For Japanese people, Germany is often seen not so much as a glamorous country to admire, but as a country that somehow feels reliable.
Part of that may come from the fact that Japanese people sometimes see something a little familiar in Germans.
Serious. Punctual. Respectful of rules. Careful about work. Unwilling to compromise when it comes to making things properly.
Of course, that does not mean all Germans are actually like this. Still, these images are quite strong in Japan.
One of the clearest things supporting that impression is the automobile industry.
In Japan, Mercedes-Benz is still often referred to simply as “Benz.” BMW, Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen are also very well known.
And when Japanese people think of German roads, many also think of the Autobahn.
It is widely associated in Japan with the idea of a highway with no speed limit, although in reality not every section is unrestricted. Even so, the Autobahn and German cars have become linked in the Japanese imagination, reinforcing the idea of Germany as a country that builds cars capable of remaining stable even at very high speeds.
Even people who do not own a German car may still have a strong sense that Germany is a country of engineering and manufacturing.
When it comes to food, the image is much simpler.
Many Japanese people think of beer and sausages when they hear Germany. At German-themed festivals and events in Japan, that combination has become almost standard.
But Japanese people also encounter German culture in a much more unexpected place.
One of the best examples is Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
Beethoven’s name and the melody of “Ode to Joy” are extremely well known in Japan. What is especially distinctive, however, is that performances of the Ninth take place all over the country at the end of the year, sometimes with large amateur choruses open to ordinary participants.
Yet many Japanese people themselves wonder, “Why do we always hear the Ninth at the end of the year?”
The first complete performance of Beethoven’s Ninth in Japan took place in 1918 at the Bandō prisoner-of-war camp in what is now Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture. It was performed by German prisoners held there during the First World War.
There are several explanations for how the custom of performing the Ninth at the end of the year later became so widespread in Japan, so it cannot be traced to one simple cause.
Even so, “the Ninth at the end of the year” has become something like a seasonal tradition in Japan.
From a German point of view, this may seem a little strange. But for Japanese people, Beethoven is not only a great German composer learned about in school. Somehow, he has also become part of the scenery of the Japanese year-end season.
Football has also made Germany feel much closer to Japan.
German national-team players such as Franz Beckenbauer, Oliver Kahn, and Miroslav Klose have been well known in Japan.
The Bundesliga has become especially familiar because so many Japanese players have played there.
Yasuhiko Okudera was one of the pioneers of Japanese professional football in Europe.
Later, Shinji Kagawa achieved major success with Borussia Dortmund, while Makoto Hasebe spent many years playing in Germany.
Some Japanese football fans came to know clubs and cities such as Bayern Munich, Dortmund, and Frankfurt simply by following Japanese players.
So Germany is not seen only as “a strong football country.” It is also known as a place where Japanese players have gone to challenge themselves and, in many cases, built long careers.
Japanese people encounter yet another Germany in school.
Modern European history, the two World Wars, Nazi Germany, and the Berlin Wall all bring the country into Japanese classrooms repeatedly.
Germany is therefore not a country that Japanese people first discover through travel.
It is connected with heavy historical memories, while modern Germany is also encountered through cars, industry, music, and football.
Through all of these different points of contact, Japanese people have come to associate Germany with seriousness, technical skill, and a certain sense that Germans are somehow a little like themselves.
Of course, that is only one image seen from the Japanese side.
Even so, Germany is a country toward which Japanese people can quite easily feel both respect and familiarity at the same time.
References
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, “Basic Data on the Federal Republic of Germany” and “Japan-Germany Relations”
- German National Tourist Board materials
- Materials on the German automobile industry and the Autobahn
- Materials on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and year-end performances in Japan
- Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture, materials on the Bandō prisoner-of-war camp
- Bundesliga and German football materials
- Materials on Yasuhiko Okudera, Shinji Kagawa, and Makoto Hasebe
- Materials on modern German history and the Berlin Wall
