"What Kind of Thesis Is this? It's Kind of Crap!" (Part B)

Methodological Explanation

The methodological reasoning for conducting the interviews that follow is two-fold: first, secondary sources on the exact subject of study are not terribly plentiful. More importantly, for this particular type of study, over-reliance on books and research papers written by outsiders would be imprudent at best. For these reasons, over the course of approximately three weeks a total of nine personal interviews were conducted with Japanese college students - who for privacy's sake shall be referred to only by first name -- currently studying in the area. Of the subjects, five attend the University of Pennsylvania, three are Bryn Mawr College students, and the remaining one is a student at Haverford College. Although biographical details vary, all interview volunteers have had extensive experience living in Japan, with 11 years' time being the absolute minimum, 18 years the maximum. All in all, each subject has lived at least half, and usually the majority, of his or her life in Japan. Also, it should be noted that the gender distribution of the subjects is somewhat skewed: seven female to only two male. However, as gender issues have never entered into the parameters of the present study, and in fact are believed to be largely irrelevant in the current context, this apparent shortcoming is not believed to present any problems.

A perhaps more salient point that bears addressing is the fact that the oral portion of the interviews was conducted primarily in English, which is not what was originally planned. However, as every subject appeared fluent in the language - as proven by their acceptance into American universities - it was deemed entirely counterproductive to subject the interview volunteers to the broken, halting Japanese language abilities of the author. In fact, by doing so, the subjects may have been made to feel nervous or uncomfortable, hesitant to use words or concepts they saw as above the capabilities of a non-native speaker. Moreover, the written portion of the interview remained in Japanese to ensure that thoughts or opinions subjects felt could only be rendered in their native language would not be omitted, and furthermore, most subjects freely sprinkled the conversation with bits of Japanese if English did not suffice.

As for the content and makeup of the interviews, the general format consisted of a two-page written questionnaire (presented in its entirety in Appendix A), followed by an oral interview session. The latter consisted of general questions pertaining to the usage and presence of English in Japan, followed by more specific questions focusing on the subjects' thoughts, opinions, and feelings on collected primary materials, i.e., magazine clippings and T-shirts from Japan (see Appendix B). While the majority of these interviews were conducted in person, one subject requested communication by phone, and another agreed only to fill out the questionnaire via e-mail. In both cases, the interviews were then modified to make up for the particular shortcomings of each less personal medium. For example, in the case of the e-mail interview, the written form was approximately twice as long as the normal version to help rectify the absence of the oral portion.

Finally, it should be noted that while the earlier interviews did fall prey to occasional methodological errors- i.e., leading the conversation in a predetermined direction regardless of flow, posing complicated questions in overly simple yes/no form - these mistakes were not overly frequent nor severe, and subsequent interviews are believed to be free of any such confirmation bias. That stated, the analysis of interviews may now proceed.

Written Form

The written portion of the interview begins with a brief survey of personal information - name, age, time spent living in Japan, and time spent living in America - the utility of which should be obvious. The section also asks the subject to describe his or her personality, which was originally included to gauge if English was more attractive to certain personality types, but ultimately this was left an unexplored avenue. The rest of the questions shall be addressed individually:

Do you think that English holds a certain appeal to Japanese people? If so, please explain.

This question is of a very general nature, and as such, the results were unanimously in the affirmative. The most common adjective used to describe the way Japan generally feels about English is "cool." Another term that came up quite often was akogare, which describes a feeling of yearning or aspiration, a desire to emulate. Many respondents linked this to an overall fascination with Western culture, and emphasized the great degree to which English is already present in Japan. None of this, of course, is surprising; however one subject did report that it is now becoming fashionable to write words solely in the hiragana character set, which she sees as a sign that the allure of English is finally beginning to wear out.

Does English add an additional incentive to buy a product?

