The Japanese culture is a multi-layered and complex system that

has been developing within itself and forming new layers for
thousands of years. When Westerners think of Japanese culture,
perhaps one of the first images that spring to mind is one of an
ancient Samurai warrior wielding his heavy sword, or perhaps
they picture a young Geisha, pouring tea and serving sushi.
While these elements do play some role in the entire concept of
Japan as a whole, the entire meaning and history of the nation is
larger than that.

This is a brief introduction to some

concepts that would help define the
role of public relations as practiced
in Japan. Although the Japanese like
to think of themselves as atune to
nature, much of urban Japan is an
industrialized, built-up mess. This is
the result of ad hoc redevelopment
after the war(1). In Japan, there is a
word, omote, which refers to the
public, formal, and conventional
aspects of behavior(7). This can refer
to ingrained patterns of behavior,
such as how close to one another
people stand, or who shakes whose
hand first at a meeting. It also can
allude to behavior in business affairs
and events in a business setting. Ura,
which is more valued, refers to the
private, informal, and
unconventional aspects of
culture(7).

Japanese people see this mode of behavior as more valuable and

meaningful, however, one only acts this way with close friends
or family members.The Japanese value outside appearances very
much. This is not to say that they do not value what is private
and hidden, but much importance is placed on one's presentation
 and appearance.

To demonstrate this point, the Japanese businessman is compared to a Samurai w

kamikaze pilot in "The Idea of Japan," "The Japanese know that you never come
showing your true nature. To deal effectively with you, they must find this out...I
masks at which the Japanese are adept."(3) The book goes on to cite Japan's defe
II as an open wound, and the Japanese are looking to reassert themselves through
economic power(3).

Social ranking and status play a part in many major institutions that one goes thro
lifetime. In Japan, everyone is aware of everyone else's age. In some companies,
display the ages of employees are produced for internal distribution(1). Vertical r
mainly on age, determines everything from the location of desks in a classroom t
which cups of tea are distributed. These rankings are even pervasive in the langu
different ways of addressing others in regard to their age, whether older or young

Traditionally, the Japa

importance on the con
group harmony. The v
common greater good
important than valuing
needs. This principle i
schools, as well as soc
later in life, the workp

The inferior partner in a relationship, whether personal or business, must allay th

thoughts, and opinions to that of the superior, so as not to cause the superior to lo
humiliated. The appearance, or tatemae, is more important than the reality, or ho
this may appear as hypocritical or negative to the eyes of westerners, to the Japan
completely normal(2).

The Philippines: Culture and

Tradition
FEBRUARY 19, 2015 NATALIE WILLIAMS
Filipino people are known as settlers in many parts of the world. They are like the
chameleon who easily adapts to different environments. They thrive to survive. Survival
of the fittest is their banner.

The Republic of the Philippines was named to honor King Philip II of Spain in 1543.
Filipinos are originally from the southern part of Asia. People from countries like China,
India, the United States and Spain married Filipinos resulting in a great deal of stock
blending. 79 indigenous ethnic groups compose the Filipino people. According to
Wikipedia, the last five hundred years of eventful history of the country added an
impact to the cultural blend of the Asian and Western population. The colonial reign of
the Spaniards in 1570-1898 as well as the Americans in 1903-1946, resulted in the
expansion of Christian values, which gave an identity to every Filipino. And the
interaction with other countries' cultures, like the ones from China, India, Indonesia and
Malaysia, gave a specific Asian touch to the cultural heritage of the Philippines.
Language
There are 175 estimated languages spoken in the Philippines. Almost all are classified
as Malayo-Polynesian languages. Among those languages, there are 13 indigenous
languages with nearly 1 million speakers.

For more than three centuries Spanish was the official language under Spain's colonial
rule. It was spoken by 60% of the population as either a first, second or third language
in the early 20th century. However, the use of Spanish began to decline after the
United States occupation in the early 1900's. In 1935 the Constitution of the Philippines
named English and Spanish the official languages. In 1939 the Tagalog language was
named the national language. The language was renamed "Pilipino" in 1959 and finally
"Filipino" in 1973. The present Constitution names Filipino and English as joint official
languages.

