wtfeWays They Frame Engineering
日本語

JapanvsChina

日本と中国JPCN

Seen from Japan: each line below describes China relative to Japan.

Swap: see Japan from China

Culture Map: eight scales

Erin Meyer's eight scales, sorted by how far apart Japan and China sit, largest gap first.

Filled dot: Japan, where you are looking fromHollow ring: China

Where you will notice the difference6 scales

  1. Deciding

    China leaves decisions to the person in charge more than Japan (5 steps)

    Japan −3, China +2, on a line from −3 (Consensual) to +3 (Top-down).

  2. Evaluating

    China gives negative feedback more directly than Japan (2 steps)

    Japan +3, China +1, on a line from −3 (Direct negative feedback) to +3 (Indirect negative feedback).

  3. Communicating

    China spells things out more explicitly than Japan (1 step)

    Japan +3, China +2, on a line from −3 (Low-context) to +3 (High-context).

  4. Leading

    China keeps less distance between boss and team than Japan (1 step)

    Japan +3, China +2, on a line from −3 (Egalitarian) to +3 (Hierarchical).

  5. Trusting

    China builds trust through personal relationships more than Japan (1 step)

    Japan +1, China +2, on a line from −3 (Task-based) to +3 (Relationship-based).

  6. Disagreeing

    China is more willing to disagree openly than Japan (1 step)

    Japan +3, China +2, on a line from −3 (Confrontational) to +3 (Avoids confrontation).

Not placed2 scales

These scales are left unmarked: either Meyer leaves a country off the scale or no source places it, and drawing it anyway would be guessing.

  • PersuadingMeyer leaves Japan and China off this scale and describes their reasoning as holistic
  • SchedulingNo source places China on this scale
Positions are read by eye from Erin Meyer's published charts and rounded to seven steps. A step means “further towards that pole”, not a measured distance. How the positions were read

Hofstede: six dimensions

Scores from 0 to 100, sorted by the gap between Japan and China. They describe national averages, not either country's character.

  1. Uncertainty avoidance

    China scores 62 points lower than Japan (30 against 92)

    Japan 92, China 30, on a line from 0 (Tolerant of ambiguity) to 100 (Avoids ambiguity).

  2. Motivation towards achievement and success

    China scores 29 points lower than Japan (66 against 95)

    Japan 95, China 66, on a line from 0 (Consensus-oriented) to 100 (Decisive).

  3. Power distance

    China scores 26 points higher than Japan (80 against 54)

    Japan 54, China 80, on a line from 0 (Low power distance) to 100 (High power distance).

  4. Long-term orientation

    China scores 23 points lower than Japan (77 against 100)

    Japan 100, China 77, on a line from 0 (Short-term) to 100 (Long-term).

  5. Individualism

    China scores 19 points lower than Japan (43 against 62)

    Japan 62, China 43, on a line from 0 (Collectivist) to 100 (Individualist).

  6. Indulgence

    China scores 18 points lower than Japan (24 against 42)

    Japan 42, China 24, on a line from 0 (Restrained) to 100 (Indulgent).

Country averages. About 80% of variation in values is between people inside a country (Taras et al. 2016).Source: The Culture Factor — Country comparison tool (2026).About the Hofstede dimensions

What the sources say, theme by theme

Entries for Japan and China, side by side on wide screens. Each keeps its own confidence label and citations.

Design & quality

Japan4 claims

China3 claims

Failure & risk

Japan3 claims

China2 claims

Feedback & code review

Japan4 claims

China3 claims

Hierarchy & decisions

Japan3 claims

China2 claims

Communication & docs

Japan3 claims

China4 claims

Work & careers

Japan5 claims

China4 claims

Open source & community

Japan4 claims

China5 claims