The Japanese lifestyle has pushed forward, and changed society a lot that is Japanese. Japan with all its traditional socio-cultural characteristics gradually found its identity in another form. Nonetheless, modern Japanese companies reflect traditional families. Although the notion of kinship in Japanese society demands loyalty from family members, the role of the household in Japan shapes the independent nature of society. The nature of autonomy (self-reliance) Japanese people are common.
Healthy and modern Japanese lifestyle
Loyalty in Japan also implies not only passive obedience, but active devotion and achievement. In Japan, there is a tradition of achievement. Personal achievements are carried out in order to support group self-esteem. Another value related to Japanese family life is harmony. This trait is obtained through a process of mutual understanding that is achieved through deliberation and joint work.
How do Japanese people live a healthy lifestyle?
Japanese people have a healthy lifestyle so they become a society with a high life expectancy. Some of the healthy lifestyles of Japanese people that we know include eating natural food products, such as fresh seafood, nuts, and fermented products. They also often consume green tea without sugar. In addition to healthy eating and drinking habits, Japanese people also have other good habits. Japanese people really like to walk or bike to the place of activity. It has become a part of their daily life. Good physical activity is considered as an effort to prevent disease. Japanese people have an orientation to think that preventing disease is better than treating it.
Japanese people are diligent in doing physical activity
If we observe the daily life of Japanese people, we will find that they really like to walk. Japanese people walk from home to the station, from the station to the office, or to school. Even many elderly people like to walk, to shop or to go somewhere. Of course, the love of walking is supported by Japan as a country that has a strict policy on vehicle ownership. Getting a driver’s license is not easy. This encourages Japanese people to prefer walking or cycling then using public transportation. The Japanese government’s attention to providing proper public transportation, comfortable walking and cycling paths has contributed to encouraging people to enjoy walking and cycling. As a result, Japanese people have become accustomed to doing physical activity, and this habit also helps create an environment that is minimally polluted by vehicles.
Japanese people have a healthy food pattern
Japanese people have a tendency to consume natural foods, not processed foods with preservatives. The Japanese process their food in a simple way, so that the basic ingredients are maintained. It is not uncommon for Japanese people to eat fish and vegetables raw. Therefore, the freshness of the basic ingredients is very concerned. Food that is often consumed by Japanese people also has a good balance. Carbohydrates from rice, protein from fish and beans, vegetables from salads, and fermented foods that contain good bacteria that can improve digestion, such as miso, natto, tofu, and shoyu.
Japanese people always keep cleanliness
A clean lifestyle in Japanese society begins early in the family and school environment. At home, Japanese families are used to separating garbage. Garbage disposal is properly managed in accordance with city government guidelines. Garbage that has not been disposed of in accordance with government regulations and residents who have not been warned will not be transported. At school, Japanese children are also used to cleaning the classroom and other spaces in school. The awareness that schools are shared property that must be taken care of together has encouraged Japanese children to work together to maintain the cleanliness of the places they share. In public places such as city streets, parks, or shops, Japan does not provide many trash cans. This shows that privately owned waste is one’s own responsibility, so that waste cannot be disposed of easily in public places. The garbage is taken home and disposed of in their respective homes.
The Japanese traditional lifestyle that made it successful getting organized
Japanese people are known to be diligent, tenacious, and have high discipline. In Japanese life, there are interactions that are intertwined either directly or indirectly, most agree with this assumption. However, does our perception of these traits also represent the character of Japanese society as a whole? And what are really the characteristics of Japanese society?
The Bushidou Principles shape a Stronger Japanese society
The principle of Bushidou is closely related to the teachings of Zen Buddhism, it enhances the attitude of maintaining harmony with the universe, especially with the natural environment. Harmony is sought to achieve serenity, simplicity, and beauty. This teaching was applied to the samurai and enabled the samurai to be calm and ready to perform the assigned task without fear. The most fundamental in the Bushidou principle is the teaching to always live honestly with yourself. Now it can be said that Bushidou is the personality of the Japanese nation.
The Kaizen principle has a consistent and continuous spirit
Kaizen is a traditional Japanese principle that Japan is slowly advancing to create a Japanese habit in the Kaizen lifestyle that lasts longer than big changes. The Kaizen lifestyle emphasizes small and constant changes, the Kaizen lifestyle makes people discipline over time and small things that they slowly change, because the Kaizen principle focuses on continuous quality improvement. The Japanese who adopt the Kaizen lifestyle always try to have a desire to learn every days, for the Japanese learning doesn’t just happen in a formal way like in school or university classes, but it can also be about how to learns from mistakes, experiences, stories. learn from other people, and also learn from other people’s stories. This could be reading a book, watching a movie, anime, or watching someone’s vlog.
The principle of Ikigai is the art of self-discovery
Ikigai comes from the Japanese term “iki” meaning life and “gai” meaning reasons or value. Ikigai is a concept of Japanese thought that can explain the joys and meaning of life. Ikigai can be used in a broader context. Besides big goals or achievements, ikigai can also be seen as a small beginning in everyday life, in other words, ikigai is a democratic concept and embedded in the celebration of the diversity of life. Ikigai is defined as a type of happiness that is accompanied by the idea of moving toward the future despite a state of suffering, so a person tends to see the current situation as more of a way forward and making sense of the present moment to find.
Japan’s increasingly globalized lifestyle and culture
The role of the media and information technology has resulted in Japanese culture spreading around the world. The media landscapes of Japanese mass culture or popular culture are very influential in different parts of the world. For example, the commercialization of anime culture, comics, otaku culture, which is multiplying in different parts of Asia, including America and Europe. This is an example that the flow of cultures is not only unidirectional from the West to different regions of the world, but can also be carried from the East to different parts of the world. Japanese culture, such as anime, manga, and drama, can be categorized as fun that people feel happy and don’t feel burdened when enjoying Japanese culture because they like the culture of Japan.