Culture
The Philippines is a country that has varied cultural influences. Most of these influences
are results of previous colonization, deriving mainly from the culture of Spain and the
United States. Despite all of these influences, the old Asian culture of Filipinos has been
retained and are clearly seen in their way of life, beliefs and customs. Wherever you go,
Filipino culture is very evident and has largely been appreciated and even applauded in
many parts of the world.
Music, Arts and Literature
Filipinos are very fond of music. They use various materials to create sound. They love
performing dances (Tiniking and Carinosa) and group singing during festive
celebrations. Settlers from Spain introduced to them a variety of musical instruments
like the ukulele, trumpet, drums and violin. Most of their music is contemporary and
they have also learned to write their own songs based on real life events. People are
also fond of folklore, which was influenced by the early church and Spanish
literature. Jose Rizal, the country's national hero, is famous for his literature and novels
inspired from the independence story of the country
Religion
The majority of Filipino people practice the Christian religion. Spain highly influenced
the people to the extent that the Philippines became one of the two predominantly
Christian nations in the Asia Pacific, the other being East Timor. According to Wikipedia,
Christianity is the religion of about 80% of the Philippine population (mostly Catholics)
while Islam is the religion of 11%, and other religions and beliefs comprise the 9% of
the rest of the population.

Celebrations
Christmas is one of the most loved celebration by Filipinos. Families and relatives gather
on the 24th of December, to celebrate food prepared for "Noche Buena," a Spanish
term which means "midnight meal" to greet Christmas Day. New Year is another
celebration that gathers the Filipino families. Wearing dotted clothes and preparing
round fruits on the table, which symbolize prosperity, is one of the many customs of the
Filipinos.

Sports
Filipinos are not only skilled when it comes to industry but also in sports. The national
sport of the Philippines is called arnis, a form of martial arts. Filipinos love watching
American games like basketball, football and recently boxing which made the
Philippines more famous all over the world. Filipino sport star, Manny Pacquiao, has
been put on a pedestal due to his skill in boxing and more Filipinos have risen to
stardom in the sports arena.
Family Structure
The basic social unit of the country is the family, which also includes the intermediate
family members (aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins) and other outside relations
(godparents and close friends). As such, many children have several godparents and
when parents are out of the country to work, children are mostly left to the
grandparents to watch over them. It is common for members of the same family to
work for the same company, a practice which was influenced by the first Chinese
settlers in the Philippines. Filipino families live in different kinds of house structures
depending on their status or area. For families in rural areas, they live in a nipa hut
which is made of bamboo and roofed with leaves from palm trees or corrugated metal.
Filipinos that are ranked as "middle class" live in houses made of bricks and stones.

Meals
Filipinos are big eaters, even though it is not obviously seen in their petite bodies. The
Philippines is known as Asia's melting pot because of the uniqueness and variety of
their food. Filipinos can't go a day without including rice in their meals. They love plain
rice matched with salted fish, chicken and meat. They serve rice first followed by the
various viands they have grown to eat and cook. Filipinos have a very regular eating
schedule: morning, mid-morning, lunch, afternoon (merienda) and dinner.

They enjoy a variety of sweet foods adopted from other countries which encouraged
them to make their own desserts like "mahablanca" a dessert made of coconut milk,
corn, sugar, or "puto" and "palitaw" which are also made of coconut milk. They also
enjoy eating "halo-halo" for their afternoon snack which means "mixture," a popular
dessert that consists of layers of cornflakes, ice cream, small pieces of gelatin, milk and
shaved ice.

During special occasions like a town's big event in celebration of their saint's feast, a
favorite food called "lechon," a suckling pig that has been roasted until the skin turns
crusty is served. Some street foods are also common in the country like the famous
"balut," a boiled duck egg with an embryo, and fish and squid balls on a stick that are
dipped on spicy and sweet sauces.
 Conclusion
The Philippines has a very unique culture due to the influences of colonization and the
surrounding countries. Filipino people are very hardworking and strive to make life
better for the next generation of their family. The melting pot theory that is evident in
this culture makes this country a vibrant, exciting and diverse place to live and visit.

Further Cultural and Localization Resources

You may also find some of the following articles and links useful:

Creating Culturally Customized Content for Website Translation

When There Are No Words: "Translating" from the Heart

It's all Greek to me: A persona

Chinese Culture: Customs & Traditions of China

By Kim Ann Zimmermann, Live Science Contributor | January 20, 2015 10:03pm ET

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A dragon dance celebrates the temple at Foshan, China.

Credit: windmoon / Shutterstock.com

China is an extremely large country, and the customs and traditions of its people vary
by geography and ethnicity.
More than 1 billion people live in China, according to the Asia Society, representing 56 ethnic
minority groups. The largest group is the Han Chinese, with about 900 million people. Other
groups include the Tibetans, the Mongols, the Manchus, the Naxi, and the Hezhen, which is
smallest group, with fewer than 2,000 people.

