N
noname223
Angelic
- Aug 18, 2020
- 4,992
I know it depends where you live. I am living in Germany. This could become a longer post. I don't want to migrate. A friend of mine has the dream to migrate to Japan. Somehow I can relate to that. Though I think rationally this is probably rather detrimental for him. I can relate because as a child I envied people who live in the US or Japan. In envied the consumerism in the US. Everything seems to be louder, faster and bigger in this country. Now as an adult I am glad/thankful I live in Germany and not the US or Japan. The US has a shitty welfare and health care system. They have a lot of problems. But this thread is not about the US.
I have the feeling I have the responsiblity to be warn him about the negatve aspects of life in Japan. I don't know how much he read how living in Japan really is like. I think some people have a romanticized notion of Japan due to anime/manga/video games. My friend is far left. When I expressed some concerns about the life in Japan he played it down. I think this dreams means much for him. But I think his plans will rather backfire. This dream gives him a lot of strength and hope. So I probably have to support him. I am not sure how aware he is about the Japans society.
Here are some of my concerns about Japan.
Racism towards foreigners. He responded this only applies to older folks in Japan.
Blind sheep mentality. He said he kind of prefers that though I think it rather contradicts his values. I have the feeling he just said it because he loves Japan.
Conservatism. The conservative party is extremely powerful. I think there is a lot of nepotism in this party and even connections to sects. Politically it contradicts most of his values.
LGBTQI rights are not that widespread in Japan.
The insane performance pressure. For me personally I think my main concern. The life quality with such a stress is probably way lower than in Germany. (compared to the German work environments)
The high suicide rates. Probably due to the high performance pressure and the next point
Mental illness is very stigmatized in Japan. From what I have read is suicide also ( very?) stigmatized in Japan. Though on this I have read diametrical stances. Maybe there are nuances I don't know. Due to the fact christianity is less widspread suicide is not seen as a sin. But I think there are not many helpful approaches to handle suicidality in Japan. Or to help people who lost someone to suicide. I think it is already horrible how stigmatized mental illness is in my country. And in Japan it seems to be even way worse. Personally I prefer when people are more open when they don't like somethig. And in Japan the average person rather wants to be polite.
Many of the powerful elites seem to be very conservative. Like this insane porn censorship in Japan. One of my friends told me (I am not sure whether it is accurate) the politicians just don't want to change the law because the topic is so touchy. And they don't want to be associated with something like porn.
Oh and one more thing. I think bullying is a huge problem in Japan. I know in probably all countries bullying is a huge problem. But I think there are many cases when students committed suicide in Japan due to bullying. Maybe this sheep mentality plays a role in it.
I know sheep mentality sounds pejorative. It is deeply rooted probably because of culture, religion etc. And there are also positive consequences. The people wear masks to protect other people from illnesses for example.
Maybe I sound arrogant and pejorative about Japan and the Japanese culture. Though I want to say I love many many things of the Japanese culture. Their exports are in the top three of my favorite products. My life would be way worse without Japan. Something would be missing.
Though I still think the life quality in Japan might be worse for him. Especially due to the insane performance pressure.
What do you think about it?
I have the feeling I have the responsiblity to be warn him about the negatve aspects of life in Japan. I don't know how much he read how living in Japan really is like. I think some people have a romanticized notion of Japan due to anime/manga/video games. My friend is far left. When I expressed some concerns about the life in Japan he played it down. I think this dreams means much for him. But I think his plans will rather backfire. This dream gives him a lot of strength and hope. So I probably have to support him. I am not sure how aware he is about the Japans society.
Here are some of my concerns about Japan.
Racism towards foreigners. He responded this only applies to older folks in Japan.
Blind sheep mentality. He said he kind of prefers that though I think it rather contradicts his values. I have the feeling he just said it because he loves Japan.
Conservatism. The conservative party is extremely powerful. I think there is a lot of nepotism in this party and even connections to sects. Politically it contradicts most of his values.
LGBTQI rights are not that widespread in Japan.
The insane performance pressure. For me personally I think my main concern. The life quality with such a stress is probably way lower than in Germany. (compared to the German work environments)
The high suicide rates. Probably due to the high performance pressure and the next point
Mental illness is very stigmatized in Japan. From what I have read is suicide also ( very?) stigmatized in Japan. Though on this I have read diametrical stances. Maybe there are nuances I don't know. Due to the fact christianity is less widspread suicide is not seen as a sin. But I think there are not many helpful approaches to handle suicidality in Japan. Or to help people who lost someone to suicide. I think it is already horrible how stigmatized mental illness is in my country. And in Japan it seems to be even way worse. Personally I prefer when people are more open when they don't like somethig. And in Japan the average person rather wants to be polite.
Many of the powerful elites seem to be very conservative. Like this insane porn censorship in Japan. One of my friends told me (I am not sure whether it is accurate) the politicians just don't want to change the law because the topic is so touchy. And they don't want to be associated with something like porn.
Oh and one more thing. I think bullying is a huge problem in Japan. I know in probably all countries bullying is a huge problem. But I think there are many cases when students committed suicide in Japan due to bullying. Maybe this sheep mentality plays a role in it.
I know sheep mentality sounds pejorative. It is deeply rooted probably because of culture, religion etc. And there are also positive consequences. The people wear masks to protect other people from illnesses for example.
Maybe I sound arrogant and pejorative about Japan and the Japanese culture. Though I want to say I love many many things of the Japanese culture. Their exports are in the top three of my favorite products. My life would be way worse without Japan. Something would be missing.
Though I still think the life quality in Japan might be worse for him. Especially due to the insane performance pressure.
What do you think about it?
Last edited: