The Transformation of Habitus and Capital on Indonesian Trainee in

Japan: Changing the Work Ethics of Indonesian Workers

Roberto Masami Prabowo

and Dade Mahzuni

Faculty of Humanities, Japanese Literature of Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia

Faculty of Cultural Sciences, History Studies of Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords: Work Ethic, Indonesia Workers, Economy.

Abstract: The Japanese government opened trainee program opportunities in Japan to save the country’s economy in

1990. This opportunity opened to ASEAN countries to work as a trainee in Japan. The chance for this trainee

program to Japan for only three years has become an arena for learning new knowledge and experiences for

trainees. They had changes in habitus such as greetings, the consciousness of work ethics, ideology, and

aesthetics. They also learn about the Japanese language and culture in companies or civil society. They feel a

sincere, polite, neat, mutually respectful culture, etc., which they want to apply in Indonesia. However, there

is one Japanese culture that has changed the work ethics of Indonesian, namely kizukau. Kizukau means

caring, worrying, and concern for others. The theory and concept of this study use Bourdieu on habitus, arena,

and capital. The concept of Japanese concern will use by Mitsuno and Imajo to explain the concept of kizukau.

Motivation in concern action will use the concept of Batson, which consists of four types, namely altruism,

egoism, collectivism, and principlism. This research explains the change in habitus in Indonesian trainees that

can be developed into better business models and Japanese companies.

1 INTRODUCTION

Japan is a country that earned the nickname the Land

of Sakura and the Land of the Rising Sun. Meanwhile,

Japanese people generally have a strong desire in any

case, including in the world of work. According to the

UNDP (United Nations Development Program),

Japan ranks 17th worldwide with a per capita income

of about 37,268, while Indonesia ranks with a

percapita income of about 10,053. Several factors of

progress in Japan are based on morals, ethics, culture,

etc., since Nara’s time (710-794) (Iwamoto and

Kensuke, 2012).

Behind its country’s progress, Japanese products

are also well known, easy to use, and durable. Almost

all Japanese products from ancient times are made

honestly, sincerely, and satisfying to buyers. Japanese

people serve their customers to such an extent

because of the omotenashi culture, a culture of

serving with humility, sincerity, and selflessness. The

foundation of this culture was formed around the

1600s, which originated from the tea ceremony

culture. This culture became the Japanese’s

philosophy in serving customers, products, or

services (Sugianto, 2018).

Japan’s industrial progress began in the Meiji era

around 1868 and has been in great demand in many

countries, such as the automotive industry, food,

electronics, etc. Japan’s industrial development in the

1940s once focused on products for military purposes

for war with other countries, such as China, Taiwan,

Korea, and Southeast Asian countries. The products

made are generally related to air, land, and sea force

technology. Several Japanese technologies were

adopted and cooperated with the German state aimed

at mastering attacks from allied forces. But in the

1990s, the Japanese state’s economy experienced a

monetary crisis known as a bubble economy. This

economic impact resulted in several Japanese

companies participating in bankruptcy, unilateral

employee dismissal, increased divorce rates, and

reduced births (Nizar, 2015).

Thus, with the decrease in the number of Japanese

employees in the company, the Japanese government

took steps to accept foreign workers, thus becoming

an opportunity for foreign workers who travel to

Japan. System acceptance of employees from abroad

with wages that are below Japanese standards to save

Japanese companies. The Government of Japan took

242

Prabowo, R. and Mahzuni, D.

The Transformation of Habitus and Capital on Indonesian Trainee in Japan: Changing the Work Ethics of Indonesian Workers.

DOI: 10.5220/0011245200003376

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Recent Innovations (ICRI 2021), pages 242-247

ISBN: 978-989-758-602-6

the step of cooperation in labor delivery from outside

Japan, which one country is from Indonesia.

The Japanese government is looking for solutions

to keep the industry from deteriorating with foreign

workers’ acceptance paid less than local employees.

Recruitment of prospective apprentices must be

selected through companies or institutions sending

apprentices to Japan in Indonesia, educational and

skills institutes, foundations, and others on IM

Japan’s organizers (Amri, 2014).

