MY SAITAMA EXPERIENCE – A LIFE CHANGING PERSPECTIVE

First and Foremost, I would like to thank the Saitama government of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA for giving me the opportunity to travel to the country everyone knows as the “Land of the Rising Sun”, Japan.  Together with me where selected department chairs of the college of Engineering of the University of San Jose-Recoletos, selected faculty and chair from the college of Engineering from the University of San Carlos, selected graduating engineering students from USJR and USC.  I also would like to thank my dean, Dr. Virgilio Abellana, for selecting me as one of the department chairs to go to Japan, and the VP for Academics, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Bolilia, for giving the approval of our travel.

What makes this travel even worth thanking for, is that, we did not use money out of our own pockets.  Excluding the application for passport and Japanese Visa, all expenses were sponsored by JICA through the Saitama International Exchange Division.  From plane ticket fare for Cebu to Narita Airport and Vice Versa, to Hotel Accommodations, to meals, to transportation fares, and even allowances for daily and personal use during the length of the training, all have been covered by JICA.  This lifetime of ours is not enough to express our heartfelt gratitude to our very gracious hosts.  Still, we would like to say, DOMO ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!!!

The Saitama experience took place last October 19 to November 7, 2014.  Almost 3 weeks for the faculty on training.  While most people we know thought of our coming to Japan was just about relaxation and leisure, it was not as they thought of to be.  The travel was a training, a project named as “The Saitama-Cebu Comprehensive Monozukuri Project.”  The faculty and students were trained by being exposed, involved and witnessed the actual processes of different Japanese Small and Medium Enterprise or SMEs that follow the Monozukuri philosophy in their manufacturing process.  Aside from that, the learning of the Japanese culture, traditions, and practices were also of equally essential value, as most of these define the society that they have today.  Truly, there was a lot learned from the culture immersion and ‘Job-Shadowing’.

The students and faculty have different outcomes at the end of the training.  While both are anchored on having a very good reference to the book ‘Life in the Real World’ by Dr. Yoshida Yoshikazu of Toyo University, both groups have specific goals to attain.  While the student’s outcome was how much they have learned and being ready to apply it later by the time they will be working for a living, the instructors on the other hand were more on how they will be able to propagate teaching Japanese culture to a much larger group of learners (the other students).  The students will sooner also be employed to different companies, most especially Japanese ones.  These is being able to make them ready not only technically, but also guided with the right attitudes, virtues, and philosophy.  Or more importantly, they could be the next generation of teachers to teach the same philosophy.        

AS for me, my experience to that travel and training has changed a lot of perspective in life.  Some renewed, reactivated, while some needs to change to be able to sustain life, not only for me, but also for the rest of the community.  There has been a lot worth noting why they, Japan, as country, has been a very developed country, and in comparison why we are still a developing country.

I had my basic education at a Chinese school from my province.  We were exposed to the curriculum as standardized by our country’s Department of Education, and another which we considered as a Chinese curriculum.  The Chinese curriculum, so to speak, was much like the DepEd curriculum, however, it was taught in the Chinese language.  We learned how to read Chinese sentences, stories, books, write our Chinese formal themes, make our art the Chinese way, and even solve mathematical problems the Chinese way.  As a general impression by most people from the community, most students who came from Chinese schools are very good with mathematics, hence, they become very successful businessmen.  I am an exception though, as I chose to be an Engineering instructor.

But what I meant to stress by my being educated with the Chinese curriculum is not the reading, the writing, the solving of problems, but by what all our Chinese instructors teach us aside from the topic at hand.  They teach us about Confucius, Lao Tzu, Mencius.  They teach us about their philosophies, and living with those should make us successful persons.  There is discipline, respect, obedience, patience, virtue.  For nine years, we were made to experience those in many different ways, in a practical and effective way, not on theory, but definitely more on practice.

This is what I saw much in every Japanese person that we get to meet or acquainted with.  They do not just do it because of occasion, but they have been living with it.  The philosopher’s that I have mentioned earlier have given much influence in their community, as well as the influence of their Shinto religion.

Here are the most notable of their culture, practices, as witnessed by me, that I definitely conclude have contributed much to their state in the global world.

Japanese are Respectful people

Bowing is the most obvious exhibition of culture in Japan. It is an expression of humility.  It always indicate respect. Bowing has been very natural in Japan.  It has been ingrained in their culture and society.  It shows respect to the person or the thing you are bowing to.

They bow in many different occasions.  They bow when they make a greeting, when they make formal or casual introductions.  These cases normally require you to exchange with a bow also, to show appreciation to the person before you.

