my on going interest in japan

i always feel kinda awkward bringing up my interest in japan becuase i feel like people are going to assume im just super into anime and know like the bare minimum of japan. like, ooo cherry blossoms, cool school uniforms, harajuku, whatever ya know? thats how i was when i was 10, but its been a bit and ive grown more educated.

like, sure. cherry blossoms are THE japan thing i wont deny that. but a lot of people dont know that cherry blossoms only last like a week before all the petals fall out. also did you know they sent sakura seeds to space and they grew into a mutated tree? they ended up having extra petals on the flowers than a normal sakura tree! i have a feeling the mutation mightve been a coincidence but whatever, its still cool.

i think if your interested in any country, you should learn about the flaws of it. a lot of peoples first minds when thinking about the flaws of japan is japan being earthquake/tsunami central. but thats not the worst thing about japan. in fact, you honestly dont even have to worry about it if your going there. most of the worlds current early earthquake detecting tech is from japan. almost all buildings in japan are earthquake proof, so they arent going to collapse. and with tsunamis? well, if there ever is an earthquake anywhere in the world the last place you should go is the shore.

so, here are the ACTUAL flaws of japan. (tw:pedophilla, rape, suicide)

Xenophobia

if your coming from overseas, people in japan are still going to treat you nicely but there is still a lot of xenophobia. especially from older people. ive heard a lot of stories of people being kicked out of hotels for being a foreigner, or people getting angry letters sent to them when living in apartments, or people moving seats on trains etc. i would say its not a huge issue if your visiting, but keep it in mind if your going to stay there for a long time

Pedophilia

The age of consent in japan was 13 until recently when it was raised to 16. of course, Japanese people dont like that thats the age of consent and thinks thats too young. a LOT of them dont. and, i will say, pedophilla is common in a lot of places no matter where you live. but... pedophilla seems to be more... idk out there in japan? like, school kids in kindergarden have to have personal safety alarms to bring to school. (note, i wanna mention that a lot of kids bring them becuase japanese kids usually walk to school on their own super young. but ive seen the buzzer used in the context of pedophilla a few times, so if ive made a mistake pls correct me)

and of course pedophilia themes is in a lot of anime, manga, etc. im not really sure what the reaction of it is in japan but at least over seas is become more and more unacceptable. so i hope its the same in japan.

Japanese Police and justice system

Police are shit everywhere. ya know, acab. but for some reason police are particularly shit in japan. they are just so, EXTREMELY incompetent. like, people say japan is a crime free country and yea it is safer to walk around at night but if something happens to you i dont think anyones gonna do a lot. 

a lot of the worst crimes ever committed in japan, like the fucking cannibal rapist who killed a europeion woman or the whole case of junko furuta, NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING happened. the cannibal rapist walked free becuase he commited the crime in europe, and even made a manga of the murder he committed and made money off of it. the people who killed and raped junko furuta walked free and are STILL ALIVE. they even cried on twitter about how they did it sooo many years ago and how it doesnt matter anymore. the police? nothing. the only guy who got what he deserved was the doomsay cult leader who gassed a train, but only cuz he killed like 20 people did he get the death sentence.

i think japan has less crime due to japanese culture, but if people did commit crimes the police wouldnt really do anything. and when there is crime, it gets pushed under the rug.

Sexism and Sexual assault

Women's rights are very bad in japan. Women can vote, they can work but its still very poor. Women are still expected to wear heels in the workplace, and if they arent working theyre expected to be a stay at home wife/girlfriend in japanese society.

and sexual assault from men is so rampant that theres womens only sections on trains due to the fact so many women get groped by men.

Suicide and Mental Health

Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. this is very much due to how mental health is treated in japan. it is getting better, from what ive seen. but most of the time it is brushed off, and which leads to suicide. especially from older people. 

Work

People are not expected to take breaks in the Japanese workplace. some companys are so bad that they force workers to stay and sleep in the workplace for days. your expected to work until your die in japan, and im not even exaggerating

"Karoshi (Japanese: 過労死, Hepburn: Karōshi), which can be translated into "overwork death", is a Japanese term relating to occupation-related sudden death. The most common medical causes of karoshi deaths are heart attacks and strokes due to stress and malnourishment or fasting."

Heres some more videos if your interested

https://youtu.be/NtOXBWcjHsU?si=pORSfsTVwv06HSSp

https://youtu.be/edWYxCAEvRk?si=0SlFLFdlvX1zeCsK