The subjects were considerably split on this question, with five answering in the affirmative and four in the negative. However, it must be noted that the latter group answered for themselves personally, mentioning that since they can understand English, the mangled language that often appeals on products does not hold much allure. One respondent even went as far to say that she would be "embarrassed" to purchase English-bearing products because she was able to understand what they say. Therefore, one can assume that the average Japanese consumer may indeed feel compelled to buy a product due to the presence of English. And while it may seem rather harsh to characterize most Japanese people with a lack of English-language abilities, this is in fact what those interviewed seemed to think:

Among all other Asian countries, Japanese people do not speak English that well. I believe this is because they don't learn useful English in school, which is the only place students learn English. They only teach grammar straight out from the book and just make them memorize whatever's in the book, and hence, they cannot really communicate and comprehend English that well because they don't speak it in their everyday life and they know that fact...I think that they should change the English education as a whole in Japan.

At this point, several subjects again equated the appeal of English with an intrinsic fascination with America, which stands despite the nation's reputedly poor English-language skills.

Do you always understand the English used in advertisements? (1 = "never," 5 = "always")

The usefulness of this question is unfortunately dulled due to the level of English fluency present in the subjects. However, this is not to say that "5" was the unanimous response. Six subjects ranked themselves a "4" or lower, not due to their lack of English ability, but the Japanese advertising industry's. One subject even gave himself a "2" due to the comprehension minefield that is Japanese advertising-English. This question had a second part, which follows:

Even if the English isn't clearly understood, is it still appealing?

The general consensus here is that a) most Japanese people would not be able to tell whether the English used in an ad makes sense or not, and b) most people would not care either way. The peculiar allure of English to Japanese people is definitely not one that is rooted in literal meaning. This is a fact that is agreed upon by primary and secondary sources alike - many subjects wrote such things as "English is appealing, but not because of its meaning." "Since a lot of English is used on so many products, typos don't really stand out." "Even if it's incomprehensible, it still holds an attraction." "English might be appealing even if not understood." As for secondary sources, remember the work of George Fields, who after all, titled one of his chapters "How It's Being Said is More Important That What's Being Said." The title refers to labor negotiations in Japan, but surely it applies to Japanese-English as well.

Do you personally own a lot of "English things"? About how many?

"I have a 'Joke Collection,' but that's it. A T-shirt with "Karate Chop", and "Pocari Sweat (a popular sports drink)." As about half of the interviewees had previously stated that they did not find English appealing due to their fluency, the responses here are predictable and therefore not particularly revealing.

Does the English used in advertisements differ from the English studied in school? Is it very different? On what points does it differ?

"I think they are similar - in a way I see the advertisement as using 'school English' which makes the ad a little bit awkward. In other words, the English used in advertisements is not a natural, fluent English." Another respondent agrees, writing that other than the "random English phrases use in products which often makes no sense at all", the two are "not that different." Many of the subjects interviewed either went to international schools or did not study English at all in Japan, but the other respondents did seem to feel that English used in ads and the English taught in schools are very similar - similarly poor, that is. Therefore, the strange syntax that often characterizes the English used in Japanese ads can be seen as a reflection of the substandard English-education system of the nation. Because the language is not taught very well in most schools, both producer and consumer alike are rather apathetic to the correct usage of English; once again, what really matters is only that English is used at all.

Please rank your English-language fluency: ("1" is "poor," "5" is "skilled")

I would like to state here, for the record, that the three people who ranked themselves below a "5" can have done so only out of modesty.

The last question of the written questionnaire asked for any additional thoughts the respondents may have on the subject of English. For those that chose to add something, the answers mostly revolved around the general characteristics of English in Japan that have already been established: its overall permeation of the country, its frequently incorrect usage, and its capability to establish mood through aesthetics and positive association, rather than by literal meaning.

Oral Interview

The spoken portion of the interview was based upon the following questions:

1. Why do you think your peers/family use English?

2. Do different age groups become attracted to different types of English?

3. Is the English phenomenon particular to, or particularly strong in, a certain age group or demographic?

4. Would it make a difference if French or German were used instead of English? Would people notice?

5. Do you, or Japanese people in general, ever wonder if Japanese appears on American products?

6. In America, a recent fad is to use kanji on tattoos, T-shirts, etc. Is this development known of in Japan? What do people think or say about it?

