Book Presentation: Japan's Character... Between Experiential Reality and Perceptual Illusion

Abstract

A presentation  delivered on the book "The Character of Japan: Between the Reality of Experience and the Imagination of Perception" by Prof. Almo'men Abdullah, Professor of Japanese Studies at Tokai University. The book offers an in-depth, Arabic analytical reading of Japanese personality and culture, informed by prolonged lived experience within Japanese society and moved beyond the binary of admiration and rejection. The book examines the components of the Japanese mind and behavior through interconnected themes that reveal a comprehensive value system predicated on collective harmony, discipline, respect for context, preference for safety, and the conception of work as a moral duty. Furthermore, it explores patterns of implicit communication, education, leadership, political decision-making and cultural diplomacy, alongside Japanese-American relations. Additionally, it offers linguistic and cultural comparisons between Arabic and Japanese. The author concludes that understanding the Japanese experience cannot be achieved by merely adopting its institutional models, but rather by comprehending the underlying cultural framework that sustains them. Ultimately, he emphasizes that civilizational differences should be a way for mutual understanding rather than a source of conflict.