The Real Reason Collectivism Still Lives On in Japan

When I was young, I was studying abroad in New Zealand. One day, I was planning to go out with a diverse group of friends—people from Asia, Europe, and South America—to a bar in central Auckland that was a bit far from where we were.

The quickest way to get there was by bus, so that's what we decided to do. But then my Argentinian friend suddenly said, "The night breeze feels so nice—I think I'll walk to the bar instead."

I still remember being shocked at that moment, thinking, "So the idea that everyone should do the same thing really is unique to Japanese people." If someone had said the same thing in Japan, they would definitely have been labeled as someone who "can't read the air." But at that time, I actually felt envious of my Argentinian friend, who could prioritize his personal desire to enjoy the pleasant night air.

This example is just my personal experience as a Japanese person, but when we think about dividing the world into "individualistic or collectivistic," Japan is generally considered collectivistic in contrast to Western individualism.

Of course, Japan has over 100 million residents, and this kind of black-and-white thinking is inherently flawed. Still, if I were asked whether Japan tends more toward individualism or collectivism, even as a Japanese person, I would answer that "Japan has a strong tendency toward collectivism."

But why do Japanese people have a culture that values the group over the individual? Behind this lies a uniquely Japanese way of thinking that goes beyond individual attitudes and mindsets.

Did Island Geography and Polytheism Create Japanese Collectivism?

When considering why Japanese people value groups, two reasons are frequently mentioned.

The first reason is thought to be that Japan is an island nation that hasn't experienced frequent foreign invasions.

Of course, Japan has suffered major damage from events like the two Mongol invasions in the late 13th century, Commodore Perry's arrival with the Black Ships in the mid-19th century, and the ground battles in Okinawa, the Tokyo air raids, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

However, compared to European and Asian countries connected to continental landmasses, these invasions were less frequent. This meant that powerful groups weren't replaced often, which is thought to be a factor in valuing collective harmony.

The second reason involves Japan's indigenous Shinto religion, which is polytheistic and centers on worshipping many gods found in nature—mountains, rivers, rocks, and so on. When Buddhism was introduced from China, it didn't completely replace Shinto but coexisted with it in a form called "神仏習合 /religious syncretism." This blending of multiple faiths is thought to have influenced the tendency to value groups over individuals.

What's the Real Reason Japan Is Collectivistic?

However, I believe the most fundamental reason Japanese people prioritize groups over individuals is that "prioritizing the group over the individual ultimately benefits the individual"—this social mechanism has persisted for a long time.

Let me use a concrete example to explain why group interests ultimately become individual interests.

Imagine a situation in Japan where someone has "completed their work duties and finished their designated work hours."

In this situation, you could either "prioritize group interests = work overtime and help colleagues" or "prioritize individual interests = go home since your work is done." Japanese people often choose to prioritize group interests by helping teammates with overtime work or staying at the company to do other non-urgent tasks until everyone finishes their work.

In other words, they act by prioritizing the group over personal feelings. But why has prioritizing group interests in Japan traditionally led to individual benefits?

Japan's traditional employment system included lifetime employment (working for one company until retirement), seniority-based promotion and pay systems (where age and years at the company directly affected salary), and strict dismissal regulations that made it difficult for companies to fire employees.

In Japanese society built on these systems, prioritizing company interests over individual interests has long translated into personal benefits through promotions and salary increases. That's why Japanese people have accepted long hours of overtime and worked patiently.

This same pattern of group interests directly connecting to individual interests applies to daily life as well.

For example, in Japan, even if you drop your wallet, it usually comes back to you with all the cash intact. This happens because whoever finds it turns it in to the police or train company.

Behind this behavior lies the reality that "the personal financial gain from stealing money from a wallet is less valuable than maintaining trust within the local community and public safety—prioritizing these group interests ultimately benefits the individual."

In Japanese local communities especially, people build relationships through various events, festivals, marriage arrangements, and job referrals. Stealing a wallet would destroy these local relationships, ultimately putting the individual in a socially and economically difficult situation.

I believe this reality—where acting in group interests over individual interests ultimately benefits the individual—is the biggest factor that has shaped Japanese behavior patterns of prioritizing group over individual interests.

Why Does Japanese Collectivism Continue Even as Society Changes?

However, if collectivism is maintained purely for these practical benefits where group interests lead to individual interests, this doesn't match the reality of today's changing Japanese society.

For example, the social systems I mentioned earlier—lifetime employment and seniority-based systems—have already begun to collapse in many companies as the percentage of regular full-time employees has decreased and dispatch workers and freelancers have increased.

