We propose a new dynamical mechanism for information processing in mind and brain. We emphasize that a hermeneutic process is one of the key processes manifesting the functions of the brain and that it can be formulated as an itinerant motion in ultrahigh dimensional dynamical systems, which may give a new realm of the dynamic information processing. Our discussions are based on the notion of chaotic information processing and the observations of biological chaos.

Using the concepts of chaotic dynamical systems, we present an interpretation of dynamic neural activity found in cortical and subcortical areas. The discovery of chaotic itinerancy in high-dimensional dynamical systems with and without a noise term has motivated a new interpretation of this dynamic neural activity, cast in terms of the high-dimensional transitory dynamics among “exotic” attractors. This interpretation is quite different from the conventional one, cast in terms of simple behavior on low-dimensional attractors. Skarda and Freeman (1987) presented evidence (...) in support of the conclusion that animals cannot memorize odor without chaotic activity of neuron populations. Following their work, we study the role of chaotic dynamics in biological information processing, perception, and memory. We propose a new coding scheme of information in chaos-driven contracting systems we refer to as Cantor coding. Since these systems are found in the hippocampal formation and also in the olfactory system, the proposed coding scheme should be of biological significance. Based on these intensive studies, a hypothesis regarding the formation of episodic memory is given. Key Words: Cantor coding; chaotic itinerancy; dynamic aspects of the brain; dynamic associative memory; episodic memory; high-dimensional dynamical systems; SCND attractors. (shrink)

Das Problem der Intersubjektivitiit Intersubjektivität ist Husserl schon seit der Darstellung der Ideen I in Zusammenhang mit dem Problem der phiinomenologischen phänomenologischen Reduk tion sehr stark bewusst und wird, wie die neue VerOffentlichung Veröffentlichung 'Zur Phänome Phiinome nologie der Intersubjektivität'l Intersubjektivitiit'l ausdrücklich ausdrucklich zeigt, zeit seines Lebens in seinem Denken mit mehr oder weniger Intensitiit Intensität behandelt. Bekanntlich hat Husserl Hussed die Einfühlungslehre EinfUhlungslehre in seinem spiiten späten Versuch mit der 'Selbstobjektivation' 'Selbstobjektivation',, 'Selbstauslegung' des absoluten, anonymen, transzen 2 dentalen ego (...) erkliirt. erklärt. Gerade auf diesen Punkt konzentriert sich zutreffende Kritik und zeigt die Unvermeidbarkeit des transzendentalen Solipsismus; was als Grund für fUr echte echte Intersubjektivitiit Intersubjektivität gesucht gesucht wird, wird, niimlich nämlich die die Gleichursprunglich Gleichursprünglich keit keit von von Subjekten, Subjekten, fUhrt führt schliesslich schliesslich auf auf den den Weg der Radikalisierung der trans zendentalen Reduktion und der Erklärung Erkliirung mit der immanenten Zeitigung des transzendentalen ego in die 'einseitige Verlagerung des Gewichts auf ein konsti tuierendes Ur-Ich, dem kein ebenso ursprungliches ursprüngliches Du gegenübersteht, gegeniibersteht,...'3. (shrink)

