Simply call the name Japan and many minds will run to industries and notably automobile. This archipelago of 6,852 islands, the major four of which are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, is much more than a place where cars and electronics are manufactured.
Japan; this country of 126 million people is equally a haven for customs and tradition and a touristic Eldorado. Needless to say, but any visitor in Japan will testify to the complexity of the country’s industrial and technological development is a veritable translation of its industrious people, driven by national conviction and based on the belief that the destiny of their country lies first in their hands.
And so, in Japan, life revolves on nationalistic instincts and self-reliance. For this reason, the people have hinged their socio-cultural and economic ambitions on inclusiveness and domestication of any imported models. It is this inclusiveness that has made Japan peculiar. And this peculiarity has remained the common denominator, dragging other countries towards it. Even though this industrial nation believes in itself for its development, it is conscious of the fact that no country is an Island. That, certainly, is why it embarked on reaching out to other nations and organisational blocs in a bid to keep its development ambitions sustainable. This spirit of outreach was visible in Yokohama during the fifth edition of the Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD V).
The Japanese are quite aware of the necessity to explore and exploit resources beyond their country. This certainly explains the huge disbursement of 32 billion dollars for Africa within the next five years. In Yokohama, all avenues of intensifying economic links with African nations were discussed ending with the famous Yokohama Declaration. Journalists from over 20 African countries were officially invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whereas many others came on the ticket of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The conference was equally an occasion to discover Japan, its people and way of life. For those who have never visited this country that presently prides itself as the World’s third economy, it is important to note that there is just so much to discover. It takes 19 hours of continues flight from Cameroon to Narita Airport in Tokyo. A visitor will find it difficult to distinguish cities from countryside. All is conceived along the realms of becoming a big city. Some cities such as Tokyo with its 30 million inhabitants and Yokohama have already merged with others and only the inhabitants of the area are capable of distinguishing the boundaries between the different cities.
The Japanese way of life is quite peculiar. Handshaking is not common. Greeting is simply done by bowing which is equally a form of respect. A simple inclination of the head or an attempt at a bow at the waist suffices. The duration and inclination of the bow is proportionate to the elevation of the person one is addressing to. Kissing along the streets as is the case in many Western societies is rare. Japanese do not know tips. And so it becomes an insult to propose a tip to a cab driver, restaurant attendant and others for any services rendered. All services are covered by a price or salary and so it is absurd to expect soothing more. This state of affairs is equally conditioned by the country’s high level of employment. The unemployment rate in Japan is a negligible five per cent and all those who happen to be in the soup are entitled to unemployment benefit.
The use of chopsticks is common tradition in Japan but it may not be an obligation for foreigners depending on the type of restaurant in which they find themselves. Eating with chopsticks is really an art and one may need to gr,ow in the tradition to really master it. The people of Japan are well known for the wearing of sterilised masks to protect other people from contracting the germs in them. Masks are however not worn by everyone. They are common among salaried people, office ladies and municipal workers.