In local communities too, except for some elderly people, regional communities are effectively collapsing due to young people moving away and population decline.

Even as these traditional social systems break down, why do Japanese people still behave collectively?

Japanese People Who Prioritize Out-Groups Over In-Groups

The reason I think this happens is the Japanese concept of "inner groups and outer groups."

When we talk about groups of people, if you keep expanding the group, you eventually get to "all people in the world." If Japanese people recognized all people worldwide as a group and prioritized that kind of collectivism, that would be beautiful—but unfortunately, that's not the case.

People draw lines within specific ranges and divide people into chunks to form "groups." Clear examples include "families defined by blood relations, parent-child relationships, or people living together" or "employee groups defined by working for the same business."

This is something people all over the world do, and in the sense of defining these groups, everyone in the world lives under some form of collectivism.

But in addition to defining groups this way, Japanese people have the special tendency to "sometimes prioritize outer groups over inner groups."

For example, during World War II Japan, even when the war was clearly being lost, when the state conscripted someone's son for military service, parents would celebrate their son as a patriot defending the country and send him off to war. This behavior prioritized the "outer group of the nation" over the "inner group of family."

This tendency to prioritize outer groups doesn't only occur in special wartime situations.

For example, in modern Japan, there's a phenomenon called "hikikomori"—people who completely cut off social interaction with school or work and stop leaving their familiar homes. In 2019, there were 1.15 million such people, and by 2022, this had risen to 1.46 million. Hikikomori continues to trend upward.

The causes of long-term withdrawal are diverse and can't be generalized. However, from my own experience growing up in rural Japan, I've observed that some Japanese communities tend to hide individuals who are withdrawn from the outside world.

For example, when their child becomes a hikikomori, parents hide this fact from their surroundings by telling people things like "My son worked in Tokyo and isn't home right now," thus concealing the withdrawn individual from local society.

Behind this behavior, we can see another aspect of Japanese behavioral tendencies to prioritize "outer groups like local communities" over "inner groups like families."

Why Do Japanese People Value Outer Groups?

So why do Japanese people sometimes value larger outer groups like local communities or the nation more than close inner groups like themselves or their families?

I think there are two reasons: "school education" and "the nation protecting individuals."

First, let's consider school education.

Japanese schools involve group activities in various situations: "everyone cleaning the school together," "same uniforms and bags," "grade-specific colored indoor shoes," and "annual sports festivals and cultural festivals."

Through these activities, Japanese people naturally experience group behavior. At the same time, when they can't participate in such group activities, they may face sanctions from the group—being scolded by teachers or excluded from friend circles.

For students, school becomes a place where they spend more time than at home. Being excluded from the group at school has major disadvantages, so through this education, Japanese people unknowingly internalize the idea that prioritizing outer groups like school over inner groups like family brings significant benefits.

Second, there's the nation protecting individuals.

This is simply because "the largest outer group in Japan is the Japanese government, and the Japanese government acts in ways that benefit individuals" (even though Japanese politicians are thoroughly disliked by Japanese people...).

For example, labor laws make it difficult for companies to fire employees, which protects individuals. Japan also has a social security system called "welfare assistance" where recipients get all basic medical costs covered for free, so the nation maintains minimum guarantees for individual survival.

However, these policies by the Japanese government—the largest outer group—already create generational inequality. In Japan's aging society, older individuals who have more numbers and greater electoral influence tend to benefit more from these policies.

When this generational inequality among individuals reaches a level that young Japanese people can't tolerate, Japanese collectivism might truly collapse.

In Closing

Japan has a saying: "Compassion is not just for others" (情は人のためならず / nasake wa hito no tame narazu). This proverb means that showing consideration for others eventually comes back to benefit yourself, so you shouldn't forget to care for others.

Due to excessive wartime collectivism and its accompanying tragedies, plus the collapse of company and community-based groups, Japanese collectivism is increasingly seen more for its negative aspects than its benefits among Japanese people. I feel it's inevitable that it will become more and more an outdated way of thinking.

This is correct and unavoidable in some ways, since we shouldn't repeat past mistakes.

Still, I believe the idea that Japanese people still vaguely believe in—"compassion is not just for others"—is a way of thinking that forms the foundation for creating strong cooperative relationships, benefits, and connections that go beyond individual interests.

I hope Japanese society will continue to have social mechanisms where temporarily forgetting your own interests and prioritizing others' interests eventually comes back to benefit you.

Thank you for reading this.