Firefly in Japan on the Your-Japan Blog Network

The same friend who uses Partial Compliance to get out of doing something he doesn’t want to do, also has compiled a small list of Gaijin Superpowers. I have made my own additions to this list, I’ll publish them soon.

Azrael created the original idea through his awesome article on the Gaijin Smash, Gaijin Opticblast, and Gaijin Perimeter.

Here is the Gaijin Power of Partial Compliance, and it’s backing theory.

If you’re in Japan, you’re probably already breaking some kind of rule or social custom. Right now. No matter what you’re doing, or how. Most people go crazy before they come to Japan, and in the first few weeks of being here trying to work out the "culturally acceptable" way to act, but it’s an uphill battle - since as you further integrate into Japanese culture, you get yourself into all sorts of new situations which have new customs, regulations and rules.

You could make an attempt to learn all of these, but it’s highly recommended to just be as nice as possible to everyone, and try to enjoy the Japanese experience as much as possible.

Now, occasionally you will be placed in a situation with a regulation that just doesn’t make a lot of sense. To give you a recent real life example, I was in the gym with the PC guy (Partial Compliance theorist), and this big guy walks past with a tattoo.

To give some background, Tattoos are banned from almost all public washrooms, sentos and onsens. The main reason (as I understand it), is that many Yakuza have huge full body tattoos that intimidate and scare other people. So, a good blanket way to keep out the undesirables, is to implement a blanket rule saying "no people with tattoos may partake in our establishment". Which is really kind of silly for some foreigner with a small tatoo on his bicep - it just shouldn’t really apply to him.

Now, I can imagine the conversation between the tattoo guy, and the gym staff.

Gym Staff : Oh… I am very, very sorry, but unfortunately, you cannot use this gym. I am very sorry. Please accept my apologies, I have no excuse for my actions. (Japanese Humble attack -35 damage)

Tattoo Guy : Nah, it’s alright. It’s just a small tat. Don’t worry about it.
(Attempted Gaijin Smash)

Gym Staff : Um…. I am very sorry, but it is in the rules. (Nullified Gaijin Smash with Bureaucracy - 10 damage)

Tatoo Guy (realised Gaijin Smash did not work, attempting different manoeuvre) : So, people get upset if they see a tattoo? (Gaijin Power Partial Compliance Layup)

Gym Staff (missing the Layup) : Yes, exactly. I am terribly, terribly sorry.

Tattoo Guy : Ok. I understand.

Gym Staff (VICTORY!!!) : Thank you for your understanding. I’m so sorry.

This is where the Gaijin Power of Partial Compliance comes into force. 3 minutes later :

Tattoo Guy walks out of the locker room with a small piece of tape covering about 40% of his tattoo.

Gym Staff (Oh, shit) : Um, excuse me sir?

Tattoo Guy : Look buddy, I know you’re doing your job, I understand. Here, look, I covered my Tattoo. Pretty cool huh? (Combo Gaijin Smash and Partial Compliance -240 damage)

Gym Staff : Oh… umm… right… errr. actually…. welll….

Tatoo Guy : Seeya (Flawless Victory)

Now, the irony here is that the tape covering the tattoo draws more attention to the tatoo. However, since the Gym Staff saw that Tatoo Guy made a solid effort to try to do something to comply with the regulation, it becomes much, much more difficult for Gym Staff to win. Most people simple give up here, as Gym Staff most likely did.

There is the theory and practice behind the Gaijin Power Partial Compliance - I hope you enjoyed that.

Living in Japan can be rewarding and frustrating. There a lot more rules and customs that must be followed, and naturally people can become confused or unsure as to the best way to proceed.

There are two solutions to this situation. The first is the Japanese way - keeping the wa (harmony), asking people around you, being extremely polite and careful. This sometimes works.

The second (and I would say, more popular) method is the "gaijin smash". The "gaijin smash" has been in existence since Perry decided that Japan would be best off opening its doors and begining trade. There was initial resistance by Japan, which then prompted the first known incidence in Japanese history of the gaijin smash. It is a term created by Azareal, who has now found a home at www.gaijinsmash.net. You can find the original gaijin smash article here.

Its basically where you impose your outlandish foreign will onto a person or group of people to achieve your desired outcome. You basically give a Japanese person the choice between extreme pressure and a possibly angry foreigner (for a Japanese person raised on avoiding conflicts, never a good thing), or the easy choice of simply giving the foreigner what they want. If applied correctly, you’ll almost always get what you want, often bending or breaking the rules (which in defense of foreigners, are mostly nonsensical).

I don’t advocate the Gaijin Smash for anything but the most dire of emergencies or the most ridiculous of rules/regulations, since it does cause a good amount of anguish and frustration for the receiving Japanese. Having said that, it is extremely effective and worth having in your back pocket.

Although it’s not something I’m particularly proud of, I am very good at this. When I really require something, few gaijin can match the power of my smash. I have an American friend whos special power lies in partial compliance, which is also a deadly weapon against inefficiency and unnecessary rules and regulations. More on partial compliance next time.

Hi there

My pseudoname is Jim, and I’m a complete gadget freak. In this blog I hope to tell you about all the money I waste and all the crazy shit that I buy, and all the new funky technology available in Japan.

Soon I’ll be writing about my new Softbank X01HT that I bought, and all of the warranty busting stuff I’ve been doing to it recently.

See you soon!

Jim

I don’t ride taxis much in Japan because I live near Kichioji station, but the few times I rode a taxi, I always had a good experience. They were clean, efficient, ,and honest. Most taxi’s in London are only 2 out of these 3 if you’re lucky.Recently, I was coming home from an izakaya, and I saw two taxi drivers having a smoke break. They seemed happy and called me over to say hello.They only spoke a little bit of English, but they were quick to talk to me about taxi drivers in my country. “WHERE YOU FROM!!”"London.”"OH LONDON TAXI DRIVER THINK THEY BEST IN WORLD. THEY NOT BEST!!”"Uh, they’re not?”NO!!! THEY SAY THEY KNOW ALL ROAD AND THEY BEST. BUT LONDON SO SMALL. I KNOW ALL TOKYO ROAD AND TOKYO 10 TIME BIGGER THAN LONDON!”"I guess so..!”"SO TOKYO TAXI DRIVERS ARE BEST!”"Actually, I have only had a few taxi rides, but I agree with you!”So, there you have it. Tokyo taxi drivers are the best.

A few weeks ago, I was having a chat with the friend of a friend, a short Japanese girl. She had learned a bit of English, and she was interested to go overseas and explore the world. I was impressed by this – at least temporarily. The conversation went something like this :

If it means I would grow as a person, I would definitely do something that scares me, and I would encourage my friends and family to do the same. Think about this the next time your friend or a member of your family asks for your guidance on something they want to do. Tell them to ¡ÈFeel the Fear, and Do It Anyway¡É (I highly recommend this book).