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Introduction: The shift in medical professionalism now considers the well-being of physicians, given the prevalence of burnout and the importance of work-life balance. To reconsider the question 'Why do doctors work for the patient?' and explore the meaning of working as a physician, this study adopts the concept of 'yarigai,' which represents fulfillment and motivation in meaningful work. The authors' research questions are: How do doctors recount experiences of yarigai in caring for patients? What kind of values are embodied in their stories about yarigai? Method: They adopted narrative inquiry as the methodology for this study. They interviewed 15 doctors who were recognized by their colleagues for their commitment to patient-centered care or had demonstrated yarigai in caring for patients. The semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with each participant by the Japanese researchers, yielding 51 cases of patient-doctor interactions. After grouping the interview data, they translated the cases into English and identified four representative cases to present based on the set criteria. Results: From the 51 case studies, they constructed four representative narratives about the yarigai as a physician. Each of them spoke of (1) finding positive meaning in difficult situations, (2) receiving gifts embodying ikigai, (3) witnessing strength in a seemingly powerless human being, and (4) cultivating relationships that transcend temporal boundaries, as being rewarding in working as a physician. The main results of the study, which are the narratives, are described in the main body of the paper. Conclusion: The stories on yarigai gave intrinsic meanings to their occupational lives, which can be informative for students, residents, and young physicians when contemplating the meaning of their work as doctors. Rather than demanding selfless dedication from physicians towards patients, they believe it more important to foster yarigai, derived from the contribution to the well-being of others through patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted labor markets around the world. Workers and corporations scrambled to adjust their workstyles to a new normal, by avoiding the commute and working remotely from their homes or elsewhere. Japan is a country that stood out for its inability to adjust to the remote work imperative. Comparative statistics show that Japan reported the lowest number of people engaged in remote work among the OECD countries, as well as the lowest percentage of corporations that offered remote work policies. In this article, I investigate why telework in Japan is difficult. The lack of telework in Japan may seem paradoxical, given the country's reputation for being technologically advanced. I argue that it is not the technological infrastructure that is lacking in the Japanese workplace, but distinct features of work embedded in Japanese culture and its collectivist roots that prevent the effective implementation of telework. I rely on recently published data from various sources, and apply key sociological theories such as implicit contracts, gift exchange, dramaturgy, and impression management to substantiate my main arguments. The paper concludes by drawing on implications for the future of work in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late 19th century marked a significant period in Korea's history, when it established formal diplomatic relations with the outside world. Goryeo celadon began appearing in the context of diplomatic and other exchanges in the 19th century. These celadon pieces were exquisite and often of the highest quality. There are also cases of foreign diplomats collecting Goryeo celadon. British consul William Carles, French consul Victor Collin de Plancy, and American consul Horace Allen played prominent roles in collecting, selling, and donating Goryeo celadon. In the complex landscape of East Asian diplomacy, ceramics occasionally played a role in exchanges between China, Japan, and Southeast Asian regions. Overall, this phenomenon can be attributed to the changing economic and cultural value of Goryeo celadon, particularly during the late 19th century. However, the inclusion of Goryeo celadon in diplomatic contexts or as prominent diplomatic gifts was also closely related to the changing perception of Goryeo celadon within Korea, as it began to be viewed from a more externalized perspective. Moreover, as foreign interest in Korean (Joseon) culture expanded into a range of ethnographic studies, Goryeo celadon came to be recognized as an artistic product that demonstrated the cultural competence of the nation. Simultaneously, Goryeo celadon took on the role of a diplomatic medium, symbolically representing Korea's heritage on a national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article examines socio-cultural circulations associated with dams and other water management technologies in central Japan. Such technologies and the circulations of water they enable link communities across Japan's rural and urban spaces in social, political, economic, and cultural ways. They also produce anxieties by highlighting social inequalities and the disparate impacts of water resource development in modern Japan. Using Makio Dam in central Japan as a case study, I argue that actors in both upstream and downstream communities actively imagine and enact social relationships that work to ease the tensions that arise from unidirectional flows of water by producing sensations of harmony and common identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efforts of women are essential in embryo donation, as they undergo IVF treatment for ova collection. Yet research shows that in the process of embryo donation, women's efforts are largely neglected. This article attempts to understand the process by which women's efforts are neglected in embryo donation in light of gift theories, by looking at the situation in Japan. This article analyses narratives of 19 women who underwent IVF treatment. Interviews were conducted in Japan between 2006 and 2010. All women stated that they were reluctant to donate frozen embryos at the beginning of IVF treatment. Yet, as the treatment proceeded, half of those without children decided to donate frozen embryos, and, in 2010, most women with children decided to donate frozen