INTRODUCTION

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honsh, Hokkaid, Kysh and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents. A major economic power, Japan has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. Japanese society is linguistically and culturally homogeneous, composed of 98.5% ethnic Japanese, with small populations of foreign workers. Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Malaysia is a megadiverse country with a high number of species and high levels of endemism. It is estimated to contain 20 per cent of the world's animal species. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a large role in politics. As of the 2010 census, the population of Malaysia was 28,334,135 making it the 43rd most populated country. The population of Malaysia consists of many ethnic groups. Malays make up 50.4 per cent of the population, while other Bumiputra make up another 11 per cent. 23.7 per cent of the population is of Chinese descent, while those of Indian descent comprise 7.1 per cent of the population. Obviously, Japan and Malaysia are two countries that vary in terms of geography, history and demography. Therefore, there would difference between the Malaysian culture and the Japanese culture in terms of beliefs, language, clothing, food and many more. The following pages will show comparisons of some aspects of Japanese and Malaysian culture.

LANGUAGE

More than 99 percent of the Japanese population speaks Japanese as their first language. Besides Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages, also part of the Japonic language family, are spoken in Okinawa; however, few children learn these languages. The Ainu language, which is unrelated to Japanese or any other known language, is moribund, with only a few elderly native speakers remaining in Hokkaido. Most public and private schools require students to take courses in both Japanese and English. The Japanese language is written with a combination of three scripts: Chinese characters called kanji and two syllabic (or moraic) scripts of characters, hiragana (used to write native words for which there are no kanji) and katakana (used for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese and the writing of loan words). The Latin script, rmaji, is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, Romanization of Japanese characters, and when entering Japanese text into a computer. Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also commonplace. The official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia, a standardized form of the Malay language. Historically English was the de facto administrative language and remains an active second language. Many other languages are used in Malaysia since Unlike Japan, Malaysia is a multi-racial country. The native tribes of East Malaysia have their own languages which are related to, but easily distinguishable from, Malay. Iban is the main tribal language in Sarawak while Dusunic languages are spoken by the natives in Sabah. Chinese Malaysians predominately speak Chinese dialects from the southern provinces of China. The more common dialects in the country are Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, and Fuzhou. Tamil is used predominantly by Tamils, who form a majority of Malaysian Indians. Other south Asian languages are also widely spoken in Malaysia, such as Thai. A small number of Malaysians have Caucasian ancestry and speak creole languages, such as the Portuguese based Malaccan Creoles and the Spanish based Chavacano language. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages and is now written using the Latin script (Rumi), although an Arabic alphabet called Jawi also exists. Rumi is official in Malaysia.

BELIEFS

Upper estimates suggest that 8496 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Buddhism or Shinto, including a large number of followers of a syncretism of both religions. Japan enjoys full religious freedom and minority religions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism are practiced. Figures that state 84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. According to Johnstone (1993:323), 84% of the Japanese claim no personal religion. Nevertheless the level of participation remains high, especially during festivals and occasions such as the first shrine visit of the New Year. Taoism and Confucianism from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs. Beyond the two traditional types of religions, a great variety of popular religious movements exists in modern Japan. These movements are normally lumped together under the name "New Religions". These religions draw on concepts from Shinto, Buddhism, and folk superstition. The officially recognized new religions number in the hundreds and total membership is reportedly in the tens of millions. The largest new religion is Ska Gakkai, a Buddhist sect founded in 1930, which has about 10 million members in Japan. Malaysia on the other hand is multicultural and multiconfessional. The dominant religion in Malaysia is Islam, whose followers make up 61 per cent of the population. Islam is recognized as the state religion of Malaysia, although the country has a secular constitution. Religion often follows ethnic lines, with most Muslims being Malays. The government promotes a moderate form of Islam known as Islam Hadhari. The country has both civil and Shariah courts, with all Muslims having to follow Shariah laws. Many Malaysian Chinese practice a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. The majority of the Indians who make up 7 per cent of Malaysia's population practice Hinduism. About 10 per cent of the population of Malaysia is Christians, including Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indian minorities. The most common denominations are Anglican, Methodist, and Roman Catholic. Most Christians are found in East Malaysia, where Good Friday is a public holiday in the states of Sabah and Sarawak.

