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Japan is incredibly stubborn and ignorant when it comes to addressing core social and psychological problems in their society. It isn't even recognized by most

by teek 11y ago

Japan is incredibly stubborn and ignorant when it comes to addressing core social and psychological problems in their society. It isn't even recognized by most of the population so when people begin to complain of their own social issues or depression, people around them will slowly distance themselves from that person. As a result, most people will choose to hide their issues until it is unbearable. At the point they feel they cannot continue is when they do something drastic which includes suicide. If you bring the problem to light, people will just shy away from the debate (Japanese avoid arguments at all costs) and act ignorant. So to anyone that understands Japanese culture, Koremura's response is understandable. At least in the position he is in, he can do something.

keithpeter 11y ago
"Japan is incredibly stubborn and ignorant when it comes to addressing core social and psychological problems in their society." Not just Japan http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-33285980 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-33... Politicians in the UK talk about community this and community that but in practice we are losing the ties between neighbours/families.
- Sharlin 11y ago
  Often "the community" is just a buzzword used by the political right when trying to weasel out of responsibilities belonging to the state.
  - adwf 11y ago
    Yeah, a lot of the local government stuff in the UK is the equivalent of the US saying: "Oh, we believe this is a states rights issue, therefore we're not gonna do anything about it." It's another way of saying, fix it yourself. Oddly enough though, when we actually have the government step in, then all sorts of people start complaining about the nanny state. Politics - Damned if you do, damned if you don't!
- contergan 11y ago
  Well, what do you expect? Multiculturalism and a strong sense of community don't really go together very well.
  - deckiedan 11y ago
    I really strongly disagree with the sentiment of this comment. I've been living and working in a very ethnically / culturally diverse non-profit charity organisation for several years now. We're a Christian charity, so there are strong religious ties across the board, but huge cultural differences. A sense of community is far more developed by the shared experiences together, rather than just the similarity of past culture. I always had a very strong sense of community with the people I did my initial training with, and the people I worked with every day. Much less so with the people from a similar culture. I'm currently living in Carlisle, in the North of England. Very mono-cultural, very white, working class, etc. There's really not a lot of sense of community at all. After the flooding a few years (shared experiences) there was. But here now? No. Most people just sit at home in the evenings watching TV, and never do things together (much shared past / culture, they often watch the same shows, but no shared experiences, so little sense of community). My wife and I work quite hard to deliberately develop community, inviting people over for meals, (board-)games evenings, barbecues, etc. But the thing is now, you have to be deliberate about creating community. It's no longer automatic. Personally, I blame TV hugely. It's far too easy these days to spend all ones free / down time disconnected from the people around you. The internet just continues the trend. In our organisation, on board our ship(s) ( http://www.logoshope.org/ http://www.logoshope.org/ ) which doesn't have TV, when people started having their own laptops that were able to watch TV series and movies on, we saw a huge shift in community, from people in free time hanging out together and talking, playing games, exploring, etc, to people sitting on their own in their cabins playing computer games, watching TV / movies, etc. And the sense of community suffered.
    - keithpeter 11y ago
      "Very mono-cultural, very white, working class, etc. There's really not a lot of sense of community at all." My experience also in multi-ethnic Birmingham. I think shared experience is the key.
lani 11y ago
How about a startup where one can dial a 1-800 number from Japan and get someone in ,say, Europe, who is also bored, and the two can rant to each other about how bad things are , and then go back to their lives ? International PainBuddy program, Dial-An-Agony . 1800-call-pain !! Best part, we pay a couple of life coaches to analyse some rants and provide anonymous advice
- RaSoJo 11y ago
  I cannot agree with you enough. I must add that, personally i feel more comfortable discussing problems with total strangers - this avoids the social ramifications part. do hope someone picks this idea up seriously.
- jackvalentine 11y ago
  I was going to comment that you'd have language issues but then I realised, most people who want to vent don't actually need to be understood they just need to get it out. Good idea!
  - SomeStupidPoint 11y ago
    It might actually work better if a European makes soothing noises and a Japanese person makes soothing noises at a European in exchange, without either side knowing what the topic is.
  - lani 11y ago
    there's also google translate to help out
- nostrademons 11y ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest
velodrome 11y ago
Solution: Meetups. I am not sure if you remember an article from last year about elderly Koreans (in NY) who would do weekly meetups to check on each other...Maybe something like this can work in Japan. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/nyregion/fighting-a-mcdonalds-for-the-right-to-sit-and-sit-and-sit.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/nyregion/fighting-a-mcdona...
smil 11y ago
How has your country (you must be American) distinguished itself by doing these same core social and psychological issues? Or are Americans stubborn and ignorant?
- jonahx 11y ago
  Serious question: What gave you the impression he was American? I assumed the opposite -- that only a Japanese person, or at least the child of first-generation Japanese immigrants, would have made that post.
  - smil 11y ago
    He obviously knows nothing and so fit the ignorant and arrogant American stereotype to a t.
- SixSigma 11y ago
  Britains of a certain age are stoic and stubborn. I was in hospital with my gran (born in 1922) in ICU (a pulse of 33bpm - and turns out she had kidney failure too), when alone with me she was gripping my hand and saying "this is the worst I have ever felt", when a few minutes later the doctor arrive d and asked "how are you feeling?" she replied "I'm fine thank you". I think the current crop of younger people will be more vocal, if their sense of entitlement about their current lives is anything to go by.
  - keithpeter 11y ago
    My mum (b 1933) did that as well. Either my sister or I had to be there when the doctors came round. Nurses were observant as well and kept records.
  - mgkimsal 11y ago
    Not stoic so much, but my uk wife sliced her hand open on a can of cat food (in the US). 3 inch gash right across her palm. Bleeding. A lot. Wrapped it up in towel and said "we're going to the emergency room, get in the car". She replied "oh no, I don't want to bother them, they might be busy."

by teek 11y ago

keithpeter 11y ago

"Japan is incredibly stubborn and ignorant when it comes to addressing core social and psychological problems in their society." Not just Japan http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-33285980 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-33... Politicians in the UK talk about community this and community that but in practice we are losing the ties between neighbours/families.

