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Japan also has a much different outlook on blue collar jobs, and (from studying the culture and spending ~3 months there) people seem to take genuine pride in t

Japan also has a much different outlook on blue collar jobs, and (from studying the culture and spending ~3 months there) people seem to take genuine pride in their job regardless of what it is. Contrast that with the MTA subway workers I see regularly huddled into groups, shooting the breeze and playing on their phones -- it's a widely different outlook on work. Also regarding you [2] link, I can't remember where I read it, but I believe that operation took years of planning.

mc32 9y ago
I mean, to be sure Japan has institutionalized pork too[1]. They offer contracts to build retaining walls where no one lives. But damn, when they have to do something they are experts in they do it right. And given the JRs are private orgs, they can't just ask for another bond measure or other tax or more pork from the govt. And of course it took years of planning. In the US you'd have years of "planning" [pork dealing] and then the line shut down for a year or two probably, doing things as slowly as possible. [1]https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-election-concrete/analysis-japan-election-points-to-return-of-construction-state-idUKBRE8BA1AD20121211 https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-election-concrete/a...
- olingern 9y ago
  Sitting in a cafe in Shibuya, Tokyo ( at the moment ), I would say there's a "oneness" to everything they do. Inconveniencing others is the height of moral crimes you can do here ( see your family being fined for your suicide [1] ). I think this permeates their culture to the point where they're more efficient so that they do not affect others, i.e. how on time trains are in Japan [2]. Of course, this is speculative, but it certainly does not feel like a, "I'll get mine, before you get yours culture" here. [1] - https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/families-fined-for-suicides-in-japan-1.1104002 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/families-fined-for-su... [2] - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42009839 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42009839
  - digi_owl 9y ago
    I ran into a term some years ago, giri. Seems to be a remnant from their feudal times. Something about reciprocal duty or some such, meaning that workers put their honor into their work with the expectation that they get looked after by the boss/lord in return. This also seems to be the background for a lot of "drama" in their entertainment, where a character will struggle between upholding giri and their emotions regarding the task.
crdoconnor 9y ago
>Japan also has a much different outlook on blue collar jobs, and (from studying the culture and spending ~3 months there) people seem to take genuine pride in their job regardless of what it is. The west seems like the weird culture here. The middle class looks down on people who make our coffees in Starbucks, drive the buses and man the trains but realistically they're the ones everybody would miss if they all suddenly didn't turn up to work on Monday morning.
- shubb 9y ago
  The was a bankers strike once, in Ireland. For months. The way people busy worked around it is really amazing, because those workarounds are what the system actually needs to do, minus all the abstraction. http://uk.businessinsider.com/pubs-replaced-banks-in-ireland-in-1970-and-the-economy-was-fine-2016-1 http://uk.businessinsider.com/pubs-replaced-banks-in-ireland...
- rayiner 9y ago
  Not limited to the west. Indians are absolutely awful to people who work those kinds of jobs.
thunderrabbit 9y ago
> that operation took years of planning. Near the end of the 3.5 hour track change video, it says it was the culmination of 80,000 people working for 8 years. ８年間８万人の集大成

mc32 9y ago

I mean, to be sure Japan has institutionalized pork too[1]. They offer contracts to build retaining walls where no one lives. But damn, when they have to do something they are experts in they do it right. And given the JRs are private orgs, they can't just ask for another bond measure or other tax or more pork from the govt. And of course it took years of planning. In the US you'd have years of "planning" [pork dealing] and then the line shut down for a year or two probably, doing things as slowly as possible. [1]https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-election-concrete/analysis-japan-election-points-to-return-of-construction-state-idUKBRE8BA1AD20121211 https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-election-concrete/a...

olingern 9y ago
Sitting in a cafe in Shibuya, Tokyo ( at the moment ), I would say there's a "oneness" to everything they do. Inconveniencing others is the height of moral crimes you can do here ( see your family being fined for your suicide [1] ). I think this permeates their culture to the point where they're more efficient so that they do not affect others, i.e. how on time trains are in Japan [2]. Of course, this is speculative, but it certainly does not feel like a, "I'll get mine, before you get yours culture" here. [1] - https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/families-fined-for-suicides-in-japan-1.1104002 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/families-fined-for-su... [2] - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42009839 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42009839
- digi_owl 9y ago
  I ran into a term some years ago, giri. Seems to be a remnant from their feudal times. Something about reciprocal duty or some such, meaning that workers put their honor into their work with the expectation that they get looked after by the boss/lord in return. This also seems to be the background for a lot of "drama" in their entertainment, where a character will struggle between upholding giri and their emotions regarding the task.

crdoconnor 9y ago

>Japan also has a much different outlook on blue collar jobs, and (from studying the culture and spending ~3 months there) people seem to take genuine pride in their job regardless of what it is. The west seems like the weird culture here. The middle class looks down on people who make our coffees in Starbucks, drive the buses and man the trains but realistically they're the ones everybody would miss if they all suddenly didn't turn up to work on Monday morning.

shubb 9y ago
The was a bankers strike once, in Ireland. For months. The way people busy worked around it is really amazing, because those workarounds are what the system actually needs to do, minus all the abstraction. http://uk.businessinsider.com/pubs-replaced-banks-in-ireland-in-1970-and-the-economy-was-fine-2016-1 http://uk.businessinsider.com/pubs-replaced-banks-in-ireland...
rayiner 9y ago
Not limited to the west. Indians are absolutely awful to people who work those kinds of jobs.

thunderrabbit 9y ago

> that operation took years of planning. Near the end of the 3.5 hour track change video, it says it was the culmination of 80,000 people working for 8 years. ８年間８万人の集大成