In stores, restaurants, it is common for staffs to bow to their customers, whether they come in or just about to leave.  From what I learned, they treat the customer as gods of some sorts (need to verify on these).

They do not bow only to people, but also to other things of spiritual relevance.  You would see a lot of them bowing to their different gods, mostly on shrines.

When they give thanks, or show apology, they usually give a speech first, then succeeded with a bow.

Bowing has been so ingrained in their culture, that even when they talk to someone on the phone, they still perform a bow, even though the person on the other side does not see him (an amazing fact).

Japanese are always ‘ON-TIME’

This aspect has been exhibited in so many ways as far as what I have seen.  Take the instance of observance of time.  They are always very particular of it.  They are either on-time or very early for the desired time of appointment or meeting.  They never go beyond the allocated time budget, so as not to affect the other scheduled activity.

Even their train arrival and departures are always on time.  A few seconds of being late for the desired trip, one will have to wait for next schedule.  And if that happens, the rest of the daily activities are either disrupted or delayed.

Japanese are Efficient People

There’s not too much ‘DOWN’ time with them as far as what I have observed.  In the grocery stores, line queueing at the cashier does not take long lines for a long time.  While a cashier is available to transact the purchase, putting the bought items into a bag is done at a designated area and done by the customers themselves.  This allows the cashier to do the same transaction process with the next customer immediately.  When there are more customers, some staff on duty will automatically go over to the other counters that are not in use to function as cashiers so as to entertain more customers.

When about to pay the bill after dining in a restaurant, the customer itself goes to the cashier area and pay the bill, contrary to other practices where you have to call the waiter to ask for the bill, wait for a time until it is given, pay through the waiter again, and wait for the change, if ever there is such.

One time, an event was taking place.  The first part was about student’s presentation, so the presentation area was arranged for that setting.  After the presentations, the culminating part is to follow, which needs a different setting.  In just a minute, the façade was changed.  Every Japanese near that area helped in the re-organizing, even those with respectable positions in their offices.  Quite contrary to what we have experienced in our setting, where we need to call someone else to do things like that kind of scenario or situation.

We had several experience involving the police.  No need to elaborate though.  The concerns were processed in less than 30 minutes, with desirable results.  This is not the case with our police here.  You know what I mean.

Technology and automation have further increased their already efficient persona.  In a type of restaurant, you just need to pay the amount to a food you want through a machine, and automatically you will be issued with a receipt indicating the food you want.  Upon entering the restaurant, you just give the receipt to the staff, and just a few minutes, you can start enjoying your meal.

Their cash registers, once bills are inserted and coins are dropped to the coin area, the register’s automated system processes fast computation and immediately gives change in an estimated time of less than 3 seconds.  That’s fast already as compared to a cashier doing manual entry of payment, opening the cash drawer, counting for the change.

As mentioned earlier, trains run fast, so as always keeping up with time.  Ticket of payments are convenient and fast, whether buying through their automated ticketing centers at the train systems, or whether using their specialized card upon entry and exit in their train stations.

During work times, the only long break they recognize is the lunch break.  There is no siesta time.  This equates to more task finished as there is not much distraction to work.

Japanese value their possessions

Some Japanese consider life and spirits in several inanimate objects.  These objects that they use naturally garner personal attachments.  There are several memories associated with the objects, and eventually become their way of life.  This is one aspect of the Japanese culture of having a sense of appreciation towards things.

This gave me an understanding from my watching of animes(Japanese animation) and reading of mangas(Japanese comics) from that past, that protagonist calls their weapons with names.  It is based on culture, the valuing of an object, not just as a thing, but a living spirit in it.  So whenever they give these objects to another, they still feel responsible to the object, and hope that the new individual having possession of it is able to utilize the value of its potential and does not get any discomfort or inconvenience.

This was our basis when we purchased items from their store named ‘Treasure Factory’.  The items on sale are bought from previous owners and sold to others.  Everything was in very good condition, and your money is worth buying the items on sale.

Japanese Love Nature

Though Japan is highly urbanized, as expected of a very developed country, you would wonder how possible it is that the metro area is surrounded still by forests, green lands, clean rivers, undisturbed hills.

This has a very strong basis in their ancient monozukuri philosophy.  Human beings make up the deficiency of the universe.  Instead of destroying the gifts of nature, helping the nature is the best option, by preserving and even improving it.  When making man-made objects, nature is tapped to perfect it.  Understand the purpose of nature.  Be one with nature.  Live with nature. 