Sharlin 11y ago
Often "the community" is just a buzzword used by the political right when trying to weasel out of responsibilities belonging to the state.
- adwf 11y ago
  Yeah, a lot of the local government stuff in the UK is the equivalent of the US saying: "Oh, we believe this is a states rights issue, therefore we're not gonna do anything about it." It's another way of saying, fix it yourself. Oddly enough though, when we actually have the government step in, then all sorts of people start complaining about the nanny state. Politics - Damned if you do, damned if you don't!
contergan 11y ago
Well, what do you expect? Multiculturalism and a strong sense of community don't really go together very well.
- deckiedan 11y ago
  I really strongly disagree with the sentiment of this comment. I've been living and working in a very ethnically / culturally diverse non-profit charity organisation for several years now. We're a Christian charity, so there are strong religious ties across the board, but huge cultural differences. A sense of community is far more developed by the shared experiences together, rather than just the similarity of past culture. I always had a very strong sense of community with the people I did my initial training with, and the people I worked with every day. Much less so with the people from a similar culture. I'm currently living in Carlisle, in the North of England. Very mono-cultural, very white, working class, etc. There's really not a lot of sense of community at all. After the flooding a few years (shared experiences) there was. But here now? No. Most people just sit at home in the evenings watching TV, and never do things together (much shared past / culture, they often watch the same shows, but no shared experiences, so little sense of community). My wife and I work quite hard to deliberately develop community, inviting people over for meals, (board-)games evenings, barbecues, etc. But the thing is now, you have to be deliberate about creating community. It's no longer automatic. Personally, I blame TV hugely. It's far too easy these days to spend all ones free / down time disconnected from the people around you. The internet just continues the trend. In our organisation, on board our ship(s) ( http://www.logoshope.org/ http://www.logoshope.org/ ) which doesn't have TV, when people started having their own laptops that were able to watch TV series and movies on, we saw a huge shift in community, from people in free time hanging out together and talking, playing games, exploring, etc, to people sitting on their own in their cabins playing computer games, watching TV / movies, etc. And the sense of community suffered.
  - keithpeter 11y ago
    "Very mono-cultural, very white, working class, etc. There's really not a lot of sense of community at all." My experience also in multi-ethnic Birmingham. I think shared experience is the key.

lani 11y ago

How about a startup where one can dial a 1-800 number from Japan and get someone in ,say, Europe, who is also bored, and the two can rant to each other about how bad things are , and then go back to their lives ? International PainBuddy program, Dial-An-Agony . 1800-call-pain !! Best part, we pay a couple of life coaches to analyse some rants and provide anonymous advice

RaSoJo 11y ago
I cannot agree with you enough. I must add that, personally i feel more comfortable discussing problems with total strangers - this avoids the social ramifications part. do hope someone picks this idea up seriously.
jackvalentine 11y ago
I was going to comment that you'd have language issues but then I realised, most people who want to vent don't actually need to be understood they just need to get it out. Good idea!
- SomeStupidPoint 11y ago
  It might actually work better if a European makes soothing noises and a Japanese person makes soothing noises at a European in exchange, without either side knowing what the topic is.
- lani 11y ago
  there's also google translate to help out
nostrademons 11y ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest

velodrome 11y ago

Solution: Meetups. I am not sure if you remember an article from last year about elderly Koreans (in NY) who would do weekly meetups to check on each other...Maybe something like this can work in Japan. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/nyregion/fighting-a-mcdonalds-for-the-right-to-sit-and-sit-and-sit.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/nyregion/fighting-a-mcdona...

smil 11y ago

How has your country (you must be American) distinguished itself by doing these same core social and psychological issues? Or are Americans stubborn and ignorant?

jonahx 11y ago
Serious question: What gave you the impression he was American? I assumed the opposite -- that only a Japanese person, or at least the child of first-generation Japanese immigrants, would have made that post.
- smil 11y ago
  He obviously knows nothing and so fit the ignorant and arrogant American stereotype to a t.
SixSigma 11y ago
Britains of a certain age are stoic and stubborn. I was in hospital with my gran (born in 1922) in ICU (a pulse of 33bpm - and turns out she had kidney failure too), when alone with me she was gripping my hand and saying "this is the worst I have ever felt", when a few minutes later the doctor arrive d and asked "how are you feeling?" she replied "I'm fine thank you". I think the current crop of younger people will be more vocal, if their sense of entitlement about their current lives is anything to go by.
- keithpeter 11y ago
  My mum (b 1933) did that as well. Either my sister or I had to be there when the doctors came round. Nurses were observant as well and kept records.
- mgkimsal 11y ago
  Not stoic so much, but my uk wife sliced her hand open on a can of cat food (in the US). 3 inch gash right across her palm. Bleeding. A lot. Wrapped it up in towel and said "we're going to the emergency room, get in the car". She replied "oh no, I don't want to bother them, they might be busy."