embryos. What happened in the process? I hypothesise that, for women, the meaning of the concept of the embryo alters in the process of IVF treatment, as does their relationship with embryos. Simultaneously, as the meaning of embryo changes, women's perception of a gift transaction also changes, leading them to decide to donate embryos. How, then, do women experience changing meaning of embryos, and how do they finally decide to donate them? I suggest that this dynamic aspect of gift transaction experienced by women is a key to understanding why women feel neglected in embryo donation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article compares the means that the United States, France, and Japan use to oversee pharmaceutical industry-physician financial relationships. These countries rely on professional and/or industry ethical codes, anti-kickback laws, and fair trade practice laws. They restrict kickbacks the most strictly, allow wide latitude on gifts, and generally permit drug firms to fund professional activities and associations. Consequently, to avoid legal liability, drug firms often replace kickbacks with gifts and grants. The paper concludes by proposing reforms that address problems that persist when firms replace kickbacks with gifts and grants based on the experience of the three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about Japan and the different customs that have a made such a strong country. Throughout the paper you can see the history and general country information, social customs and manners, and the business customs and behaviors. Some specific information that can be found include: ethnic groups, climate, dress code, tipping, gift giving, business card usage, and negotiation style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valentine’s Day is a culturally hybridized and popularly celebrated consumption ritual in Japan. We examine its historical transformation based on a visual and textual analysis of advertisements in print media over fifty years. Changes in the meanings, functions, and structure of gift-giving rituals correspond to changes in the national economy, social values, consumer ideology, and gender roles and power relationships in Japanese society. There are five major findings: one, the importance of food—chocolate—in the creolization process of the consumer ritual; two, the persistent gender asymmetric nature of the Valentines consumer holiday; three, the ritual’s structural aspects and changes over the time; four, the importance of confession in the ritual process; and five, the transformation of its role from a simple instrument of love and a way to elevate a relationship to a rite to reconfirm gender identity. This study supplements the very limited literature on Japanese gift-giving rituals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Products and services promoted on a global scale raise issues of globalism that are more superficial than the issues raised by the globalization of world holidays. It is one thing to have an Ikea and a KFC in the city, and conceivably quite another thing to have Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Halloween. Holidays like these have more complex cultural ideologies behind them. They threaten to displace traditional local holidays. And they offer a significant context in which to examine the interplay of global and local forces in the contemporary marketplace. We ask to what degree Christmas in Japan represents Western cultural imperialism, global homogenization, and a Westernization of Japan, versus local cultural adaptation, hybridization, and appropriation . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The standards of what is considered moral or immoral behaviour in politics are heavily influenced by the cultural context and social traditions. Not only does each democracy have its own idea of right and proper conduct for politicians, it also has a view of how relations between elected representatives and officials should be managed. These points are clearly illustrated by looking at recent moves towards reform in the political life of Japan. Despite ‘Westernization’ over many decades, Japanese traditions of gift giving are embedded in political life and political and industrial groupings have highly developed mechanisms of influencing the administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functional equivalence of products and consumer activities across cultures is a largely unexplored area. Yet, the lack of functional equivalence that exists may suggest the need for modification of some concepts and theories of consumer behavior. The study reported in this paper explores the functional equivalence that exists between U.S. and Japanese consumers in an important consumer activity-gift giving. The results suggest a lack of functional equivalence of this activity and illustrate how researchers should give explicit consideration to this issue in the development and testing of consumer concepts and models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the tradition of Japanese gift giving between business associates. If one plans to do business with the Japanese, one needs an understanding of Japanese gift giving. Unlike in the U.S. where such exchanges are discouraged, gift giving between business associates is very much a part of the culture. Failure to practice the proper etiquette can diminish the prospects for making a sale, entering into a successful joint venture, or maintaining good employee relations with Japanese workers. Overall, the practice of gift exchange encompasses a wide range of social and cultural implications. Many purposes are served, such as fulfilling a sense of obligation to return a favor, reciprocating a favor, cultivating rapport, and enhancing a willingness to share sad and happy occasions. When the Japanese practice gift giving, they always have some reason why they wish to give a gift to another. A gift without reason is not acceptable. For in- stance, if a stranger brings a gift like sweets for no apparent reason, the receiver might wonder what the stranger wants. Internal gift exchange between a subordinate and his superior may be seen as currying favor. So some Japanese companies discourage employees giving gifts to their superiors. External gifts given to an employee who gets married take the form of either cash or merchandise, or a combination of both.

