Lessons From The Japanese

The tragedy that struck Japan did not alter the Japanese culture of discipline and concern for their fellowmen. On TV, you can see the long queue of people waiting for their turn to buy goods. They patiently wait for their turn and nobody is blaming anybody for the slow movement of queue. This is different from what is happening here in the Philippines wherein you can hear people complaining when they need to fall in line. Some would even try to cut you in line.

At the evacuation center, the Japanese are also well-behaved and content of the relief goods being given to them. The area is well-maintained and 5S is implemented. The same cannot be said of our evacuation sites here because not all evacuees are concerned enough to maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of their temporary shelter. While the Japanese will only get what they need for the day,our evacuees here will get as much as they need for a day’s need. They call it their buffer, nevermind if that buffer is intended for the other evacuees.

Experts say that the Japanese culture of discipline, unity and concern is because of the following:
1. The Japanese people have high regard of their government. They do not complain because their government is responsible and is obviously doing everything to reach out to them.
2. The Japanese people learned a lot from World War 2; their level of unity and discipline were subconciously forced to be embedded on their culture. From nothing after World War 2, they managed to bounce back even higher all because of discipline and unity.

Can we attain this level of discipline and unity here in the Philippines? Do we trust our government? Can we trust our government? Are we respectful of our fellowmen?

Assessment time.