Learning about other countries’ culture is one of the most important things which people must do before visiting or working in a foreign country.

Western and Asian countries have significant cultural differences. For instance, western people believe that being straightforward is essential when dealing with certain issues. On the other hand, Asians people prefer to deal with issues indirectly to avoid possible conflicts.

Western people are more individualistic as compared to Asian people. Western people are more comfortable making decisions on their own. Meanwhile, Asian people feel more comfortable being a part of a group. They generally seek advice from other people, especially with their friends and family when making important decisions. Also, going out as a group is more common to Asian people than Western people. That is why group sizes are usually small for Western people while large groups are common for Asian people, especially during special occasions.

Asian people often form close emotional relationships with their colleagues. They feel the importance of it and keeping those people for life. While Western people prefer to keep their circle small and create a strong relationship with a few people who are with the same interest.

In this day and age, it is important that people are aware of the cultural differences as they would help them create a good and respectful relationship with other people from different parts of the world.

Nowadays, most Japanese young adults do not consider having their own children. Because of this, Japan’s population has been decreasing rapidly.

According to the health ministry, there were only 946,000 babies born in Japan in 2017. This is the lowest birth rate since the year 1899. On the other hand, there were about 1,340,433 Japanese people died in the same year. Meaning, the Japanese population has decreased by 400,000 people.

According to the Japanese Statistics Bureau, the current Japanese population is around 127 million and is expected to decrease by 100 million by 2020. If this continues over the years, the Japanese population would fall to 8.5 million by 2300.

The Japanese government established projects in the mid-1990 that aim to make having kids more appealing for young adults. These projects were expected to reduce the costs of childcare and force companies to create policies that are more parent-friendly. Although the plan did not turn into a success, it helped the population decline from getting worse.

To control the decreasing number of the Japanese population, the government should consider accepting immigrants from a different perspective. However, the government seems not ready yet to make an attempt in doing this. The number of foreign workers in Japan has significantly increased from 300,000 in 2007 to almost 1.5 million in 2017. However, not all of them are offered to become permanent residents. They are also not allowed to bring over their families which discourages them from staying for a long time.

If the Japanese population continues to decrease in the future, it is expected that people from other countries would encounter fewer Japanese people in the coming years.

An exhibition called “Looking Back at the Twentieth Century” presented 300 photographs from the past which allowed people to look back at history.

The great progress in the world started during the 20th century which made people’s lives comfortable. However, it was also the time when millions of people lost their lives in terrible wars.

One of the photographs in the exhibition showed a boy carrying a baby on his back. It was taken by Joe O’Donnell in Japan in 1945. In an interview, he told the story behind the photograph. He said that the boy whom he took a picture of looked different and serious. When the boy arrived, men wearing white masks came to him, took the baby on his back, and placed the baby on the fire. That was the time when he realized that the baby on the boy’s back was dead. The boy stood straight and watched the flames for a while then silently walked away from it. This is just one of the hundreds of photographs with an unpleasant past.