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Old 2010-09-27, 10:12   Link #1501
thevil1
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I've heard people say the Japan is the safest country in the world. How true is this statement?
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Old 2010-09-27, 10:27   Link #1502
bhl88
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Safer compared to LA.
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Old 2010-09-27, 10:33   Link #1503
thevil1
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Well in many places in the world, it's not safe for young children or women to walk alone. I suppose that everyplace would have there "no-go" parts of town that aren't safe, but in general how safe is it?
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Old 2010-09-27, 11:40   Link #1504
Vexx
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Originally Posted by thevil1 View Post
Well in many places in the world, it's not safe for young children or women to walk alone. I suppose that everyplace would have there "no-go" parts of town that aren't safe, but in general how safe is it?
There are still many parts of Japan where no one locks their doors and young girls can walk home after dark. In statistical terms, Japan has one of the lowest crime rates of any country. Tokyo is probably one of the less safe places in Japan, but its still far safer than almost any other city.

You *can* get hurt, mugged, raped, killed... its just a lot harder to do there.

Caveat: the trends are sliding a bit to the worse - mostly due to the global economy tanking, but also because of some fraying of traditional community bonds because of multiple factors (job insecurities, worsening social safety nets -- pretty much due to local corporations picking up too many nasty habits from US corporations).
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Old 2010-09-27, 11:42   Link #1505
SeijiSensei
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Groping on subways seems a bigger problem in Japan. I can't remember any stories about groping on trains here, but maybe the authorities do a better job of suppressing them. It's sufficiently widespread that a word has been created for it ("chikan") and some train lines have women-only cars. It's also a common subject in hentai.
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Old 2010-09-27, 12:08   Link #1506
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Originally Posted by SeijiSensei View Post
Groping on subways seems a bigger problem in Japan. I can't remember any stories about groping on trains here, but maybe the authorities do a better job of suppressing them. It's sufficiently widespread that a word has been created for it ("chikan") and some train lines have women-only cars. It's also a common subject in hentai.
There are some serious problem in terms of the relationships between men and women in Japan... clash of values, bits of misogyny, ability to relate. In some ways it feels a bit like "men of the '50s" versus "women of the '70s" ...

Some people are adapting, some are retreating, some are intransigent ... for a society that values harmony it is very disconcerting. Even the young people are split ... the tendency of otaku to withdraw to simpler fantasies of 2D women and to worship idealized voice actresses and idols from afar is not encouraging. OTOH, quite a few young Japanese men seem to be getting the idea on how to treat real women. A fair number of the older guys are making real attempts to change their behavior as well (at least if you believe news articles on the topic).

I find it kind of ironic sometimes that the same corporate shoguns who want "women to stay in the home" are the same people who are making careers less secure for the men (e.g. oh we don't hire permanent anymore, just temp, etc).
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Old 2010-09-27, 12:10   Link #1507
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Originally Posted by SeijiSensei View Post
Groping on subways seems a bigger problem in Japan... It's sufficiently widespread that a word has been created for it ("chikan") and some train lines have women-only cars. It's also a common subject in hentai.
While we're on that topic, it was a bit of a culture shock for me to find salarymen openly reading pornographic manga or magazines in Tokyo trains, right in front of other female passengers. On the one hand, you could say Japanese society is remarkably "open-minded" about sexuality. On the other hand — and especially considering that I've never come across such behaviour in all the other developed-world cities I've visited — it points to the extent in which misogyny remains prevalent in Japan today.

That said, I recall being awestruck by the furious outburst of an imposing obasan one night, as she very publicly lambasted a male passenger standing behind her for "groping" her. Personally, I think she overreacted, but you should have seen how the poor guy in a smart business suit was reduced to a quivering, blubbering mass, bowing and apologising profusely, though to no avail.

If more women in Japan were that assertive, I'd bet that groping on trains wouldn't remain a problem for long.

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Originally Posted by Vexx View Post
Tokyo is probably one of the less safe places in Japan, but its still far safer than almost any other city.
When I first visited Roppongi in 2002, I felt very unsafe, with plenty of streetwalkers around, watched closely by their hulking pimps. The area has since been largely cleaned up thanks to urban renewal. Kabukicho, on the other hand, remains a very active red-light district. It's best to avoid it at night, unless that's the kind of "scenery" you're specifically looking for.

Beyond those areas, Tokyo is surprisingly safe for a metropolis of its size and complexity. And, not to mention, surprisingly clean. Even slightly faded districts like Ikebukuro do not give you a ghetto feel like, say, Harlem does in New York City. Of course, I can't say that I've seen a great deal of Tokyo, but based on what I've seen experienced, I'm not surprised that it's been consistently voted as one of the most liveable cities in the world.
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Old 2010-09-27, 18:13   Link #1508
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I wouldn't feel unsafe walking by myself on any street in Tokyo. Inside bars can be a different story.

The only shady streets are some parts of Shinjuku and Roppongi where bars and strip clubs employ Nigerians and African-Americans (yes, Americans) to hustle people into their shops. Female prostitutes also target foreigners, but they're nothing to worry about if you ignore them and keep walking. The homeless (of which there are many) rarely beg and are nonthreatening.

