Paradigm Shift in Japanese Ambiguous Expressions in the Digital Age

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-440-2_173How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Ambiguous Expression; Digital Generation; Communication Fatigue; Shame Culture

Abstract

Under the dual influence of digital technology and globalization, Japan’s younger generation is transforming the characteristic ambiguity inherent in its traditionally high-context society into a digital survival mechanism, thereby instigating a systemic civilizational crisis. Delving into this phenomenon from individual, societal, and civilizational perspectives, this paper analyzes the resultant challenges, including the degradation of emotional communication, impediments to effective corporate communication, and the linguistic schism that threatens the preservation of cultural heritage. In response to these issues, the paper proposes a comprehensive, three-pronged reconstruction pathway encompassing: technological governance, institutional regulation, and educational intervention. Ultimately, the paper concludes that Japan is currently undergoing what Lévi-Strauss termed a “cold society” transformation. It posits that only through leveraging technology to safeguard cultural essence, implementing regulations to anchor the boundaries of responsibility, and enacting educational initiatives to revitalize core traditional values, can the inherent ambiguity be effectively reshaped from a mere “tool for diluting responsibility” into a fundamental “source of civilizational resilience” amidst the sweeping tide of algorithmic colonialism. This approach holds the potential to offer a viable survival paradigm for high-context societies navigating the complexities of the digital age.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Xudan Xiao
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/10
TI  - Paradigm Shift in Japanese Ambiguous Expressions in the Digital Age
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 11th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research（ICHSSR 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1559
EP  - 1564
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-440-2_173
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-440-2_173
ID  - Xiao2025
ER  -