IndexOverview of JapanJapanese culturePolitical structureThe status of men and women in Japanese cultureThe prevalence of social withdrawal in JapanPotential solutions to the problem of social withdrawal in JapanOverview of JapanJapan is located in Northeast Asia. It is an island in the Pacific Ocean bordering China, North and South Korea, and Russia to the east. Japan is a collection of islands, the largest of which are Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu and Hokkaido; covering approximately 97% of Japan's total land area. Demographically, it has a population of approximately 127 million, most concentrated in metropolitan areas such as Tokyo. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Japan is a major economic power. It boasts the third largest economy in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and purchasing power. Generally, Japan can be said to be a developed country with relatively high living standards. According to reports from the World Health Organization, Japan ranks third in terms of infant mortality rate. Japanese Culture Japanese culture has progressed since historical times, from the traditional Jomon arts to the current contemporary Japanese culture, which has been influenced by other cultures such as Asian culture, European culture, and North American culture. Changes within Japanese culture have been influenced by increasing technological advances that have led to increased mass communication and, consequently, the assimilation of cultural concepts into Japanese culture. In Japan, everyone has a social responsibility to conform to the rules of society. norms governed by contemporary Japanese culture. However, exceptions have been reported, especially among younger generations who attempt to mock conformity to contemporary Japanese culture. Japan is typically a collectivist society, which implies that the needs of a group take priority over the needs of an individual. The Japanese language plays a crucial role in determining the culture of the Japanese. Political Structure The system of government in Japan is based on the constitutional monarchy, which has existed since 1890. The Japanese constitution supports equality in terms of gender. It also places the emperor as head of state. Japan's parliament is known as the Diet, which includes the House of Councilors and the House of Representatives. Members of the Upper House are elected by constituencies, both nationally and locally. Members of the Lower House are usually elected locally. The Lower House has more political power than the Upper House, as the prime minister and other cabinet positions are elected by the Lower House. Each prefecture has a locally elected governor. Prefectures serve as government agents and have limited authority in terms of taxation and other legal codes within the Japanese government structure. Municipalities also have limited authority and serve to provide everyday services to Japanese citizens. Some of the key roles of Municipalities are to provide education, police and fire protection services according to directives issued at the higher level. Japan is divided into 47 prefectures with different political structures. Specifically, there are 43 ordinary prefectures; there are three metropolitan prefectures and one administrative prefecture. One of the most significant divisions is in terms of the division of labor. According to Japanese beliefs regarding ritual purity, most aspects of ritual life exclude the participation of women. For example, women don'thave the authority to access some sacred sites, some communities in Japan prohibit women from fishing and economic activity. Many of these bans are ignored by most Japanese communities, with some conservative communities still adhering to those beliefs. The social context of Japanese culture is based on Neo-Confucianism, according to which social roles are distributed according to hierarchical relationships. With this consideration, Japanese culture promotes the husband's dominance over his wife and the father's dominance over his children. During the late 19th century, family norms were codified, placing women in society as subordinate to their male counterparts. The Status of Men and Women in Japanese Culture Traditionally, women were confined to handling matters of a domestic nature; this norm is still present in current Japanese culture. The husband is the head of the family and serves to signify the family in the outside world. Within the domestic set-up, the wife has the authority and control in managing the daily events within the family. The family structure is an element of Japanese culture that prevails over the equality between men and women adopted in the constitution of Japan. Women's participation in society describes gender divisions. The Japanese language incorporates different linguistic styles for both women and men, with women expected to use more polite language than their male counterparts to denote deference and show that they are observing the hierarchy. Since historical times, the family has been the fundamental unit of Japanese society. On a social level, the family has a more important meaning than the individual. This means that traditional family laws are strictly followed at both individual and societal levels. Family norms are fundamental in determining contemporary Japanese culture as a whole. Japanese culture represents a perfect example of gender affiliations. For example, in Japanese society men are considered superior to their female counterparts. In the family context, there is a gender-based division of labor, whereby husbands are seen as the sole breadwinners and the wife's responsibility is within the home. It should be noted that the family represents the most influential unit in determining Japanese culture. Marriage norms in Japanese culture are divided into two categories: love marriage and arranged marriage. Love marriage is based on a mutual attraction existing between two individuals. Arranged marriage is common in the traditional setup where the marriage is a negotiated process based on the parents' opinions. In the context of arranged marriage, background checks of the spouse and his family is an important requirement. The domestic unit is made up of a nuclear apparatus, which includes parents and their descendants. In present-day Japan, extended kinship groups do not play a significant role in the daily life of the household unit. Japanese culture places the utmost importance on the meaning of family survival for a certain number of generations. The head of the family, the husband, has the responsibility of administering the family lineage towards the children. To administer this effectively, the head of the family must ensure that the family honors ancestors who played a significant role in the family's existence through passing on family assets, traditions, and the family's social status to the father. next generation intact, without breaking the lineage. Traditionally, land was never divided. The division of the land would compromise the survival offamily to the next generation. In most scenarios, the inheritance was bestowed upon a single child; usually the eldest son of the family. Kinship patterns define the relationship between children and their parents. Japanese norms dictate that a male child should have bonds with his father, and similarly, a female child should have bonds with her mother. The traditional approach supports master-apprentice bonds between parents and their children. Childcare is typically a women's responsibility, especially in their twenties and thirties. Raising children is a fundamental responsibility for women according to Japanese norms and beliefs. For child-rearing to be considered appropriate, an emotional attachment between parent and child is necessary. Social problems are an integral part of any community, and Japan is no exception. Significant social problems evident in Japanese culture are gender divisions, women rejecting the role of motherhood, rising unemployment rates, and the growing ineffectiveness of the education system. The most significant social problem in the Japanese community is the problem of social withdrawal, known as Hikikomori in Japanese. The following provides an outline of social withdrawal among Japanese people and its impacts. Social withdrawal involves isolation and confinement due to various personal and social factors. The Japanese are known to suffer from extreme levels of social withdrawal. According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Defense, individuals suffer from Hikikomori, also called social withdrawal, whereby an individual isolates themselves from society for a period of at least six months. Social withdrawal begins with cases of school refusal. The Prevalence of Social Withdrawal in Japan Social withdrawal is a common phenomenon in Japan. About a million Japanese suffer from social withdrawal. Social withdrawal is prevalent among adolescents and young adults between the ages of 30 and 40. The trend of social withdrawal is expected to increase due to the increase in cases of accelerated school refusal with increasing social pressure from society towards maturing young people. Social withdrawal has short-term effects on both the individual and society as a whole. One of the impacts associated with social withdrawal among Japanese is that most Japanese who experience social withdrawal are young people in college; such isolation means they will not be able to complete their education. The elimination of personal relationships by individuals suffering from social withdrawal is another short-term effect. Increased antisocial behavior impairs how an individual associates with the people around them, and in extreme cases, victims are said to be in complete isolation. One of the significant long-term impacts of social withdrawal is that the individual remains unproductive for longer periods. This implies that he/she is not involved in any development activities and, as a result, compromises the social development process. Furthermore, an increase in cases of social withdrawal is bound to have long-term effects in the social context. Since most victims are young, they will grow up with increased unproductivity associated with social withdrawal and, eventually, there will be economic problems if the situation is not addressed as soon as possible. Potential Solutions to the Problem of Social Withdrawal in Japan The Root Cause Social isolation in Japan among young people is social pressure. Social pressure is evident in various ways, for example, educational pressure, pressure from family, pressure from society, probably due to different family backgrounds and other social divisions. One of the ways.