This book demonstrates that during Japan’s early modern Edo period an ethical code existed among the merchant class comparable to that of the well-known Bushido. There is compelling evidence that contemporary merchants, who were widely and openly despised as immoral by the samurai, in fact acted in highly ethical ways in accordance with a well-articulated moral code. Japanese society was strictly stratified into four distinct and formally recognized classes: warrior, farmer, craftsman and merchant. From the warriors’ perspective, the merchants, at (...) the base of the social order, had no virtue, and existed only to skim profits as middlemen between producers and consumers. But were these accusations correct? Were the merchants really unethical beings who engaged in unfair business practices? There is ample evidence that negates the ubiquitous slanders of the warrior class and suggests that merchants – no less than the warriors – possessed and acted in accordance with a well-developed ethical code, a spirit that may be called shonindo or “The Way of the Merchant.” This book examines whether a comparison of shonindo, depicting the ethical point of view of the merchant class, and Bushido, embodying that of the warrior class, reveals that shonindo may have in fact surpassed Bushido in some aspects. Comparing contemporarily published historical documents concerning both shonindo and Bushido, as well as Inazo Nitobe’s classic work Bushido: The Soul of Japan, published in 1900, the author examines how Bushido surpassed shonindo in that warriors were willing to die for their strict ethical code. Shonindo, however, may have surpassed Bushido in that merchants were liberal, willing to expand and extend application of their ethical beliefs into all aspects of everyday life for the overall benefit of society. This ethical code is compared with that of the conservative Bushido, which demonstrably proved not up to the task for the modernization and improved well-being of Japan. Ichiro Horide is professor emeritus of Reitaku University. Edward Yagi and Stanley J. Ziobro II collaborated in the translation of the original Japanese manuscript into English. (shrink)

This chapter discusses and analyzes the characteristics of Shonindo focusing on four sections: comparative analysis of Shonindo with Bushido, behavior analysis of Japanese merchants, terakoya education in childhood and Shonindo, and comparison with Western merchant behavior.

The purpose of this work is to research and demonstrate, using evidence from contemporary documents, that the early modern Japanese merchant class in the Edo period Japan (1603–1868) held to a remarkable but little-examined ethical code roughly comparable to the well-known Way of the Warrior, or Bushido. Evidence demonstrates that many and perhaps most merchants—who were deeply despised and roundly devastated as unethical by Japan’s ruling samurai class—in practice acted in accordance with strict moral standards.

This chapter consists of two sections. The first section explains how merchants had a “Way” which compares favorably with Bushido. The second section demonstrates why and how “The Way of the Merchant” Arose.

L’avocat japonais a été institué en 1872 à l’image de l’avocat français, au cours du mouvement de modernisation qui a suivi l’ouverture du pays. Mais l’état d’esprit y était et reste celui de la bureaucratie judiciaire. L’avocat n’a obtenu son indépendance qu’en 1949. Malgré les apparences, son rôle ne semble pas suffisamment développé pour permettre à la Justice d’avancer pleinement dans le sens de la protection des droits et libertés. Après avoir dressé un aperçu général de l’évolution et de l’état (...) actuel de la profession d’avocat, nous examinerons la possibilité d’étendre ses fonctions à de nouvelles activités. (shrink)

