dalberryjp comments

So to them, the most important things in life are their own interests and circles, and work is secondary.

And good for them! As opposed to the old salary man way of thinking which is "Taking orders blindly from someone who is my superior because they entered the company before me and working long hours for no reason other than to look like I'm working hard is more important than my family, seeing my children growing up and my own life."

I wonder why loveless marriages and suicide rates are high in Japan?

No matter how they define themselves they are all still gangsters. Look up the definition.

Great, more places that can refuse me for having a tattoo. Thats apparently how you spot a gangster. Im a friggin kindergarten teacher. I have no problem with the gangsters as they tend to not directly attack "normal" people and there existence scares away a lot of potential street crime offenders. Organised crime is incredibly difficult in england yet the street crime is theough the roof. Maybe theres a connection?

But seriously, punish the companies? Why not punish the bloody gangsters!?

So what do the fishing villages without nuclear plants do? Are they all starving to death? Theyre certainly not running for their lives, leaving all their belongings, pets and livelihoods not to return for 20,000 years. Two small places on our planet have become uninhabitable due to the convenience of nuclear power. Lets knock it on the head now. Geo-thermal all the way. Just stop thinking of nuclear power as an option and necessity will breed invention. I think 30% is definitely doable if thats all the energy nuclear plants produce. Switch off some pachinko lights.

About half the women I know have been molested on a train in Tokyo let alone a crowded shelter . I'm pretty sure it's gonna happen in force in a situation like that, although I imagine they are probably better now, but at the beginning I bet it would have been almost a free for all, scary to think but probably true. Just a thought but is there a way of hacking these good and bad tags? Because looking at the comments it seems to be more consistent with the people posting than the point they are making. People with exactly the same point as those with very high ratings are getting bad ones?! Also, shouldn't it be agree/disagree because I don't see anything "bad" about most of these poorly rated comments. I heard about the opportunist robbing of banks and ATMs and such but in a country with so much yakuza activity to think that won't happen is mad. Generally the Japanese were saintly compared to what would have happened in I would say 90% of other countries.

Fair enough. I and every Japanese person I've spoken with about this subject including those in the room must be imagining it all. It's a fact of life here and most can deal with it if they have friends who they can be themselves around. Others kill themselves. Anyway, I feel dirty debating about a life that isn't mine and haven't experienced, would be great if someone this really applies to could comment tho.......

Why do people attack anything written in these forums with contradictory arguments and act like they know everything. I think her point is that that the majority in Japan have a very homogenous/xenophobic mindset and outcast anyone for the slightest of misdemeanors or mental/physical difference, I wonder if anyone is aware of the term 村八分 (translates to ostricism but has a slightly different practical meaning) and what it tells you about Japanese countryside mentality. It is hard being different here if you are not a foreigner and the message I got from the author is that she has broken free of the mental pressure that kind of society puts on you which is great. In western society we are often taught to be and praised for being special, here it is very different and I think more Japanese people would have happier and more fulfilling lives if they enjoyed being themselves more often (although moving to a different continent to find your place is a little extreme IMHO, but then again who ami to talk, i feel much more at home here than I ever did in England)

it is in my culture to repeatedly punch the person next to me in the ear during a ballet performance, it is firmly ingrained in my history and will remain(JOKE) lol 130db could cause permanent ear damage im off to book a plane ticket and a lawyer....... im surprised people havent sued already

i was looking for an apartment 6 months ago, i first tried century 21, I speak Japanese pretty well enough to discuss renting an apartment and ,if some of the kanji are read aloud, the terms of a contract. I went in with my Japanese girlfriend and another English guy who would be living with me, as soon as we asked about foreigners the member of staff said it was obviously difficult and obviously everywhere will be too expensive for us( never mind our combined monthly income of well over 700000 yen) I have been here 3 yrs and had just obtained a fresh 3yr visa. I had lived in my previous apartment for 2 yrs without problems and even knowing all this she made it sound like we were registered child offenders. We gave up there and went to a company called life create. they were very friendly and helpful and tried hard to search for a place for us, but of all their registered landlords, only 4 of them would allow foreigners, we saw one place, liked it, started the lengthy security check with the president of my company as a guarantor and also my gf's father only to be turned down 3 days before moving in for reasons they couldnt tell us (we found out later the landlord cancelled himself through cold feet) we then went for the only hospitable place left and were accepted quite quickly although we are on the 4th floor, no elevator air con or furnishings and surrounded by barking dogs, we like it here now, but the whole experience made me feel very unwanted here and as a white male, my first(albeit well mannered and minor) experience of racism. The realtor seemed ashamed about the whole thing and my gf was very embarrassed and quite shocked herself by her own country. its sad and disappointing but, i like this country regardless and it will not deter me from living here.