"Significantly, individuals within communities create their own culture," said Cristina De Rossi,
an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London. Culture includes religion, food,
style, language, marriage, music, morals and many other things that make up how a group acts
and interacts. Here is a brief overview of some elements of the Chinese culture.

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Statue of Confucius at Confucian Temple in Shanghai, China.

Credit: Philip LangeShutterstock

Religion
The Chinese Communist Party that rules the nation is officially atheist, though it is gradually
becoming more tolerant of religions, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Currently,
there are only five official religions. Any religion other than Buddhism, Taoism, Islam,
Catholicism and Protestantism are illegal, even though the Chinese constitution states that people
are allowed freedom of religion. The gradual tolerance of religion has only started to progress in
the past few decades.

About a quarter of the people practice Taoism and Confucianism and other traditional religions.
There are also small numbers of Buddhists, Muslims and Christians. Although numerous
Protestant and Catholic ministries have been active in the country since the early 19th century,
they have made little progress in converting Chinese to these religions.

Language
There are seven major groups of dialects of the Chinese language, which each have their own
variations, according to Mount Holyoke College. Mandarin dialects are spoken by 71.5 percent
of the population, followed by Wu (8.5 percent), Yue (also called Cantonese; 5 percent), Xiang
(4.8 percent), Min (4.1 percent), Hakka (3.7 percent) and Gan (2.4 percent).
Chinese dialects are very different, according to Jerry Norman, a former professor of linguistics
at the University of Washington and author of "Chinese (Cambridge Language Surveys)"
(Cambridge University Press, 1988). "Chinese is rather more like a language family than a single
language made up of a number of regional forms," he wrote. "The Chinese dialectal complex is
in many ways analogous to the Romance language family in Europe. To take an extreme
example, there is probably as much difference between the dialects of Peking [Beijing] and
Chaozhou as there is between Italian and French."
The official national language of China is Ptnghu, a type of Mandarin spoken in
the capital Beijing, according to the Order of the President of the People's Republic of China.
Many Chinese are also fluent in English.
Food
Like other aspects of Chinese life, cuisine is heavily influenced by geography and ethnic
diversity. Among the main styles of Chinese cooking are Cantonese, which features stir-fried
dishes, and Szechuan, which relies heavily on use of peanuts, sesame paste and ginger and is
known for its spiciness.

Rice is not only a major food source in China; it is also a major element that helped grow their
society, according to "Pathways to Asian Civilizations: Tracing the Origins and Spread of Rice
and Rice Cultures," an 2011 article in the journal Rice by Dorian Q. Fuller. The Chinese word
for rice is fan, which also means "meal," and it is a staple of their diet, as are bean sprouts,
cabbage and scallions. Because they do not consume a lot of meat occasionally pork or
chicken tofu is a main source of protein for the Chinese.

Chinese calligraphy. Chinese writing is based on symbols.

Credit: ariadna de raadtShutterstock

The Arts
Chinese art is greatly influenced by the countrys rich spiritual and mystical history. Many
sculptures and paintings depict spiritual figures of Buddhism, according to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

Many musical instruments are integral to Chinese culture, including the flute-like xun and the
guqin, which is in the zither family.

Eastern-style martial arts were also developed in China, and it is the birthplace of kung fu. This
fighting technique is based on animal movements and was created in the mid-1600s, according
to Black Belt Magazine.
Ancient Chinese were avid writers and philosophers especially during the Ming and Qing
dynasties and that is reflected in the countrys rich liturgical history.
Customs and celebrations
The largest festival also called the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the Lunar New
Year. It falls between mid-January and mid-February and is a time to honor ancestors. During
the 15-day celebration, the Chinese do something every day to welcome the new year, such as
eat rice congee and mustard greens to cleanse the body, according to the University of Victoria.
The holiday is marked with fireworks and parades featuring dancers dressed as dragons.

Many people make pilgrimages to Confucius' birthplace in Shandong Province on his birthday,
Sept. 28. The birthday of Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, is observed by visiting Taoist temples.
It falls between late March and late April. Similar celebrations mark the birthday of Mazu, the
goddess of the sea (also known as Tianhou), in May or June. The Moon Festival is celebrated in
September or October with fireworks, paper lanterns and moon gazing.