7. Has anyone ever remarked on the abundance of English in Japan?

While the above seven questions were the basis around which the oral portion was based, two things should be noted. First of all, as the number of interviews accumulated the relative efficacy of each question became apparent, and as such, questions were altered, combined, condensed, or omitted altogether. Specifically, the second and third questions were eventually merged, and the seventh was deemed superfluous as the answer invariably came up through the normal course of the conversation. Also, number 5 was eventually phased out, as a sufficiently lucid way of phrasing it was never found, and only proved useful as a lead-up to number 6, regardless.

More importantly, although the above questions were the skeleton around which the interview was built, the conversation often strayed away and branched off from the core questions, as conversations often do. However, even in the most wandering of interviews, the pertinent topics that came up are fairly open to categorization. Hence, this portion of the analysis shall be broken down into important points that came up throughout the conversation, rather than by individual question.

Young people are the main consumers of English in Japan.

Confirming the hypothesis of this study at a basic level, every single person interviewed named young people (defined as people in their teenage years through their mid-twenties) as the group to whom English holds the greatest amount of cultural capital. They are the demographic that both uses and is drawn to English the most. English seems to permeate all aspects of youth culture. It is taught in their classes, it is on the products they buy, and has long since invaded their pop culture.

Eighteen year-old Hayato cites the penchant of Japanese music groups for taking on English names - witness Dragon Ash, Morning Musume, or Mr. Children - as emblematic of young people's love for English. What do all of these names mean? Clearly nothing at all, at least in terms of literal, American-semantic meaning, but just as obviously, they all evidently appeal to young Japanese consumers, or at least are meant to. "English is a status symbol" and in fact, throwing English phrases into Japanese conversation can be considered a form of showing off. This would definitely appear to be the case, as two different subjects mentioned that their friends admire them due to their fluency in English.

To clarify the appeal of English to young Japanese people, the subjects were shown an advertisement for Ayumi Hamazaki, a current popular idol singer (see Appendix B). This ad seemed unusual due to its extremely prominent, almost garish employment of large English letters; moreover, many of the English words, the singer's name for instance, could just as easily have been written in Japanese. The hypothesis here, then, was that, since the demographic that Hamazaki targets is largely the same one this study is covering, the overuse of English in this circumstance was a conscious, deliberate bid to capitalize on the allure of English to young Japanese people. Every respondent that was shown this ad agreed.

One subject in particular, however, provided an even more telling explanation - she theorized that the abundant use of English in the ad is meant to "make up" for the lack of "coolness" that could only be provided by a Western star. In a sense, then, this respondent believes that by using so much English in the ad, that Ayumi, who is of mixed heritage, is almost apologizing for not being more Western.

The appeal of English primarily arises through positive associations with America.

"A lot of people sort of aspire to the United States," said 23 year-old Chihiro, who believes that English is a reflection of positive feelings towards the United States. She seemed to believe this very strongly, and came right out and said that at least some Japanese have inferiority complexes about race - in other words, she said, they want to be like white people - "whatever fashion appears in the US, Japanese wants to imitate."

It should be noted that Chihiro did not say these things out of spite or resentment, but spoke matter-of-factly and actually seemed to be a bit embarrassed. She blames this phenomenon on a feeling of "lost identity" and insecurity in Japan's current generation, saying that they are very nervous in regards to appearances and are "not sure enough to be [just] Japanese," and notes that older generations were able to learn from the United States without developing a complex because of it.

The other interviewees seemed to share Chihiro's sentiments, although usually with less straightforwardness. Some, like Lily, said that the allure of English is an extension of a "glamorized" Western world. Hayato agreed, mentioning that young people mostly hear about American through television, through which they are fed "biased" views of America and become fascinated. In other words, much of what Japan's youth knows of America, they know from imported rap videos - it doesn't necessarily have to be a positively biased image for it to be attractive. Another respondent, who, just to be on the safe side, shall remain unnamed - made explicit use of the term "white envy." Yet another called the popularity of English a "culturally embedded idea": "you cannot deny that people in Japan look up to the Western world. You can't deny that."