Background: The relationship between students and the pharmaceutical industry has received substantial attention for decades. However, there have been few reports on this issue from East Asia. We aimed to investigate Japanese medical students' interactions with and attitudes toward the pharmaceutical industry, and to assess the correlation between exposures to a formal curriculum on drug promotion and perceptions of the appropriateness of the physician-industry relationship., Method: We invited all 80 medical schools in Japan to participate. A cross-sectional anonymous survey was administered to medical students and school staff at the 40 schools that participated. The questionnaire for students assessed interactions with and attitudes toward the pharmaceutical industry. The questionnaire for school staff assessed the formal undergraduate curriculum., Results: Forty of the 80 medical schools in Japan participated. The response rate to the medical student survey was 74.1%, with 6771 evaluable responses. More than 98% of clinical students had previously accepted a small gift of stationery, a brochure, or lunch, and significantly higher percentages of clinical than preclinical students had accepted one or more gifts (P < .001). Among preclinical and clinical students, respectively, 62.7 and 71.9% believed it was appropriate to accept stationery, and 60.5 and 71.0% thought that attending an industry-sponsored lunch did not influence clinical practice. Of the 40 participating schools, 13 (33.0%) had a formal curriculum on drug promotion. A multivariate analysis showed an association between exposure to a formal curriculum and students' perceptions of the appropriateness of the physician-industry relationship only for gifts of stationery, which were perceived as inappropriate (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.69-0.95, P = .02)., Conclusions: Most Japanese medical students interact with the pharmaceutical industry and believe that gift acceptance is appropriate and not influential. This study demonstrated a limited association between students' perceptions of gift appropriateness and exposure to a formal curriculum.

Interaction of medical students with the pharmaceutical industry is common. However, students are thought to be vulnerable to the influence of this interaction, and regulations to limit such interactions are required. The Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association revised its promotion code in 2013 and specified upper limits for promotional aids. We aimed to investigate whether Japanese medical students' interactions with the pharmaceutical industry changed from 2012 to 2016. This study solicited the participation of all medical schools in Japan. An anonymous cross-sectional survey was administered to medical students from May 2016 to March 2017 to investigate their interactions with the pharmaceutical industry. The results were compared with those of a previous study conducted in 2012. Forty of the 80 medical schools in Japan participated. The student response rate was 74.1%, with 6771 (3395 preclinical, 3376 clinical) evaluable responses. More than 98% of clinical students had previously accepted stationery, a brochure, or a lunch, and significantly higher percentages of clinical students had accepted these items in 2016 than in 2012 (p < .001). The interactions between clinical students and pharmaceutical companies increased slightly between 2012 and 2016. This study will hopefully promote discussion regarding the regulation of student-industry interactions., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Under the influence of traditional oriental culture, the lack of organ donation is especially serious in China and Japan. The aim of this study was to compare Chinese and Japanese college students' attitudes and analyze contributing factors toward deceased donation., Methods: An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire comprising 15 questions was distributed to approximately 400 college students at Liaoning University, China, and Kyushu University, Japan. Statistical analysis used SPSS software., Results: Japanese students' attitude towards deceased organ donation was more favorable than that of Chinese students (43.6% versus 35.9%, P = .001). Several factors contributed to positive responses by students from both countries: family perspective on organ donation and transplantation; decision to donate to family members; prior blood donation; living liver or kidney donation; possibility of needing a transplant; and willingness to receive a deceased or a living donor organ., Conclusions: More efforts must emphasize awareness and up-to-date knowledge regarding organ donation among citizens and should be undertaken by the Chinese and Japanese governments., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Japanese health policy shows that even with physician ownership and the absence of for-profit, investor-owned health care, physicians' conflicts of interest thrive. Physician dispensing of drugs and ownership of hospitals and clinics were justified in Japan as ways to avoid commercialization of medicine. Instead, they create physicians' conflicts and fuel patient overuse of services. Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) has responded by introducing per-diem payment, thereby creating incentives to decrease services in ways similar to those of American managed care organizations, but with none of their benefits, such as coordination of care, oversight of physicians practices, and quality assurance. Although the United States and Japanese health care systems are organized and financed differently there is convergence in the source of their physicians' conflicts and the way they are addressed. The United States is starting to integrate institutional and physician payment and align their incentives, in a traditional Japanese way. In so doing, the United States creates new physicians' conflicts and reduces the role of countervailing incentives and power, an advantage of previous policy. Japan, in turn, has combined incentives to increase and decrease services, thus moving closer to the U.S. policy.