Nader Sammouri

The ‘clash of cultures’ is an interesting phenomenon where diverging customs, attitudes, morals, opinions of two dissimilar cultures become revealed.

Arab News Japan spoke with three Japanese people that either live in the Middle East or have developed an interest for the region about their experiences. Their comments have been lightly edited to showcase the differences that exist between the two cultures, and the view that they have obtained about the region as a result.

A particular dissimilarity between the Japanese and Middle Eastern culture, according to a Japanese that resides in Lebanon, is the lack of assistance in the provision of directions to pedestrians.

“A car crash occurred close to me in Beirut one time, and the drivers stood in front of each other violently screaming. Neither was interested in listening to the other. It seemed like a battle of sound, or at least it sounded like that because of my lack of Arabic comprehension. To me, Arabic speech in itself sounded like an argument. Perhaps it was a cultural thing that I wasn’t used to, but what really bothers me about my many years of experience in Lebanon is the misguidance I receive in directions. One person, for example, may guide me to the right. Upon asking another person for directions, they point me in the absolute opposite direction. I was like ‘びっくりした (Bikkurishita),’ the Japanese expression for ‘surprised.’ Where is the right way?” said the Japanese resident.

“In Japan, locals tend to assume that if someone is asking for directions, one probably needs to be guided step by step. On that basis, people usually tend to provide the full details, or if possible, walk the person towards their destination. I think the reason is that Japanese culture strongly emphasizes putting oneself in the other person’s shoes,” the resident added.

Japan has a “やり方 (Yarikata)” for almost everything, which means that there is a certain way of doing something, whether it is greeting someone or guiding them. In this end, matters are rarely as spontaneous as what Japanese people experience in the Middle East, explaining the difference in attitudes. Although many Japanese people might enjoy the impulsive spirit exhibited by many Arabs, it may also be perceived as “chaotic.”

“I admired how my neighbor once kindly sacrificed her voice for me as she screamed out of her living room window to stop the bus so that I could catch it, and he did stop! But the price? No actual bus stops. The only stops that occur to a bus are when the driver meets a fellow friend. One time our driver threw some beans at his colleague and they both laughed cheerfully. While I was worried whether I will be on time, their act made me feel a nice warmth,” revealed the Japanese resident of Lebanon.

The inexistence of bus stops in Lebanon, and the lack of formality in the stops taken by a public bus can easily be contrasted with the existence of bus stops and pre-planned routes attributed to buses in Japan.

Mika Miyoshi, a Japanese multicultural consultant discussed how her love of exploring different cuisines allowed her to become fascinated with the Middle Eastern culture, and how the perception of people from the region are often built upon pre-conceived notions obtained from media outlets.

“I live in Tokyo and love Arab cuisine. I frequently visit Arab restaurants and food vendors from time to time and chat with the owners. Through that, I’ve met people from Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. They tend to announce how their people have a great image of the Japanese (I think they’re honest, not because I am a customer). They also discuss the popularity of Japanese subcultures. They mention Japanese dramas, such as ‘おしん (Oshin),’ and anime, like ‘ナルト(Naruto),” Miyoshi said.

“Many of the people that I have met from the Middle East were familiar with numerous Japanese anime characters with Grendizer and ‘キャプテン翼 or Captain Tsubasa’ who is known as Captain Majed in the Middle East,” Miyoshi said.

“There is a limited presence of people from the Middle East within our Japanese society, so it is fair to say that most Japanese people are not well-informed about Middle Easterners and their cultures. In my case, I have friends from those areas, so I have a better understanding of Arab people than the average Japanese. Some people may think that Arabs in Tokyo are super-rich, but I believe this is a biased image. Others may have been influenced by American TV dramas, and their immersion might have influenced them to think of Arabs as bad or violent people because of the way they are being represented. Personally, I tend to hear about the good characteristics of people from the Middle East,” said Miyoshi.

Kai Ishigami, a Japanese student that attended the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon from 2016 to 2020 elaborated on her experiences during her time at the institution and commented on the ideologies she developed about the culture through iteractions made with  young people in Lebanon.

“I believe each person has specific characteristics, and it does not always depend on their nationalities. I truly appreciate the people that I have met from the Middle East. In my time there, I was supported, welcomed, and assisted in so many ways. Since I lived in a university dormitory, I closely interacted with the students that resided there, some of which were my roommates. My first roommate showed me around Beirut, and often took me to local Lebanese restaurants. Moreover, we went to grocery stores almost every weekend to get our daily necessities. The first thing that I noticed about Lebanese people is that they are quite friendly and welcoming even though I am a foreigner,” Ishigami said.

While the observations made by three Japanese people about the Middle Eastern culture do not constitute a representative sample of the population’s perception, their experiences reveal specific differences between both cultures that were obtained through a first-hand perspective and provide individuals with a glimpse of how foreigners, who are alienated from their original society, learn to establish themselves within new environments while simultaneously evaluating the ways in which it contrasts from their own.