From the Japan Times yesterday: “The 98-page policy package said the government will consider making it mandatory for foreign residents to take courses on Japanese language and societal systems when applying for or renewing visas.”

Educating new residents is a good idea, but what makes sense to teach? These four topics seem to come up in every discussion:

1. Japanese language
2. Required payments: taxes, health care, and pension
3. Emergency preparedness and disaster response
4. Daily life skills, like how to sort trash

But that last one, daily life skills, is vague and impossible. Maybe they only mean the details of life that the government has concern over, like the oft-mentioned trash sorting.

But what about “how to stay warm in a drafty old house” or “how to correctly participate in the gift wars” or “ten ways to keep quiet when you want to scream.” All these are enculturated from childhood for Japanese people, but it’s a lot to take on board as a newcomer.

Thinking about how I would structure a life skills class for Japan residents, I came up with three frameworks.

1. Meiwaku and Gaman

These two words are the heart of unspoken rules. Meiwaku and gaman determine a lot of the interactions in Japan.

Meiwaku is “inconvenience” and you must not cause it to others:

• Don’t inconvenience strangers around you
• Don’t cause any kind of extra work for another person
• Don’t expect special treatment
• Don’t make noise in public places
• Don’t make noise in private places after hours
• Don’t stand in the way of traffic on a crowded train platform

Gaman is the practice of putting up with difficult situations. Such as:

• Freezing in cold, drafty homes
• Playing nice with bossy coworkers
• Stifling your feelings and opinions
• Accepting blame because you are different
• Skipping meals to pay rent
• Suffering crowded commutes

So a class focussed on teaching new residents about Japan’s collective community along with specific examples of how Japanese people avoid meiwaku and embrace gaman will help explain how to behave like Japanese. It might take you 50% of the way to being accepted in Japan. Throw in the skill of apologising and you’re even farther along.

Of course, trying to “be Japanese” by conforming to local expectation is not ideal for your mental health. It is uncomfortable to squash your own culture. You will be stressed from the fear and worry that you are doing things wrong. I went though this phase; it was unpleasant.

2. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

This theory from 1943 explains that humans need to meet basic needs like food and shelter before we can move on to societal and personal needs like belonging and self-actualization.

Most of the complaints by Japanese are about issues on level 3 (belonging) and 4 (esteem). They are upset that foreigners lack respect, fail at community duties, and don’t recognise social constructs. But so many new arrivals to Japan struggle with the physiological needs and safety needs on the first two levels.

It takes time to get settled. Nobody’s ready to take on social issues until they can figure out what’s in the supermarkets, find a doctor, open bank accounts, or rent an apartment. Training on Japan’s systems regarding the first two levels will lead to better compliance with social rules.

And since the Japanese making complaints about foreigners are probably far beyond the survival and safety levels, perhaps they need to have some training in empathy and inclusion as much as newcomers need to understand Japan’s many rules.

3. Systemic Changes

The first two framings point directly to a third way of thinking about “foreigner education” because many of the complaints about foreigners stem from fundamental problems that all people in Japan suffer: the systems aren’t always the best they could be.

Talking to Japanese friends, you will soon learn that nobody wants to gaman through situations. It’s expected so everyone does it, but even the most placid-seeming people resent it. If you don’t gaman, you are the nail that sticks up and you will be hammered down.

“We have unique culture and way of doing things. We don’t want (foreigners) to change it.” To be honest, I have gotten that pushback when I made suggestions about updating the pedagogy of our school workshops at Oyama Senmaida.

Changing social systems is a hard ask. If you learned to adapt to cultural difficulties – navigating the trauma in a sempai/kohai relationship, or spending accumulated hours sorting garbage, or listening to the tinkling of glass bells in order to feel cool in the humid heat of summer – then why should anyone else have it easier?

However, the issues that garner the most complaints – noise and trash – could be changed with government incentives and new rules that would benefit everyone.

When noise travels between apartments, it’s the building that’s the problem, not the people. If Japan updated building codes to increase sound barriers and insulation, more people could enjoy their homes without worrying if the baby is crying too loudly, friends laughing too raucously, or if a late-night work call would wake the neighbors.

Retrofitting older buildings could be done if financial incentives were offered.

And as a bonus, apartments would be easier to heat and cool – no more tinkling bells or getting trapped under the warm kotatsu.

Garbage disposal in Japan is notoriously complicated. There is meticulous preparation of trash and recyclables which is ensured by social pressure and a local trash warden. For example:

• labels and caps removed from PET bottles
• cans washed, lids separated
• broken ceramics and glass marked “kiken/danger”
• spray cans punctured
• cardboard cut to size and tied
• PLA plastic separated from other burnable garbage

Disposing large items like furniture and appliances is costly and must be planned well in advance. There are not many places to donate items. Part of the problem is that Japan’s consumer culture values shopping for new things over repairing and reusing.

As long as the volume of garbage continues, the sorting will, too. But measures could be implemented to encourage less consumption: regulate packaging; implement “reverse vending machines” and deposits; charge by weight for disposal. There are many options from around the world. And they can work. In Japan, plastic bag use has dropped by 70% since charges were established in 2020.

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So in summary, there are lots of ways of looking at how to “teach the gaijin” to integrate into Japan – train them to follow existing culture; meet their basic needs before expecting them to conform; change the systems to improve life for everyone.

I hope the government finds a good hybrid of these approaches to make life in Japan comfortable for all residents.