Of course, the unfortunate implication of Japan's idealization of the Western world is that a comparatively negative view of their own culture exists in many Japanese people. This is a topic touched upon in Brian Moeran's A Japanese Advertising Agency, a significant portion of which chronicles the development of an ad campaign for a certain type of contact lens:

The only query that arose at this early stage was whether [the spokesmodel] should be a Japanese or western woman. The copywriter suggested that perhaps a foreign tennis star might be considered, but his idea was dismissed when the creative team realized that the campaign's film and studio sessions fell right in the middle of the international tennis circuit season and that the Grafs and Sabatinis of that world would not be available. It was decided fairly rapidly, therefore, that a Japanese celebrity would do.

The key phrase in the above passage is "A Japanese celebrity would do." Notice that the ad committee immediately suggests the usage of a Western celebrity at first, and only resorts to a Japanese star as a clear second choice. According to one interviewed subject, many young Japanese people "suppress" their own culture, and see it as "second-rate," at least in some sense. However, it should be noted that in some cases - namely, when trying to sell more traditionally "Asian" products, such as tea - Japanese models and imagery would be preferable to use in the ad campaign. It is only when the advertisers are trying to convey a specifically Western image that Western actors and English are utilized. In fact, many respondents stated that, for example, if a Japanese actor instead of Brad Pitt were used in the "Excellent Wacht" ad (Appendix 2), then English would not have been used at all, for the sake of consistency. If this is true, then it can be deduced that English is used almost exclusively as a way of provoking Western imagery in the mind of the viewer. From this, it would not be unreasonable to state, then, that the appeal of English in Japan is derived solely from positive associations with the Western world in general: respondents believe that these types of ads try to give off the feeling that, if a Japanese person uses the product shown, then perhaps he or she can be more like the white spokesmodel. Western imagery appears to lend a sense of credibility to a product, an idea that shall be covered in the subsequent heading.

The English language lends a sense of global product reliability and adds credibility.

Question: if English in Japanese advertising is geared primarily towards young people, then why is it also used consistently for products that are clearly geared towards older audiences? Such as, for example, a car that claims to be meant for the "car enthusiast who wants to feel the beat of life in his own life"? Or what about a box of tissues that offers the tantalizing proposal of a "rich and comfortable life with paper"? Why is such English appearing on objects that young people would not find particularly exciting, or simply could not afford?

This was a question posed during the very first interview conducted, during which it was said that English lends a sense of "international reliability" - in that a foreign language on a product implies that it is used other countries outside of Japan - with the thought being that if a product is used internationally, then it is must be pretty reliable. If a product does not contain any English, it may even be perceived as "outdated". This is why English is often used in ads, especially for mechanical or technical products such as cars, as seen in the "Smart All-Rounder" advertisement for the Mitsubishi Air Trek (see Appendix 2). Even if a car is manufactured in Japan, English can lend it a sense of global reliability.

The role of English as cultural capital has definite historical grounding.

While it may initially seem odd to root an intrinsically modern cultural phenomenon in an occurrence that took place half a century ago, a total of five respondents, often of their own volition, linked the current popularity of English in Japan directly to the American Occupation. After all, if Japan had won the war, it would be hard to imagine them focusing on bilingualism as much as they theoretically do today. The Occupation is the period during which the influx of Western words and concepts really began, and although similar situations have occurred in Japan's history, the Occupation was the first time Japan literally needed to learn and use English: Japanese people "had no choice" but to learn English. The simple fact is that, had the Americans not occupied Japan after World War II, there would be no fascination with the English language in Japan today.

According to Chihiro, because their defeat in World War II was so decisive, the Japanese in general began seeing everything that was considered "Pre-War Japan" in a negative light. This may go a ways towards explaining why Japan was so quick to embrace Western ways, or at least an approximation thereof. Chihiro and other subjects believe that the degree to which the United States influenced Japan during the Occupation was so great that it extends to even today, going so far as to refer to Japan as a "US State." This is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but it cannot be denied that the United States has had an enormous influence on Japan in many ways. This is reflected in the minds of many Japanese people today: a 1993 survey found that 88.1% of its respondents named the United States as the country most important to Japan. The current usage of English in Japan can therefore also be interpreted as a historical extension of unique shared history with the United States.

The American fad of using Chinese characters on clothing and tattoos may be the domestic counterpart of Japanese-English.

Although one of the interview's prepared questions revolved around this topic, a few respondents brought up the issue before they were even asked. Everyone interviewed was familiar with this phenomenon - that is, Americans being fond of wearing shirts emblazoned with kanji, oblivious as to its actual meaning. Or actually having it tattooed directly on their skin, with probably no greater authority than the tattoo artist present to assure them that they are not forever being branded with characters that mean "stupid American." For the most part, even the most serious-sounding of the respondents couldn't help but laugh at the phenomenon. They find it as funny as most Americans probably find "Japlish." Moreover, the majority of the respondents saw it as a parallel cultural phenomenon to Japanese-English: after all, both give a "sense of exoticism in a twisted way," both hold an appeal that has little if anything to do with literal meaning, and both appear rather humorous to individuals who are actually familiar with the meaning. Therefore, on at least this superficial level, the two phenomena are indeed extremely similar. There are, however, a couple of differences.

For one, the degree to which both cultural/fashion developments have flourished in their respective countries is separated by a rather wide gulf. While one can often find kanji on T-shirts and tattoos in America, that is more or less where its presence ends. English, on the other hand, literally cannot be avoided no matter where one should happen to go in Japan; even a blind man would perhaps pick up snippets of students practicing their English, or hear it used in commercials. Furthermore, while an American may put on a kanji T-shirt, or even consider a tattoo, it is not likely that he would feel enticed to buy a product because its advertisement contained Japanese characters. The language may seem fascinating and exotic, but with none of the "race envy" discussed earlier.

Moreover, when making a comparison such as this, one also must consider the degree to which English has penetrated Japan - it is now for all intents and purposes an essential and integral part of the language, and could not be removed short of replacing a significant chunk of modern vernacular. Some say it is almost too significant a part, as even fluent English speakers such as the interviewees still sometimes need to consult a dictionary when watching the Japanese news. English in Japan, as depicted on clothing, products, and in ads, reflects a greater cultural penetration, while kanji in the United States can claim no such cultural, social, or historical grounding. The American kanji fad then, is merely a fad, and a superficial one at that. English in Japan, on the other hand, is a far more textured phenomenon, which is something that hopefully is well understood by this point.

This concludes most of the main points brought up during the oral interviews. However, other intriguing points were brought up individually, of course. For instance, one subject brought up an anecdote by Inoue Hisashi, a short story author. In this story, Hisashi went to the Yokohama Chinatown, and polled people on why they were there. Reportedly, "a good percentage of people said that [they went there because] it's comforting to see a lot of kanji." The respondent herself said she could understand this sentiment; she sometimes feels that Japan has "this strange feeling of foreignness all around." Another respondent offered a similar anecdote: "10 years ago America was thought of as really cool, but now when I go back and tell people I live in the States, they feel sympathetic towards me." Naturally, this comment necessitated elaboration: apparently America is starting to be considered "unfashionable" by some, primarily because Japanese girls who visit it reportedly are unable to find clothing that fits them, i.e., Americans tend to be of larger proportions. The irony here, of course, is that a country that appropriated the fashion sensibility of another country is now criticizing the country from which the fashion was taken for being "unfashionable." Besides implying that the American "trend" is perhaps finally starting to wear thin, this also suggests that while Japan has indeed absorbed a great deal of foreign culture, they also modify and update the raw materials in accordance with their own characterizing values. So, while much of it may be rooted in the American model, Japan, after all, is still Japan.

Conclusions

In summary, this study has determined that the English language does indeed serve as a form of cultural capital in Japan, holding socio-cultural value especially among youth culture. Although the language does appear to have some measure of superficial aesthetic attractiveness to the average Japanese consumer, the primary source of its allure seems to be wholly borne of positive associations with highly regarded Western, if not completely American culture. In essence, the popularity and presence of the English language in Japan today is a direct result of the American occupation of Japan immediately following World War II, during which the "producers" of Japan quickly and effectively capitalized on the rapidly changing needs and tastes of the consumers. This historical occurrence eventually led to an idealization of America in Japan's current generation, accompanied by disillusionment in the comparative worth of their own country. This is both reflected in and propagated by the prominence of English in modern Japanese society. There are some signs that tastes may finally be changing, but for now, as long as Japanese consumers demand English, so shall the advertisers be more than happy to oblige.