Work until you drop dead.

This morning, I was trying to explain to a friend why the Japanese work ethic drives me mad. However, I wasn't feeling super articulate or inspired at the moment and couldn't come up with many examples at the time. Yet, one of our awesome students came in for a private lesson with me today, and he is a PERFECT example of this country's work ethic. So for the person I didn't really try very hard to explain it to, and of course everyone else's benefit, here is why I can't stand it (the title is great foreshadowing)...

The student, who we will just call "Jstudent X" for privacy reasons (ha), is a spitting Japanese image of Alan Thicke (you know, the dad in Growing Pains). This actually has nothing to do with my point, but I just wanted to share. Anyway, Jstudent X is a businessman who works about 800000000 hours a week. I think studying English is the only non work thing he does, although he is also technically learning it for work...Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a tad. But not really. He usually comes to my lessons on Wed nights. I always ask him in the beginning of lesson, "Jstudent X, what did you do today?" I usually get, "I went to Tokyo." Yes, that is correct. In the morning, he flew to Tokyo, and then flew back to Fukuoka, and then still made it to my lesson, God bless him. He actually goes to Tokyo about 4 times a week for day trips. I suppose it is kind of like commuting from Ventura County to LA every day in rush hour traffic, but still. Besides these weekly "trips" he then spends the rest of his week minus his one day off taking clients golfing, forcing himself to drink with them (he is in the .000000000000001% of the J population who hates drinking), and other various schmoozing activities. I found out *2 important facts about him today- he gets about 6 holidays off a year-3 in Aug and 3 in Jan, and while all this time I took him for a busy single older businessman, I have just learned he actually has a wife and two teenage kids in Osaka! Who would have thought, since you know, he like...lives in Fukuoka (2+ hours away from Osaka by plane/train) and spends his entire life working?

Actually this is not so uncommon in Japan. I have quite a handful of businessmen students who have families that live in Tokyo...or women who's husbands live far away and only come home to visit maybe once or twice a month. In the States, if you are transferred or get a new job somewhere else, your entire family usually uproots with you...you don't just move and live "by yourself"-more to come in one second on that- and see your family MAYBE once or twice a month. But, the work ethic is why it is so easy for men to have affairs here. Even if you don't live in an entirely different part of the country than your wife, if you stay out until all hours of the night/don't come home at all because you were out with another woman (girlfriend on the side, random woman, hooker--oh the choices they have!) at a love hotel, she will most likely never suspect or nag you about it, because she will just assume you are working in some way, shape, or form (besides long hours at the office you are also expected to "entertain" your clients which can mean taking them out drinking all night long). Obviously it is even easier if you live in a different region than your wife. Note: I don't think Jstudent X is having an affair just because he is so gosh darn nice, and I don't think he is that kind of person...and I frankly also don't think he honestly has the time! It is all just really sad to me. And for Jstudent X, it is a waste of a nice man's life. (Note-this is just one example of how bad the work ethic is here...I've got all kinds of examples I could use, but then this blog would be too long and no one would read it).

*I actually learned 1 extra thing about Jstudent X, and I am still hoping this was a loss in translation moment, but I am still keeping it filed away in my "evidence this country lives under a rock" drawer. Our lesson today was about the weather. To finish off the lesson, we did a worksheet asking what he thought the weather was like in different parts of the world. We got to S. Africa and he said "very hot." I knew that, duh, but was trying to stall for time, so I asked why he thought so. He replied that it must be hot since the black people's skin is so black. Once again, I am hoping there was a loss in translation there...hoping.