Forgiveness among the Japanese: Self-Construal, Collectivism, and Religious Faith

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between forgiveness and the cultural values of the Japanese. Multiple regression analysis indicated that dispositional unforgiveness of self/situation was negatively related to independent self-construal and positively related to interdependent self-construal. The results show that the value of forgiveness of self/situation is low in the Japanese worldview. In the relationships between the religious faith scale and the sub-dimensions of dispositional forgiveness, forgiveness of others was positively related only to the item “religion has harmful effects”. Discussion of the results reveals how cultural and religious beliefs about forgiveness are different in Japan compared to Western countries.View full abstract