But if you're not male, then maybe you would have some issues (I wouldn't know).
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Old 2010-09-27, 19:05   Link #1509
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Originally Posted by thevil1 View Post
I've heard people say the Japan is the safest country in the world. How true is this statement?
If you're a tourist and don't look after yourself, then it's not that safe. There's lots of people trying to take money from dumb tourists who just fall for the mood of everyone looking friendly in Japan and follow some random dude into a shady bar where you pay for the hour... and they won't hesitate to accompany you to the nearest ATM with their big friends if you don't have enough money to pay up. I can't imagine myself falling for something like that, where I live mistrust is the rule of thumb, even if I'm in Japan, but I'm pretty sure not everyone is the same or I wouldn't have heard so many horror stories about it.

Otherwise, it's quite safe. In Tokyo I went out for quite a few nightly walks and it also felt pretty safe (not where the big nightlife is, mind you, but still). I slept in a cheap hostel in Osaka which was located in what I was told was the most unsafe quarter of all Japan, and there's streets closer to where I live that are much worse. The hostel was complete and utter horseshit though.
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Old 2010-09-28, 15:04   Link #1510
Flower
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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf View Post
...Beyond those areas, Tokyo is surprisingly safe for a metropolis of its size and complexity. And, not to mention, surprisingly clean....Of course, I can't say that I've seen a great deal of Tokyo, but based on what I've seen experienced, I'm not surprised that it's been consistently voted as one of the most liveable cities in the world.
This sums up my experience as well. I briefly visited Tokyo back in April of this year (I spent much more time in Nagoya) and remember being quite surprised by the safe and clean feeling of the capital (and of other cities in Japan).
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Old 2010-09-29, 22:52   Link #1511
Langus
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In my experience, Japan is a country of very honest people. They have respect for where they live and I think that contributes a lot to the low crime rate. It's the kind of place where if you forget your wallet on the train, someone will run after you to return it or mail it back to you - all the money still inside. This has happened numerous times to different friends of mine and we are always stunned by it.
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Old 2010-09-29, 23:12   Link #1512
FateAnomaly
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lol, you have some really careless friends.
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Old 2010-09-30, 09:10   Link #1513
Tri-ring
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In my experience, Japan is a country of very honest people. They have respect for where they live and I think that contributes a lot to the low crime rate. It's the kind of place where if you forget your wallet on the train, someone will run after you to return it or mail it back to you - all the money still inside. This has happened numerous times to different friends of mine and we are always stunned by it.
Self esteem, it's one of those things that is taught at a very young age and sticks as they grow older.
"Nekobaba(ネコババ)" finding something and keeping it for yourself not reporting to the police is considered a very cheap act by Japanese society.

The modern day Samurai Spirit you might say.
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Old 2010-09-30, 09:35   Link #1514
Langus
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lol, you have some really careless friends.
Shit happens to everyone, no matter what country you're in. You're telling me you've NEVER in your entire life lost something?

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Originally Posted by Tri-ring View Post
Self esteem, it's one of those things that is taught at a very young age and sticks as they grow older.
"Nekobaba(ネコババ)" finding something and keeping it for yourself not reporting to the police is considered a very cheap act by Japanese society.

The modern day Samurai Spirit you might say.
Yes, I think the honour code still plays a big role in Japanese society. Whatever it is that makes them act the way they do, I commend them for it. It's a respectable quality and I wish we had more of it back home.
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Old 2010-10-01, 00:02   Link #1515
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Shit happens to everyone, no matter what country you're in. You're telling me you've NEVER in your entire life lost something?
Yes i did but to have it happen NUMEROUS times is just....
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Old 2010-10-01, 09:52   Link #1516
Langus
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Yes i did but to have it happen NUMEROUS times is just....
Did you miss the "to different friends"? As in it's happened once to several different people. I apologize if that wasn't clear enough from the way I constructed my sentence. I was attempting to show that it's a general pattern in Japan, not a one-off random nice person type of situation.
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Old 2010-10-05, 22:13   Link #1517
thevil1
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I find some of these facts amazing...
It has the highest life expectancy, as well as the highest suicide rate... Does that sound funny to anyone?

What are some of your thoughts on this?
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Old 2010-10-05, 22:43   Link #1518
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Originally Posted by thevil1 View Post

I find some of these facts amazing...
It has the highest life expectancy, as well as the highest suicide rate... Does that sound funny to anyone?

What are some of your thoughts on this?
The problem with this video I had was they really fail to talk about some of the minority problems in Japan. I think that is a bigger problem then waste of food, which probably applies to any wealthy nations.

And don't Japanese use metal chopstick? Never knew about that.
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Old 2010-10-05, 22:49   Link #1519
ChainLegacy
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What type of minority problems are you referring to? I've heard about the problems the Ainu have faced, which saddens me since they are a particularly interesting ethnic group (I'm especially intrigued by the theory that they have connection to Amerindians... you can certainly see the cultural similarities). They even have genetic similarities to the Andaman islanders, who are thought to represent the first migration of humans out of Africa.

Edit: Actually I found some short videos about the topic if anyone is interested in the Ainu's struggles in Japan. The second one even comes with some Engrish reporting, lol.



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Old 2010-10-05, 23:04   Link #1520
Terrestrial Dream
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What type of minority problems are you referring to? I've heard about the problems the Ainu have faced, which saddens me since they are a particularly interesting ethnic group (I'm especially intrigued by the theory that they have connection to Amerindians... you can certainly see the cultural similarities). They even have genetic similarities to the Andaman islanders, who are thought to represent the first migration of humans out of Africa.
Mostly other Asians (Chinese and Korean mostly).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_Japan

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/wo...apan.html?_r=4
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