Cowabungaa said:
Foolishman1776 said:
Japan is a sick society. I mean sick as in is infected with damaging ideas and values. Of course, the world at large is, as well; Japan is simply a more advanced case. I hate to say it, but this is kind of where "liberal values" lead.
Actually no, this is not true. If anything, on the positions of women [http://www2.gol.com/users/friedman/writings/p1.html], Japan is far
less liberal and modern than your average Western society. Heck, in general the whole relationship business is radically different from Western standards, it has nothing to do with 'liberal values'.
I suggest you read up on Japanese culture a bit more before making such statements
That article is quite outdated and while Japan does have a way to go in terms of gender equality, the position of women is not as dire as such articles say - not today. Women have a lot of power and they call the shots in relationships more often than not. I see it with my own eyes and my heart sadly as well. The younger generations and the generations in their 30s now are NOT the home makers of the Showa period. They aren't the subservient slaves that so many Japanese and also Western men flocked to grab. They are strong, independent, ambitious and they don't take sh!t. Yes, it is true that traditional values are common enough to overly protect younger women at home, but who wouldn't defend their daughters?
One of major reasons for the declining birthrate IS the equality of women, and the culture wide rejection of past values. Many women today in Japan refuse to marry and live quite selfishly (perhaps), not wanting to fill the 'mother and wife' roles. Many women postpone family until they have had enough of their careers. And raising children in Japan is very expensive and with the burst of the Bubble all those years ago and the ups and down in the economy since then (or just paranoia about it) many couples feel that it is economically inappropriate to have kids. Otherwise, one has to look at how dense the population is in Japan and how small living spaces can be for many families. I know kids who sleep in the same room with their parents and older siblings.
THESE are the reasons for declining birthrates. I appreciate the article you posted as well. Thanks. It seems to me that people here are the first to complain and come to arms about rampant gaming generalisations misconstrued as fact, but are very quick to misconstrue many themselves about other groups and cultures.
Terramax said:
rekabdarb said:
so yeah robot apocalypse getting here faster, BY MAKING US NO LONGER REPRODUCE!
The Japanese birthrate has been decreasing for something like the last 25-ish years if I recall correctly.
However, it's not just women who feel insecure. Many Japanese women are spending crazy amounts of time and money with perfect male escorts, leaving many potential male partners on the sideline. Take a look here:
Anyway, this is the price a country pays when it exercises extreme capitalism. The Japanese are, through society, and media bombardment, forced into spending as much money as possible on such crap as DS games like these girlfriend simulators, instead of getting married.
Way to go with the generalisations. They couldn't be further from the truth. True that SOME women enjoy escorts and host bars, and some men do to, but it isn't 'what the Japanese do'. I can't believe the amount of misinformation that there is about Japan. It's like the propaganda machines didn't turn off after the end of the War. I have been living in Japan for a long time and the place is NORMAL, just like any other place. It is not the fantasy land that you all think it is, and I don't blame you when all you have to go on are articles such as those above and the one for this thread. I am not disputing what they say, but the spin that added and the inferences are just blanket statements because there is almost zero accountability. What Japanese people are going to challenge these things. It is alarmist, and inaccurate, and based largely on shaping research to fill a predetermined conclusion.
RadiusXd said:
i love the way japan does things.
from the cold mechanical and efficent way things are run, to the robots, to the liberal freedoms that let you marry a ds in that same efficently run society, and even how they're food is neatly organised. i mean, even the fruit are neat cubes there!
Oh and the anime, never ever EVER forget the anime.
Things are not run in any 'cold and mechanical way'. The robots are robots and such automation is the way of the world. He DIDN'T LEGALLY MARRY A DS GAME! Sheesh! It was just his eccentric form of symbolic fun. Food is not really 'neatly organised' as it is just presented well, and those cube fruits are a rarity. In a decade of life here, I have never seen one except in a 'OMG JAPAN IS WEIRD!' English article. *sigh*
Foolishman1776 said:
Japan is a sick society. I mean sick as in is infected with damaging ideas and values. Of course, the world at large is, as well; Japan is simply a more advanced case. I hate to say it, but this is kind of where "liberal values" lead.
That's a load of crap, and you should know not to base opinions on a culture on the objectification and festishes of Western media. If the media only publicised all the weird things from your own country, people would be saying the same thing about your country. The fact is, the media and Western culture as a whole seem to have a mission to maintain the 'Japan is weird and depraved' stereotype despite it being completely untrue. Japan is another culture and it is DIFFERENT. The things you classify as 'normal' are only your culture's own 'different' things. Almost every article like this in Western media is designed to create a false view of the culture. After having lived in Japan for almost a decade, I can assure you that it is NOT a 'sick' society infected with 'damaging ideas and values'. I suggest taking care of your own house first.
