Abstract
This paper reviews and analyzes John C. Condon's book "With Respect to the Japanese. " According to the paper, this work is an overview and discussion of international relations between the Japanese and Westerners involved in businesses that bring them into regular contact with Japanese. This fairly short book touches on some important issues that ought to make dealings with Japanese easier for those not accustomed to such dealings.

From the Paper
"John C. Condon is an expert in inter-cultural communication with many years of experience in cross-cultural studies in academic, government and business environments. His 1983 book, "With Respect to the Japanese," is devoted to an overview and discussion of international relations between the Japanese and Westerners, particularly Americans involved in businesses that bring them into regular contact with Japanese. This fairly short book is not able to comprehensively cover every aspect of Japanese-American business and personal relations, but it does touch on some major and important issues that ought to make dealings with Japanese ..."

Tags:japan, business, intercultural, diplomacy, international

Abstract
This paper examines John C. Condon's book, "With Respect to the Japanese", which is devoted to an overview and discussion of international relations between the Japanese and Westerners, particularly Americans involved in business contacts with the Japanese. The paper discusses how Condon believes that truly understanding another culture requires a special effort to see the people of the other culture as they see themselves. The paper summarizes the contents of Condon's book and asserts that it is a valuable contribution to the literature of popular cultural studies of modern Japan, written for a Western audience.

From the Paper
"Condon begins with the somewhat facetious statement that Japan and America make up an "odd couple," that is to say, two nations that are very different from each other, possessing what seem to be mutually alien ways of living and thinking, and yet which are tightly tied together in a relationship of mutual dependence, ironically facilitated by Japan's defeat in World War II. At that time, the almost total destruction of Japan's economy and industry and the occupation of the country by United States forces and interests created a unique situation in which the rebuilding of the former enemy would bring it into much closer contact with the victors than would otherwise ever be possible."

Tags:culture, international, relations, decision-making, process, hierarchy, social, control

Abstract
This paper discusses the differences between American and Japanese food-related customs, emphasizing fast food, slow food, community, and respect. The paper emphasizes the special relationship of food to a culture.

From the Paper
"Few things are more intimate or more telling than a culture's relationship with food. Not only does the food people eat affect the way they think of themselves but also the way they think of others, as Braudel points out, the Europeans have the saying "Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are". Ohnuki-Tierney Parry notes; "A man is what he eats. Not only is his bodily substance created out of food but so is his moral disposition". (Ohnuki-Tierney) A country's food and..."

Tags:American, Japanese, food, customs, fast food, slow food, community, respect, culture

Abstract
The paper compares the traditional role of men in Japanese society to the role of men in Japanese society today. The paper explains that the traditional role required that men work and remain distant from their families while maintaining a masculine authority over the household. The paper then explains that these traditional roles have been threatened by social changes since the 1970s. The paper paints a picture of how today's men are no longer able to demand the same authority and respect and cannot be such distant husbands and fathers.

From the Paper
"The traditional role of men in Japanese society and in the Japanese family is one of the aloof bread-winner. This role comes directly from the Japanese cultural history, rooted in Confucianism. The expectation under these social roles dictates that men work and remain distant from their families while maintaining a masculine authority over the household. Since the 1970s, these traditional roles have been threatened by social changes including modernity, technological advances, and the feminist movement in Japan."

Tags:authority, distance, respect, women

Abstract
This paper examines the works of Japanese fiction "Woman in the Dunes" and "The Dancing Girl" in respect to gender. The focus of this thesis is on how the male characters relate to the female characters in these stories in respect to the responsibility that the men feel for them.

Abstract
This paper argues that the deterioration in the relationship between America and Japan originated in the Japanese ultranationalism and militarism that threatened American security. Threatened by Japanese aggression, the United States imposed an embargo on Japan, which it felt would persuade Japanese leaders to moderate their aggression. The American embargo, however, only intensified Japanese aggression, since Japan became more desperate for raw minerals and international respect.

