Author: Marathe, Aashlesha

Annotation: This paper is a comparison of India and Japan, highlighting the socio-cultural and behavioral similarities and differences between the two countries. India and Japan have shared diplomatic relations throughout history. The migration of Indians to Japan for education as well as for work has been increasing rapidly in recent years and is expected to keep rising. Naturally, people from both countries are interacting with each other more and more for work, education, and daily interactions. Studying the culture and characteristics of people from both countries is especially relevant in such a situation. There are a lot of cultural differences between India and Japan, with both countries having their own sets of unique characteristics. For example, Indian flexibility is in contrast to Japanese rigidity and standardization. On the other hand, India and Japan have a shared heritage of Buddhism, and as they are both Asian countries, we can see a lot of cultural commonalities. Furthermore, with globalization and a lot of developments in recent years, there is a lot of cultural convergence in both Indian and Japanese cultures. This paper compares India and Japan, taking into account Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Edward Hall’s high and low context cultural comparison. It also highlights a few prior studies on India and Japan. Understanding the cultures, communication, and thought patterns of both countries will help build a foundation for further studies of India and Japan such as migration studies, language studies, and other sociocultural studies.

Keywords: India, Japan, Culture, Communication, Migration

Pages in journal: 124 - 129