The poster boy for American diligence is undoubtedly the 18th-century statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin. His values of hard work and frugality became embedded in American culture, particularly through the many proverbs he recorded in his Poor Richard's Almanack, such as "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
Kishichi Watanabe, a business historian, has compared Franklin's way of thinking with that of Ishida Baigan, a Japanese business philosopher who was active right around the same time as Franklin. Baigan established the Sekimon Shingaku movement, which with government support became the most prominent educational establishment of the merchant class in the 18th century.
Watanabe suggests, however, that while both Franklin and Baigan advocated many similar values, Franklin additionally espoused self-assertiveness and individuality, while Baigan promoted submission and loyalty. It is possible that the differing philosophies of these thinkers contributed to the divergent notion of diligence in the two cultures.
The 2010 Asia-Pacific Value Survey conducted by the Tokyo-based Institute of Statistical Mathematics asked 1,002 American adults and 1,800 Japanese adults to respond to 54 questions, choosing from a number of set responses. Regarding a question about their attitude toward life, roughly half of both groups chose "Lead an honest and ethical life." The second and third most common responses for the Japanese group were "Don't think about money or fame; just live a life that suits your own taste" (21 percent) and "Live each day as it comes, optimistically and without worrying" (14 percent).
These were also the next two most prevalent responses for the Americans, although the order of frequency was reversed, with 20 percent taking each day as it comes, and 16 percent not thinking about money or fame. Eleven percent of the Japanese chose "Make a social commitment by being active in volunteer work," but only 4 percent of the Americans selected this as best reflecting their life attitude. "Make a name for yourself by studying earnestly" received the lowest frequency rate for both groups, at 2 percent for the Americans and 1 percent for the Japanese.
Another question asked whether, if the respondents had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, they would continue to work. The majority of both groups said they'd continue to work, but the Japanese percentage was a bit higher: 63 percent compared to 56 percent for the American responses.
There was more variation regarding the most important factor in work, although not necessarily pointing to a greater emphasis on diligence among Japanese compared to Americans. Of four choices, the top response for the Americans was "a good income so that you do not have to have any worries about money," with 35 percent answering in this way, but this was the choice that had the lowest percentage frequency for the Japanese respondents, at 16 percent. The Japanese respondents' most common choice was the same as the Americans' second choice: "Doing an important job which gives you a feeling of accomplishment," with 39 percent and 32 percent respectively. The Japanese respondents' second choice, "Working with people you like," selected by 24 percent, however, was the last choice for the Americans, with a frequency rate of only 9 percent.
A quick Internet search revealed that several Japanese bloggers also noticed the poster for the cram school, with most commenting very favorably on it. One person made a wry corollary to it, writing, "The child who talks of a dream is the one who is learning fully--I didn't learn so I don't have a dream."
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