Japan's 'Do Not Disturb' Culture

An article by Mr. Le Doan Hop - Former Minister of Information and Communications, Chairman of the Vietnam Digital Communications Association, onThe cultural lifestyle of the Japanese people.

"I remember once our whole group went to a restaurant in Tokyo. Everyone was used to ordering food like in Vietnam, so we ordered many dishes to satisfy each person's preferences. But Japanese restaurants behaved differently than in Vietnam."

They gently advised us to choose only 4 to 5 signature dishes from the restaurant, noting that this amount would provide enough energy for a person to live and work from noon to evening. Ordering less would be nutritionally deficient, while ordering more would be wasteful and potentially harmful to health. Meanwhile, restaurants in Vietnam always try to entice customers to buy as much as possible.

Japanese people are very mindful when ordering food at restaurants to avoid excess and waste. (Photo: BI)

One afternoon after work, we went to the park to relax. It was lightly raining when we got out of the car, so everyone held umbrellas. After a while, the rain stopped, and we put our umbrellas on the benches to take pictures. Only when we got back to the hotel did we realize we'd forgotten our umbrellas, but no one went back to look for them, assuming it was like in Vietnam where if you forget something, you lose it.

The next day, we walked through the park and saw our umbrella still sitting on the bench. We went back to get it and showed it to the driver, telling him we'd forgotten it the day before and that it was still there. The driver said, "In Japan, nobody takes things that don't belong to them. They give the person who forgot something a chance to find their belongings. If it's valuable, they pick it up and take it to the police station so they can do everything they can to return it to its owner."

During a meeting with my Japanese counterpart, I boldly shared my thoughts: In Vietnam, I tentatively define three cultural values ​​related to behavioral culture, intellectual culture, and material culture as follows: A cultured person is someone who makes others feel comfortable wherever they go (behavioral culture). A cultured person is someone who feels shy at first, enjoys conversation, and looks forward to meeting again (intellectual culture). A cultured person is someone who always enjoys the fruits of their own labor (material culture).

Japanese children are taught from a young age about honesty and not bothering others. (Photo: Japan Times)

I boldly posed a question to the Japanese Minister: I greatly admire Japanese culture; if you could summarize it in a few words that would be easy for me to remember and apply. The Japanese Minister thought for a moment and replied: If I were to summarize it in a few words as you just suggested, I would briefly summarize Japanese culture as: Do not disturb others. That is a concise concept with practical value that generations of Vietnamese people should reflect upon for themselves and for everyone around them.

As we were about to say goodbye to the Land of the Rising Sun, we held a farewell party. Many relatives of the members of our group who live, work, and study in Japan came to celebrate with us. Of course, there was beer and wine at the party. But all the Vietnamese people who drove themselves to attend refused to drink beer or wine, even though their friends and family, having not seen each other for a long time, earnestly invited them to.

Everyone said: "In Japan, if you drink and drive, the police will revoke your driver's license for six months the first time; they might consider reissuing it if you show improvement. A second offense results in permanent revocation. I realized that even though we are all Vietnamese, wherever the laws are strictly enforced, people immediately develop a correspondingly cultured lifestyle with a very high level of self-discipline. Thus, culture depends not only on individuals but also on the laws and regulations of the country. A good environment creates good people. That is something Vietnam needs to reflect on and act upon."

According to Dantri