AGUILAR, STANLY NOEL C.4-ALMNARAG, JHOANNA STEFFANY G.

JAPAN VS. PHILIPPINES

A. RELIGION

Japan:

Shinto and Buddhism are Japan's two major religions. Shinto is as old as the Japanese culture, while Buddhism was imported from the mainland in the 6th century. Since then, the two religions have been co-existing relatively harmoniously and have even complemented each other to a certain degree. Most Japanese consider themselves Buddhist, Shintoist or both.

Religion does not play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people today. The average person typically follows the religious rituals at ceremonies like birth, weddings and funerals may visit a shrine or temple on New Year and participates at local festivals (matsuri), most of which have a religious background.

Philippines:

Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census). The Philippines is a predominantly Christian nation on account of 300 years of Spanish rule. It is estimated that 81% of the population is Roman Catholic. In the south on the large island of Mindanao, many are adherents of Islam. Filipino Muslims make up about five percent of the national population.

There is a Philippine Independent Church, known as Iglesia Filipina Independiente or Aglipayan Church (after its first head Gregorio Aglipay); it is affiliated with the Anglican Communion.Another independent church was founded in 1914 by Felix Manalo; it is a unitarian religious organization known as Iglesia ni Cristo. Missionaries of the Jehovah's Witnesses arrived in the Philippines during the American colonial rule (1898-1945). There are now 150,000 members in the country. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have 600,000 Mormon members in the Philippines.Animism or folk religion encompassing indigenous spiritual traditions from pre-colonial times still prevail even among baptized members of formal churches. Superstitious beliefs are widespread.

B. FAMILY LIFE/STRUCTURE

Japan: Information/Data on Japanese Family/Household Patterns:

Japan has had a history of stressing the importance of the "continuing family before the individual. It was expected that the eldest son inherit the position of head of the house. Continuity was of paramount importance and other arrangements, such as adoption, would be made if no sons had been borne. The rest of the children were expected to leave on marriage, girls to other houses, younger sons either to set up branch houses or to a house with no son as an adopted head. It was important that a bride or an adopted son fit into the existing ie, because if they failed to do so, they would simply be returned.

In modern Japan, the continuing of family is still important, but things have been modified significantly. The absolute authority of the head of the house is over, and since children now choose their future occupations freely, less is made of an eldest son as the potential successor. Women are still the prime caretakers, and much of the time give up their careers to take on childrearing as a fulltime job. However more Japanese women now have a career and a family. The Japanese word for child-rearing is shitsuke, a word also used for tacking a kimono into shape and teasing rice seedlings into an upright position.

Childrearing is considered by the Japanese to be extremely important. The Japanese believe that a 3 year old develops the same soul he has when he is 100, so efforts should be made to mold that soul from the very beginning. Children are thought to be basically good, so with care and encouragement they should grow up to behave in an acceptable manner. Children are taught that the home(uchi) is a symbol of cleanliness and security, and that the outside world(soto) is associated with dirt and danger. Over 70% of elderly people live with their children,compared with less than 25% in many Western countries.

Japan is primarily information Age based as far as their family structure. Children are raised to work hard, take education seriously, and know that they can be what they want in life as long as they work hard. Also 70% of elderly people live with their family.

Philippines:

Filipinos highly value the presence of their families more than anything. Regardless of the liberal influence they have gotten from the west, the family remained the basic unit of their society. This trait clearly shows among Filipinos abroad who suffer homesickness and tough work just to support their families back home in the Philippines.

In a traditional Filipino family, the father is considered the head and the provider of the family while the mother takes responsibility of the domestic needs and in charge of the emotional growth and values formation of the children. They both perform different tasks and being remarked separately by the children. Children see their mothers soft and calm, while they regard their fathers as strong and the most eminent figure in the family.

Because of this remarkable closeness, parents sometimes have difficulties letting go of their children and thus results to having them stay for as long as they want. For this somehow explains why grandparents are commonly seen living with their children in the Philippines. Unlike the way people grow old in the west where they are provided with outside homes and care giving, Filipino elderly enjoy their remaining lives inside their houses with their children and grandchildren looking after them.

Another trait Filipinos made themselves exceptional from others is their strong respect for elders. Children are taught from birth how to say po and opo to teach them as early as possible how to properly respect their elders. These words are used to show respect to people of older level. Even adults will be criticized for not using these words when speaking with their parents or people older than them. Inside the family, the parents are expected to receive the highest respect from the children along with the elder siblings; as they are given more responsibilities to look after younger siblings when parents are not around.

