Japan - Culture Smart!

Culture Smart guides help travellers have a more meaningful and successful time abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on values, attitudes, customs, and daily life will help you make the most of your visit, while tips on etiquette and communication will help you navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

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Culture Smart! Japan will guide you through modern Japan's shifting social and cultural maze. It provides invaluable insights into people's attitudes and behavior, and practical tips to help make your visit to this complex, rich, and dynamic society a mutually rewarding experience. Today Japan is at a crossroads. The postwar economic miracle is over and the balance of power in Asia is shifting as new players enter the field. The bedrock of traditional Japanese culture its remarkable resilience, coherence, and consensus-based philosophy, underpinned by many protocols until recently regarded by some as a hindrance, is starting to look like a virtue in a world of accelerating change. Japan remains the world's third-largest economy and one of the most attractive and secure destinations for investment. The younger generation is outward-looking, Japanese women have a new confidence, and the country's technical and scientific research capability is as good as it gets. Japan continues to excel at innovation in technology and the "new" sciences, and is among the world's largest funders in research as a percentage of GDP.