Japanese Culture

[erneiz_hyde]

Ah I see, I didn't read that far down, my bad.

[Verso Sciolto]

Originally Posted by erneiz_hyde

Ah I see, I didn't read that far down, my bad.

From Anna Fifield's WP article:

“Many people see it as a problem with the girls, not with the men.” [...] As such, when authorities discuss ways to curb the practice, they tend to come up with ideas such as imposing curfews on girls, rather than penalizing men for having sex with high-schoolers, Muta said.

In that regard, to illustrate the backward mentality among police and lawmakers, "Schoolgirls, Money and Rebellion in Japan", Sharon Kinsella's 2013 book on this subject remains pertinent.

[…]conservative members of the Diet and the police believed that what was required was not law to punish adult men for having paid dates with minors, but stronger punishment for juvenile delinquents. In October 1997, the LDP organized a committee for the revision of the Shōnen Hō (New Youth Bill) aimed at countering the focus of the Child Solicitation Law on “adult responsibility.” In 2000, the Diet passed the New Youth Law, stipulating that juvenile offenders between the ages of 14 and 20 would now be sent to criminal court rather than family court, effectively lowering the age of criminal liability from 16 to 14 years old. The revised New Youth Law represented the inclination of Police and conservative politicians towards the stricter control and punishment of youth misdemeanors and voluntary prostitution for teenage girls in evidence over the preceding 40 years. In 2007 the Youth Law was updated again, the time pushing the age of criminal liability further downward, so that children aged 11 to 18 years old could be treated as legal agents responsible for their actions.

On the same page Kinsella briefly addresses and ends her summary on the "Internet Introduction Site Act" with this line:

"While legislation originally sought to criminalize male customers rather than schoolgirls, the NPA and LDP politicians worked to rapidly overturn this legal position, with further legislation clearly identifying young women as guilty parties in their own purchase.

Page 36.

[National Police Agency and Liberal Democratic Party]

[MrTerrorist]

Princess Mako to lose Japan royal status by marrying commoner

Interesting. Can the Princesses regain their titles should something happen to the male heirs?

[Toukairin]

That is absolutely ridiculous if you ask me. And besides, there are not that many noble families left in Japan.

[SeijiSensei]

The Struggles of Japanese Single Mothers

The judgment and stigma that single mothers face in many countries are taken to another level in Japan, a homogeneous society where those who do not conform often try to hide their situations — even from their friends and wider family.

But Japan also has a culture that makes it difficult for women to work after having children — changing this is a key part of Abe’s solution to the country’s economic problems — and that makes life exponentially harder for single mothers.

“We have this culture of shame,” Tokumaru said. “Women’s position is still so much lower than men’s in this country, and that affects how we are treated. Women tend to have irregular jobs, so they need several jobs to make ends meet.”

[T]he number of families living on an income lower than the public welfare assistance level more than doubled in the 20 years after the asset price bubble popped in 1992, according to a study by Kensaku Tomuro of Yamagata University.

Now 16 percent of Japanese children live below the poverty line, according to Health Ministry statistics, but among single-parent families, the rate hits 55 percent. Poverty rates in Osaka are among the worst.

[SeijiSensei]

Japanese Driver Wins Indy 500

Perhaps the most iconic auto race held in America is the Indianapolis 500 which takes place on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Unlike Formula One racing (e.g, the Grand Prix of Monaco), the Indy 500 takes place on an oval track.

Takuma Sato, a journeyman driver, became the first Japanese winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday when he held off the three-time champion Helio Castroneves in a 230-mile-per-hour wheel-rubbing duel to the finish.

Sato, 40, a failed Formula One driver who had just one previous victory in 123 IndyCar starts, is perhaps best remembered for spinning out of the 2012 Indy 500 on the final lap while challenging the eventual winner Dario Franchitti for the lead.

Already his victory has fueled some racist tweeting, in this case by a Denver sports writer.

“Nothing specifically personal, but I am very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend,” wrote Terry Frei, of the Denver Post.

It's been 72 years since the end of World War II. I guess Mr. Frei didn't notice.

