I come from a rural area in Vietnam and came to Japan as an international student. Both Vietnam and Japan have been influenced by Eastern culture, but the attitude towards work is quite different. Since coming to Japan, I have been amazed by the convenience and cleanliness of the city, but even more surprising is the Japanese attitude towards work. I think the motivation of the Japanese is really incredible.

When I was in Vietnam, I used to quickly say ‘I’m tired. I’m sleepy. Let’s slack off.’ during classes or at work. This became a bad habit, and I couldn’t work efficiently. Everyone lacked motivation and had gloomy faces while working. However, about six months after coming to Japan, I realized something. I had developed a new habit. In Japan, I often heard the phrases ‘I’m fine.’ and ‘Let’s do our best.’ These are common phrases among the Japanese. Since I wasn’t fluent in Japanese, I kept imitating these two phrases.

There have been many surprises since coming to Japan, but another surprise was when I first entered the newspaper shop where I started a part-time job. ‘Unbelievable! Most of the workers are grandmothers and grandfathers!’ This was a shock to me. In my country, people do not work outside after turning 60. They take care of their grandchildren at home and spend their twilight years. However, Japanese grandmothers and grandfathers are hard workers and have more motivation than us. They always outperform us in terms of speed and perfection of work. Moreover, they enjoy their work, love their job, and take pride in it.

When I first started the part-time job, I had to wake up early every day to deliver newspapers. At first, I was not used to it, and people often asked me, ‘Are you okay? Are you fine?’ Probably because I looked sleepy at work. So, every day, by imitating the Japanese and saying, ‘I’m fine.’, I became able to work with a smile.

It is said that Japanese people are efficient at work. I think it’s because they proceed with their tasks based on rules. And they work with motivation. When there’s motivation, the quality of work also improves. The reason Japanese people can consistently produce high-quality work may be related to their motivation towards work. I think there are many points to learn from the Japanese way of working. Japanese people work hard every day for the development of Japan. I also think I must work hard for the development of Vietnam.

‘If there’s a will, there’s a way!’