We shall, based on historical records of the time, demonstrate the existence of Shonindo in the Edo period. Chapter sections are numbered sequentially. The first section comprises 4.1 What Is Shonindo? Here we shall provide a definition of Shonindo. The second section, 4.2 The Early Edo Period: Shonindo in the seventeenth century, is divided into six sub-sections. The first sub-section, 4.2.1, provides a bird’s-eye view of the seventeenth century as its premise. Sub-sections 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.2.5 take up four historical (...) records, the Keicho Kenmon Shu, the Choja Kyo, the Shison Kagami, and the Kanemochi Choho Ki. We shall analyze the religious faith and keywords found in each record, clarify their distinctive characteristics, and list representative examples by faith. In the final sub-section, 4.2.6, we shall provide a chronological analysis of the four records to clarify their merits. The third section, 4.3 The Middle Edo Period: Shonindo in the eighteenth century, is a wide-ranging case analysis. In sub-section, 4.3.1 we provide a bird’s-eye view of the eighteenth century serving as the premise of this period. We examine 24 historical records in sub-sections 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.3.4, 4.3.5, 4.3.6, 4.3.7, 4.3.8, 4.3.9, 4.3.10, 4.3.11, 4.3.12, 4.3.13, 4.3.14, 4.3.15, 4.3.16, 4.3.17, 4.3.18, 4.3.19, 4.3.20, 4.3.21, 4.3.22, 4.3.23, 4.3.24, and 4.3.25 and, as we did immediately above, analyze the religious faith and keywords found in each record, clarify their distinctive characteristics, and list representative examples by faith. In the final sub-section, 4.3.26, we shall provide a chronological analysis of the 24 records to clarify their merits. These records are the Kadōkun, the Tosei Shogun Dan, the Choninbukuro, the ChoninKoken Roku, the Akindo Yawaso, the Fukujin Kyokunbukuro, the Chonin Tsune no Michi, the Akindo Heizei Ki, the Tohi Mondo, the Kagyo Dotoku Ron, the Ken’yaku Seika Ron, the Ishida Sensei Goroku, the Kyokunzo Nagamochi, the Akindo Sugiwai Kagami, the Zenkun, the Shobai Kyokun Kagami, the Fuki no Ji ga Tame, the Akindo Koganebukuro, the Wagatsue, the Seken Senshin Ron, the Yowatarigusa, the Shuju Kokoroegaki, the Kagyo Sozoku Chikaragusa, and the Kanemokaru no Denju. The fourth section, 4.4 The Late Edo Period: Shonindo in the nineteenth century, is divided into 13 sub-sections. The first sub-section, 4.4.1, is a bird’s-eye view of the nineteenth century. We examine 11 historical records in sub-sections 4.4.2, 4.4.3, 4.4.4, 4.4.5, 4.4.6, 4.4.7, 4.4.8, 4.4.9, 4.4.10, 4.4.11, and 4.4.12 and, as we did in the previous sections, analyze the religious faith and keywords found in each record, clarify their distinctive characteristics, and list representative examples by faith. In the final sub-section, 4.4.13, we shall provide a chronological analysis of these 11 records to clarify their merits. These records are the Tosei Kanyo Ki, the Shison Takaragusa, the Sekitoku Sodan, the Wagami no Tame, the Hinpuku Taihei Ki, the Minka o Sodategusa, the Tosei Kanyo Ki Nihen, the Fuki Jizai Shu, the Shoka Kokoroegusa, the Genkin Oyasu Uri, and the Shusei no Ishizue. Finally, in Sect. 4.5, we shall look at the entire Edo period and summarize how mercantile ethics were affected. (shrink)

In this chapter, we conclude our analysis with three parts. The first section explains the consequences of our hypothesis verification concerning the morality of Japanese merchants in the Edo period. The second section summarizes our findings on how Edo period merchants put their theories of morality into practice. The third section suggests future areas of study, research, and analysis.

This chapter is composed of four sections. The first section takes up the significance of Bushido and clarifies why we discuss it. The second section takes up Inazo Nitobe and shows why and how Nitobe wrote Bushido in English. The third section verifies the theory of Bushido during the Edo period. The last section takes up the ethical code of the Mikawa samurai, Shosan Suzuki.

It has long been thought that transmembrane cell‐surface receptors, such as receptor tyrosine kinases and cytokine receptors, among others, are activated by ligand binding through ligand‐induced dimerization of the receptors. However, there is growing evidence that prior to ligand binding, various transmembrane receptors have a preformed, yet inactive, dimeric structure on the cell surface. Various studies also demonstrate that during transmembrane signaling, ligand binding to the extracellular domain of receptor dimers induces a rotation of transmembrane domains, followed by rearrangement and/or (...) activation of intracellular domains. The paper here describes transmembrane cell‐surface receptors that are known or proposed to exist in dimeric form prior to ligand binding, and discusses how these preformed dimers are activated by ligand binding. (shrink)

