The relation between Japanese and Korean has never been proven and is heavily disputed (as well as being politically charged).One strong theory is that the similarities between the languages are due to sprachbund effect.  There was a lot of communication between Japan and Korea in Japan's early history---in fact, Kanji was originally brought to Japan by the Koreans.  Korean has never been proven to be related to any other language, and Japanese has only been proven to be related to Ryukyuan.  Even if the two languages do turn out to be related, they've been separated by many thousands of years.

Well, I'm thankful for the input and would like to say "good point!", but I think we've got different zens at play here.

The one in 改善 kaizen is 善, generally translated "good" (or as a word by itself, "goodness" or "virtue"). (The only other meanings associated with 善 are an obscure one (some ancient Chinese sacrificial practice) and an unrelated one ("abdication").)

The meditation practice you speak of is, I assume, that of Zen Buddhism; that zen is 禅. It's a different character entirely.

So, with 改 having a meaning that brings together "change", "renew", "reform", "rectify", and so on, and 善 meaning "good", 改善 does work out nicely as "change for the better" or simply "make good". In short, "improvement". : )

But please let me know if I'm getting something wrong.

Hello! You still remember the kana after 20 years? Good work. The teaching method must have been good, as it's otherwise so easy to forget things learned in high school classes.

Maybe you also keep memory strong by using the knowledge, even if just a bit here and there? I once learned (more or less) to sound out Russian words in Cyrillic script, but with very little exposure to Russian since then, my ability has dropped back to its pre-study level. On the other hand, after I learned (more or less) to sound out Korean hangul, the occasional chance to use that skill (even if only on food labels!) has let me keep most of that ability.

Hello! "Never perfect" sounds to me like something attributed to the modern "Japanese philosophy" meaning tacked on to kaizen - i.e., someone trying to make the point that this "philosophy" is centered on never accepting a thing as perfect or finished. I don't see that as being a necessary part of the actual meaning of the Japanese word, or even implied by it; it isn't among the Japanese dictionary definitions, and doesn't logically follow from the word's Chinese characters either (改 = reform/renew/redo/alter/improve, 善 = good/goodness). (Granted, kaizen doesn't necessarily mean "make perfect", so there's no conflict between that word and the "never perfect" concept – but that's equally true for the word "improvement" too.)

Organizations/persons dedicated to improving something might certainly make "never perfect" a part of their philosophy, explicitly or implicitly. Nothing rare about that! My point would simply be that we can find that stance all throughout humanity, whether the word at hand is "kaizen" or "improvement" or "улучшение" or what have you.

Thanks for writing!

Hello! I recognize that handle... 

My article began as "10 Japanese words...", but I halved it for quicker publication. "Sushi" is on the next five words. Will have to get that out soon!

First: Happy New year and あけましておめでとう！

Next: Do Japanese people say shouganai more often than Westerners emit the equivalent? I'm not looking to argue for the heck of it; I think you'd find a lot of agreement for your statement. But it's precisely the sort of thing I want to know for a fact, and not take as an assumption. Has someone, somehow, made a measurement of such a thing? Are people influenced in what they hear by the common pre-existing belief that shouganai is uttered with great frequency? Do people commonly fail to hear the English equivalent because it's spoken in so many forms, rather than via one easily-identifiable phrase? 

More importantly, even if shouganai is uttered with unusual frequency, does that mean anything? Here we brush up against one of the most pervasive flaws in culturology, as I see it: the assumption that every action, word, proverb, etc. is revealing of deep insights into culture. I'm not saying that that can't be the case, but let me offer one off-the-top-of-the-heard example: English speakers run around greeting each other with a non-stop barrage of "How are you?". Should we take this as an insight into the deep concern English speakers show for each other's well-being? Or should we see this – more correctly, in my opinion – as a phrase that just happens to be the standardized thing to say? I offer that the same question applies equally to shouganai, should it actually prove to be a very common expression.

As for relative political apathy in Japan: Again, maybe that's a verifiable reality; I think you'll find lots of agreeing voices. Though I wonder how many people in the West are truly politically engaged, as opposed to just sitting in front of a TV muttering at the national news. I don't know. But I think it's safe to say that in many other areas of life in Japan, people are very proactive and non-passive – as I noted, world-class levels of economic, technological, and lifestyle development are a grand example. On balance, I think you can find a combination of passiveness and non-passiveness in Japan... which, unless some qualitative difference can be shown, is an equal (if simple) overview of humanity everywhere.

So in summary, I have no refutation of anything you say, which may all be quite spot-on. I'm just taking it as one possibility, while leaving my mind open to more and more evidence.

Thanks for the thoughts!

I really enjoyed reading your post, keep up posting such exciting stuff.

..I am out and out begginer in all this - but while starting learning this, one idea arised in my mind - that the reason of huge success in Japan or any other Eastern countries etc. of this quality man. system (besides necessity) can be mainly DISCIPLINE of the nation (region).
I am from Central Europe - not really used to it here.. 
PS: thanks for the detailed explanation - very clear and simple. 
 

this word and the "mythologizing" has been on my mind for sometime and your post has helped refine the topic's interest for me - i'll no longer hold to the view that the japanese are harder workers than anyone else because they have folks dying at their desks - i'm now interested in "how much goes without saying" exists in all cultures and is that called character

With all due respect, I have enjoyed your dissection of Kaizen.  It is very entertaining and clearly sheds light on mythmaking.
My experience of living in Japan is that there is such an enormous population living in such a small space, that culturally it is like a human beehive - so highly refined in every aspect of existence. Refinement is its' wellspring of exceptional, exquisite brilliance.
Kaizen  refinement
 

I only know a smattering, and am not qualified to say much. I certainly find Chinese pronunciation hard... Anything particularly easy or difficult that you found?