Japan Study Trip - Similarities between Japanese culture and Singapore culture

After having been to Tokyo as well as Nagano in Japan, I have discovered several similarities in terms of its culture.
One such similarity is both Singaporeans and Japanese have Buddhism as one of their religions. Majority of the Japanese people are Buddhists while majority of the Chinese Singaporeans are Buddhists. Japanese Buddhists believe in good luck. In temples, such as the one I have been to in, the people believe in fortune telling. A stick with a number written on it is to be shaken out from a metal can. Based on the number of the stick, the person has to take a piece of paper from the small wardrobes placed in front of the person. This type of fortune telling is also conducted in Buddhist temples in Singapore.
Another similarity is the food culture. Japanese people eat rice as staple food, which is similar to the Singaporeans. Rice is the main staple food of Asian countries. Not only is rice eaten during meals, noodles are occasionally consumed, especially during a person’s birthday. Both Japanese and Singaporeans believe that noodles are long, hence representing longevity. The Japanese people usually eat soba, a kind of Japanese noodle, during someone’s birthday. Similarly, Singapore Chinese eat longevity noodles during someone’s birthday.
Not only is Singapore similar to Japan in food culture, both of these Asian countries use chopsticks in meals. Japan has started using chopsticks due to the influence of China whereas in Singapore, the Chinese origin has brought chopsticks into Singapore. Not only is the Chinese in Singapore use chopsticks now, even the other races such as the Malays and Indians are also learning how to use chopsticks.
Let us now move on to the similarity of the languages in both countries. Although the languages spoken in both countries are different, some of the Japanese characters are rather similar with the Chinese characters. This is probably due to the influence of the Chinese when Japan invaded China during World War II. The similarity of both the written characters has actually aided me during the study trip, especially during the home stay in Nagano. As our group faced language barriers during the home stay, besides the use of body language, the Japanese family, Suzuki, attempted to write on paper some Chinese characters. This helped us in communicating between each other.
Another similarity between both countries is the modern lifestyle. As Japan and Singapore are technologically advanced countries, people in both countries have a high standard of living. I felt the hectic lifestyle in Japan, which is similar to Singapore. The streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo is rather similar to the busy roads in city hall. Working adults flood these streets in the morning, rushing to work. In the evening, these adults also flood the streets.
There is also another similarity in terms of the transportation system in Japan as well as Singapore. Both of these countries have buses and trains as a form of public transport. Not only are there buses and trains, the use of cars are widely common too. However, I liked the way the Japanese queue up for their turn in entering the train at the train station. In Singapore, whenever a train arrives, people will simply crowd around the train door to enter the train, which I find unsystematic. I hope that Singapore can improve on this to make our train system as systematic as the Japan train system.
To sum up, the lifestyle in modern Japan has been rather similar to Singapore as both countries are technologically advanced. Both countries are of high standard of living. If I have a chance, I will not mind to make another visit to Japan!

Posted by Marcus Chia, Jonathan Chan