BTW, Japan's best-known female golfer, Miyazato Ai, once number one in the world, has announced her retirement. "Japan's Ai Miyazato says she has decided to quit the LPGA Tour at the end of the season because she lost her motivation for the sport after years of struggling to win again."

Most golfers don't retire at 31, but having watched Miyazato's struggles over the past couple of years, it seems like a good decision.

[SeijiSensei]

As a follow-up to the story above, the Denver Post fired the writer who found Sato's victory "uncomfortable."

Denver Post publisher Mac Tully and editor Lee Ann Colacioppo apologized Monday for a “disrespectful and unacceptable tweet” as they announced that Frei is no longer an employee of the newspaper because of the social media comment that sparked intense backlash.

“We apologize for the disrespectful and unacceptable tweet that was sent by one of our reporters,” the statement reads. “Terry Frei is no longer an employee of The Denver Post. It’s our policy not to comment further on personnel issues. The tweet doesn’t represent what we believe nor what we stand for. We hope you will accept our profound apologies.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ndy-500-tweet/

[judasmartel]

I am not sure if this is the right thread for this, but I am very curious about why Japan is so strong in women's team sports yet are only mid-tier at best in men's team sports.

For example, Japan has already won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011 and made it back to the 2015 final, and they are also powerhouses in women's volleyball and basketball.

In contrast, Japanese men's sports teams struggle to get the same success their female counterparts have been achieving in the world stage. Sure, they are also powerhouses in Asian men's football, volleyball, and basketball, but are only mid-tier at best at the world level.

How come Japan is so strong in women's sports but not so much in men's sports, yet the most popular sports anime these days feature men's sports? I mean, KnB has players with superpowers, yet Japanese men's basketball in real life is not exactly at top tier even in Asia.

In all fairness, Japanese male athletes fare better in individual sports. Japanese figure skaters are among the best in the world (the current Olympic champion being Yuzuru Hanyu), and they also have the real life Prince of Tennis, Kei Nishikori.

[RichardFromMarple]

I've noticed in gymnastics Japan has a very good record for men, especially in the Olympics, but not so well in the women's.

[judasmartel]

Originally Posted by RichardFromMarple

I've noticed in gymnastics Japan has a very good record for men, especially in the Olympics, but not so well in the women's.

Like I said, Japanese men fare better in individual sports than the women, but it seems to be the other way around for team sports.

[judasmartel]

Originally Posted by RichardFromMarple

I've noticed in gymnastics Japan has a very good record for men, especially in the Olympics, but not so well in the women's.

Like I said, Japanese men fare better in individual sports than the women, but it seems to be the other way around for team sports.

As for women's gymnastics, when you have the US, China, and Russia dominating the event...

[Toukairin]

Sometimes, I have a strange impression that male sports teams ask their players to follow a certain mould. It can be seen with the national football team, and it looks even worse when the mould is ill adapted for competing against the best. However, I strongly believe things could greatly change in some disciplines if there is a new program that pushes for better athleticism at younger ages among those who play team sports.

[Blueknight78]

i don't know if thi already was posted before, too much pages to check but i found that youtube channel very good to help know more about japanese culture and some of they issues:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcI...RO5qY5f9buahCQ

the channel is more about "socialization, but due to that you can get issues info about low birth rates, about herb males and others stuffs, while the guy is japanese himself, the channel is for "western peoples", could not be the perfect realiable source but you get a lot of "what is happening" inside of many japaneses heads.

[SeijiSensei]

Dead at 31 from overwork

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...self-to-death/

A young journalist's grueling work schedule — including a single month with 159 hours of overtime and just two days off — triggered the heart failure that killed her at age 31, Japanese labor regulators ruled.

Authorities officially attributed Miwa Sado's death to “karoshi” — the Japanese word for a death due to overwork — according to information released this week by NHK, the public broadcaster that employed her.

It's bad enough that private employers work their staffs to death, but it's pretty shocking when it's happening in public agencies like the NHK which you'd think to be more heavily regulated. Imagine if someone worked herself to death at PBS. You'd have Congressional investigations.


