What Is Going On In This Place?

[vogt]

http://www.vice.com/the-vice-guide-to-travel/the-japanese-love-industry

Maybe you've already seen this, and sorry if it's in the wrong place. A co-worker emailed it to me after we discussed similar topics in The Guardian and BBC. On one hand, I am amazed at what is available here. Anything you want or can think of, if you look hard enough you will find. On the other hand, it seems like this place is in trouble and will disappear in 50 - 100 years. All I can say is poor turtle...

 

[Zaphod222]

http://www.vice.com/the-vice-guide-to-travel/the-japanese-love-industry

Maybe you've already seen this, and sorry if it's in the wrong place. A co-worker emailed it to me after we discussed similar topics in The Guardian and BBC. On one hand, I am amazed at what is available here. Anything you want or can think of, if you look hard enough you will find. On the other hand, it seems like this place is in trouble and will disappear in 50 - 100 years. All I can say is poor turtle...

Oh, come on. All modern industrialized societies are in the same demographic pickle. At least Japan is not making the European mistake of replacing its declining native population with hostile muslim immigrants. If Japan`s population declines by half, this island will still be Japan, only less crowded. Your country (whereever you are from) could only wish to be so lucky.

 

[TheDutchElm]

They'd do well to let in some SE Asian labor for medical care and low-paying work. I imagine there's quite a few people in the Philippines who wouldn't need much encouragement right about now.

Snowball's chance in hell of that until the whole system is melting down... if then.

 

[vogt]

Oh, come on. All modern industrialized societies are in the same demographic pickle. At least Japan is not making the European mistake of replacing its declining native population with hostile muslim immigrants. If Japan`s population declines by half, this island will still be Japan, only less crowded. Your country (whereever you are from) could only wish to be so lucky.

Right, but that's not the point. You have to look beyond the obvious. It's that the decline is exacerbated or highlighted by people's lack of feeling, emotion, and desire. Where I'm from, people are very social and interactive, especially with the opposite sex. People want personal connections. To see the opposite here is a bit of a shock, and rather sad in my opinion.

 

[meiji]

At least Japan is not making the European mistake of replacing its declining native population with hostile muslim immigrants.

I think the mistake is that they are treating the immigrants as free labor and not giving them paths to citizenship, etc. They are only hostile because they are totally alienated from mainstream society. The US has a fairly significant Muslim population (nearly 3 million with sizable populations in NYC, Detroit, and VA), and with the few obvious outliers, they aren't too hostile compared to how their experience in Europe.

They'd do well to let in some SE Asian labor for medical care and low-paying work. I imagine there's quite a few people in the Philippines who wouldn't need much encouragement right about now.

Japan actually already does this. But there's an unwritten policy that reinforces the temporary nature of the work from 3rd worlders -- Filipina and other nurses are given a year contract to work in Japan, and then have to pass the Japanese nursing exam (in Japanese, naturally) to maintain their status.

It's no wonder that Japan is pushing robotics as hard as they are.

 

[Zaphod222]

I think the mistake is that they are treating the immigrants as free labor and not giving them paths to citizenship, etc. They are only hostile because they are totally alienated from mainstream society. The US has a fairly significant Muslim population (nearly 3 million with sizable populations in NYC, Detroit, and VA), and with the few obvious outliers, they aren't too hostile compared to how their experience in Europe.

Really now. They have given you such niceties as the Boston Bombers, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Adam Yahive Gadahn, Mohammed Osman Mamood the Oregon Jihad bomber, or the NY Times Square bomber, just to pick a few at random. And the Muslim Brotherhood front organization "CAIR" works steadily to make American laws more Shariah-compliant. And now, you are looking at amazing view of having American Al Quaeda fighters joing the so-called "rebels" in Syria.

It is really naive to believe that one can ignore the islamic ideology when talking about islam.
The difference between the US and European experience with islam is simply the numbers. The US has a minuscle percentage, so the problem slips under the radar. But if Japan makes the European mistake, it will have the European experience. (Closer to Japan, you can visit Mindanao in the Philippines or Naravat in Thailand to see how well that works out.)

But I am optimistic that Japan won´t do that. Rather, I expect more Chinese immigrants. And there is plenty more where they come from...

 

[dreams]

Really now. They have given you such niceties as the Boston Bombers, Anwar Al-Awlaki, Adam Yahive Gadahn, Mohammed Osman Mamood the Oregon Jihad bomber, or the NY Times Square bomber, just to pick a few at random. And the Muslim Brotherhood front organization "CAIR" works steadily to make American laws more Shariah-compliant. And now, you are looking at amazing view of having American Al Quaeda fighters joing the so-called "rebels" in Syria.

