Before I say anything more, I should say that everyone is working very hard to get things back to normal. There is a strong sense of need to help in any way possible. I also realize that it is against Japanese culture to display emotion, especially while other people are also suffering. Many people are managing to be strong and brave the difficulties they are facing. And I think most would agree that it wouldn't help if people were just sitting around focused on the dim future ahead of them and spending all day crying. And someone certainly has to do the difficult jobs that lay ahead for Japan.
However, I recently read this article and started to wonder, have the Japanese really responded so much more calmly than the rest of the world? And I'm not talking about lawless behavior, but internal, shear emotional response. The author of this article mentions how serene the Japanese are in the face of disaster compared to other countries in similar situations. He goes on about how foreigners expressed strong feeling and pain openly, but how Japanese remain calm and even manage a "genuine" smile (though I wonder how he can tell it's genuine). From young, Japanese are discouraged from openly showing emotion. Are they really bravely facing the disaster? Or are they responding in the way that they have been trained to respond in? Does their serene outwards face reflect what is happening on the inside?
Japan Tsunami:
Is he calmly accepting his fate, or is that tension I see in his jaw?
Other disasters
Are the Japanese really any different from the people in the other pictures? Or do they face more cultural pressure and obligation to hide their feelings than people in other cultures? I'm sure some Japanese were screaming and yelling in the face of the tsunami as they watched their houses and possibly loved ones get dragged out to sea. Foreign media seems to try and find the most tragic people to shoot, interview and photograph. However, Japanese media, following Japanese culture, usually chooses to find the person most displaying true "Japanese" spirit. Can we really prove who faced what more bravely? And are our attempts to romanticize and admire the calm response of the Japanese in the face of great, possibly disastrous, personal and economic trials, really be for the best of the survivors?
I wonder...Should we really be praising "Gaman" and shouting "Ganbarou" to a group of people that are quite literally at their breaking point? At first it was inspiring and motivating, but at this stage, what kind of message are we sending? What kind of additional pressure to remain strong is being placed on these people who by now just want to break down? How long will the rigid nature of Japanese culture insist that these people, who have suffered losses beyond compare, keep up the calm face?
Nuke Workers Risk Death by Overworking and Stress:
Is it worth risking the lives of these men because culture and society demands them to put aside their own fears? I understand if someone wanted to do it, but are obligation and desire the same thing in this case? Or is there a way to both solve the problems with the reactor, while providing some relief to these men?
People Continue to Face Trial After Trial. Even once the tsunami has cleared and the aftershocks have died down, people continue to face adversity up North with increased rates of pneumonia.
Sailor Bares all in order to Avoid Being Sent back to Iwate:
Clearly this man is not fit to be doing the job they are expecting him to do. Will the rigid nature of Japanese culture require this man to return to perform his social obligation? What are the long term affects on this man's mental well-being?
What are the long-term psychological effects and strain that come with "Ganbarou"?
A recent Japan Times article stated that 150 mental health workers were sent up North to hinanjo to provide support, however they found that very few people took advantage of this help. A 74 year old man was interviewed as saying to admit you need mental help is weak. That talking to someone won't solve his problems, so why do it, especially when everyone else is just as depressed. That he has faced enough disaster to be strong. But why does being strong have to equate with shielding your emotions. Does crying in front of other people over burden them? Japanese say it is irresponsible to show such emotion when other people are suffering...but I wonder, who is really being selfish? Isn't it just as selfish to expect a person to suppress their feelings for your sake? Especially if you know the kind of long term mental stress that the situation might cause the person if they keep it bottled up?
As this letter from a man in a hinanjo in Miyagi shows, the people's spirits are weakening. People are hurting. Everyone knows it...Everyone expects it....so why not allow them to grieve however they choose to? Why make them feel that grieving their loses is shameful or selfish? Again, I understand the need to stay strong in the face of adversity, but is there really a need to keep persistently insisting these people stay patient and calm? Or are we possibly just adding to their stress?