Yes, you can buy a gun in Japan, but it's not easy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...305_story.html

While lengthy and complex by U.S. standards, the entirety of the process Saki and Tak went through is designed to manage the risks inherent in firearms. There is no question that Japan’s approach places a burden on those who wish to bear arms, but it also limits the ability of someone who is dangerous to get a gun. It’s hard to argue with the results: In 2015, there were more than 13,000 non-suicide gun deaths in the United States; in Japan, there was only one.

[AnimeFan188]

'Dementia towns': how Japan is evolving for its ageing population:

"Japan is at the forefront of a dementia crisis that experts warn will affect other
societies with burgeoning elderly populations in decades to come. According to the
health ministry, 4.6 million people are suffering from some form of dementia, with the
total expected to soar to about 7.3 million people – or one in five Japanese aged 65 or
over – by 2025.

Faced with spiralling health and welfare costs and a shortage of professional
caregivers, towns and cities across Japan are attempting to move away from a
medicine-based, institutional approach towards care to one that involves the entire
community.

In 2015, Japan’s government released its Orange plan – a comprehensive package of
measures to tackle dementia ranging from more specialised medical staff and the
development of new drugs, to regular home visits and support for family caregivers."

See:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ing-population

[SeijiSensei]

Kentucky as Japan's outpost in the US

In 1985, the chairman of the Japan-based Toyota Motor Corporation, Shoichiro Toyoda, announced that Georgetown, Kentucky, would become the location of the company's first manufacturing plant in the United States.

Toyota's success in Kentucky prompted other Japanese-run businesses to move to the area in quick succession.

"When Toyota came, I think we had four or five Japanese companies and now we have 206 [Japanese] companies in Kentucky, so the population of the Japanese community exploded, more or less," [executive director of the Japan/America Society of Kentucky David] Carpenter says. "And when they first landed here, and in their numbers, it was very difficult to get Japanese food."

Just as the Japanese immigrants wanted a taste of home, the new American workforce was eager to try the foods of Japan, especially after many of them visited the country as part of their training.

"So the Kentuckians that went to Japan got a taste of true Japanese food as well, and when they came home — just like anybody else — you want to share that experience with your friends and families," Carpenter says.

[SeijiSensei]

Why the #MeToo movement is running into trouble in Japan

Ours is a rigidly patriarchal society, and women are rarely invited to talk about discrimination woes. The rape culture (fictional and otherwise), however, has always thrived like barnacles on an ocean liner, partly because Japanese women have taken it upon themselves to look demure and endure, endure, endure. My grandmother used to say: For a woman to survive in Japan, she must appease her menfolk in one way or another.

And to be honest, the women themselves feel there are more pressing issues than #MeToo. Many are putting off marriage until they’re sure of getting a slot in a coveted day-care center, which could be years down the line. Or perhaps they won’t be able to work for that long, since Japan (despite this being a super-aged society) has always held that younger is better when it comes to female chromosomes in the office. And if they do get married, would their partners help out with house chores — or will they, like the majority of men in this country, expect their wives to put in an average of three hours every day into maintaining the home while they spend less than 10 minutes?

[Toukairin]

My grandmother used to say: For a woman to survive in Japan, she must appease her menfolk in one way or another.

No disrespect, but to hell with that regardless of where it is said in the world.

Regardless ot obstacles, Japanese women must keep hammering down against that kind of discrimination because it is at the root of the problem. Force the social revolution if any. Nothing better than a clash of mentalities once in a while to force change. Let those Johns take their own responsibilities with house chores for a change too.

[SeijiSensei]

If you go to school in Ginza, you need to dress the part, even if you're only nine years old.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/201...-uniform-.html

A Tokyo public school has adopted Giorgio Armani uniforms for students, triggering criticism in a country where hefty school fees are already burdening young parents.

Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district has announced plans to introduce the new uniform option, which costs more than 80,000 yen ($730) for a full set. A minimum set — a navy-blue jacket and matching trousers or skirt, a long-sleeve shirt and a hat — would be more than twice the price of the current uniforms.

Note that this isn't an upscale private school, but a public one.

[SufGen]

-Bow When Greeting
-You don’t have to do any quick math or remember specific percentages because tipping is not customary. You can leave some leftover coins, but tips aren’t expected.
-Slurp Your Noodles. In Japanese culture, it is good manners.