Monday, May 29, 2006

"It's difficult"

One of the things I have noticed about Japan, is that when faced with a challenge or some difficulty, the common first reaction Japanese is to find reasons/excuses as to why something cannot be done. Often these are so absurd one cannot believe his/her ears. You get to hear " We Japanese don't (or do) X" or "It's difficult" (meaning no) or "You can't do that in Japan..." or some nonsense about Japanese tradition or culture. There is little sense of "We have a problem, it's tough, but we will find a way to solve it." Japanese will attack problems/difficulties too, but first you have to listen to why it can't be done, and this is often just nonsense to try to avoid leaving one's comfort zone.

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