Dependency and Japanese Socialization

Western ideological traditionally emphasises the concepts of individualism, privacy, freedom, and independence with the prevailing ethos relegating dependency to a disparaged status. In Japanese society, the divergence from these western ideals can be found in the concept of amae (perhaps best translated as "indulgent dependency") which is part of the Japanese social fibre and pervades their experience. For the western reader, the concept of amae is somewhat alien and unfamiliar, but in order to understand the Japanese fully, it is essential that the westerner should get something of the feel of it. To place amae in the proper context, Johnson critically examines the western attitudes toward dependency and interdependency from the perspectives of psychoanalysis, psychiatry, developmental psychology, and sociology. Johnson traces the development of the concept and uses of the term "dependency" in academic and developmental psychology in the West, including its recent eclipse by more operationally useful terms "attachment" and "interdependency".
Making use of the work of Japanese psychiatrist Takeo Doi, whose book "The Anatomy of Dependence" introduced the concept of amae to the West, Johnson goes on to illuminate the collective manner in which Japanese think and behave which is central to their socialization and educational practices, especially as seen, in the stunning success of Japanese trading practices during the past 20 years. A major emphasis in the book is placed upon the positive aspects of amae, which is here compared and contrasted with attitudes toward dependency seen among other nationalities, cultures, and groups in Western society. Complete with a glossary of Japanese terms, this book provides a comprehensive investigation into Japanese behaviour.