Question

Japanese case study 1 This case study is a composite of actual situations. Marianne, who is American, and Ken Shimizu,

Answer 1

Japanese case study 1:

Cultural issues that may lead to conflicts in this international family:

Japanese culture believes in family unity. They value their ancestors and believe in the curses from their elderly. They believe in caring for their elderly until death occurs with a hope of being blessed by their parents or family members ones they die of old age. On the other side in the United States, people are rational and do what is best for their elderly family members. Ken wants to stay with her mother while Marianne wants ken's mother to be taken to a nursing home where she will be cared for. According to this cultural difference, there exists a looming conflict due to the differences in ideology of ken and his wife.

Family resources:

This family is made up of four people mainly Ken as the father Marianne as the wife, ken’s mother as well as ken’s two children. The family owns a subsidized post world war house. According to this article, this is the only property that can be associated with this international family. They mostly rely on their sponsors and donors for most of their needs as they are missionaries.

Factors within the Japanese health system account for the late diagnosis of Ken's glaucoma:

Japanese health system is mostly focused on solving medical conditions rather than taking measures to prevent possible conditions. The health system, therefore, overlook a number of possible causes of diseases while spending most if not all of their efforts on the treatment of conditions at hand. This may have been the reason why they could not detect ken's condition early enough even though ken may have visited the hospitals with signs of the same. They focused majorly on treating the signs rather that investigating the reasons behind such signs until it was too late.

Practical issues arise for the Shimizu's if Mother Shimizu were placed in a long-term-care facility in the United States:

If mother Shimizu were to be placed in a long-term care facility, this would ease the burden and pressure experienced by Marianne as she was the only person taking care of her. As a result, Marianne would not be affected by high blood pressure which is heightened by a lot of pressure and stress. This will also ensure that Marianne refocuses her attention on taking care of her husband thus there will be peace, unity, and love in ken's family, unlike the argument and conflict that may arise if Marianna's mother were to stay against the desires of Marianne. This will also ensure that mother Shimizu accesses the best care possible thereby reducing the stress that the family would have undergone while caring for her.

American woman:

The fact that tens married an American woman is a proof beyond reasonable doubt that ken is counter cultural as most Japanese men prefer to marry their own. Another factor is his willingness to leave his ancestral land and settle in the United States when he retires.

In Japan, housewives are looked down upon and disrespected mainly because they are believed to be from poor families, less educated and unable to fend for themselves. Marianne had to go through such perceptions from people around her. Housewives are also forbidden in participating in some social activities as they supposed to take care of their children and husbands back at home. Therefore Marianne found it difficult to blend with the culture and have a happy. There will be an increase in the house budget as ken's mother was getting older and therefore needed more care and attention which may include the purchase of certain amenities to help her feel comfortable. Ken will also have to live with the pressure from her wife who needs ken's mother to be taken to a health care facility. ken will also have to deal with her waif's sickness which may be heightened from time to time due to excess work of caring for him as well as his mother.