Japanese "childishness" and NTTDocomo

I don't know about you, but I was a 1,000 times more creative as a kid than I am now.  There seems to be something about being a kid and having a wild imagination.  From a sociological standpoint the Japanese are considered to have a very "childish" culture.  This seems to be apparent not only on the things that they do or wear, but in the consistent flow of innovations that they continue to come up with.  Take a look at this NTTDocomo video I found while reading on the SmartMobs site that highlights their "vision" of the year 2010.

Video

Enjoy.

Comments

[el pibe]

Jose,

while your comments have merit...it bears pointing out that there are enclaves of innovation the world over. I would simply caution that a generalization is just that...a generalization. But since we're already down that road...the Japanese themselves would tell you that their happier being conservative and homogenous than innovating, ground breaking, and pioneers. There is a saying in Japan: "...the nail that sticks out, gets nailed back in..." in a society so bent on conformity, it is truly a marvel that so many non-conforming "childish" thoughts can spring forth...just another testimant to a truly curious and wondorous culture

Kwasi

[Jose]

Hi Kwasi,

I didn't mean to use the word "childish" in a demeaning way. And yes, it would be easy for anyone to argue that there are cultures that are just as innovative as the Japanese. On the other hand, there aren't many cultures out there that actually put their innovation to use. Take the US as an example. Why is it that the first hybrid cars sold in the US came from Japanese companies and not from American companies? Why is public transportation a priority in Japan and not an afterthought as it is in the US? Why are gadgets introduce in Japan every two weeks regardless of success or failure?

There are many ironic things about what we think we know about the Japanese and American cultures. We say that Japanese are more "group" oriented while the Americans tend to be more "individualistic." Fashion is a good example. We've seen the articles highlighting the latest style fad sweeping Japanese teenagers. On the other hand, you never get to hear or see anyone criticizing how most American employees in business casual environments look like cookie-cutter Banana Republic ambulant ads. Or how about those ugly Ugg boots that women all over Manhattan are wearing? Could it be that most of them are "individually" reading and agreeing with what Vogue and Glamour think is "in or out"?

Regardless of what it is, the fact still remains: the Japanese in their own "childish" ways, keep looking and thinking about the future and in a very "mature" way; they actually do something about it.

What did you think about the video?

[el pibe]

Jose,

I know you didn't mean anything demeaning. And on some level I used to agree with what you said about innovation until I went to the land of swords and playstation myself. I simply meant that the Japanese in general are not all that innovative. The small percentage that are innovative, admittedly, do groundbreaking shit!