ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
Senpai: Anyone in a grade above them
Ta-me: Anyone in the same grade level
Kohai: Anyone in a grade lower than them
Kohai are trained (sometimes to a borderline
bullying level) that they are subservient to their
Senpai. They are expected to use honorific (polite)
style Japanese, and in the case of school sporting
clubs will be forced to do the ‘dirty jobs’ by their
Senpai.
Naturally, as the cycle of years pass through and
children advance through the grades they will be
entitled to unleash the same level of authority on
their younger kohai below them, and so on and so
forth.
The one safe haven in all of this is the ‘ta-me’
or the same grade students where there are no
expectations and students can treat each other
equally and respect is earned more so on virtue.
This ‘respect for elders’ is embedded into all parts of
Japanese society, so in effect, anyone who is older
than you is your senpai. The dynamic can change
a bit in a work place, where it isn’t necessarily how
‘old’ an individual is, but rather ‘how long’ they
have worked at a company for that determines the
‘Senpai - Kohai’ dynamic.
There are a range of positives that come out of this
model, and over my years in Japan I have certainly
observed that there is genuine respect for older/
ageing people.
The flip side of it is that in a work place, staff are
rewarded more so on ‘longevity’ rather than raw
talent. This dynamic has also created a situation
where people are often uncomfortable to ‘upset the
apple cart’ as they know that if they can stick around
they will be rewarded eventually. It also means that
having mandated ‘retirement ages’ is something
that people who are working up an organisations’
ranks are going to want to keep as the sooner the
‘oldies’ retire, the sooner they can assume senior
leadership roles. If retirement is forced by age,
then it allows for a ‘painless’ and organised process
where no-body can be judged for wanting to push
people out of an organisation and everyone keeps
face.
*Note: this simplified explanation isn’t to say that
talent counts for nothing, but talent certainly isn’t
everything.
In my opinion, this ‘senpai-kohai’ dynamic, while
a cornerstone of Japanese society, is something
which is going to have to evolve in order for
Japan to reach its full potential, and indeed, to get
through the challenges presented by its shifting
demographics.
WHERE ARE ALL THE IMMIGRANTS?
Japan has historically been a country that has been
a difficult place for people to migrate to. There are
many reasons for this, though the strict immigration
policies are an obvious starting point. It also relates
to Japan’s historical isolation from the rest of the
word which, while being the most defining cause
of Japan’s unique and appealing culture, has also
made the social integration of migrants a difficult
process for all parties involved. In recent years, the
migration laws have been relaxed a bit, and there
are some regional areas that see skilled migration
as a potential silver bullet, but on the whole it
doesn’t appear that migrants are going to come
anywhere near close to filling the labour market gap
of the declining population numbers.
AGEING - AGED - SUPER AGED
Another interesting observation over the last
15 years or so has been the gradual shift in
terminology used to describe Japan’s shifting
demographics.
Originally the term used was 高齢化社会(Koreika
shakai) which literally translates to ‘Ageing Society’,
and suggested that the change was still in process.
With a large proportion of people then shifting into
retirement the language shifted to 高齢社会 (Korei
Shakai), which translates to ‘Aged Society’ and
acknowledged that the society had gone through
that state of change.
More recently, all Japanese media are referring to
their society as the 超高齢社会 (Cho-korei Shakai)
or “Super-Aged Society”.
Looking at the demographic pyramids, and with
the seemingly ever increasing life expectancies of
Japanese, one wonders whether they’ll need to add
another “Super” or two onto their terminology before
this is all over and done with!
GOVERNMENT POLICY
Clearly something has to change if Japan is going
to come out the other side of its demographic
transformation.
VOL.12 NO.1 2019 | 35