One of the most impressive learning that we had was when we visited a road and bridge construction site.  It was the best learning that we had, not because of the how the road or the bridge was constructed, but how was it built to protect the natural inhabitants of that area affected.  The road was of high importance for Japan, yet nature was considered and valued as such. 

A design for road and bridge was already in place.  Before construction was in full blast, they made an inventory of the plants, animals, and state of the river in that area.  From that, they found out there were a lot of almost endangered species living in that area, and it is only in that area of Japan where it exists, so it has to be protected.

The residents, together with the Japanese government, the construction company, the industries that are located nearby, worked together so as to protect and maintain the current ecosystem in the area.

When we visited the site, we were requested to blow-off necessary dusts in our pants and shoes so that foreign bodies like unwanted organisms may not be able to survive in that area.  The construction site needs heavy equipment, but to protect the current state of the land and avoid much dust, metal plates were placed over the ground, so that machines, shoes and other things will not get into direct contact with the protected ground.  We even wondered why some residents pulled several plants with beautiful flowers.  It was then later during the lecture that those are considered as ‘alien’ species, and does not need to reside in that protected area.

They understand nature.  They know the purpose of nature.  They intend to be ONE with nature.

Urbanization and modernization have grown together with Nature in Japan.

Japanese value their past

Their history as a nation and as a country have been well documented, and preserved.  They honor very important people in their history.  They made museums and monuments in honor of them, for the contributions that they bring that brought glory to Japan.

The past brings a lot of lessons.  Some are desirable, some are not.  It is important to learn the lessons of the past.  Not to commit the same mistakes, uphold those that are righteous and worth living for.

This are evident of the several museums, heritage sites, and temples that they have.  All have been preserved, and most have existed for already hundreds of years.  Those places tell the story of Japan, from their hardships, to their renaissance, to their growth as a country.

Most noteworthy places we’ve been for me are the Tomioka Silk Mill, the first School of Confucius at Ashikaga, the Industrial Museum at Nippon Institute of Technology, the EDO-Tokyo Museum.

Other things Japanese do that is worth Noting

The Japanese are very hospitable.  They provide you with anything, and make sure that you are always comfortable with whatever you do.

When you leave the place you have visited, where usually a high ranking person in that office or company have welcomed you, they exhibit a very admirable act of graciousness.  They form an arrangement, where the highest ranking is the one in front, followed by those in lesser ranking in observance with hierarchy.  As you leave, together they all bow at you, stands up to upright position and waves until eye contact with almost everyone are out of sight.

They observe traffic rules with utmost obedience.  Even though when there are no vehicles passing by, they never attempt to cross the street until such time the walk sign gives its go signal.  They only cross the street at appropriate pedestrian lanes. 

They prefer to walk when distances are not that far.  Even older people walk faster than us.  A lot use bicycle as their means of transportation.  This is one reason why most Japanese are really healthy.  They burn a lot calories and do a lot of cardio while leaving for work or school and going back home.

In Conclusion

Japan has attained success and stability as a country not because they are highly modernized, not because they have companies leading in the world market, or providing services and items to other companies worldwide, not because they are a country of four seasons.  Japan has succeeded with one very essential aspect, the Japanese as a person himself.

A Japanese individual possess the qualities that I have mentioned: disciplined, respectful, efficient, value their possessions, value their past, value for nature.  A community’s fundamental unit is an individual.  With those basic qualities, there is respect, love and harmony to everyone.  They have been taught early of the right philosophies.  They have been living through with the practical philosophies.  As they live harmoniously with one another, the live harmoniously as a nation, as a country.

Japan is a model for a country like us, the Philippines.  To succeed as a nation, to be with more good values and virtue, we need to live and act like what the Japanese do.

This is a challenge, not only for me, but all the other co-trainees during the immersed training.  Already embedded our own set of culture, a paradigm shift might be too herculean to take.

In the words of Confucius, one of Japan;s influences, he said “To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.”

True.  To change the world cannot be done overnight.  It has to go into single but continuing steps of improvement. 

This has to start with me.  Then to my family.  Then to my community.  The community shall itself be responsible for nation building.

 

A tough task to follow.  It may take more out of me.  Not just being an engineering instructor, but a life instructor.  This is a challenge, a challenge I am willing to take.  A challenge that someday may be the catalyst for change, not necessarily by me, but for those who would follow the path and be willing to change the lives of everyone else.

My life’s perspective have been changed.  I hope to affect someone else.