cultural differences/ the language of trends/ UK and Japanese culture
Choose one of the topics below. Describe past, present and future changes in life, values, society etc in your country related to that point, and see if your partner has questions and comments. Then take turns doing the same with different topics from the list.
accommodation
appearance
arts and media
body language and gestures
business and economics
character/ personality
dangers/ things to be careful about
discrimination/ equal rights
drinking, smoking and drugs
education
etiquette/ manners/ taboos
festivals and celebrations
food and drink
free time/ hobbies/ leisure
health and welfare
holidays
international relations
language/ dialects
law
nightlife/ socialising
politics
problems
relationships
religion
shopping
sports and games
transport and travel
When you need to or when your teacher tells you to, look below for more ideas.
When your teacher tells you to, describe one trend and see if the class has questions and/ or comments.
Ask about any topics you aren’t sure about, working together to describe related trends each time.
Suggested subtopics
| Japanese accommodation | British accommodation | |
| folding screens guarantors hanging scrolls heated table heavy tiled roofs – thatched roofs household shrines key money miniature trees “rabbit hutches” rush matting sliding screens small wooden houses squat toilet tiny trees traditional gardens waxed paper windows | (thatched) cottages bungalows buy to rent council estates mortgage defaults mortgages second homes/ holiday homes semis | |
| Japanese appearance | British appearance | |
| grey suits netsuke parasols sailor suits straight black hair traditional clothes trying to keep pale skin white shirts wooden clogs | kilts mohicans obesity piercings pin-striped suits punks Saville Row suits skinheads tattoos three-piece suits | |
| Japanese arts and media | British arts and media | |
| animation/ cartoons comics calligraphy crazy game shows crazy pop stars lacquer boxes scrolls | broadsheets graffiti indie/ Britpop nature documentaries public television tabloids terrestrial television | |
| Japanese body language and gestures | British body language and gestures | |
| avoiding eye contact bowing hiding your mouth when you laugh kowtowing | shaking hands minimal body contact | |
| Japanese business and economics | British business and economics | |
| being moved from department to department bureaucracy/ paperwork business entertaining close relationships between government and business conglomerates/ cross shareholding consensus building continuous improvement death by overwork drinking with colleagues (= co-workers) enterprise unions graduate recruits in April group calisthenics at the beginning of the day humour in meetings and presentations interrupting lifetime employment moving without your family old school tie people speaking out in meetings public apologies punctuality rubberstamp meetings seasonal gift giving seniority-based pay/ promotion shareholder activism unpaid overtime use of business cards using (just) family names names waiting for your boss to leave first | bankers’ bonuses freelancer hot desking partnerships performance-related pay reputation of bankers the financial sector The FTSE working 9 to 5 year out | |
| Japanese character/ personality | British character/ personality | |
| being conservative being creative being dynamic/ being a self-starter – being passive being hardworking being indirect/ diplomatic being law abiding being polite (= having good manners) being punctual/ reliable being serious being shy geeks/ nerds importance of harmony perseverance putting hard work before results respecting elders the way of the warrior | being indirect being polite being reserved | |
| Japanese dangers/ things to be careful about | British dangers/ things to be careful about | |
| Japanese mafia pollution | ||
| Japanese discrimination/ equal rights | British discrimination/ equal rights | |
| burakumin “Japanese only” “Office ladies” | “gay mafia” position of BME people position of LGBT people | |
| Japanese drinking, smoking and drugs | British drinking, smoking and drugs | |
| rice wine drunk salarymen | (real) ale e-cigarettes/ vaping fags/ ciggies getting wasted/ plastered hard drugs offies soft drugs | |
| Japanese education | British education | |
