Exploration of Japanese-Chinese Intercultural Communication to Facilitate Mutual Understanding: Microscopic Analyses of Conflict and Harmony

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25580115
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Japanese language education
• Research Institution: Okayama University of Science
• Principal Investigator: Okunishi Yuri 岡山理科大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (50448156)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): Tomoko Tanaka 岡山大学, 社会文化科学研究科, 教授 (40227153)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 異文化理解 / 異文化葛藤

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Comparative cross-cultural and contact studies were conducted to identify the possible causes and mechanisms of intercultural conflicts between the Japanese and Chinese. As a result, essential differences in Japanese and Chinese’ sense of values have been clarified. For example, regarding work-related values, Chinese university students tend to seek good human relationships to accomplish their collective goals, whereas Japanese university students tend to think that goals are to be accomplished by individual efforts while being consciousness of their contribution to the nation or society. Moreover, effective ways of coordinating the two distinctively different cultures were found. For example, cultural understanding can be achieved by drawing a line between the cultures based on a deep analysis of them.

Free Research Field

異文化間教育