Relations between different religious groups are generally quite tolerant. Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Deepavali have been declared national holidays alongside Islamic holidays. Various groups have been set up to try to promote religious understanding among the different groups, with religious harmony seen as a priority by Malaysian politicians.

Typical Shinto shrine with paper streamers made out of unprocessed hemp fibre

The Tshdai-ji was an early Buddhist temple in Nara

The Lord Murugan Temple in Batu Caves

The Putra Mosque located in Putrajaya

Kek Lok Si Temple, a Buddhist temple in Penang

St. John's Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur

FOOD

Japanese cuisine is based on combining staple foods, typically rice or noodles, with a soup and okazu dishes made from fish, meat, vegetable, tofu and the like to add flavor to the staple food. These are typically flavored with dashi, miso, and soy sauce and are usually low in fat and high in salt. A standard Japanese meal generally consists of several different okazu accompanying a bowl of cooked white Japanese rice (gohan), a bowl of soup and some tsukemono (pickles). The most standard meal comprises three okazu and is termed ichijsansai. Different cooking techniques are applied to each of the three okazu; they may be raw (sashimi), grilled, simmered (sometimes called boiled), steamed, deep-fried, vinegared, or dressed. As Japan is an island nation, its people eat a lot of seafood. Meat-eating has been rare until fairly recently due to restrictions of Buddhism. However, strictly vegetarian food is rare since even vegetable dishes are flavored with the ubiquitous dashi stock, usually made with katsuobushi (dried skipjack tuna flakes). An exception is shjin ryri, vegetarian dishes developed by Buddhist monks. Noodles are an essential part of Japanese cuisine usually as an alternative to a rice-based meal. Soba (thin, grayish-brown noodles containing buckwheat flour) and udon (thick wheat noodles) are the main traditional noodles and are served hot or cold with soy-dashi flavorings. Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat stock broth known as ramen have become extremely popular over the last century. Malaysian cuisine reflects the multicultural aspects of Malaysia. Various ethnic groups in Malaysia have their own dishes, but many dishes in Malaysia are derived from multiple ethnic influences. Food preparation differs from place to place, although many of the foods used are alike. Spices, aromatic herbs and roots are all used in Malaysian cuisine. Like Japan, rice tends to be a staple food in Malaysia as in most countries in the region. The rice eaten in Malaysia tends to be the local variety of rice or fragrant rice from Thailand, its northern neighbour. Quality Indian basmati is used in biryani dishes due to its long grained shape, fragrance and delicate flavour. Japanese short grain rice and others are slowly entering the Malaysian diet as Malaysians expand their culinary tastes to new areas. Noodles such as bi hoon, kuay teow, yellow noodles, ho fun and mee suah are popular food, particularly in Malaysian Chinese cuisine, but used by other groups as well.

Malay cuisine bears many similarities to Indonesian cuisine, in particular some of the regional traditions from Sumatra. Many Malay dishes revolve around a Rempah which is made by grinding up fresh and/or dried spices and herbs to create a spice paste which is then sauteed in oil to bring out the aromas. Malaysian Indian cuisine of the ethnic Indians in Malaysia is similar to its roots in India. This cuisine consists of curries which use a lot of spices, coconut milk, and curry leaves. Malaysian Chinese food is derived from mainland southern Chinese cuisine such as Fujian cuisine and Hakka cuisine but has been influenced by local ingredients and dishes from other cultures though it remains distinctly Chinese. Most Chinese meals have pork as their sub-ingredient, but due to the popularity and unique taste of the actual food, there are chicken options available for the local Malays (most Malays are Muslims). Nyonya food was developed by the Nyonya (Straits Chinese) and Peranakan (mixed Chinese/Malay ancestry) people of Malaysia and Singapore. It uses mainly Chinese ingredients but blends them with South-East Asian spices such as coconut milk, lemon grass, turmeric, screwpine leaves, chillies and sambal. It can be considered as a blend of Chinese and Malay cooking with some Thai influence.

