Differences between the US and Japan

When we compare two countries, we would see some differences. As you may know, the United States and Japan are in contrast as the two countries have different characteristics. Can you imagine what kind of differences you see? These characteristics may be different in factors such as customs, education, and laws. These differences may be clear depending on how much people know about the two countries. Therefore, I would like to compare some clear differences and similarities between the United States and Japan.

One major difference between the United States and Japan is customs, especially coming of age ceremonies. In the United States, there is a Sweet Sixteen celebration which celebrates a teenager’s 16th birthday. The event is usually celebrated by girls, but it can also be celebrated by boys. The party takes place at home with close relatives and girls wear expensive dresses. They enjoy dancing with a hired DJ and eating fancy foods. On the other hand, Japanese celebrate becoming 20 with seijinshiki, or coming-of-age ceremonies. Unlike the United States, men and women dress in suits and kimonos to attend events throughout the country. They gather at public halls or community centers to listen speeches by local officials and mayors. However, parents don’t participate in the ceremony.
Second, I would like to mention about education differences. In the United States, there is a state-by-state curriculum which means every states has a different curriculum. This exists because they think that students’ satisfaction with class is the most important perception. Therefore, they can choose the curriculum at their own discretion. Consequently, every state may have a big difference in academic level whereas, Japan has a national curriculum which is set by the Japanese Ministry of Education. According to this curriculum, students can receive the same education equally, regardless of where they came from. For this reason, regardless of prefecture, teachers teach the same material to their students so there is no difference in academic level.

The third difference is the laws. In the United States, all states prohibit drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes to person under 21. People can get a driver’s license at earliest 16 years old in the United States. Also, attaining a motorcycle license may vary from 16 to 18 years depending on the state. In Japan, however, people can drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes from the age of 20. Interestingly enough, motorcycle license is over 16 years old, and driver’s license qis over 18 years old. Similarly, voting age for elections is over 18 for both countries. At any rate, the age defined by the United States and Japan laws are quite similar, but different for various reasons such as one’s safety.

Naturally, different countries have different laws. I assume that recently, Japan is likely to take in laws of the United States; for example, voting age for elections is same between two countries. Therefore, people can see some similarities sometimes between the two states. By comparing these three differences such as customs, education, and laws, we learned about cultural and societal differences between the United States and Japan. If we learned this much by comparing these three differences, what other things"

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