This system of work in Japan is known as an

internship. The system is divided into two periods:

kenshusei (trainee) and jissh ¯ usei (intern trainee). ¯

The kenshusei period, which means the training em-

¯ ployee, and the jisshusei period, are employees of ¯

working practice. The kenshusei period is usually ¯

nine months, and the jisshusei is for two years and ¯

two months. During three years in Japan, Indonesian

apprentices have undergone many changes in habitus

and capital in Japan. Habitus changes include waste

handling, clothing, greetings, work ethics, focus on

work, etc. Simultaneously, capital changes can be in

the form of hard skills (improving technical skills,

Japanese language, and others) and soft skills (work

ethic, work discipline, etc.). At first, many

experienced cultural concussions in Japan, usually

they could adapt to their work-life and daily life after

three months (Nizar, 2015).

After returning to Indonesia, the alumni of

trainees apply to the company, build a business, open

a company, etc. Those who work in Japanese or local

companies sometimes are dissatisfied with their work

environment’s performance or cannot get creative in

their ideas. These people usually leave the company

and try to open their company by cooperating with

investors from Japan or entrepreneurship. They

applied this three-year internship experience as

motivation and strategy to create a company that

produces good products. One of the alumni of the

apprentice who managed to build his company is Mr.

Ir. Ono Sarno, CEO and Director of PT. Bunyamin

Engineering Innovation. He had worked at PT. Enkei

Indonesia, but felt unable to create much, and the

motivation is decreasing. With building his business,

they continued to apply their Japanese work ethic by

constantly reminding and teaching it to his

employees. Below is a newspaper article from The

Daily Jakarta Shimbun, October 28, 2019, containing

polyurethane, rubber, and plastic companies in the

Cimahi area (Amri, 2014).

There is another success story of Indonesian

trainee alumni, and they have indicated Japanese

culture, which is kizukau. They learn about respecting

each other and cooperating or collaborating with

others, hard workers, critical thinking, the spirit of

serving, awareness, and responsibility. The more than

necessary is they teach employees at work to make a

sustainable mind or culture.

Figure 1: Newspaper article about Mr. Ir. Ono Sarno’s

success story.

2 THE TRANSFORMATION

HABITUS IN JAPAN

2.1 The Changes in the Habitus of

Greeting and Respecting Each

Other

While working in Japan, Mr. Ono and his colleagues

began to adapt to working Japanese people’s habits,

ethics, ideology, and aesthetics. The habit of Japanese

people working as a morning briefing before work or

Japanese is called chorei. When he meets other ¯

workers, he must greet and bow his head, then say,

”ohayou gozaimasu.” Greeting others is part of verbal

and non-verbal communication. The Indonesian way

of greeting others is by greeting and then shaking

hands. While the Japanese way of greeting then

bowed his body down. In Japanese, this greeting

culture is called ojigi, which is part of the greeting and

The Transformation of Habitus and Capital on Indonesian Trainee in Japan: Changing the Work Ethics of Indonesian Workers

243

respecting others (?). This culture consists of three

kinds.

• Eshaku expresses gratitude and greeting

others by slightly bowing about 15 degrees

addressed to colleagues or closest people.

• Keirei is a greeting expression of gratitude by

bowing about 30 degrees addressed to

superiors and guests whom we respect or to

apologize for a mistake.

• Saikeirei is a respectful greeting to superiors,

a profound expression of gratitude, and

apologizing for a big mistake by bowing about

60 to 90 degrees.

Indonesians who are used to greeting people by

shaking hands have changed the way of giving

Japanese greetings that do not involve physical

contact. Since childhood, Japanese people have been

taught to provide simple greetings and respects,

namely greeting parents every day and teachers,

neighbors, guests, and other relatives. Some of the

apprentices were unfamiliar, still clumsy, and even

had something wrong with their gestures.

In this briefing, there is an activity of exchanging

information about the situation and conditions of

employment; the goal is to save costs, energy, and

time. During the briefing, the Japanese people

recorded the info, planned the following work, and

looked for solutions if there was a problem.

Indonesian interns unfamiliar with Japanese try to

write down the new terms and become habituated to

use Japanese to report, communicate, and consult

smoothly.

