I think what's similar is that the cultures are still celebrating their traditions.
Family is important.
I always think of the Second World War
Hey guys & girls this is Cathy Cat and today I am here in Munich
As you can see everyone is dressed in traditional clothing
and I have the pleasure to ask the Germans here about
what they think connects Japan and Germany.
What is similar? What is different? Let's go and ask Germans about Japan.
What do you think is TOTALLY different in Japan compared to Germany?
The demographic change.
Japan has more old people than young people. Less and less children.
And that brings problems for the pension system and such.
The way relationships are presented to the public.
I am friends with a couple. He is Japanese and she's German.
They married recently.
And what I could see from them is that the men seem to think in general
that women stay at home and that's mostly it.
Also, bisexual relationships are highly disputed in Japan.
Same goes for homosexual relationships.
We are more tolerant about other types of relationships in Germany.
The fact that kids have to learn strictly from such an early age.
And the system seems to be rather conservative.
- I assume it is. Not sure though. - More strict.
I think by now Germany has become more tolerant.
What do you think is COMPLETELY different in Japan?
It's so busy there. Many more people.
Here, in comparison to Japan, it's pretty quiet.
- Well the language is different. - Of course language.
If you look up things about Japan you can see their habits are different.
Looking at it, they have different manners, eating manners and such.
Some things are totally different. Things they are used to and such.
I think their traditional clothes are very different.
Japanese traditional clothes are very elaborate.
My Japanese classmate said sometimes it can take 2 hours to wear them.
I don't know why. I think they have to wear it in several layers and such.
Layers above layers.
I think that's pretty difficult to all tie together too.
And in comparison to Germany?
Our "dirndl" clothes are a lot easier.
I was also thinking of traditional clothes.
They seem to rather pic really unique dresses.
They have really flashy colors and cuts.
They don't just wear traditional fashion, they wear it in modern ways.
Generally it's similar, just that Japanese people bring their version to it.
- We have fancy traditional clothes, they have fancy kimonos? - Exactly.
Looking at Japan and Germany, what are the similarities?
I imagine that they value culture just as much as we do.
I think in Japan they think their culture is really important still.
- Traditions. - Traditions also clothes wise? - Yes.
I think both countries put a lot of effort into economic progress.
Both countries try to make new inventions, sometimes rivaling.
And many German companies try to produce things in Japan.
Do we have similarities or is everything totally different?
I think what's similar is that the cultures are still celebrating their traditions.
We have our own foods. We have our own festivals and traditions.
And we are still living it.
Obviously traditions will be adjusted for the times but...
but they still remain as part of our societies.
I think that's a very distinct part of both our cultures.
Especially in Bavaria I guess?
Exactly. We still wear our traditional clothes and go to our festivals...
And I think also in Japan they love their culture and traditions
and are still practicing them today.
Especially in the countryside.
In Japan you have those beautiful cherry blossom festivals...
summer festivals and all kinds of things like that.
They go there in their beautiful kimono styles.
And some even still marry in kimonos.
And in comparison here Germany ...
especially in Bavaria we still wear our traditional "dirndl" clothes.
We love wearing those on our festivals.
But we still have even young people who still choose to marry in dirndl.
And likewise, many Japanese still marry in kimonos.
I think both cultures still have that in common.
I think both countries are very diligent and tend to work hard.
Family is important, I think.
Also both countries have great public transport.
Theirs are more crowded in comparison.
The way the country is ruled might be similar too...
- You mean democracy? - Yes exactly.
What is completely different or similar?
My best example would be the "Oktoberfest" (German festival).
Everyone comes together, everyone wants to celebrate.
I think on that point there is no difference between Japanese and Germans.
- When we celebrate we're all the same? - Yes.
What are the general connections between Japan and Germany?
Of course culture wise we have differences...
but we have many trade connections.
We also put a lot into research. Universities often offer an exchange
between Japan and other Asian countries and Germany.
I think we are linked well with each other.
So you are talking more science?
Science and all those exchange programs that I see.
Cars are a good connection too. I think in Japan people drive BMWs.
and we are driving Japanese cars too. Don't ask me about brands now though.
I think we have a lot of connections.
We also have so many Japanese restaurants.
I like Japanese food a lot.
What trade connections can you see between Japan and Germany?
Well the food is the first thing I think of. Sushi and such.
Especially when you want to eat out, it's good to sometimes try
something else apart from German food.
Cars, food, and apart from that...
I personally don't know any Japanese.
- But hey Kimonos are from Japan. - Yes they are.
What general connections do you see?
We have some economic connections...
especially in the engineering sector.
But also concerning fashion.
I am personally very interested in fashion.
When some fashion is in style on the Tokyo streets...
It will come to Germany 1 or 2 years later.
I think Japan influences the fashion industry a lot.
Technology wise, it would definitely be SONY. We all know SONY.
Food wise, many Germans like Sushi too.
What are your connections between Japan and Germany?
What trade connections do you think of? What connects us?
Of course technology.
Mobile phones, computers, software and such.
- Cars as well, right? - Of course.
- Medicine. - Alright medicine.
What connects Japan and Germany?
We get a lot of things from Japan.
Clothes and toys and such.
Yes definitely toys.
Well, I always think of the second world war.
Well yes, the Axis Powers.
We export a lot of cars...
And import wise, we import...
... toys and such.
And then we got kimonos. Finally the food like sushi and such.
Thank you those were all questions. Thank you.
Again I had the pleasure to interview a couple of Germans in Germany
Why what? Don't throw stuff at me I am trying to do the ending.
So I asked Germans about differences and similarities
and general things about Connections between Japan and Germany.
It was interesting to see what my fellow landsmen were thinking about this.
Interestingly enough, differences wise people said
they study a lot and a lot more...
And also relationships which is actually a good issue
which I hope we can maybe cover a bit more in depth saying
How relationships are very different in Japan compared to the West
but then again, times are changing. You never know.
Similarities, what I found nice were people saying
TRADITIONS. Obviously at that time everyone was wearing traditional clothes
because it was that season where everyone went out for the Oktoberfest.
They compared that to Japan and I thought it was a lovely comparison.
To compare the traditional clothes and keeping up traditions in Germany
and in Japan. By the way, I have one of those traditional dresses too
you saw me wear it. I did a special feature about how it is worn
and also how important the bow is. The bow indicates if you are single or not.
If you are curious about that I'll put the video in our links.
Be sure to check it out later.
Also in general we have things that people say like food
and cars...
... and electronics.
So these are the things that people connect when they think of Japan.
Sorry for it being so noisy in the background. As you could see
I didn't have this lovely mic with me.
That would have caught it a bit better.
Now you see the difference when you actually film this with a mic or not.
Thank you for watching this till the end.
I hope you have a lovely day.
I'll catch you soon on Ask Japanese!
Are you showing your face on camera, or to the camera
or is your face IN the camera now?