To understand the public opinion concerning the genethics in culturally different populations, we conducted two focus groups in Japan, with one focus group each in China and Panama between April 2008 and August 2009. Generally, the participants in Japan were more cautious to disclose their personal thinking in a clear manner. Most participants in China and Panama hoped to have children free from any genetic disease if at all possible. The major difference between China and Panama seems to be whether (...) or not they will accept the issue of genetic abortion. Compared to China and Panama, fewer participants accepted a reprogenetics procedure in Japan. ―A goal of genetic counseling is to reduce the number of patients of genetic disease‖ is supported to a greater degree in China and Panama than in Japan. Most participants in China as well as Panama, and fewer participants in Japan accepted the concept of sharing genetic information with relatives, even though it is useful for preventing a possible genetic risk. The difference of the answers for the questions is depending on the cultural and value diversity in each country, while some of them are related into a paucity of knowing the principle of biogenetics. Education as to medical genetics and the principle of bioethics is most important to make genetics more accessible to the general public. (shrink)

This paper examines the movement for independent living among the Japanese with disabilities from the perspective of multiculturalism and human rights. The IL movement questions the conventional idea, widely held by Japanese without disabilities, that disabled people are in need of special care and cannot live independently in ordinary communities. The IL movement advocates: 1) the reinterpretation of “disability” as mere “difference”, 2) the equal right to autonomy and social participation for the disabled, and 3) the unique right to care (...) and support that enable the disabled to be autonomous. The IL movement thus projects a new “disability culture” that assigns different meanings to disability and calls for radical change in social relationships. The IL movement then is one of many forces that celebrates diversity and advocates pluralism in Japanese society in defiance of the myth of a “homogeneous monocultural” Japan. The IL movement highlights the right to care as a basic human right which is a precondition for the right to autonomy. Consequently, the IL movement reinterprets the notion of autonomy and enriches the concept of “human rights.”. (shrink)

A novel method to quantize systems of damped motion is proposed in the frameworks of canonical quantization and path integral quantization. It can be afforded by considering a Lagrangian multiplied by a time-dependent function, which may represent an effective interaction with “environment.”.

Kampis proposes the study of chaotic itinerancy, pointing out its significance in domains of cognitive science and philosophy. He has discovered in the concept of chaotic itinerancy the possibility for a new dynamical approach that elucidates mental states with a physical basis. This approach may therefore provide the means to go beyond the connectionist approach. In accordance with his theory, I here highlight three issues regarding chaotic itinerancy: transitory dynamics, diversity, and self-modifying system.

I would like to emphasize the significance of chaotic dynamics at both local and macroscopic levels in the cortex. The basic notions dealt with in this commentary will be noise-induced order, chaotic “itinerancy” and dissipative structure. Wright & Laley's theory would be partially misleading, since emergent nonlinearity rather than the linearity at even a macroscopic level can actually subserve cortical functions.

We consider the significance of high-dimensional transitory dynamics in the brain and mind. In particular, we highlight the roles of high-dimensional chaotic dynamical systems as an “adequate language” (Gelfand 1989), which should possess both explanatory and predictive power of description. We discuss the methods of description of dynamic behavior of the brain. These methods have been adopted to capture the averaged or deterministic complexity, and further to allow for discussion of a new approach to capture the complexity of the deviation (...) from such an averaged complexity and also the complexity of interactive modes. We also give arguments in defense of our models for dynamic memory with chaotic itinerancy and Cantor coding. In addition, we discuss the reality that a model of the brain and mind should reflect. (shrink)

This paper disputes the claim that the so-called soul-body dualism finds its solution in the analysis of the intersubjectivity from the viewpoint of Husserl’s genetic phenomenology and in the concept of selflessness in the philosophy of Mahayana-Buddhism. The intentionality of instinctual drive as the passive synthesis provides the reason for Husserl’s intersubjectivity and the possibility of Buber’s I-Thou relation. The selflessness in this relation is the concept of Buber’s thou and in Husserl’s intersubjectivity lies in the interesting connection with the (...) non-egological dimension of Buddhism. (shrink)