Abstract
This paper looks at the changes that Japanese women have undergone with respect to their identity. It focuses on the changes since the mid - 20th century. It links the historical changes in Japanese society over the past 150 years with the changes in their women's identity and also looks at social, political, economic and environmental factors that have influenced the identity of Japanese women.

From the Paper
"Before 1868, especially under the Tokugawa Shogunate government, Japanese women had no legal personality. They could not own property and were in fact the property of men who could do with them virtually anything they fancied. At that time, they could read and write only hiragana, but business, political and literary materials were written in the more formal kanji which prevented them from sharing the more fulfilling and dignified world of men."

Tags:change, 20th, century, historical, economic, political, social, environmental

Abstract
This paper discusses the many similarities and few differences between the Russian Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza. Specifically, the paper looks at how each is organized, the methods each employs, and the respective histories of each organization. In so doing, the paper ultimately argues that the chief differences between the two organizations are twofold: the Russian Mafia, for historical and cultural reasons, is even more powerful than its Japanese counterpart because of its close ties to the Russian state, and the Russian Mafia is even more brutal in its methods than the Yakuza - or most anyone else. In the final analysis, Robert I. Friedman and other close observers are not wrong to view the "Red Mafiya" with trepidation and dread.

Outline:
Introduction
How the Japanese Yakuza is Organized
How the Russian Mafia is Organized
The Methods Employed by the Japanese Yakuza
The Methods Employed by the Russian Mafia
History of the Japanese Yakuza
History of the Russian Mafia
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The Russian Mafia has been around at least as long as its Yakuza counterpart. James O. Finckenauer writes that stealing the Czar's timber was not considered criminal during much of modern Russian history and professional criminals in the early years of the twentieth century conspired with Marxist political revolutionaries to overthrow first the Czar and then the short-lived revolutionary government that followed. While it is not clear, it appears as though the modern-day Russian Mafia was shaped by the exigencies of the Soviet-era Communist economy - an economy that often failed to provide adequately for its citizens. As a result, a 'shadow' economy sprang up, and it was one in which a criminal entrepreneurial class able to operate outside the law found the perfect climate in which to flourish."

Tags:organized crime, methods history culture brutality observations

Abstract
Culture gives or teaches a person the acceptable behavior patterns, influences a society's arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. The writer uses this definition of culture in asserting that Japanese youth have a strong sense of culture passed down through ancient ritual and respect for elders. The paper further proves that American youth do not have this strong tie to the past.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Youth and Universal Phenomena
Peer Group Identification
Identity
Conclusion

From the Paper
"A study was conducted in which high school ages youth were asked to rank probable professions and there level of prestige. When the questionnaire was first done, they were identical; the question written in English, then translated into Japanese. The researchers found that in this area, cultural aspects played an important role. Most of the Americanized questions were misunderstood or not relevant to the Japanese youth. The questionnaires had to be redone in order to conduct the survey (Ramsey and Smith 476). However, once the questionnaires were properly done, the two groups showed striking similarities, the top five of each set of youth sharing four of the same occupations. The four shared were College Professor, Medical Doctor, Lawyer, and Corporate Executive, all have high pay and social status in common (Ibid 477)."

Tags:ancient, ritual, elders, study, similarities

Abstract
The paper discusses Japan's economic development at the turn of the 19th century with respect to an article published by Miwa and Ramseyer entitled, "Japanese Industrial Finance at the Close of the 19th Century: Trade Credit and Financial Intermediation." The paper is of the opinion that the article is useful and largely successful at supporting the authors' points. The paper points out, however, that the article is prefaced with an over abundance of historical data that is, at best, only partially relevant from a historical perspective.

From the Paper
"This article discusses several issues relevant to the Japanese economic experience during the late 19th century as it relates to financial revolutions that anticipate rapid economic growth. The observation is made that Japan did experience such a financial upheaval but that it was not artificially inspired but rather the natural by-product of private investor demands for greater financial infrastructures. Additionally, the authors observe that while securities existed in tandem with traditional bank credit structures, trade credit was largely relied upon in order to raise capital for ongoing industrial expansion."

Tags:economic, growth, bank, credit, capital, expansion, silk, industry