to check the personality or fortune. 

Let me show you an example of the personality of each blood type. Do they apply to you?


Blood type A:
earnest
avoid disputes
sensitive
cautious

Blood type B:
doing things at one's own pace
free-spirited
friendly
optimistic

Blood type O:
laid-back
big-brother type
realistic
moody

Blood type AB:
rational
analytic
two-faced, duality personality
non-emotional


Additionally,

Best couple is a Blood type O male and a type A female.
The second best is a Blood type A male and a type O female.
The third best is a Blood type A male and a type A female.

The worst couple is blood type B male and type AB female.

Tips for a Japanese office

You may find it difficult to communicate with your Japanese colleagues. Most cases it is a just misunderstanding based on the different social cultures or customs. People usually take actions based on their social expectations.

People understand the contents of conversations from the point of view of their home countries' customs or general rules, and are subconsciously affected by their social norms.


<In the office>

When you enter the office you need to say "Ohayo gozaimasu" (Good morning) and when you leave office "Osakini shitsureishimasu" (I'm leaving before you).  If you are staying at the office and a colleague is going home you say "Otsukaresamadeshita" (Thank you for your hard work) otherwise people feel you are being rude.

You should also use a persons family name plus "san" which means something like Mr or Ms. For example, Mr Tanaka is "Tanaka-san" and Ms Suzuki is "Suzuki-san". "San" is gender free.


<In the meeting>

Many foreigner often say that Japanese are pessimistic. When you bring up a new idea, Japanese colleagues may research risks and disadvantages first, not the benefits. They try to understand what could happen in the worst scenario and plan around those dangers to prevent failure.

Making plans tends to be very important for Japanese. Japanese business culture does not take the "proceed and fix things as you go along" approach. But once they set the plan in motion things move forward smoothly.


During the meeting, you may feel that your Japanese colleagues are very quiet as if they don't have any opinions of their own. They tend to wait for the speaker to finish talking and then move on to next person. Some people are shy or not confident their ideas so they may wait until their turns. It is consider polite to wait to end of someone's speach and not interrupt with questions or comments.

<At the restaurant>

To me it appears that Japanese people are not strong for alcohol but they (especially men) like going out to drink after work and getting drunk on a weekly basis.  If you are with a group of Japanese colleagues at a restaurant, don't pour your own drink, allow someone else to do it for you and return the favour if you see someone else's glass is empty.

When you use chopstick well, Japanese people will appear amazed and say you are good at it every time you eat Japanese food with them but don't be angry or upset.  People just want to talk to you and are looking for some easier topics to start a conversation with you.


<In public space>
It is well known that Japanese people fall asleep on the train. I personally think that Japanese are not good at getting up in early morning (I'm definitely not good at getting up early!). Some women are putting full makeup on the train or in the toilet an the office in the morning. Japanese girls tend to feel embarrassed to meet people they know without makeup. You may feel it is strange but please don't stare at them.

Japanese people rarely entertain guests in their homes.  If you are invited to the home of your Japanese colleague or boss, consider it a great honour.  When you visit, you should take a small gift, such a cake or wine.

<Consider unlucky in Japan>

Don't write someone's name in red ink.  When I was a child, I was told that red ink is used to write the name of the deceased so it is considered bad luck in Japan.

Also the numbers "4" and "9" are considered unlucky in Japan.  The number four is "shi" in Japanese, which can also mean "death", and nine is "ku" which can also mean hardship.

Wearing shoes indoors is also consider unlucky in Japan because it used to be that only the deceased were allowed to wear shoes inside the house.

I hope these tips will help you work in a Japanese office.

Konkatsu（婚活）－marriage actibity (marriage/partner hunting)

Konakatu (marriage hunting) has become a big trend among Japanese singles and it is a growing business in Japan. People in their late 20s to early 40s are try to find a marriage partner. These days elderly people are living alone and there have been reports of bodies being found long after their death at the home, so young people are starting to be concerned about being alone in their future.

What are kontatsu activities like?

Coupling parties - both women and men who are singles sit facing each other in two concentric circles.  They introduce themselves to each other for about 5 minutes then change partners and start over.

Cooking events - small group of women and men join a cooking event and talk while cooking food together.

Registered matchmaking companies - There are many companies offering match making services. After people register their personal information and their preferred partner, the system finds a suitable match from their members and sets up a meeting. The members fees are quite high.

Go to a "Singles bar" -  Usually you show your ID or business card to enter and have a chat with other members while drinking.

Shared experience events - Such as agriculture, trips etc

Attend the seminar - At these meetings people learn about how to succeed at Kontatsu.


In the past, it used to elderly people, relatives or neighbors, who set up meetings (Omiai) if people were not married in a certain age, but this kind of tradition is disappearing and man and women are busy working so young people don't have much chance to meet other singles outside of work.

Another Shukatsu（終活） － Prepair for the end of life

There is another Shukatsu (the sound is the same as Shukatsu for job-hunting but the Kanji character and meaning are different.) that is widespread among the elderly people in Japan now.

The word was created around 2009 and nominated as the most influential word in Japan in 2010.

Shukatsu, preparation for the end of life, involves writing down ones, personal history, messages and things which they think are important to let people know after their death, in the "Ending Note".  These include things like life events, happy and sad memories, information of family assets, how to divide inheritance, request for funeral or memory service, and so on.

It may seem unusual for foreigners, but many elderly people said that preparing for the end of their lives makes them more positive about their death.

The population of over 65-year-olds is more than 30 million which is about a quarter of the Japanese population and more than half of them are  living alone or just with their partner, not with their children and grandchildren, so they don't have much chance to share their feelings and pass the wishes to their family.

Many Ending Notes templates have been made available in Japan by publishers and non-profit organizations.

   

Shukatsu（就職活動＝就活）－Job-hunting activity

"Shukatsu" is one of the big life events for university students.

Japanese students usually start contacting companies in the second semester of their 3rd year of study; a year and a half before they graduate.

Students collect companies' brochure, attend recruiting fairs, company information sessions and finally apply for multiple jobs through the Internet. Companies check through students' CVs and applications, and select some candidates.

Students who are selected take some tests and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd job interviews. Finally successful students received an offer letter from the company.

Unfortunately Japan's economy is not so good at the moment and so some students apply to over 60 companies before he/she gets a job offer. It must be very stressful.  

Work starting date is always April 1st. If you see young people wearing black recruitment suits, they are probably university students who are visiting recruiting fairs or company information sessions.