The new habit is also felt when he learns Japanese

lessons during working hours. The Japanese teachers

are usually employees of his company or nearby

citizens who volunteer at the city government’s

direction. If the employee teaches Japanese and

Japanese, there are lessons on work techniques,

specific terms of work, etc. If he gets late, he will get

more tasks or punishment. There is letter writing

assignments, oral listening, reading from textbooks,

and quizzes for technical ability exams.

2.2 The Changes in Work Ethic

There is one thing that surprised him and surprised

him is the rotational work system. Indeed, when in

Indonesia, Mr. Ono was already told of his future job

in Japan as a machine operator, but after a few months

of work and getting used to his career, he had to do

some other things. He was not the only one who had

rotated in the company, two of his friends also got

rotated. Previously, Japanese co-workers and factory

heads were taught how or methods of working not to

make mistakes. They had to record the working

procedure not to forget and new Japanese terms not

to forget. After he can hold that work, they will be

watched their job under supervision if everything

goes well.

Failures and errors in work continue to occur

many times, but the company continues to carry it out

for months until it succeeds. With this rotation

system, they work very carefully so that the product

can reach the final process and can be used. Learning

how Japanese people work tries to understand the

difficulties, complexity, thoroughness, and

responsibility and maintain their quality and quantity.

Rotation systems are standard in Japanese

companies, and this system allows everyone to

understand the work process and learn to understand

new things. When learning a new work process, the

results must be reasonable and up to standard. At this

time, he began to learn about the responsibility for the

work. If his work is not good, it will affect other

processes, and even the product cannot be used. There

is one thing that Mr. Ono always remembers about

honesty: everyone in the company must know each

other’s situation and the company’s target.

2.3 The Changes of Ideological

Honesty and perseverance while working in Japan

became learning for Mr. Ono, and appreciating time

is also essential. Usually, Indonesians do not

appreciate the time or work is not in time. Arriving

late or returning home sooner becomes a habit for

Indonesians. Japanese people tend to arrive early and

come home late at night. At first, Mr. Ono cannot

understand this kind of thing, and he was wondering,

”Do Japanese people love work more than anything

else? Are they afraid of being fired?” According to

him, many things are unreasonable, perhaps because

of the moral binding on the Japanese habits.

Japanese people usually arrive early to the

workplace because they want to prepare for their

work, such as work planning, work coordination,

reporting, communicating, confirming with

colleagues and superiors, replying to emails, etc.

They do save time, energy, effort, and cost while

working later. If not appropriately prepared, works

that have been planned cannot be completed for the

following day. The purpose of this action is not to

disappoint his clients, superiors, and co-workers.

Japanese people are concerned about other people’s

feelings because they care and have a sense of

empathy at work. This habit became valuable

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learning for Mr. Ono, and he was eager to teach or

apply in Indonesia.

In China, a proverb says, ”Consumers are kings,”

whereas in Japan, ”Consumers are God.” This

Chinese proverb assures consumers or buyers that

they have power and buyers are always right. While

in Japan, consumers likened God, which means the

product made must be with care. If the product is

made without honesty, it probably has no good

quality and looks cunning. Consumers will be

disappointed, will no longer believe in the company,

and eventually go bankrupt. Ideology is also moral

and ethical in business for Mr. Ono; failure is just

hubris because not want to serve consumers. His

company’s products also consist of various types,

such as iron lathes, silicon bearings, tires, plastics,

etc. Many clients already believe in the quality made

in their company. Mr. Ono himself also always

accepts new challenges to learn to handle new

technologies and develop new businesses. During this

pandemic, orders from clients are increasing, and the

quality is maintained well.

2.4 The Changes on Aesthetic

The residents surrounding him also teach manners,

how to shop, handling waste, etc. At first, many of

Mr. Ono’s friends felt ashamed to communicate with

the Japanese. From the study of neighboring ethics,

apprentices get new habits in greeting, sharing, asking

for help, etc. Maintaining neighborly relations and

carrying Indonesia’s good name is increasingly a

burden to maintained well.

The neatness and cleanliness of the work

environment are also a concern for Mr. Ono and his

friends. That is because every Japanese worker cares

deeply about the cleanliness and neatness of the

environment. Almost all companies in Japan run the

moto 5S consisting of seiri (tidying), seiton

(arranging), seiso (cleaning), seiketsu (keeping

clean), and ¯ shitsuke (discipline). The key to this

motto’s success lies in discipline because it cannot go

well if not run with discipline. This 5S learning has

changed the way of thinking and apprentices’ habits

to work aesthetically, save time, create a neat, clean,

healthy, and safe working atmosphere.

