to outside countries. However, this feeling of superiority
does not stop them from being careful. "This is probably because the Japanese
know their economic house is on shaky ground, literally. Japan is eternally at
nature's mercy, vulnerable to the sea that surrounds it, to earthquakes of the
soil beneath it and a real shortage of raw materials, particularly food and
fuel."3 A period of extended isolation could be disastrous to the country.
Japan's trade surplus is its only generator of wealth. This is a fact of life
that is preached through the media and taught constantly to Japanese throughout
their lives in school, from parents, and when they enter the working world. The
message is clear: Japan is always vulnerable, we must protect her. "Obsessed
with national character, the Japanese are proud and ambitious, constantly
measuring themselves against the world's best and biggest. Accordingly, one of
the main sources of Japan's strength is its people's willingness to sacrifice,
to be regimented and homogenized, and to subordinate personal desires to the
harmony of the working group."4 The Japanese people have had to become a group-
oriented society. While in the western world, individuality and independence are
highly valued, Japanese society emphasizes group activity and organization. The
people accept that they will belong to one social group and work for one company
for life. The crowded island conditions have driven society to value conformity.
"The highest priority is placed on WA, or harmony."5 The Japanese have learned
to share their limited space and value the precious distance between themselves
and others. The culture that Japanese people are brought up in causes them to
recognize that they have to work together to succeed. Only harmony will provide
...