Japan is a high uncertainty culture with many formal social protocols that help to
predict how people will behave in almost every social interaction. Japan’s high uncer-
tainty avoidance was illustrated in a 2012 report that disclosed that less than 58 per-
cent of surveyed Japanese students were interested in studying abroad, and the
principal reason given was difficulty of living in another country.^61 Evidence of Japa-
nese reluctance to deal with the unknown was further demonstrated in a 2014 report
that disclosed that only 12 percent of surveyed students fifteen to eighteen years old
were interested in working overseas. Moreover, only 2 percent were interested in
employment with a foreign affiliated firm.^62 The Japanese preference for avoiding
unfamiliar situations is evident from these surveys.Low Uncertainty Avoidance. At the other end of the continuum are low uncertainty
avoidance cultures. They more easily accept the uncertainty inherent in life, tend to
be tolerant of the unusual, and are not as threatened by different ideas and people.
They prize initiative, dislike the structure associated with hierarchy, are willing to
take risks, are flexible, think that there should be as few rules as possible, and depend
not so much on experts as on themselves. As a whole, members of low uncertainty
avoidance cultures are much less constrained by social protocol.
As with other value dimensions, there are differences in the degree to which
uncertainty avoidance influences communication and activities in varied contexts.
In a classroom composed of children from a low uncertainty avoidance culture, such
as Britain, you would expect to see students feeling comfortable dealing with unstruc-
tured learning situations, being rewarded for innovative approaches to problemTABLE 6.5 Uncertainty Avoidance Values for Fifty Countries and Three Regions
RANK COUNTRY RANK COUNTRY RANK COUNTRY
1 Greece 19 Israel 37 Australia
2 Portugal 20 Colombia 38 Norway(^3) Guatemala 21/22 Venezuela 39/40 South Africa
4 Uruguay 21/22 Brazil 39/40 New Zealand
5/6 Belgium 23 Italy 41/42 Indonesia
5/6 El Salvador 24/25 Pakistan 41/42 Canada
7 Japan 24/25 Austria 43 United States
8 Yugoslavia 26 Taiwan 44 Philippines
9 Peru 27 Arab Countries 45 India
10~15 Spain 28 Ecuador 46 Malaysia
10~15 Argentina 29 Germany 47/48 Great Britain
10~15 Panama 30 Thailand 47/48 Ireland
10~15 France 31/32 Iran 49/50 Hong Kong
10~15 Chile 31/32 Finland 49/50 Sweden
10~15 Costa Rica 33 Switzerland 51 Denmark
16/17 Turkey 34 West Africa 52 Jamaica
16/17 South Korea 35 Netherlands 53 Singapore
18 Mexico 36 East Africa
Thelowerthenumber,themorethecountrycanbeclassifiedasonethatdislikesuncertainty;
a higher number is associated with a country that feels comfortable with uncertainty.
Source: Adapted from G. Hofstede,Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions
and Organizations Across Nations, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001).
226 CHAPTER 6•Cultural Values: Road Maps for Behavior
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