We know that no place in the world is perfect. Although we constantly talk about the good things in Japan, we must occasionally fix our eyes on the bad things. In this article, we will discuss the main problems in Japan.
Previously, I wrote about the Dark Side of Japan. In that article, I wrote in a generalized and critical way in response to another generalized article that talks about the good things and the lies about Japan.
Recently, I received a comment from a person named Demis Aoki. Following his request, I wish to share his beautiful comment in the form of an article. He is a Sansei graduated in IT and has lived in Japan three times.
Sometimes there is a great misunderstanding in thinking that I am biased regarding Japan. In reality, I just prefer not to delve too deeply into the subject due to the divided audience I have. I believe that looking at the positive points also brings more results to the site.
Sometimes I end up contradicting myself trying to be impartial. I always try to see the good side of things; after years of hating Brazil and its culture, today I am content to live in this dangerous country trying to take the good from it.
Although I agree 100% with the comment below, I believe that there are still situations where we should apply shouganai. Not to mention that most of the time I only criticize the generalizations.
Table of Contents
Japan divided into 3 generations
The following words belong to Demis Aoki: Currently, Japan is going through a complicated phase, where there are 3 conflicting generations within Japanese society.
- Generation between 1 and 17 years
- Generation between 18 and 50 years
- Generation over 51 years;
It is no secret that Japan is currently experiencing a serious labor shortage crisis, due to the low birth rate, combined with the mortality of the elderly, who in turn have a high life expectancy, and this is ironically deteriorating the country’s economy.
The issue is that Japan has a higher internal debt than external debt; thus, the generation between 18 and 50 years is practically supporting the rest of the population, as the elderly represent almost 1/3 of the Japanese population.
Japan is a country known for its resilience, but the problem lies precisely in the conduct of Japanese society itself.
Obviously, we should never generalize, and although there are exceptions, the way I found to understand part of the behavior of Japanese society is by dividing it into 2 simple groups: Those who are educated and those who are not.
It seems somewhat obvious, but the fact is that many times we do not realize this; however, practically all societies in the world make this distinction, and when it comes to the Japanese, this is quite noticeable.
A very common misconception is to “think” that the Japanese are intelligent; however, this is much more related to Brazilian culture, where the Japanese were prominent and were present in most of the most competitive higher education courses in Brazil. However, this is decreasing, and today we see other nationalities like the Chinese surpassing the Japanese.
The question is, knowing that Japan is an isolationist country by nature, nationalist and oppressive out of collective necessity, obviously, this will have side effects.
The problems in Japan’s factories
Brazil is a problematic country, but it does not compare to Japan for several factors that do not need to be mentioned as they are too obvious.
Apparently, oppression is a reflection of the culture of maintaining a system that supposedly works at all costs; however, that is not what the results have been showing recently.
It is very common to see foreigners speaking ill of the Japanese, but they forget to clarify that most of them are over 45 years old, hold management positions without qualifications, as Japan still adopts the culture of promotion based on seniority.
Of course, there are Japanese people who work in factories who possess sincere kindness and value principles and values. Currently, labor laws in Japan are stricter, but far from ideal for foreigners.
But this is a reflection of where we Brazilians are used to labor laws that are mostly in favor of the worker; however, in Japan, it is not quite like that.
Discrimination in Japan?
Regarding treatment and discrimination, it is evident that this exists all over the world, but we must understand that there are issues that must be observed. Being discriminated against in a commercial establishment is something extremely rare, and this would tarnish the establishment’s image; but when it comes to factory environments, it is another story.
Many foreigners feel discriminated against within factories, even though currently the Ministry of Labor monitors companies and limits overtime to combat abuse by companies and prevent new cases of karoshi [過労死].
In some companies, during peak productivity times, it is still very common to see foreigners being coerced into working overtime when they do not want to or need to, as there is a risk that the already short work contract, around 2 to 6 months at most, will not be renewed.
That is why it is very common to see foreigners subjecting themselves to unjustifiable humiliations within factories or changing jobs quite frequently.
Try to argue this; most Japanese factories do not hire foreigners directly, using contractors to outsource labor, and when they do, they require the foreigner to take a language test to perform a task that does not require language skills?
What would be the justification for a company to test a foreigner to perform tasks considered simple and that do not require mastery of the language?
People need to be more careful when referring to the fact that there are “many” foreigners occupying important positions within companies, just to justify the empathy they have with Japan.
The behavior of the Japanese
The truth is that there are many variables that define the behavior of the Japanese, but the one that is deteriorating society in general is the fact that they lack skills in relating to what is different.
If we Westerners have difficulty dealing with relationship problems, imagine the Japanese?
Prioritizing the reconstruction of the nation after a war or catastrophe is understandable, but forgetting to turn our gaze to those who make it up does not make much sense.
In other words, standardizing behaviors in a militarized way may have worked for a while and in that particular situation, but it does not seem advantageous in the long run, especially if all this formality ends up extending to the family sphere, causing distance in affective relationships.
And true relationships require spontaneity, generating intimacy; otherwise, they will revert to the time of arranged marriage “MIAI,” and nowadays, I believe that would not work.
Unfortunately, this is not only the fault of the Japanese but also the media and all of us who share misguided ideas we have about them.
Just as an example, some time ago, I watched a video from a channel where a prominent Digital Influencer (without wanting to name names) at one point comments on the oral hygiene of the Japanese, making a biased comment, perhaps because she is married to a Japanese.
The strange thing is that she tries to argue unsuccessfully and contradicts herself, citing that they use a spray and that the research was conducted only in office environments, where it said that 70% of the Japanese brush their teeth, with Japan being a highly industrialized country, where 60% of companies are small, medium, and large factories.
In other words, it seems that the fact that the Japanese do not have adequate oral hygiene will diminish what they represent to the rest of the world. It would be the same as not wanting to acknowledge that Brazil is a violent country!
I cannot understand this type of positioning, where a person gives up their principles to defend something they do not actually agree with.
By the way, during all my 10 years living in Japan, I only witnessed 2 Japanese people brushing their teeth after lunch, and that does not mean that we Brazilians are better or a reference in oral health, just that most Japanese do not usually brush their teeth, and that’s it (just like many other countries).
Conclusion of the comment
Demis Aoki concludes his comment by saying that recognizing the problems in Japan does not make him a bad person. We must accept that the world is not perfect, much less Japan. Improve your way of thinking!
He states that Japan has many opportunities, but it also has many serious problems that need to be corrected.
Perhaps readers did not fully understand the issues addressed in this article. The essential point is that many complain about these aspects of Japan, while I personally prefer to ignore and accept them.
I always use the illustration of a white sheet with black dots. Everyone who looks at the sheet will pay attention only to the black dots and not to the white. I personally prefer to look at the white (the good things) of the sheet to have a better life.
Only by experiencing such a reality can one feel disgusted enough to criticize such aspects. My reality is completely different from all others, so I end up not being affected by the problems mentioned in the article, which does not make me sympathetic.
But as Demis himself commented, we must accept that the world is not perfect. Unfortunately, many do not accept this; they end up generalizing and creating hatred for the nation instead of just for those involved.
Of course, the subject is very complex to be discussed only in this article. In addition, it is difficult for any of the people involved to have a completely impartial opinion.
If you want to know more about my point of view on the complaints or the problems in Japan, we recommend reading the articles below:
- The problem of struggles and social movements
- Do the Japanese really work a lot?
- The truth about suicides in Japan
I thank Demis Aoki for this beautiful comment. If you liked the article, share it with friends and leave your comments. We hope to receive more opinions and articles to further enrich the content of this site.
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