Is Japan Part of Asia - Article Example

Is Japan part of Asia? Is Japan part of Asia? The country forms part of Eastern Asia bordered by North of Pacific Ocean and Japan Sea. It is within coordinates 3600 north and 13800 East covering a total area of 377835 square kilometres (Zikmund, Babin, Carr, & Griffin, 2012). Physically, Japan has no any attachment to China or Mongolia but it is part of Asia continent even if it is not part of mainland Asia. This is because Japan shares many things with Asia continent even though it has its own character. The orientation of Japan, culture and history is a typical Asia mainland. This is an impression that it is part of Asia. However, the divergent opinion on exactly the location of Japan arose in the 19th century as asserted by Ferdinand (2007, p. 655). A Japanese scholar suggested for Japan to break away from the rest of Asia in order to join their more developed imperial powers during that time. This concept historically ‘betrayed’ Japan and hence the origin of different opinions whether Japan is part of Asia. This paper present a discussion on Japan’s locality, politics, business, education, spiritual life, families and working aspects of Japan. Political aspects The political organization of Japan was by a succession of Monarchs just like in many countries of Asia. The common citizen did not own properties or had no human rights but in the name of the ruling family. The status quo of one family would continue unless another powerful family overthrew it (Steiner, Krauss& Flanagan, 2014, p. 479). This system of government was common in other Asian countries like China, which had empiric system of government. Development in political structure of many nations has been in place over the years. For example, Japan developed a new form of government as a result its growth of economy. The new form of government of Japan instead of monarchy system provided a better way of managing their influx of capital. Their economy continued to grow almost the same rate as most Asian countries an indication that Japan is part of Asia continent. After the Second World War, most countries surrendered to build a new political system. Japan and other allied countries of Asia adopted a democratic government where the nation is ruled by two houses of the parliament. The system of government, diet was common in many Asian countries including Japan in the 1940s. The new political system required countries to build their electoral process through which they could select their leaders of choice (Steiner, Krauss & Flanagan, 2014). The Japanese Diet system of governance declared that the emperor was the symbol of state. Today, many systems of government vest powers in the cabinet who is an appointee of the prime minister. Most countries in Asia have Diet system of government just like Japan and this shows that Japan have its influence from mainland countries in Asia. Business activities Japan has become one of the toughest markets to enter globally. Its market is very competitive and new investors find it difficult to operate in due to its fast growth in economy. Japan economy is free with no restrictions. Its economy improves in labour freedom, business freedom and trade freedom, aspects that are prerequisite for an economic gain. Japan has an enthusiasm relation with other countries in the region in business issues, which hold back for economic freedom and growth (Zikmund, Babin, Carr & Griffin, 2012). The freedom in business issues of Japan with other nations within the region is to incorporate business from other regions or nations. The incorporation is to streamline business and at the same time discourage entrepreneur growths. This encourages the outward trade and at the same time regulates internal growth (Zikmund, Babin, Carr& Griffin, 2012). However, the government may subsidize numerous industries and sectors, but market forces normally set their prices. Japan imposes low tariff on goods during its regional trade. This indicates that Japan belongs to a specific trade region, which is composed of Asian continent countries where Japan is part of it. Japanese culture of doing business is unique and is characteristic of most Asian countries, which is an indication that they share the same culture except that they are physically apart. The aspects of politeness and manners among Japanese people is also common other Asian countries. The shared attributes, goals and practices of Japan is also a characteristics of other Asian countries. These are the qualities of developing a good business environment, which is important for business growth and prosperity as dominant in Japan. This also explains the great extent of a Japanese man and his family socially ranked by reputation of the company or business he works for as well the position he has in the company. Education system The educational system of Japan was reformed after the World War II with reference to the American system. Japan has a standard of education because of the constant checks on curriculum, textbooks and classes by the ministry of Education of Japan (Postiglione and Tan, 2007, p. 142). Most schools in Japan operate on a three-term system with New Year beginning in April. In comparison, most countries in Asia have the same education system. That shows this indicates that Asian countries, where Japan included have a common influence because of one continent members state. Through an educational system, learn about traditional Japanese arts like shodo and haiku. In shodo, involves writing characters used in several East Asian countries using brush dipped in ink. These characters have their own meaning and used by the Japanese people and other people found in East Asian countries. This educational practice system is common in most Eastern Asian countries including Japan. The similarity in the education system and common language character used by these people indicates that Japan and other East Asian countries are in the same continent but physically separated. In Japan and other Asian countries, there is successful reformation in education. These countries believe in building strong traditional values through achieving a high quality education system. The government through relevant authorities encourage students to think independently in coming up solutions to solve problems. The common educational reformation dominant in Japan and other East Asian countries explains why students from these countries have requisite skills in tackling the problems of 21st century as proposed by Thomas and Postlethwaite (2014). Spiritual life As asserted by Ando et al (2010, p. 885), the religious outlook of Japanese can easily be seen by looking at the daily activities of Japanese people. Some of these elements include attending memorial services at family temple, praying before Buddhist altar and visiting graves during spring and autumn among others. Those Japanese who are Christians hold their celebrations to mark the occasions. There are many religious festivals that have been turned into popular events, which mark certain general celebrations. This is not only common in Japan alone but also witnesses in neighbouring countries that are part of Asian continents. Japan and other Asian countries have forgotten how to pray for the general god. This is because of lack of closely examining their religious beliefs. Most of these people have associated themselves with traditional religions without understanding their relationship with God. Majority of Asian countries have no systematic thoughts in connection with one religion (Ando et al, 2010, p. 885). The lack of a common religious faith leads the people into superficial practices and only makes a wish when they have trouble. The historical shifts in Japan led to people practicing many elements of faiths because of public distrust in traditional religion. Japanese believed that their natural environment was initially a dwelling place of their god and spirit. Japanese considered all the mountains, impressive trees and streams with respects because these places were sacred. These places as they believed would watch over human affairs and refrain from causing natural disasters on the people. Japanese also offered rituals at these sacred places because they believed this would ensure political unity. In addition to Japanese beliefs origin, other beliefs such as from Chinese have predisposed the approach in which Japanese view the world. Working life As asserted by Tanaka et al (2011, p. 12), Japan is a labour intensive just like China. This is because they produce goods that are labour intensive rather than being capital intensive. The Japanese workers are famous for their inexhaustible dedication and their ability to work for long hours. The ability and zeal to work for long hours is culture exhibited by most Asian countries. The dedication exhibited by these people is an indication that they share a common culture and hence dominate the same continent. There is a nation-wide push to get more women into the workforce by many countries in Asia. Japanese chose to quite their job in order to engage in other domestic chores. Japanese women believe to have a role outside the home (Tanaka et al, 2011). Their women do most of the domestic work other than going to work in companies. They also use the internet more frequently compared to other women from Asian countries. Therefore, most activities of Japanese people are similar to most Asian countries. This is an indication that Japan shares a lot with Asian countries even if Japan is physically detached from Asian continent. Therefore, Japan is part Asia because they share culture, political system, religious beliefs, working life, household and family aspects among other aspects with Asian countries. Bibliography Ando, M, Morita, T, Okamoto, T, & Ninosaka, Y., 2008, One-week Short-Term Life Review interview can improve spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients, Psycho-Oncology, 17, 9, pp. 885-890, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 April 2015. De Bary, W. T., Gluck, C., Tiedemann, A. E., Boot, W. J. J., & Bodiford, W. M. (2006). Sources of Japanese tradition. Volume two ... abridged Volume two. 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