Children fighting back or addressing parents or elder siblings with arrogant tone are not at all tolerated. They are also not allowed to leave the house without their parents permission. Upon arriving home, conservative families expect children to practice the kissing of hands or placing their parents or elder family members hand to their foreheads with the words mano po as a sort of greeting.

Even after finishing school, Filipino children are not obliged to get out of their homes unless they want to. In fact, most of them keep their close relationship to their parents by staying at least before they get married. Leaving them happens only when they really have to, but usually, at least one child, depending on his willingness and financial capabilities, stay even after marriage to support and look after their aging parents.

Moreover, Filipinos keep close connection with other relatives. They recognize them from 2nd degree to the last they can identify. As Filipinos say, not being able to know a relative is like turning their backs from where they come from.

C. GOVERNMENT

Japan:The current Japanese constitution was promulgated in the year 1946 during the occupation by the Allied powers:Legislature: The Japanese parliament is called the Diet. It consists of the House of Representatives (480 members) and the House of Councillors (242 members). The members of the Diet are elected by the Japanese people.Executive: The cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister. The cabinet further consists of the ministers which are appointed by the prime minister and are usually members of the Diet. The prime minister is elected by the Diet.Judiciary: The highest court is the Supreme Court. Other courts are district courts, high courts, family courts, and summary courts. Judges are appointed by the cabinet.Elections: The minimum voting age is 20 years. Women received the right to vote with the postwar constitution. Elections for the House of Representatives are carried out every four years, and half of the House of Councilors is elected every three years. Beside the national elections there are prefectural and municipal elections.The Emperor does not have any effective power but is only the symbol of the state.

Principal Government Officials:Chief of State: Emperor AkihitoHead of Government: Prime Minister Shinzo AbeJapan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. There is universal adult suffrage with a secret ballot for all elective offices. Sovereignty, previously embodied in the emperor, is vested in the Japanese people, and the Emperor is defined as the symbol of the state.Japan's government is a parliamentary democracy, with a House of Representatives (also known as the Lower House) and a House of Councilors (sometimes called the Upper House). Executive power is vested in a cabinet composed of a prime minister and ministers of state, all of whom must be civilians. The prime minister must be a member of the Diet and is designated by his colleagues. The prime minister has the power to appoint and remove ministers, a majority of whom must be Diet members. The judiciary is independent.The seven major political parties represented in the National Diet are the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Peoples New Party (PNP), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the New Komeito Party (NK), the Japan Communist Party (JCP), and Your Party (YP).Japan's judicial system, drawn from customary law, civil law, and Anglo-American common law, consists of several levels of courts, with the Supreme Court as the final judicial authority. The Japanese constitution includes a bill of rights similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights, and the Supreme Court has the right of judicial review. Japanese courts do not use a jury system, and there are no administrative courts or claims courts. Because of the judicial system's basis, court decisions are made in accordance with legal statutes. Only Supreme Court decisions have any direct effect on later interpretation of the law.Japan does not have a federal system, and its 47 prefectures are not sovereign entities in the sense that U.S. states are. Most depend on the central government for subsidies. Governors of prefectures, mayors of municipalities, and prefectural and municipal assembly members are popularly elected to 4-year terms.

Philippines:The Philippines is one of the largest archipelagos in the world, with its 7,107 islands and islets. It is situated off the southeastern coast of the Asia Mainland at the Western Rim of the Pacific Ocean.The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government, which has three coequal branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary. The Executive branch consists of the President and the Vice-President, who are elected by direct popular votes and serve for a term of six years. The President appoints his Cabinet to help him administer the functions of the government. The Cabinet is made up of various departments with specific functions and headed by secretaries. The Legislative branch, which has the primary responsibility for enacting laws, consists of the Upper House (the Senate) and the Lower House (the House of Representatives). The Senate President is the head of the Upper House; while the Lower House is led by the Speaker. The Judiciary branch consists of the systems of courts, with the Supreme Court as the highest and headed by the Chief Justice.

SOURCES:http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/japan/governmenthttp://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2136.htmlhttp://www.csudh.edu/global_options/375students-sp96/japan/FamilyHouseholds.htmlhttp://park.org/Philippines/government/philgov.htmlhttp://tagaloglang.com/Filipino-Culture/Religion/religion-in-the-philippines.htmlhttp://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_culture/common_family_traits.html