Since the dawn of time, cultural norms have always been present and have rarely been broken. Culture is what the community as a whole respects and operates within. However, individual autonomy (or otherwise defined as independence or freedom) is unequivocally subject to social judgment and condemnation. Tensions are high only because an autonomous individual who shows contempt for the culture is deemed disrespectful by the community who in turn judges. Predominantly, East Asian cultures are the most culturally conformed compared to their counterparts. The country of Japan is a perfect example to analyze: Japanese culture is characterized by conformity and a strong emphasis is based on community expectations, such as honor (Benedict, 1946, p162). Japanese communities are based on a socioeconomic hierarchy in which occupation affects friendship groups and status. A culture like that of the United States of America is exceptionally opposite to that of Japan, due to the greater number of American immigrants. America has the concept of being “the land of the free” (MacLeish, 1977, p93) which emphasizes the trait of individual autonomy that migrants find a little more difficult than the preconceived concept. All cultures have one trait in common: conformity, the notion of culture involves individuals thinking alike and becoming a group with similar beliefs, thus defeating individual autonomy. Although culture is different in all nations, culture indirectly eliminates individual autonomy within the community due to its conformist nature. American culture is based on the perception of freedom, however, American culture is extremely convoluted and as a result more communities have emerged (Clark, 1968 , pp576-593),...... half of the document...... : Center for Immigration Studies, 2004.Clark, Terry N. “Community Structure, Decision Making, Budget Spending, and Urban Renewal in 51 American Communities.” American Sociological Review (1968): 576-593. Crystal, David S., W. Gerrod Parrott, Yukiko Okazaki, and Hirozumi Watanabe. “Examining relationships between shame and personality among college students in the United States and Japan: A developmental perspective.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 25, no. 2 (2001): 113-123.Grebler, Leo. "The Mexican-American People: The Nation's Second Largest Minority." (1970).MacLeish, Archibald. Land of the free. Da Capo Press, 1977. Kerlinger, Fred N. Decision Making in Japan. Vol 30, no. 1. London: Oxford University Press, Treml, Jacqueline Noel. "Bullying as a social disease in contemporary Japan". International Social Service 44, n. 1 (2001): 107-117.