| abacus calligraphy children cleaning the classroom cram schools discipline problems good at maths and science importance of the university you go to importance of university entrance tests nationalistic history textbooks postgraduate studies (e.g. MBAs) respect for teachers rote learning/ memorising single-sex schools – co-ed schools sailor suits strict school rules Saturday classes | Oxbridge PhDs public schools the OU | |
| Japanese etiquette/ manners/ taboos | British etiquette/ manners/ taboos | |
| polite forms of words respect for the elderly slurping | being a gentleman queuing the magic word | |
| Japanese festivals and celebrations | British festivals and celebrations | |
| cherry blossom viewing parties Christian weddings fireworks first prayers of the New Year lunar New Year/ Chinese New Year portable shrines processions summer festivals traditional music (drumming etc) traditional weddings | buying poppies for Remembrance Day celebrating Bonfire Night/ Guy Fawkes Night christenings/ baptisms hen nights/ stag nights traditional weddings visitors to Notting Hill Carnival | |
| Japanese food and drink | British food and drink | |
| Chinese dumplings (dim sum, “potstickers”, etc) Japanese-style pickles Western food bean curd carefully prepared lunchboxes chewy rice cake conveyor belt sushi bars cooking over charcoal dried mushrooms fermented soy beans green tea/ powdered green tea healthy food horse meat miso soup noodles/ pot noodles pickled plums pouring drinks for yourself raw fish red bean jam desserts rice balls rice crackers seaweed shaved ice with sweet toppings soy sauce traditional breakfast traditional spirits tripe (kidneys, liver, guts, etc) using chopsticks vegetarian food white rice | caf/ greasy spoon crisps curry houses English breakfast/ full English fried food gastropub halal food high tea porridge Sunday roast vegans | |
| Japanese free time/ hobbies/ leisure | British free time/ hobbies/ leisure | |
| golf hot springs/ public baths karaoke martial arts traditional flower arrangement | DIY | |
| Japanese health and welfare | British health and welfare | |
| colon cancer shiatsu massage | heart attacks high blood pressure obesity strokes the dole | |
| Japanese holidays | British holidays | |
| large group tours whistlestop tours of Europe | celebrating Easter celebrating religious holidays glamping pebbly beaches staying in B&Bs winter sun holidays | |
| Japanese international relations | British international relations | |
| relations with China relations with South Korea support for the security pact with America tensions of the Senkaku Islands | The Special Relationship | |
| Japanese language/ dialects | British language/ dialects | |
| Ainu Chinese characters dialects/ accents Janglish (English made in Japan) Okinawan polite language (honorifics etc) regional dialects | cockney Gaelic Queen’s English/ Oxford English/ RP Welsh | |
| Japanese law | British law | |
| being law abiding Japanese mafia | bobby on the beat | |
| Japanese nightlife/ socialising | British nightlife/ socialising | |
| hostess bars | all-nighters clubbing | |
| Japanese politics | British politics | |
| bureaucrats/ public servants Communist Party support for changing the constitution (Article 9 etc) power of the Diet popularity of the Emperor and heir support for the LDP | popularity of the Prince of Wales The Lib Dems The Tories UKIP | |
| Japanese problems | British problems | |
| hikikomori karoshi suicide | riots strikes teenage pregnancies | |
| Japanese relationships | British relationships | |
| arranged marriages distant fathers group dating match makers neighbourhood associations | living together/ unmarried couples sleeping around | |
| Japanese religion | British religion |
| Buddhism/ Zen Buddhism cleaning graves/ tending to graves Confucianism cults going to Buddhist temples/ Shinto shrines praying to ancestors Shinto superstitions (lucky charms etc) | atheism New Age the C of E |
| Japanese shopping | British shopping |
| department store basements the customer is king | corner shops Harrods M&S Tesco |
| Japanese sports and games | British sports and games |
| martial arts sumo wrestling | cricket football hooligans footie rugger |
| Japanese transport and travel | British transport and travel |
| being pushed onto trains bullet trains domestic cars electric bikes jumping in front of trains packed trains raised expressways rickshaws taxis with automatic back doors trains being late two-car families women’s shopper bikes | black cabs Boris bikes British cars building motorways clamping double decker buses National Express roundabouts unreliable trains using motorways using the Tube |
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