This book is an introduction to phenomenology, with a focus on Edmund Husserl (1859–1938). Throughout the book, examples of concrete activities from everyday life (e.g., counting, perceiving, a change of feelings, communicating with others) are provided to elucidate the correlation of the act of consciousness (noesis) and the content of consciousness (noema). This is accomplished through an intentional analysis using the methods of phenomenological reduction and eidetic intuition. The correlation of consciousness is investigated in genetic phenomenology, in which the genesis (...) of the correlation itself is questioned. The study is divided into two stages of development: passive genesis based on passive intentionality, which is not mediated by self-consciousness, and active genesis based on active intentionality, in which self-consciousness is presupposed. Through an analysis of passive genesis, two of the more difficult problems in phenomenological research— namely, the constitution of temporal flow and the constitution of intersubjectivity—are clarified. In the analysis of the mother–child relationship, in which self-consciousness is not mediated, the formation of the fundamental time flow through the “living co-present” experienced together by the child and mother is clarified by way of the fulfillment of instinctive intentionality. Furthermore, at the basis of intersubjectivity, “passive intersubjectivity” is phenomenologically founded, freed from the spell of solipsism that comes from presupposing self-consciousness. With regard to active genesis, social activities such as politics, economics, culture, and the sciences are developed in the realm of linguistic communication through the active synthesis of perception, language, and judgment. The intentional analysis also clarifies how, in the midst of these activities, one can realize the I–Thou relationship in which the I itself is forgotten and one becomes the thing itself. In this way, through the phenomenological descriptions based on genetic phenomenology, our everyday life that we started off with is brought to light as the overall structure of a concrete life-world starting from childhood to the creative social activities of adulthood. (shrink)

Social epidemiology has made a powerful case that health determined not just by individual-level factors such as our genetic make-up, access to medical services, or lifestyle choices, but also by social conditions, including the economy, law, and culture. Indeed, at the level of populations, evidence suggests that these “structural” factors are thepredominantinfluences on health. Legal scholars in public health, including those in the health and human rights movement, have contended that human rights, laws, and legal practices are powerfully linked to (...) health. Social epidemiology and health-oriented legal scholarship are complementary in their focus and their research needs. Legal scholarship has identified plausible ways in which legal and human rights factors could be influencing health, but empirical evidence has been limited. (shrink)

This book is a collection of all the papers published in the special issue “Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Philosophy,” Journal of Philosophy of Life, Vol.13, No.1, 2023, pp.1-146. The authors discuss a variety of topics such as science fiction and space ethics, the philosophy of artificial intelligence, the ethics of autonomous agents, and virtuous robots. Through their discussions, readers are able to think deeply about the essence of modern technology and the future of humanity. All papers were invited and completed (...) in spring 2020, though because of the Covid-19 pandemic and other problems, the publication was delayed until this year. I apologize to the authors and potential readers for the delay. I hope that readers will enjoy these arguments on digital technology and its relationship with philosophy. *** -/- Contents*** -/- Introduction : Descartes and Artificial Intelligence; Masahiro Morioka*** -/- Isaac Asimov and the Current State of Space Science Fiction : In the Light of Space Ethics; Shin-ichiro Inaba*** -/- Artificial Intelligence and Contemporary Philosophy : Heidegger, Jonas, and Slime Mold; Masahiro Morioka*** -/- Implications of Automating Science : The Possibility of Artificial Creativity and the Future of Science; Makoto Kureha*** -/- Why Autonomous Agents Should Not Be Built for War; István Zoltán Zárdai*** -/- Wheat and Pepper : Interactions Between Technology and Humans; Minao Kukita*** -/- Clockwork Courage : A Defense of Virtuous Robots; Shimpei Okamoto*** -/- Reconstructing Agency from Choice; Yuko Murakami*** -/- Gushing Prose : Will Machines Ever be Able to Translate as Badly as Humans?; Rossa Ó Muireartaigh***. (shrink)

