Mark Weiss comments

Just realize one thing: you are responsible for your own actions. Your attitude will have a remarkable influence on how you experience Japanese life.

This article would be even better if it provided some solutions to each of the five pitfalls. It just talks about what can go wrong. How about ways to avoid falling into those situations?

It's not slavery if they chose this career.

Contrast this with America, where the police abuse, kick, brutalize and shoot homeless people. And many of these homeless are caused by our government's economic policies and high property taxes.

the problem I see is that with colder winters coming due to the Suns in activities the next 50 years, people will rely more on energy to heat their homes. Imagine a world with no cheap nuclear energy and its 30 or 40 degrees below zero for much of the winter. A lot of people are going to die if cheap affordable energy is not available.

The solution to the wage problem is to eliminate all taxation, since taxes eat up to 92% of an American's livelihood. Instead of living hand to mouth on $100K a year, live well on $8K a year and don't pay any taxes.

Could it be that the "Knockout Game" is appearing in Japan?

As I myself am getting my 'ducks in a row' in preparation to leave a country that is on the verge of civil war, I am considering a move to Japan. One of the things that makes Japan great is also the thing that makes it hard for foreigners to enter: they don't take the dregs of society. Japan has kept their country relatively high grade and free from non producing leeches for decades. If they were to let in refugees, especially poor ones, Japan would, in a few decades, turn into the cesspool that America has become. And frankly, I don't want to see Japan become another cultural dumping ground. For me to live there, I will have to bring a valuable skillset and work hard to become an asset to the nation. I am leaving my country precisely because it is full of refugees and free riders who have voted in a massive welfare state. Now the whole thing is imploding and I just hope I can get the hell out before it all turns into an "Arab spring" event. Japan's strongest attribute is its mono culture.