John R comments

Four thousand people a day die in Japan. Lately, about 20 covid related deaths per day.

Attila, that is 20 reported deaths, but Japan doesn’t test, so the true number of deaths is much higher. I wouldn’t be surprised if the true numbers were worse than the US.

At least 15-20 young people carousing with masks off

Monty, I agree, it’s becoming rare to see young people wearing masks now. I was on a packed train this morning and the only people wearing masks were one or two elderly people.

Japan has the worst COVID response in the world. Since it doesn’t test, the numbers are way higher than what’s reported.

For the bigger picture, overall bankruptcies in Japan declined by 9.4% this year to the lowest level since 1990.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-10-08/bankruptcies-in-japan-fall-to-three-decade-low-amid-stimulus

Restaurant bankruptcies in Japan rose by 10% from the year before, and that is really bad. But 85% of restaurants in downtown San Francisco are also closed now. The restaurant industry in the US is a ghost town with massive layoffs - we are talking about millions of people.

Why the big difference? One reason is government economic response - Japan has had three COVID stimulus packages, and the US still can’t agree on a second one.

JPGB, I was pointing out your generalization that all Japanese people will think you're a "nut case" and ostracize you if you seek help. If the majority of the teachers at your school for special needs is cracking jokes about disabilities and suicide, you need to report that to your principle teacher. Most schools also have anti-bullying committees that have to report things like this to the local school board. If even these people are complicit in laughing at the mental health and suicide of students, I would even approach the PTA. You're working in an extremely toxic environment that puts children at risk and should definitely not be tolerated.

Try telling Japanese folks that you've been getting therapy and see how they react. "Oh, is there something wrong with you? Are you sick? Aaah you'll be fine, you don't need therapy, that's for nut cases!"

JPGB, please don't generalize a whole group of people like that based on their race. Mental health awareness is an important part of any country's education - especially Japan, but I've also had expat friends struggling with depression tell me about their experiences of forming support groups with their Japanese friends while visiting therapists.

A lot of expats - including those reading this board - face anxiety over how to approach certain issues with Japanese people, and comments like 'they will all think you're a nut case for visiting therapy' is very unproductive and may scare them from reaching out for help.

They need to change the case to a Mitch McConnell type judge

If Japan were to go the Trump DOJ route, they would just put these guys in extradition limbo like Meng Wanzhou. She was detained in 2018!

Not sure why so many people brought up Tesla in this chat, but Nissan’s EV seems to be doing pretty good in some markets. I wouldn’t call of Japan so easily.

https://insideevs.com/news/452338/tesla-no-longer-biggest-bev-oem-europe/

A law enacted in June also requires firms to take measures against abuse of power, which includes outings and insults of sexual and gender minority people in its government guidelines.

It would be nice if journalists also reported on this. Why is this just a paragraph at the end of the article?

It’s not enough to just make a statement that there is discrimination against LGBT in Japan. Reporters also have to do a little more research to inform readers on the various government measures and civic movements addressing this problem. This helps us to create dialogue, identify shortfalls, and create actual progress on the issue.

A ministry official attributed the record numbers to recent efforts by teachers to identify and address bullying

The media is failing us here. It’s not enough to just state the numbers. Reporters also need to provide some coverage on what teachers are doing to address this. What are these “recent efforts”?

When I went to school in the U.S. (a long time ago) there were always a few bullies and we kids in alot of cases were left to resolve it for ourselves. This took time to improve (at least one generation). From what I hear from relatives and friends things changed alot and the bullying situation is better.

Bullying is a global problem. According to OECD statistics, 5 percent of Japanese students have reported themselves as being “frequently bullied.” This compares to 2 percent in Korea, 6 percent in Germany, 9 percent in Russia, and 10 percent in the US and China.

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264273856-12-en.pdf?expires=1603438035&id=id&accname=ocid194761&checksum=B589EEF2250FA9CFE3C20CF0C064A42E