Peaceful Japan – My Ass!

One of the stereotypes about Japan that bothers me the most is that people in Japan somehow value and practice “peace” more than other people around the world. In reality, I feel that the opposite could very well be true and here are a number of examples to prove my point:

•  Come to Japan and be prepared to be: pushed, bumped, and stepped on – and that is just from the old ladies or “babas” in train stations or on trains! Then there are the smokers who will blow smoke in your face or dump cigarette ashes on you. And don’t get me started on the motorcycles without mufflers!

• In terms of educating: pain is the best teacher. This is “common sense” for many people in Japan. I have seen teachers, parents, and others in teaching roles literally beat their lesson into their pupils – and it is commonly accepted! One would think that those “shy” little women in Japan would never be violent, but you would be wrong! If they have the upper hand, i.e. are senpai – or senior, anyone will commonly revert to physical and psychological violence towards their ward. The worst I have ever seen was on a TV program on the police. The cadets are basically beat silly (physically and psychologically) and this is considered professional.

• Probably one of the biggest jokes in Japan is the just the term “peace.” I see rallies, textbook entries, movies, TV documentaries, and newspaper articles praising Japan’s contribution to peace in the world, but what is really meant is peace for Japan that wants nothing to do with the rest of the world. In short, these peace activists in Japan want to act like ostriches and bury their heads in the sand and ignore the reality of the  world around them. When North Korea fired missles over the country, the Japanese government did nothing. Heck, if I recall correctly, the American government told CNN and the Japanese had learn about the “tests” from America. Shocking! One letter in the Japan Times hit the nail on the head with this:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/rc20080228a2.html

Thanks for reading,

GBUJ

My First Rant – Stereotypes on People in Japan and the Media

I guess what really bothers me most about life in Japan is the stereotyping. All Japanese are a certain way and all non-Japanese are the same, and so on….

Take for example – language. If you come to Japan from any part of the planet, many in Japan will automatically assume that you speak English – especially if your skin is white. When one considers all of the people from countries around the world who are white-skinned but do not speak English, this stereotype is bordering on being both racist and ignorant.

On the other end of the spectrum is all of the “othering” that has been and is still being done about “The Japanese.” I can’t tell you how many times I have read in print how “The Japanese” do this and “The Japanese” don’t like that. It is all bullshit! There is no such thing as “The Japanese!” I have been in Japan for 17 years and as someone completely integrated into the society, I can tell you that asking 10 people on the street about their thoughts on any given subject will give you just as many different answers/responses as you’d get with 10 people in any other country on the planet.

Now, and I will end this entry soon, who is to blame for these stereotypes? IMHO, I think it is primarily due to a willingness for most people to believe what they read, hear, and/or watch in the media. It is just too easy for people to be duped. One great example that comes to mind are certain female writers of The Japan Times newspaper. For years, I (and telling by the occasional letter to the editor many others) have read and put up with terrible, even atrocious, stereotyping. Off the top of my head, these have been generalizations made and stereotypes propogated in certain columns and comics:

• All Japanese women dating non-Japanese must be idiot bimbos.
• All non-Japanese in Japan have no idea what they are doing.
• All non-Japanese in Japan have no right to complain about how they are treated while in Japan.
• All intelligent Japanese women would never get married or have children (written by a Japanese woman!).

Well, I think you get the point. Anyway, while complaint letters seemed to have had some effect on the stereotyping in The Japan Times, I gave up on my subscription after one female writer still continued to write completely unprofessionally. Every once in a while I take a look at their homepage, but I refuse to ever give them another yen!

Thanks for reading,

GBUJ