Sushi

Ramen

Nasi Lemak

Roti Canai

CLOTHING

In modern Japan you have western clothing (yofuku), and Japanese clothing (wafuku). The various traditional ethnic garments worn in Japan are still in use, they are mainly worn for ceremonies and special occasions- like weddings, funerals, coming-of-age ceremonies (seijin shiki), and festivals. Western clothing is worn more often in day to day life. The Japanese clothing consisted entirely of a great variety of kimono, the first of which appeared in the Jomon period, with no distinction between male and female. Japanese kimonos are literally wrapped around the body, sometimes in several layers, and they are secured in place by sashes with a wide obi to complete the human parcel. The furisode kimono is worn by single women; its usually bought for the coming-of-age ceremony but is also used for large social functions such as weddings and tea ceremonies. The uchikake kimono is worn on a girls wedding day; it is all white and very long. The houmongi kimono takes the place of the furisode once a woman is married and is usually made of solid colored fabrics. The yukata kimono is a light cotton kimono worn during the summer and at festivals. The tomesode kimono is only worn to a close relatives wedding, never at a friends wedding. The mofuku kimono is all black and worn to funerals, showing respect for the person who has passed away. You also have the hadjuban which is a white kimono like undergarment that is worn under all of the kimonos. Boys wear western suits for their coming-of-age ceremony, job interviews, work, weddings, and funerals, though the Japanese etiquette and rules of formality require the proper dress with great attention to detail, such as wearing a white tie to attend a wedding and a black tie, with the same black suit, to a funeral. Since Malaysia comprises three major cultures: Malay, Chinese and Indian, each culture has its own traditional and religious articles of clothing all of which are gender specific and may be adapted to local influences and conditions. Traditional Malay attire is the "baju melayu", a loose tunic which is worn over trousers and usually accompanied with a "sampin", which is a sarong which is wrapped around a man's hips. It is also often accompanied with a songkok or cap, on their head. Traditional clothing for men in Malaysia consists of a silk or cotton skirt and shirt with a scarf like piece of cloth tied around his waist.

This scarf is sewn together at the ends and is traditionally called a sarong or a kain. Most of the clothing is made up of bright and bold colors. The man also wears a religious hat. Malay women wear the baju kurung, a knee-length blouse worn over a long skirt. Usually a scarf or shawl is worn with this. Prior to the wide embrace of Islam, Malay women wore "kemban", which were sarongs which were tied just above the chest. The classical everyday clothing for men in Malaysia is a short sleeved shirt worn outside the trousers, light-weight trousers and informally, sandals for comfort. The Chinese women wear the cheongsam, a one-piece dress with a high collar, diagonally closed with small clips or toggles (fabric clasps). It sometimes can have slits at the side, as is made with a soft fabric such as silk. The cheongsam is especially popular around the time of the Chinese New Year and other formal gatherings. Older well-respected women wear a samfoo, which looks like pajamas with a separate loose fitting top fastened by toggles and ankle length, or above the ankle, pants. Indians in Malaysia as with elsewhere in the world wear sarees, a cloth of 5-6 yards which is usually worn with a petticoat of a similar shade. It is wrapped around the body so that the embroidered end hangs over the shoulder, while the petticoat is worn above the bellybutton to support the saree, which can be made from a wide variety of materials. The Punjabi Salwar kameez is popular with women from northern India, and is a long tunic worn over trousers with a matching shawl. The fabric imported from India, made of the best quality silk is used in making saris. In formal occasions Indian men wear the "kurta", a knee-length shirt usually made from cotton or linen. The Indian men wear Jippa, Sherwani, Lungi (short length of material worn around the thighs rather like a sarong), and Dhoti (the only drape that doesn't start from one pallav but from the centre of the upper border with the middle of the cloth is tied around the hips. Each end of the cloth is then draped around the leg on its side). The Sherwani: a coat like garment fitted close to the body, of knee-length or longer and opening in front with button-fastenings.

Kimono

Cheongsam

Baju Melayu

Baju Kurung

Saree Jippa