This Palgrave Pivot offers a rigorous meta-analysis of the finance–growth relationship in Asia. Economists Amar Anwar and Ichiro Iwasaki highlight how financial development and liberalization affect growth differently in East Asia than in South Asia. Analyzing 759 estimates from 79 empirical case studies, the authors explore how financial development and liberalization affect economic growth in Asia, offering information to assist policy proposals and research. Meta-Analysis of Finance and Growth in Asia is essential reading for researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested (...) in financial reform and sustainable economic development. (shrink)

Behavioral economics has potential to offer novel solutions to some of today's most pressing public health problems: How do we persuade people to eat healthy and lose weight? How can health professionals communicate health risks in a way that is heeded? How can food labeling be modified to inform healthy food choices? Behavioral Economics and Public Health is the first book to apply the groundbreaking insights of behavioral economics to the persisting problems of health behaviors and behavior change. In addition (...) to providing a primer on the behavioral economics principles that are most relevant to public health, this book offers details on how these principles can be employed to mitigating the world's greatest health threats, including obesity, smoking, risky sexual behavior, and excessive drinking. With contributions from an international team of scholars from psychology, economics, marketing, public health, and medicine, this book is a trailblazing new approach to the most difficult and important problems of our time. (shrink)

Studies in cognitive psychology have shown that the deployment of visual attention operates under spatial limitations, rendering its assignment to multiple locations difficult or costly. This study explored whether this conventional understanding applies to human metaattention as well. I measured the spatial distribution of metaattention during viewing of natural scenes and found that participants believed they could attend to multiple locations simultaneously. Study 2 tested whether this tendency could be modified by information about the tendency to overestimation. After participants were (...) informed of this tendency toward overestimation with both verbal instruction and demonstrations of attentional blindness and blindness to these phenomena, the selectivity of metaattention increased. Study 3 demonstrated that participants overestimated their attentional abilities by comparing the metaattentional drawings and the actual behavioral performances of the same participants. These results were consistent with recent findings of metaattentional overestimation in change detection and suggested human insensitivity in monitoring attentional limitations. (shrink)

In this chapter, the process of how the Five Senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) are generated from the undifferentiated fundamental synesthesia of infants, who cannot distinguish between external senses like vision and hearing and internal senses like touch and kinesthetic sensation, is explained through an analysis of passive synthesis (association and affection). The conscious perception of zero kinesthetic in infants occurs through the imitation of maternal babbling. During this process, the auditory perception of the mother’s babbling is paired (...) with no accompanying kinesthetic sensation, understood through the Gestalt psychological concept of figure and ground, as the audible voice (figure) and the insensible zero kinesthetic (ground). In the case of babbling imitation, the relationship between auditory perception and kinesthetic sensation represents the figure–ground relationship. Starting from fundamental synesthesia, the boundaries between various senses are drawn through experiences of sensory fulfillment (figure) and non-fulfillment (ground), resulting in the differentiation of individual sensory area. (shrink)

Five key points for the realization of Creativity in the Workplace.(1)Motivation as a starting point, (2)The effort to articulate one's feelings, (3) The ability to trust and listen to the senses of others, (4)Thoroughly get to the bottom of the facts(I-It relationship), (5) Focusing on things and matters and becoming them(I-Thou relationship).

The theme of this chapter is intercorporeality. In phenomenology, the transmission of pleasant or unpleasant affects between one’s own body and another’s is referred to as intercorporeal affective transmission, signifying what occurs between bodies. The characteristic that arises within such bodily interactions is termed intercorporeality. The alignment of pleasant or unpleasant affects constantly exchanged between mother and child is also known as exchange of affect, enabling the foundation of affective communication that underpins human relationships. Infants who become aware of their (...) kinesthetic sensation through imitating babbling with their mothers often show great interest in the connection between their kinesthetic sensation and auditory sensation, as they attentively observe their moving hands and realize, Move like this, see like this. This linkage occurs naturally and unconsciously, established through passive synthesis driven by passive intentionality related to the sense and value of movement and vision. This connection is termed association, which not only unites kinesthetic and visual sensation but also interconnects all sensation in a network-like manner, forming a horizon with breadth and depth, associating as a horizon of sense and value. (shrink)

