Harmony and Japanese culture

Japanese people value harmony and it is very important for them to maintain harmony to save the face especially in family and business. From an early age Japanese children are taught to get along with others and to value harmony. I remember that my teachers told us that it was extremely important to work well with others in a group rather than being an independent individual. Japanese people are generally very polite and value personal responsibility. They even seem to suppress their emotions in order to maintain harmony especially in public eyes.

Since harmony is very important in Japanese culture, people tend to be very sensitive over there. People often read into it too much. Facial expression and the tone of voice are all indicators of emotions. People tell me that I am too sensitive sometimes, but it makes sense when they think about where I came from. 🙂

People in Japan think non-verbal communication is more important than spoken words.