I do love Japan, but it also has serious problems with public shaming, particularly in schools (shame bullying) and with people who have media attention (idols,

I do love Japan, but it also has serious problems with public shaming, particularly in schools (shame bullying) and with people who have media attention (idols, celebrities, influencers). It’s worse than in the US because people seem to internalize the shame more, so they will sometimes get bullied out of public life because they have too much debt, go through a messy divorce, or something like that. Japanese media companies also seem to treat shamed people as “toxic” and will drop them at the slightest hint of a scandal, which makes things worse. OTOH Japan is generally very functional, despite this problem, so perhaps this is their homegrown Omelas. The few suffer greatly and unjustly so that the social order doesn’t break down. Hard to say. I hope it is possible for them to fix the problem without losing their culture.