It is really naive to believe that one can ignore the islamic ideology when talking about islam.
The difference between the US and European experience with islam is simply the numbers. The US has a minuscle percentage, so the problem slips under the radar. But if Japan makes the European mistake, it will have the European experience. (Closer to Japan, you can visit Mindanao in the Philippines or Naravat in Thailand to see how well that works out.)

But I am optimistic that Japan won´t do that. Rather, I expect more Chinese immigrants. And there is plenty more where they come from...

Correct!
Japan is probably the only palce on earth where somebody like Salman Rushdie can walk around without body guards.
I hope it stays the same.

 

[meiji]

It is really naive to believe that one can ignore the islamic ideology when talking about islam.

I'm not really sure what this means. If you are referring to radical Islam, then yes, you can't really ignore their radicalism, and I never said you could. There's certainly a subset of muslims that are radicals. Just like there's a subset of Christians that are radicals, such as those that murder doctors that provide abortions, or radical former members of the US military that bomb a Federal building in Oklahoma City.

Muslim extremists are but one flavor of extremist out there, and attempting to paint all Muslims with the same brush is misguided if not downright bigoted. The fact remains that the vast majority of Muslims in the US (nearly 1% of our population, where Mormons and Jews are at about 2% each) are pretty well integrated into the American mainstream. It's been pretty well documented that many of the reasons for the unrest in Europe have to do with the immigrant poor protesting austerity measures.

 

[Zaphod222]

Correct!
Japan is probably the only palce on earth where somebody like Salman Rushdie can walk around without body guards.
I hope it stays the same.

Well, not quite. The translator of Rushdies book was murdered at Tsukuba university, and his publisher assaulted and beaten up by resident Pakistanis. I understand since then is book is not sold in Japan any more. So, the long arm of a death Fatwa from Teheran reaches even to Tokyo.

 

[GoldenDalton]

I love and admire how safe Japan is. Here I have to have a concealed carry (with permit) just for safety. I hate guns though, so in constantly on edge in certain areas.

 

[Zaphod222]

"Concealed carry" in JAPAN?
Firstly, how?
Secondly, why???

 

[GoldenDalton]

"Concealed carry" in JAPAN?
Firstly, how?
Secondly, why???

Oh no lol. I travel between St. Louis/ Chicago/ Detroit/ Milwaukee/Indianapolis. I'm not in Japan.

In Japan no firearm would ever be necessary. It's the safest place I've ever been- maybe the safest in the entire world.

 

[Wwanderer]

Oh no lol. I travel between St. Louis/ Chicago/ Detroit/ Milwaukee/Indianapolis. I'm not in Japan.

In Japan no firearm would ever be necessary. It's the safest place I've ever been- maybe the safest in the entire world.

Be careful out there, GD…those are some seriously rough places…or, more precisely, there are some seriously rough areas in those places.

Re the level of safety in Japan (from violent crime…not from earthquakes and tsunami among other things), I often worry about Japanese adults going abroad to countries where violent crime is a major issue. It must be like dropping a typical American suburbanite into the jungle or some other dangerous wilderness…nothing in their backgrounds to give them the skills and, even more important, instincts to look after their own safety effectively….scary to contemplate.

-Ww

 

[Zaphod222]

Oh no lol. I travel between St. Louis/ Chicago/ Detroit/ Milwaukee/Indianapolis. I'm not in Japan.

In Japan no firearm would ever be necessary. It's the safest place I've ever been- maybe the safest in the entire world.

I think the Kingdom of Bhutan could compete. Or the Faroe islands. But as for major industrial countries, I don´t think Japan has competition.

 

[dreams]

Well, not quite. The translator of Rushdies book was murdered at Tsukuba university, and his publisher assaulted and beaten up by resident Pakistanis. I understand since then is book is not sold in Japan any more. So, the long arm of a death Fatwa from Teheran reaches even to Tokyo.

Wow! I did not know that... How is it that it was not more discussed? When did it happen? And what happen then to the perpetrators?

 

[Zaphod222]

Wow! I did not know that... How is it that it was not more discussed? When did it happen? And what happen then to the perpetrators?

July 11, 1991. Stabbed to death in front of his office. And the murderers were never caught, so of course strictly speaking we don´t their motivation. However, considering the death fatwah on Rushdie and the death threats against all the translators, I think you don´t have to be Sherlock Holmes to have a strong suspicion.

