Difference And Similarity Of Two Countries: Japan And Philippines

In our essay , we will tackle the difference and similarities of two countries, Japan and the Philippines. Even though these two countries are near to each other, the people, climate and culture are very different. Japan belongs to the first-class country while Philippines belong to third world country and that was the first difference. The size of Japan is almost the same size as the Philippines. However the two countries are placed in Asia, Japan time is one hour ahead of the Philippines. In terms of season, Japan have four seasons which is winter, spring, summer and fall while the Philippines is a tropical country they only have two, dry season and wet season when most of the annual rainfalls occurs. In similarity, both countries are prone to typhoons, earthquakes and tsunami.

The population of the Philippines are around one hundred five million people much lower compared to Japan’s one hundred twenty six million population. When it comes to the economy, Japan gross national income is 4.52 trillion dollars. It’s 56 times more than the Philippines 80.84 billion dollars. The Japanese language is Nihongo and the English fluency is very low compared to the Philippines aside from Tagalog which is the national language, most Filipinos can speak or are fluent in English.

Japanese are also very punctual in terms on working. People are always anxious not to be late to their appointments, at school and work. Japanese punctuality on-time culture was deep-rooted in Japanese societies and probably one of the factors for their fast-growing economy. Japanese children have also trained the importance of punctuality from a young age at school, while many workers will arrive very early on a daily basis in order to avoid potential lateness. In contrast to Filipino time, it means being minutes to hours late compared to the standard time. It’s like they have their own clock. For Filipinos,this habit of tardiness was already common. In their defense, not all Filipinos are usually late and many factors are ascribed to being late in the Philippines, like the terrible traffic, lack of transportation and many more.

When it comes to food, the Japanese serve more variety of dishes in the table while the common Filipino only got one to two varieties. Filipino use spoons and fork while Japanese eat with chopsticks because its more convenient for them. They both prefer eating rice three times a day.In Japan breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. They make sure that the food presentation are excellent and enhance its aesthetic appeal. Although Filipino only do this during feast or special occasions.

In terms of personality, Japanese people are more reserve and shy. They are very polite and respectful, and every one heard about the Japanese tradition of bow used as a greeting during any exchanging event, though handshake are common in Japan now, they more often use bow as a greeting. When they call others, they call them with their last name. They remain distant and polite to a person even they known them for quite some time. Japanese discipline is fundamental and must be instilled in children at an early age. While Filipino people are very warm and friendly. Hospitality is one of the most popular qualities of Filipinos They always have a warm welcome to the visitors locals or foreigners, Visitors not leave the house with empty stomach. Filipinos do not bow when greeting someone. Handshakes is very popular way of greetings, close female friends may hug and kiss and to greet elders, they put the hand of an elder to one’s forehead to show respect.

Filipino addressing someone Mr. Ms. and Mrs. until they are allowed to call them by their name or nickname. Japanese and Philippine people have strong family bonds we tend to live with parents for long time and take care of them when they got older. Both countries are known for being hospitable. They both respect each other’s culture..

When it comes to look or appearance Japanese people have a white-skinned and relatively thick facial skin, which yields narrow and monolid eyes. Their ear were also small to minimize the possibility of being freeze, and they had relatively little body and facial hair. While Filipinos may look in many ways, It’s the result of Filipinos mixed with other foreign ethnicities. Some are tall, medium or short people, dark-skinned, light-skinned, white-skinned; even flat and pointed nose.They commonly have slanted eyes but some are big and round.

Filipinos are very conscious about their personal hygiene. While morning showers are a necessary part of everyday life, whilw the Japanese don’t just take showers, they love soaking in bathtubs to relax. Many Japanese think that the bathtub is the place to wash away their daily fatigue, so they typically take a baths at night before going to bed. Public bath are very popular in Japan. Almost every corners in Japan have a well-maintained toilet and kept spotlessly clean to ensure the best comfort for the travellers in Japan. Toilets are free to use and toilet paper, hand soap and hand cream are always provided. The cleanliness of the Japanese is known worldwide. On the other side, with most Filipinos taking a shower at least twice a day, the cleanliness of the toilet are taken for granted. According to the studies, 90% of household do not practice toilet hygiene and sanitation. Public toilet in the Philippines are very far from perfect, Filipino encounters toilets with dirty tiles, soiled seats and overflowing trash bins.

Both countries are incomparable, although there’s a lot of differences in culture and tradition,but both countries are very beautiful. Japan and the Philippines are included on those perfect place for tourism because of their beautiful places to visit. The Philippines is popular because of many kinds of beaches while Japan is very popular in cherry blossom, mount Fuji and animations or cartoons. Even they have differences in other aspects but people in both countries can build relationships, communication, bond and unity. For sure, if you will visit Japan or the Philippines, you will be enjoyed and be satisfied.