Sometimes Japanese people rebuked harshly or

rudely, but some also conveyed politely. But both

become learning of discipline and responsibility.

Once entrusted by the boss or co-workers, do not let

them down because they will not like and do not

believe in anything if they have done something

wrong. One thing that can restore his trust is to take

responsibility for his mistakes. Thus, superiors and

colleagues become trusting again gradually.

Habit, ethics, ideology, and aesthetics in work and

into these Japanese people’s daily lives formed from

their awareness of concern or in Japanese called

kizukau. This concern can move after someone

seeing, pays attention, and responds to his actions.

Japanese people sometimes seem excessive towards

their concern in the eyes of foreigners. They care

about others or their surroundings because they are

not his but joint property. To maintain good relations

with others and create a prosperous environment, they

must respect each other and care for the environment.

3 THE MOTIVATION AND

STRATEGY

3.1 The New Motivation and Strategy

after Returning to Indonesia

Mr. Ono’s initial motivation was to tend to be in the

category of egoism, namely just wanting to make

money, turned into the category of altruism,

collectivism, and principlism. He applies work safety,

environmental hygiene, effective working methods in

his workshop and office. He also shares all this

knowledge so that his employees can develop and

have responsibilities while working. One of the

Japanese working principles applied in his company

is 5S. There are boards with the slogan 5S in the

factory to create a safe, organized environment,

improves quality, and increases work productivity. If

in Indonesia, 5S is better known as 5R which stands

for ringkas, rapih, resik, rawat, and rajin. But Mr. Ono

does not want to use the principle of 5R. According

to him, the word diligent in the 5R is inappropriate or

tends to be imposed on his company’s principles.

Without discipline, diligence will not be formed.

Diligence is sometimes done because of a sense of

liking; if someone does their job because they had

pressure to do it, the results can be wrong or careless.

In comparison, discipline is a rule, order, obedience,

and obedience to things that have been agreed upon,

whether you like it or not. This principle is taught to

employees to create an atmosphere that is safe,

healthy, harmonious, prosperous, has a high sense of

responsibility, etc.

Operator employees in the factory are also applied

for rotational work, so they will be rotated to other

places to learn, such as difficulty doing the work

process, finding solutions, cooperating, helping each

other, and understanding the integration of the factory

The Transformation of Habitus and Capital on Indonesian Trainee in Japan: Changing the Work Ethics of Indonesian Workers

245

processes. Thus, every operator employee must

maintain the quality and quantity of the product to

satisfy its customers. If in Japan, this kind of habit is

a natural thing to do. But in Indonesia, it takes time to

realize it; perhaps the average operator employee in

Indonesia or who has never been to Japan does not

understand it. The only thing they know is that if they

work, they will get money.

Mr. Ono also sometimes talked about his

experience while interning in Japan and working in a

Japanese company in Indonesia. He said: ”One day,

money can be lost, but the brain is not. But by

studying continuously and vigorously, money will

come.” He hopes that all employees can inspire and

motivate in their daily lives. Each effort and effort can

also maintain the continuity and progress of the

company. Finally, employees in the company can

take care of each other, help each other, and pay

attention to colleagues for work safety and security.

Different motivations such as diligent work,

maintaining health, maintaining work discipline, and

others are also not for getting bonuses and other

rewards, but maintaining the company’s integrity

increasingly realized by all employees. Employees’

concerns are also imagined if failure at the company

could result in losses and possibly bankruptcy.

Especially at the corona pandemic, the possibility

of exposure to the virus is a concern and anxiety of

every employee. Mr. Ono always reminds every

employee to wear masks in public places, wash their

hands frequently, keeping distance, etc. Also,

minimalize not traveling outside, not meeting with

families who are not the same home, and potentially

transmitting the virus. Everyone who comes to the

company, be it guests, employees, even Mr. Ono

himself, who as Director must have done a body

temperature check and asked to wash his hands before

entering. Suppose there is an employee or family

member of one house who is exposed to the virus. In

that case, the employee will be asked to self-

quarantine, and if the pain is growing, immediately

call the hospital and inform the Director or other

employees. Some employees there are working from

home, but machine operators will work by shift.

