Why is Japanese society so riddled with malice?

When we trace its roots, another side of the Japanese character comes into view.

The Japanese enjoy a global reputation as the world’s most polite people.

Every time footage of Japanese spectators picking up trash at international sporting events is broadcast, many of them feel proud.

Yet at the same time, it is also said that “the Japanese are the meanest people in the world.” Researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Osaka University even devised an experimental game to measure this “meanness” scientifically.

They privately decided how much of that $10 to contribute to a common pot.

The total pot was then multiplied by 1.5 and split equally between them.

For example: ・If both contribute $10, each leaves with $30.

・If one contributes $0 and the other $10, the zero-contributor ends up with $25 and the ten-contributor with $15.

・If neither contributes, both simply keep their original $10.

Rationally, contributing the full $10 is always the best strategy, since the 1.5× multiplier guarantees a net gain.

Yet participants often contributed less than $10, sacrificing their own absolute payoff in order to end up with more than their partner.

In other words, they chose relative advantage over personal gain.

Professor Saijo then ran the same experiment at Tokyo Metropolitan University, the University of Southern California, and Purdue University to compare cultural differences.

In a later variation, participants first declared whether they would play or sit out; only then did they decide how much to contribute.

When one student opted in and the other opted out, those who played slashed their contribution so drastically that the non-participant’s share fell to half or less, willingly inflicting punishment on free-riders at their own expense.

The results showed that Japanese students were far more likely than Americans to choose these spiteful strategies.

When only one person declared participation, just 12% of USC students cut their investment to punish the other, compared with 63% of Japanese students.

Rather than acting to maximize their own benefit, Japanese participants often opted to prevent others from free-riding, even if it meant losing out themselves.

And once people experience such punitive behavior, even reluctant free-riders feel compelled to participate next time.

These findings suggest that cooperation in Japanese society isn’t entirely voluntary; it’s enforced by the expectation of punishment for non-cooperation rather than by genuine goodwill.

Note: This post objectively conveys facts grounded in scientific evidence through English translation and is in no way intended to disparage any specific ethnic group or organization.

Everything involves both yin and yang, and it doesn’t feel right to bury my head in the sand when it comes to the yin and focus solely on the yang.

That’s why I translated the negative aspects of Japan, as a way to practice translating into English, too.

Every time footage of Japanese spectators picking up trash at international sporting events is broadcast, many of them feel proud.

They privately decided how much of that $10 to contribute to a common pot.

The total pot was then multiplied by 1.5 and split equally between them.

・If neither contributes, both simply keep their original $10.

Rationally, contributing the full $10 is always the best strategy, since the 1.5× multiplier guarantees a net gain.

In other words, they chose relative advantage over personal gain.

Professor Saijo then ran the same experiment at Tokyo Metropolitan University, the University of Southern California, and Purdue University to compare cultural differences.

In a later variation, participants first declared whether they would play or sit out; only then did they decide how much to contribute.

When one student opted in and the other opted out, those who played slashed their contribution so drastically that the non-participant’s share fell to half or less, willingly inflicting punishment on free-riders at their own expense.

The results showed that Japanese students were far more likely than Americans to choose these spiteful strategies.

Rather than acting to maximize their own benefit, Japanese participants often opted to prevent others from free-riding, even if it meant losing out themselves.

And once people experience such punitive behavior, even reluctant free-riders feel compelled to participate next time.

These findings suggest that cooperation in Japanese society isn’t entirely voluntary; it’s enforced by the expectation of punishment for non-cooperation rather than by genuine goodwill.

Note: This post objectively conveys facts grounded in scientific evidence through English translation and is in no way intended to disparage any specific ethnic group or organization.

Translated: An Interesting Article

No other country besides Japan has seen online harassment reach such extremes that it drives people to suicide.

Why is Japanese society so riddled with malice?

When we trace its roots, another side of the Japanese character comes into view.

The Japanese enjoy a global reputation as the world’s most polite people.

Every time footage of Japanese spectators picking up trash at international sporting events is broadcast, many of them feel proud.

Yet at the same time, it is also said that “the Japanese are the meanest people in the world.” Researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Osaka University even devised an experimental game to measure this “meanness” scientifically.

They privately decided how much of that $10 to contribute to a common pot.

・If neither contributes, both simply keep their original $10.

Rationally, contributing the full $10 is always the best strategy, since the 1.5× multiplier guarantees a net gain.

Yet participants often contributed less than $10, sacrificing their own absolute payoff in order to end up with more than their partner.