Social Change in Japan

The Japanese culture has allowed for very little diversity. This started very early in their history. The social controls used to eliminate diversity are the family, the power of gender, the poor treatment of minority groups, the corporate Japanese mentality, and the respect required by people in authority. However, due to globalization and the shrinking of the world, Japanese society is starting to make the change to diversity. The individualistic mentality shared by the new technology driven younger generation is putting pressure on the old Japanese status quo. The transformation is happening very slow, but as the population ages and the old conservatives are being replaced by the new liberals, the old way of thinking is also being replaced by the new.

The establishment of the caste system during their feudal development insured unity and lack of diversity would be a theme through the rest of their history. During the Nara period the Japanese society was separated into classes which were based on the position of each family. Whether the position was of a court official, samurai, or peasant farmer, each class carefully blended together. The appearance of unity was paramount. Individual rights were non-existent. It became common place to respect and even worship the ancestral heritage. Wisdom was thought to be a combination of knowledge and a practical application of that knowledge. Therefor, the older family members were thought to have to most wisdom from the lives they spent applying their knowledge. They were revered and respected by the younger generations in the family. Another way in which the traditional family structure in Japan supports the conformity of its' member is through the Bushido influence. This "way of warrior" has permanently established in the Japanese culture during to Tokogawa Era. The warrior code dictated that loyalty, respect, and honor were the most important personal ideals one could have. These ideals filtered out of the samurai class and eventually rooted deeply into the national character of Japan. Conformity is required through this ideal because an individual mentality would not consider loyalty to be as important as society viewed it. In addition, by behaving out of the norm, shame would be brought to a family. The individualistic mentality runs contradictory to the traditional family structure in Japan.

Women and minorities in Japan have been traditionally viewed as second class. Equal rights were not granted to women until the Occupation Era following World War II. The modifications that were made to the existing Meiji Constitution gave women the same rights as men for the first time in the country's history. Prior to that they were seen as servants, dominated by their husbands, in what can only be described as a master / slave relationship. The new Japanese Constitution of 1947 empowered the Japanese women for the first time in the countries history. Minorities were persecute throughout Japan's past. Native Anglo's were hunted down and slaughtered. The surviving numbers were driven north onto the smaller surrounding islands. The closed era of Tokogawa Shogunate tried to remove all of the diversity within society. Any thought other than the Shinto/Buddhist/Confucianism that dominated was society was expelled. The violent massacre of Christians during this period only supported conformity to the ideals of the ruling class. The stance they took on foreign thought and technology insured that no outside influences would affect Japanese culture. This view lasted over 200 years until the country was opened to foreigners again. The long period the Japanese spent with no diversity combined with the loyalty and honor themes of Bushido, made it impossible for them to accept diversity after the country was opened again.

The xenophobic sentiment of the Tokogawa Era only added to the strict view that Japanese had of individuality. The feeling was solidified during this time that to be different contrary to the good of society. The Bushido code of honor and loyalty in a sense dictated the conformity of the warrior class. To be different might have been seen as disrespectful to the lord Through the samurai the conformity of the peasant class was insured. The samurai led the conformity of the peasant class by example, and when necessary fear. Even today in Japan, much of the same sentiment can be felt. It is a direct result of the history of the country. In fact a common phrase used to scare school children in Japan is "The nail that sticks out gets hammered." Corporate Japan is still the most unchanging aspect of their society. Old conservatives that have become powerful business men control most of the industry in Japan. The are the modern equivalent