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Things You Would Change About Japan

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We all complain about this country and how it can/should be better all the time. With this in mind, what would you change if you had the power to do so? Here are some to start off.

1. 1 yen coins - I can believe they still need this and are not just rounding it up or down. You always have too many or lack a couple when you need hem. Get rid of them.

2. Taxi's - if you drive or ride a bike, you will know how dangerous they are and how much they slow traffic flow by simply pulling over or waiting anywhere they like.

3. Ward office registrations - it's 2015 and they don't have 1 centralized office or share information!

4. Tax system - enough said!
 
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5. Enforce existing overtime laws so everyone can go home at a reasonable hour.
 
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Term limits for members of the Diet, both houses, and for prefectural governers.
 
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You need to eliminate proportional representation first.
 
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Representation is actually really disproportionate right now, and has been for the last several elections -- they strongly favor rural areas over the cities. The Japanese courts have repeatedly ruled elections as illegal, but since these rulings come down a few years after the election nothing is ever done -- and not much is likely to be done any time soon, since this state of affairs strongly benefits the more conservative elements of Japanese gov't.

There's lots of stuff I'd change with Japan beyond that -- mostly how they handle immigration and civil society, but they aren't likely to listen to me any time soon. :)
 
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Sudsy said:
In general, the longer a politician serves, the more corrupt they get, and the more opposed to productive change they become.
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You'll also need to lop off the entire top 1/5th of all of the ministries. Were you here for 2009 LDP implosion? Power behind the throne unmasked. :(
 
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meiji said:
Representation is actually really disproportionate right now
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While that's true, I meant this. As long as senior members voted out of their current seats can step right into another, there's no democracy at the polls. (n)
 
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John Chavers said:
While that's true, I meant this. As long as senior members voted out of their current seats can step right into another, there's no democracy at the polls. (n)
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Sure. It might be better to keep proportional representation (because there's a lot of good reasons to have it -- sure wish the US did), and just say "if you lose your seat, you're out of the government till the next election". But everybody is too self-serving to pass that either.
 
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I hate to offer this for fear of the back lash, but what the heck. Purely from the point of view of a part time visitor (x2 per year) and a non-kanji reader (I know nobodies fault but my own) it would be nice if the street signs had their names written in the Latin alphabet beneath their proper Kanji names. I've traveled the world from central and south America, Europe (east & west), Africa and several middle eastern countries and they all, for the most part, include the Latin alphabet beneath the native language spelling. This is true even in Iran were Americans are loved as individuals but its government and policies are greatly despised. Japan is the only Asian/Pacific Rim country I've ever been to, so I can't speak to how the other countries in the region handle this.

I will admit that I do love getting lost and not being able to read the street signs has gotten me lost more than I'd care to admit in Japan. It's allowed me to discover parts of Japan I wouldn't have otherwise discovered as well as serving as a great ice breaker when asking for directions, a place to eat or better a local bar for a cold one. I really enjoy the colors and taste of Japan. It has quickly become one of my most favorite places in the world. It's almost enough to cause me to change my retirement plans from Florence, Italy, but I have to consider my wife so we get to live in a city half way between both our worlds that feels like home for both of us and I get to keep my solo vacations to Japan with a 14 hour flight twice a year.

Yes, we are a mixed race couple with an open marriage (2nd marriage for both of us). My wife is Iranian and I'm an American of Irish Catholic stock.
 
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I beleive a new regulation was introduced in 2014 to add standardized English names to road signs. I'm not sure if that was related to the Olympics or not, but it should help make things better. Still won't help with most streets not having a name at all.
 
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The vast majority of street signs I've seen have both Japanese and Romaji on them. Most subway maps and street maps outside train stations are in both Japanese and Romaji. Whether you actually understand the Japanese street system (which is totally alien to how it works in the US) is another story. I'd seen the occasional maps in smaller neighborhoods that are only in Japanese though.
 
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Police - If something happens to you and you report it to the police, they'll ask for all of your information. If you're a foreigner, they'll ask even more. They'll just write some lousy "report" and will say the usual "We'll do what we can!". Lose your bike? Police don't give a fuck. Lose your wallet? Nope. Lose something else? Nope. Domestic violence? Nope. Being bullied? Nope. Robber broke into your house? Nope. Jaywalking or smoking in public? STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM! YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!

Vending Machines - Vending Machines everywhere, man.

NHK - No, I don't watch NHK so I'm not paying.

Purikura - IT'S JUST AN ORDINARY CAMERA. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT YOUR FACE IS ALREADY PHOTOSHOP'D WHEN IT COMES OUT OF THE MACHINE.

Game Centers - 100 yen for a game? Come on. At least make it 50 or something.
 
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Username1 said:
What!? You don't like the vending machines??? I get all annoyed when I have to walk more than 10 meters to find one!
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It's not that I don't like them. I just find them really funny that they're freaking everywhere.

Stuck in a forest? No problem! There's a vending machine nearby.
 
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If we're talking annoyances, pachislot halls with their doors open so everyone can hear that racket would rank up pretty high as well. (n)
 
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned how bad the election campaign loudspeakers are. Even worse are those cars that troll around in the neighborhood blasting music and screaming the name of the candidate on volume 11.

Whenever I see them though, I wave. It always makes them so happy to be acknowledged. But when approached by them, I pull out my gaijin card and say in Japanese, 'I am not a Japanese national, and prohibited from voting for you, even though I want to! Sucks, doesn't it?'
 
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k1234k said:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned how bad the election campaign loudspeakers are
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It's an infrequent annoyance. Wish those amusement halls were open once every two years... (n)
 
The question I get a lot from visitors is "where's the free wi-fi?"

The public worker system needs to be more efficient. It's good for the workers, but not the tax payer. My wife has a friend that makes over 5M yen a year making school lunches 9 months a year.
 
Angus Beef said:
Oops, they just passed a new law saying that overtime doesn't have to be paid and other stuff that will lead to employee slavery.
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That's crazy. As it is, many Japanese are virtual work-slaves. 10 to 12 hour work days, 6 days a week, and/or nearly no time off. And then even socializing with co-workers after work, so no escaping this quasi jail.

It's amazing how so many Japanese workers tolerate this abuse. If you are not going to pay workers for overtime, at least give them "comp time" (compensatory time). That is, for every hour of overtime work that they do, they can get an hour off.
 
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Angus Beef said:
Oops, they just passed a new law saying that overtime doesn't have to be paid and other stuff that will lead to employee slavery.
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Got a source on that?
 
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