Here is a comment about it:
http://fukumimi.wordpress.com/2006/07/24/hitoshi-igarashi-1947-1991/

 

[GoldenDalton]

Be careful out there, GD…those are some seriously rough places…or, more precisely, there are some seriously rough areas in those places.

Re the level of safety in Japan (from violent crime…not from earthquakes and tsunami among other things), I often worry about Japanese adults going abroad to countries where violent crime is a major issue. It must be like dropping a typical American suburbanite into the jungle or some other dangerous wilderness…nothing in their backgrounds to give them the skills and, even more important, instincts to look after their own safety effectively….scary to contemplate.

-Ww

Thanks. I hate guns and all forms of violence. It's only out of absurd necessity that I walk around armed. I hope I never get hurt or hurt others.

One more advantage to Japan. For the whole " greatest country in the world" thing, we sure do have an anger/hatred problem.

 

[GoldenDalton]

I think the Kingdom of Bhutan could compete. Or the Faroe islands. But as for major industrial countries, I don´t think Japan has competition.

Agreed.

 

[dreams]

July 11, 1991. Stabbed to death in front of his office. And the murderers were never caught, so of course strictly speaking we don´t their motivation. However, considering the death fatwah on Rushdie and the death threats against all the translators, I think you don´t have to be Sherlock Holmes to have a strong suspicion.

Here is a comment about it:
http://fukumimi.wordpress.com/2006/07/24/hitoshi-igarashi-1947-1991/

OK, Thnanks.
1991: that was a few years before the sarin attack in the subway, is'nt it?
Since then, 1994, I believe, not a single terrorist attack, mass murder or whatever...

 

[Wwanderer]

I wish that were so, but it isn't. Here's an incident of random mass murder that took place in 2008 for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_massacre

and here is a horrible elementary school one from 2001:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre

I guess this sort of violence, caused by what surely must be some form of pure insanity, is found everywhere, including Japan. There is also quite a lot of domestic violence in Japan, often said to be way under reported. And, of course, violence against one's self (i.e., suicide) is more common in Japan than in most other countries. More "ordinary" criminal assault, such as that associated with robberies, is the category of violence which is most suppressed in Japan.

-Ww

 

[Zaphod222]

I guess this sort of violence, caused by what surely must be some form of pure insanity, is found everywhere, including Japan.

Yes. There are some mentally disturbed people everywhere, alas. But Japan does not have religion-based terrorism, unless you count the couple of hundred Aum/Aleph nutcases as a religion. Japan should count its blessings.

 

[Wwanderer]

And at least Japan's mad mass murderers tend to be armed with knives, not semi-automatic weapons firing hollow-point anti-personnel rounds etc. So yeah, another blessing to be counted, so to speak.

As an aside, Aum/Aleph is probably more accurately called a cult than a religion, but the distinction is a gray one. Sometimes minor cults become major religions over a (long) period of time. And in any case, for a fanatical follower who is motivated to kill by his/her beliefs it may make little or no difference whether those beliefs come from some fringe/wacko cult vs a major recognized world religion.

-Ww

 

[Zaphod222]

And in any case, for a fanatical follower who is motivated to kill by his/her beliefs it may make little or no difference whether those beliefs come from some fringe/wacko cult vs a major recognized world religion.

Well, at least Aum is banned, and Aleph is under police observation, and nobody is claiming that Aum is a cult of peace, and only a "tiny minority of misunderstanders" are dangerous.

 

[dreams]

I wish that were so, but it isn't. Here's an incident of random mass murder that took place in 2008 for example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara_massacre

and here is a horrible elementary school one from 2001:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre

I guess this sort of violence, caused by what surely must be some form of pure insanity, is found everywhere, including Japan. There is also quite a lot of domestic violence in Japan, often said to be way under reported. And, of course, violence against one's self (i.e., suicide) is more common in Japan than in most other countries. More "ordinary" criminal assault, such as that associated with robberies, is the category of violence which is most suppressed in Japan.

-Ww

Sure.
I love Japan, and go there as often as I can. But I don't live there. I am not sure I will like it as much if I had to cope with all the pression on a daily basis.
But as a tourist, and occsionally monger, this is, to my opinion, the safest, most hassle-free country in the world.

 

[Wwanderer]

Japan, particularly Tokyo but also other parts, is far and away my favorite place in the world…among the 50 or so countries in which I've spent some time in my life. In case it wasn't clear, I definitely was NOT bashing Japan or its public safety situation. I only wanted to correct the statement/impression that mass murders and other atrocities have not happened at all in Japan in almost 20 years, as suggested in your post earlier in the thread. They are relatively rare, just not that rare.

-Ww