Japan lived for millennia in darkness with civil wars and throughout Asia. Out of nowhere, Japan became a peaceful country with Japanese people drowned in innocence. In this article, we will talk about how the Japanese react to crimes, how the media reports these crimes, and we will understand if Japan has really become peaceful.
Just as many Brazilians doubt the safety of Japan and other countries, the Japanese doubt how dangerous the world can be. Many unaccustomed Japanese tourists come to Brazil and are robbed due to a lack of caution.
The Japanese can hardly imagine that the world can be as dangerous as in anime and Japanese movies. They are so used to seeing the world the way they live in Japan that even newspapers showing tragedies do not alert them.
Table of Contents
Are there violent crimes in Japan?
Yes, violent crimes happen in all countries, but in Japan, violent crimes occur in much smaller numbers. Not to mention that strict laws and the death penalty manage to hold back some of the wrongdoers.
About only 1,000 people are murdered each year in Japan, and less than 5 are by firearms, which are practically extinct. Unfortunately, in Brazil, this number is weekly and has been increasing more and more.
As in any place in the world, crimes happen, but in a way that is invisible to most. It’s all a matter of perspective; Japan has a significant reputation for suicides that has drastically fallen in the last 30 years, but it still has that reputation.
Brazil, on the other hand, has reached a growing number of suicides that approaches the current Japanese average, but practically no one talks about it because it does not get highlighted. Similarly, in Japan, violence is not highlighted.
In Brazil, we are so used to seeing crimes that when a similar case happens in Japan, people already make comparisons and uproars trying to bring Japan down to Brazil’s level.
This is the true ungrateful human nature; we never look at the good things, only the bad things. It is much easier to point out a flaw than something good. Every time I talk about a country abroad, the person looks for flaws to create the impression that Brazil is better. We are already straying a bit from the subject…
How do the Japanese react to crimes?
Recently in Nagoya (05/25/2019), a man stabbed and hit another man with a bat several times in the middle of the street in a busy area. Many filmed, shouted, but could do nothing to stop it.
I thought in my head, why don’t they all gather and go after the man? Unfortunately, this is a bit mendokusai and would cause many problems for anyone trying to intervene.
The criminal could be a member of the Yakuza, and those involved in separating the incident could be marked and suffer for it. Local authorities would also involve people in long and continuous trips to police stations.
The Japanese are also slow in this regard. They are not used to seeing these situations and simply do not know how to react. Something understandable because in Brazil, it is normal for many to cheer when fights happen.
Unfortunately, shouting did not help; the police arrived at the scene, but the man had died on the way to the hospital. Fortunately, we can be sure that the wrongdoer will not go unpunished and may even receive the death penalty.
On social media, various people discussed whether the Japanese should intervene or not. I also think of a way to intervene without anyone getting hurt, but it would require the courage and collaboration of everyone.
In Japan, there is a Samurai instrument called Sasumata that could have been useful in this situation to surround the criminal without suffering any harm. Unfortunately, in a moment of desperation, no one thinks of anything.
Are violent crimes hidden by the Japanese media?
These crimes are rarely reported on Japanese television; many end up accusing Japan of trying to project an image of a peaceful country or hiding information from its population. Is this justifiable? Why does Japanese TV do this?
Hiding violence is something totally understandable; let’s not try to put it in the population’s head that the country is hell because of 1,000 annual deaths. I believe that Brazil is not as violent as it is reported by the mainstream media.
In reality, hiding crimes that do not become scandals in the Japanese media is a tactic to prevent more such crimes from happening. Unfortunately, Brazil does the complete opposite; the Record newspaper is proof of that.
The Japanese believe that the main vehicle for the increase in homicides is the media itself; therefore, there is no reason to keep giving credit to murderers and criminals on Japanese television. Reporting crimes only increases the cases.
It only takes a person to have a little psychological problem to be influenced by the manipulative media. The Brazilian news has become something totally manipulative that drives anyone crazy. Both people who hate violence feel terrified when watching television, and wrongdoers feel encouraged to commit crimes.
I myself stopped watching television; there are so many crimes every day that I became terrified and developed a terrible hatred for Brazil, to the point that I even had to go to a psychologist to understand why I was so afraid and hated Brazil.
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