People have a terrible habit of making comparisons and criticizing the cost of living in Japan. They usually talk about taxes, high price of natural products, and various other expenses that only exist in Japan. In this article I will try to reason why you shouldn't be complaining and comparing the economy of Japan or any other country.
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Natural products
One of the main reasons for price comparisons between Brazil and Japan are fruits, vegetables and natural products. Really a fruit that in Brazil would cost R$ 1 in Japan costs R$ 10 or more. When a Brazilian ends up seeing this, he imagines that in Japan you don't eat fruits and vegetables, and that the cost of living is absurd. People forget that Japan's currency is the YEN and not the REAL. The Japanese minimum wage ranges from 4,000 to 10,000 reais. So tell me what's better? Purchase expensive fruits with R$ 7000 or cheap fruit with R$ 800?
Read also:
Trip to Japan 2016 - What did I eat?
Getting to Know the Yen – The Currency of Japan
Still people raise a question: Even with the high salary, there are several taxes and debts to be paid every month, leaving little money.
Taxes and Monthly Expenses
Suppose a Brazilian in Brazil earns 1,500 Reais every month, he pays R$ 1000 for rent, taxes, bills, car expenses and others. Only R$ 500 is left for the poor thing to do the shopping. It would be nice if everyone were that lucky, but many live on rent and earn a salary of R$ 800.
Now suppose a Japanese earns a total of 300,000 Yen monthly. Their rent expenses, taxes, transportation, bills and others, leave only 100,000 Yen (09/15 = R$ 3,500) there is still a good amount left. This was just to make it clear that in Brazil there are also expenses and taxes, so there's no reason to complain.
Of course, that doesn't change the fact that the fruits are more expensive, and that he will spend a small % of his salary buying them. But people still don't stop consuming fruits, on the contrary, Japanese cuisine is rich in natural products, vegetables and fruits. Just forget about the real currency and live with yen. Basically every good, sweet, product you buy will have some kind of fruit or vegetable.
one thing makes up for another
Since you like to compare, let's compare! The salary in Japan is high as well as the price of some products, but industrialized and electronic products are usually the same price or cheaper than in Brazil. Now the Brazilian salary? There are very cheap things, but industrialized, electronic and imported products are too expensive for the salary earned.
To illustrate: A Brazilian with his minimum wage, by paying expenses and filling his house with vegetables, fruits and meats, has a total of R$ 100 free to spend on whatever he wants. Aaah, I need a new sofa, a new computer, a cell phone, games for my console, I want to travel to another country! In Brazil, people spend years saving money to buy a new piece of furniture, or spend their entire lives paying installments on a car.
Of course, this also happens in Japan and anywhere in the world. But money in Brazil does not yield! Unless you're rich. As much as fruits and vegetables have a very high price, you can eat every day, and still eat fruit spending very little. In Brazil, if you want to buy an iPad, or travel to another country, you have to sell a kidney, or work all year and save up. In Japan every month with a lot of effort and sacrifice you can save money and buy an iPad.
The point is that there is no place that is more expensive and another that is cheaper, each one has its own style. If many Brazilians go to Japan to work to earn money, it's because they know that money can pay off there. Others choose to live there for safety. Because in addition to being difficult to raise money in Brazil to buy things, you can be robbed easily.
Of course, there are people with tiny apartments in Japan, or people living on the edge of their salary. But this is nothing different from Brazil, and from the thousands of people who live in precarious conditions in our country. Just look around us and compare the conditions in Brazil and Japan.
Do you really think the cost of living in japan is high for the japanese? I make it clear that there is no better place than the other, just adapt and stop making comparisons and complaining about things. Complaining will go nowhere, especially since the world is getting worse no matter where.
