Japanese Culture

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anyone else notice japanese culture has asperger characteristics.

what exactly do you mean?

i guess what im trying to say is that it seems like a aspie could be better understood and accepted in a japanese society this is merely from observation i have no experience with this just a theory.

In some ways yes, in other ways no.


They are very stoic and open displays of emotion are culturally repressed.

However to compensate for this, there seems to be much more subtle non-verbal cues and social rituals that would confuse someone with AS.

i guess what im trying to say is that it seems like a aspie could be better understood and accepted in a japanese society this is merely from observation i have no experience with this just a theory.

oh i see i think i know what your saying

maybe in old style Japanese culture. As a female aspie, Id find moving to Japan as not fun. The girls around my age seem to be super cutesy, airheaded, submissive and materialistic. Where I live, I see a lot of Japanese tourist, the girls...ick. Ok I'd imagine some aspie guys might really like that. But as a fellow female, i wouldnt really care for the excessive ditziness.

idk i guess i posted this because i can really relate to asian culture

I lived in Japan for a year as part of my job and you might want to read up on Omote/Ura before you make a conclusion about how easy it would be for someone with AS to live there. If you're making an idiot out of yourself (by either not following custom, or by following horribly outdated customs), it can take months before anyone (who's a non-Westerner) draws it to your attention. It's considered socially impolite to point out if your behavior comes across as abrasive or offensive; so if there's a misunderstanding, you may never get to explain yourself, that person will find ways to politely avoid you in the future.

I loved living there, but social rituals there are equally complex to the ones in the Western world, they just may not seem so to an outsider. Just don't assume that the Japanese behave like Western AS or NTs as a group, and understand that regardless of their homogeneous society, they all behave differently as individuals too.

I'd love to go to Japan and polish my language skills, because to become fluent, total immersion in the language and culture are necessary. But there's a little thing called Hikikomori, which I fear I might fall subject to if exposed to Japanese society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori

Also, take note of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori#PDDs_and_autism_spectrum_disorders

I couldn't agree more. That's why I've built a mini immersion environment in my bedroom, on my iPod, and with every other controllable aspect of my life. and it's paid off! だって今すぐペラペラになる!…　いや、まだまだ、先は長いだから。

I think Germany would be an aspie friendly country too.

...But you posted "Japanese culture."

Also, "relating to Asian culture" is an incredibly broad statement.
Afghani culture pertains to "Asian culture", as does Chinese culture... yet they are worlds apart in terms of differences.

May have misinterpreted the context of what you were saying, but were you relating the "mini immersion environment" to Japanese culture, or the ways of 引き籠もり?

I lived in Japan for a year. While I'm not a 100% bonafide Aspie, I still have my fair share of social troubles. I had trouble there, despite studying the culture for many years and being close to fluent in the language.

What I can tell you is that Japanese culture is somewhat Aspie friendly and somewhat not at the same time. It has its pros and its cons. I made the mistake of thinking that it was the place where I'd finally "belong". I found that I was mistaken, though it was a nice place nonetheless. When I came home, I was glad that I didn't live there permanently.

Reasons why it might be are that the environment is usually kept fairly clean, tiny, and quiet. Trains run on schedule most of the time and there is a certain level of exactness in the way people go about their lives. New technologies are usually welcomed with open arms. Everything is pretty strict and structured. There are lots of rules to follow, including lots of 'set phrases' when you speak. If you memorize those, you can pass for competent in many situations.

Reasons why it might not be are that the communication style is anything but straightforward. People do not tell you the truth very often there. It is almost always said indirectly, especially if it is an insult. There are different levels of politeness depending on who you talk to. If you speak to a superior, you must be polite. Sometimes even tiny gestures can be construed as rude. A lot of the communication that goes on is left unspoken. Often it is not what you are doing but what you are not doing that gets you into trouble.

As a foreigner, you will be given some leeway that they probably would not do if you were Japanese or were of Asian descent. If you are, then you may experience an even greater amount of prejudice there because people will assume that you know the rules and are therefore breaking them knowingly. You should know better, in other words.

Additionally, there is also a lot of bullying that goes on, at the highschool level, college, and later in the workplace. Most of it is hushed up, so if you experience it, there is probably not much help available. Same goes with cases of domestic abuse or racism.. much of it goes unreported to the police.

I feel like I would've gotten along better if I were NOT as aware as I am about the language and social rules. Everyone's experience will be different. I enjoyed myself overall and I love the country still, but it was by no means paradise. No place is perfect. So long as you understand that, you will do fine.

Anyhow, though... I would urge you to go there and see for yourself. It's always good to make up your own mind about how it is over there.

I definitely ran into this as well. Most of the Japanese girls I met were not interested in having philosophical discussions or anything serious. They were more interested in clothes, make-up, gossip, and celebrities... same stuff they are into over there. Even the guys are extremely interested in "facade". In Japan, it is all about "image"-- how you appear to people. I've noticed that they tend to care more about how they look doing something more than they care actually doing the task well or efficiently. For example, if you are student, you go to the library and study. It doesn't matter if you just go there to sleep. So long as you can say "I was in the library", that is all that matters. In other words, so long as you LOOK like you are doing the job properly, that is what matters. Obviously it is more complex than that, but that was one trend that I noticed.