Mr. Ono’s planned economic investment strategy

in the company is to prosper employees with his

knowledge. Each is expected to be responsible for

work, always looking for solutions and innovation.

He constantly reminds his employees to uphold

others’ care habits instilled in the company in an

educational strategy. If later, new employees can also

be taught this habit and synergize, and the work

atmosphere becomes prosperous. The hope is that

people who work in this company can work healthily

and safely and feel calm and trust.

3.2 Habitus and New Capital as Well as

Application in Work Culture in

Indonesia

According to Mr. Ono, the success of a company must

begin with good communication. Employees who can

communicate ideas with superiors and clients are

essential in implementing effective strategies and

achieving long-term business goals. Communicating

with the work team can understand the strengths of

human resources, build good relationships, and make

company performance more effective.

In Japan, there is communication that does not

form by verbal; it is non-verbal communication.

Nonverbal communication, some assessments from

others include first impression, posture, neatness

clothes, gestures, human relationships, and eye

contact. Also, Mr. Ono felt there was progress in self-

personality such as:

• Have a strong leadership spirit. Someone who

can motivate, train themselves, maintain the

right vision and mission, work with the team,

have high work performance, and had critical

thinking. One must consider and prioritize the

work of various kinds, learn how one works

and culture, etc. By getting to know the

strengths of a team or work partner, we can

understand the strengths, areas that can be

developed, achieve goals, and have a high

ability to motivate their members.

• For career development purposes, everyone

should improve other skills needed to enhance

and improve work performance. Someone has

new ideas or solutions that inspire team

members, trust their partners or people, solve

problems quickly, and find the right solution.

• Looking for solutions and innovations

• Even company in times of crisis, a leader must

think with composure and concerning

complex business problems. Also, reward

people who can find innovative and creative

solutions. Each problem must have a solution

that always reminds others and for himself

• Have skills that can inspire others.

• People who can negotiate with clients or

others at all levels of the business, build

productive business relationships, and present

ideas and opinions confidently. Influencers

and trust decision-makers are always in

demand.

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He is very grateful to go to Japan; his experience

makes him built strong leadership. Many things are

inconceivable if, while working in Japan, his soft

skills have been trained and are formed from his daily

life at work. Many people do not realize this because

they oppose and reject it if they do not like Japanese

orders, discipline, rules, obligations, responsibilities,

and others. The results of this persistence produced

brilliant results. The development of a new habitus of

this transformation of Japanese culture could launch

business ventures, especially when doing business

with Japanese people.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The interview with Mr. Ono Sarno has resulted in an

analysis of the transformation of Japanese culture and

became a new habitus in daily life and the workplace.

He encourages others because he had anxiety and

concerns about someone’s welfare and safety. The

Japanese companies have many rules, procedures,

SOP, SOM, training, exams, etc., not to complicate

the work, but to maintain and guarantee the quality

and quantity of production. The rules have been made

based on the results of mutual agreements

communicated in the past. However, this challenging

time because the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak did not

dampen the spirit of fighting to overcome the

economic crisis, the threat of bankruptcy, and the fear

of starting something new. Every failure and mistake

is natural, but finding a solution, thinking critically,

and having a sense of responsibility can be a ’survival

tool’ anytime and anywhere. The Japanese culture

transformation is changing the culture, but the

adaptation of two cultures between Indonesia and

Japan makes a new concern mind of habit, ethics,

ideology, and aesthetics. Mr. Ono also believes that

all Indonesians who go to Japan must be motivated

and strategic. If later in the way, change is natural

because he finds culture or good things and wants to

teach others.

The self-personality also becomes self-aware after

various kinds of problems he faces, especially in

postpandemic conditions. He always takes steps

carefully and always remembers Japanese culture,

which always puts customer satisfaction or

omotenashi first, such as respecting clients,

employees, and consumers by maintaining quality,

quantity, and time. This Japanese culture adapted in

Indonesia has a unique work ethic cultural character

because the purpose of its business is to seek profit

and maintain peace, respect, honesty, and optimism

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