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Interview report: Cultural experience of a Vietnamese student in the Japan This interview focuses on the experiences of a Vietnamese student who moved to Japan after finishing high school in Vietnam and has now lived there for about two years. Through her personal stories, the interview offers insight into how cultural values, traditions, lifestyle differences, and language influence her everyday life abroad. This woule help us better understand the challenges international students face and the ways they adapt to a new cultural environment. According to cultural adaptation theory, there are four stages of culture shock: honeymoon, hostility, humour, and home. For many international students, the hostility stage can be difficult, but in her case this stage was softened because she had already been exposed to Japanese culture before arriving. As she said, “I had already learned quite a lot about Japanese life and culture through media and from people around me.” This aligns with Xie and Chao (2022)Xie and Chao, who report that social media use can reduce the intensity of cultural shock, as videos and online communities provide insights into daily routines, social norms, and language use in the host culture. This helps newcomers anticipate real-life situations and the skills they will need. However, she still experienced some typical early reactions. During her first days, she described feeling “really excited and nervous because I wanted to explore everything such as people, food, and the landscape I had seen on the internet. ” This reflects the honeymoon stage, when newcomers feel positive, curious, and enthusiastic, sometimes even idealizing the host culture. After about a week, the excitement faded and she said that “ the idea of living alone in a foreign country ” and she even had stomach discomfort because she was not used to the food. Fortunately, she had prepared Vietnamese food in advance, which helped her cope. Over time, “after about six months, those feelings faded, and everything started to feel more familiar ,” showing that she had moved into the humour stage, where people start adjusting to the new environment. Eventually, she reached a sense of acceptance and stability. While living in Japan, she also observed several differences between the two cultures. Although Vietnam and Japan share cultural characteristics such as collectivism, high-context communication, and high power distance, they express these values in quite different ways in everyday life.
Regarding communication, she shared that “the biggest communication challenge in Japan was grammar,” which is a common challenges most foreign learners face. However, beyond language, she also noticed significant differences in communication style. She some time made native speakers feel uncomfortable as Vietnamese people tend to speak more directly and with a louder tone, while Japanese communication is softer and highly indirect. Moreover, Drobot (2021) explains that this difference is closely related to the Japanese concept of facework, where indirect expressions such as “I will think about it” are used to soften disagreement and protect each other’s social image. This indirect communication style reflects the strong cultural emphasis on situational awareness and maintaining harmony in social interactions. About the teaching style, she shared that “there is not much difference between the two countries; both require students to respect teachers, and students have to remain silent until they are allowed to speak.” As Badawi (2024) explains, this is related to the high power distance in both cultures, which highlights the respect, hierarchy, and authority characteristics in Japanese classrooms. The teacher is viewed as the main source of knowledge, and students are not expected to interrupt them. However, she also noticed some small differences in teacher–student relationships. In Vietnam, it is quite normal for students to ask teachers personal questions, which reflects a closer and more familiar relationship; however, in Japan, such behavior is considered inappropriate because teachers prefer to maintain a more professional distance. In terms of friendship, she admitted that “it is extremely hard for a foreigner to build close relationships with native people in Japan. ” She explained that in Vietnam, “friendships grow quickly when you might talk for one hour and already feel like close friends,” while in Japan, relationships develop slowly and “step by step.” This difference can be understood through the explanation of relational mobility (Salvaggio, 2013). Japan has low relational mobility which means that people rarely form new friendships and tend to maintain small, stable social circles built on long-term trust. In contrast, Vietnamese culture allows higher relational mobility so it is easy to start conversations, connect with new people, and form friendships happen more quickly. Another interesting difference related to personal space, she shared that even though she was aware of Japanese norms, “sometimes I still stood too close, and other people had to step away,
my creativity.” Compared with Vietnam, where people are generally more flexible and adaptive, she found this cultural tightness difficult to adjust to. It appears not only in detailed school regulations and formal workplace procedures but also in many unspoken rules, such as keeping quiet on trains or eating only in appropriate places. Research describes Japan as a “ tight” culture (Chan, 1996) and this expectation deeply rooted in collectivist values of maintaining. As a result, breaking even a small rule can lead to social disapproval, and is viewed as disrupting group harmony. However, she also pointed out that this can sometimes be time-consuming and may limit opportunities for more efficient or creative approaches. REFERENCES Badawi, H. (2024). Exploring classroom discipline strategies and cultural dynamics: Lessons from the Japanese education system. Tafkir: Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Education , 5 (1), 1–12. Chan, D. K.-S. (1996). Tightness-Looseness Revisited: Some Preliminary Analyses in Japan and the United States. International Journal of Psychology , 31 (1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/ Drobot, I.-A. (2021). Analysing the japanese indirect communication culture. Crossing Boundaries in Culture and Communication , 12 (2), 9–20. Salvaggio, E. (2013, November 6). On Friendships in Japan. This Japanese Life. https://thisjapaneselife.org/2013/11/06/expat-friendships/ Sicorello, M., Stevanov, J., Ashida, H., & Hecht, H. (2019). Effect of Gaze on Personal Space: A Japanese–German Cross-Cultural Study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology , 50 (1), 8–
- https://doi.org/10.1177/ Steger, B. (2006). Introduction: Timing daily life in Japan. Time & Society , 15 (2–3), 171–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X
Xie, M., & Chao, C.-C. (2022). The interplay between social media and cultural adjustment: Analysis of the subjective well-being, social support, and social media use of Asian international students in the US. Journal of Intercultural Communication , 22 (2), 22–32.
