Ask me anything about Japan/Japanese

[Bond18]

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Do you feel Japan should publicly acknowledge, apologize, and make reparations for their WW2 war crimes/atrocities?



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old news. get over it.

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As a white American, i'm not really bothered, its the Chinese and Koreans you need to convince of this.

Additionally i think your mentality here sheds a little a little light on the reason people are still upset. I don't think you would tell a jewish person to just "get over it" in regards to the atrocities they suffered, but the issue here as been swept under the rug considerably more.

I can also say, that is partially my countries fault.

[M2d]

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I was talking to Japanese guy a while ago and he said he found it downright bizarre that parents would hug their kids before bed. Is there normally little physical contact in families?

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are your parents from japan? I'm fourth and fifth generation have no problem saying "I love you" to my wife, kid, parents. never have.

It's not as much physical contact, but displays of affection, be it hugs, kisses, "I love yous", etc. I can count on my hands how many times I've told my mother I loved her, and vice versa. It's just something that's not said.

What's especially strange is that it doesn't apply to non-Japanese. My mother used to say "I love you" to her adoptive parents who are American without any uncomfortableness (though only in reply to them saying it to her; she never initiated) and I have had no problem saying it to any non-Japanese girlfriends in my past. I'm currently dating a Japanese girl and it's downright bizarre. It's just weird telling her that I love her even though I do, though it's getting more comfortable. And she and I are both Japanese-American, born to Japanese parents, born and bred in NYC.

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[TiK]

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are your parents from japan? I'm fourth and fifth generation have no problem saying "I love you" to my wife, kid, parents. never have.

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Yes, that was my point, that I feel that I'm like that because my parents were born and raised in Japan, and I was a product of their upbringing. As I mentioned in my previous post, it is a bit odd because I don't have a problem telling those who aren't my parents or Japanese, that I love them.

I'm sure that I will have no problem telling my kids I love them, and I am sure that they will have no problem saying it back to me.

[HoldingFolding]

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Japanese people in general aren't racist, IMO.

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I've lived in Japan for 20 years & love the place, but racism is endemic & institutionalised; with the biggest problem being that, in general, people are not even aware that their thoughts & actions are either overtly, or more likely inadvertantly, racist.

[HoldingFolding]

Okinawa text book rally

NYTimes

I think the fact that 110,000 people turn out for a rally against a history text book revision (!), at the very least shows that the Japanese central government is completly insensitive when it comes to dealing with Okinawans.

[Soh]

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Japanese people in general aren't racist, IMO.

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I've lived in Japan for 20 years & love the place, but racism is endemic & institutionalised; with the biggest problem being that, in general, people are not even aware that their thoughts & actions are either overtly, or more likely inadvertantly, racist.

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Maybe I'm reading wrong here, but when people say "Japanese people are racist," that sounds like most of the Japanese people are actively and intentionally engaging in harming other races all the time. That's not the case, and that's my point.

But I'm very curious why you feel "racism is endemic & institutionalized" in Japan. I'm not here to argue with you. I just think that it's possible that because I'm Japanese, and I assume you aren't, maybe you saw something that I didn't see, and I'm interested to hear what they are.

[adsman]

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Maybe I'm reading wrong here, but when people say "Japanese people are racist," that sounds like most of the Japanese people are actively and intentionally engaging in harming other races all the time. That's not the case, and that's my point.


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Soh,

That's not being racist. That's called persecution.


Racism in Japan and a general discription of racism from wikipedia.

[HoldingFolding]

I mean that it pervades society, but that it is not seen as being 'wrong' & in many cases it is enshrined in law or policy. Remember, there is no law against racial discrimination. For example, just off the top of my head, wouldn't you think it strange that if your grandparents were born in USA, and your parents were born in USA & you were born in USA that you wouldn't automatically qualify for US citizenship? That you couldn't vote in US?

[Atomic]

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Talking about trends, the "cool" car to have for the Japanese guys these days are... MINIVANS!!!

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More pix of extreme Japanese minivans

[Boris]

All - Minivans have always been cool.