This chapter explains how linguistic communication is formed based on affective communication through intercorporeality. As an example, the handing over of a teddy bear toy Winnie the Pooh between a mother and a non-verbal baby is given. When the mother tries to hand over a nearby milk bottle instead of the teddy bear, the baby shows a dissatisfied and uncomfortable expression, not displaying the satisfied pleasure expression until handed over with the teddy bear while the mother says, “Here’s your Pooh.” (...) During the handing over of Pooh, the visible Pooh that can be touched and held combines visual and tactile senses, merging into one sensory experience, always the same Pooh being handed over. Through hearing the same Pooh from the mother about the same Pooh every time, the identity of perception across various senses and the identity of the word with the object’s identity are added, forming the foundation for language acquisition through repetition. Thus, linguistic communication is established on the foundation of affective communication through the coinciding of affect between mother and child. In this process, onomatopoeia and mimetic words play a mediating role. (shrink)

In this chapter, the final chapter of Part 1, adult human relationships were explained through a three-layered structure: the first stage of passive intersubjectivity formed by affective communication established in infancy, the second stage of active intersubjectivity through linguistic communication facilitating social activities, and the third stage where the most creative human activities occur. This three-layer structure integrates Martin Buber's distinction between I–Thou and I–It relationships. Affective communication at the first stage is developed during the I–Thou relationships of infancy, while (...) the second stage, driven by linguistic communication, predominantly involves I–It relationships, within which the I–Thou relationships of adults can emerge. Thus, the realization of I–Thou relationships in the workplace necessitates three conditions: (1) the establishment of a conducive workplace environment, (2) genuine dialogue where individuals wholeheartedly engage in problem-solving through a thorough I–It relationship, and (3) understanding the establishment of workplace relationships through the interplay of affective and linguistic communication. Finally, the chapter discusses the SECI model by Ikujirō Nonaka, which utilizes Michael Polanyi's concept of tacit knowledge and highlights the incorporation of phenomenological intersubjectivity theory to promote collaborative research between spiral knowledge creation and phenomenological eidetic intuition. (shrink)

There is a credit union where many elderly people gather together on the Days Ending in Four (the 4th, 14th, and 24th of every month), when a festival is hosted in the Sugamo Jizo-dori Street Shopping Mall. As part of its service to its customers, the credit union, Sugamo Shinkin Bank, serves tea and sweets to visitors free of charge, providing a place for relaxation. True to its corporate motto, Share joy with customers, each member of Sugamo Shinkin Bank’s staff (...) develops and implements measures that benefit customers. How did the credit union successfully enable such an organizational culture to take root among its staff members working in the financial industry, where a follow-the-crowd mentality predominates? In this study, we focus on how this credit union worked to realize organizational culture reform. (shrink)

This Chapter presents the characteristics of human relationships in Japanese society, based on the key phrase You-You relationship mentioned in Part I. Notably, Japan is a high-context society that requires us to rely on context and make inferences. It is a society wherein using your imagination to guess is better than expressing yourself clearly in words. This is not a bad thing in itself; as such, not everything can be verbalized. The fact that we can understand each other through what (...) is called A-Un no kokyū in Japanese without using words is a kind of physical knowledge, and it is also a function of human intelligence. However, there are times when we are overly concerned with what the other person is saying, when we suppress our words and actions to fulfill the other person’s expectations, and when we suppress our own true feelings. This reflects a negative aspect of relationships in Japanese society. Bullying and harassment in the workplace can be understood in terms of such characteristics of relationships in Japanese society. This chapter elucidates phenomena occurring in the workplace within a high-context society from the perspective of phenomenology. (shrink)