Have you ever been to japanese CD and DVD shops such as TSUTAYA or GEO in Japan?? The other days, One of my foreign friends found something interesting for me, which is about the jackets of CD and DVD from japanese singers. They are almost sceneries or logos or some letters written or printed.
In contrast, in the other countries, most of the jackets are the singer's faces printed. When my friend found it, "Is japanese even shy for this suff ?? ( to show their face )" I think it is advantage to show the singer's face on jackets of CD or DVD in that consumers are easy to recognize the singer they are looking for, otherwise they have to read the words or sentences written in a jacket. Even though I am japanese, I really don't know why the japanese singers do this, but in my opinion, they think products sell well when they put something looks good not their face on jackets.
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If you say to your friends "I have to study today for the classes on next week", people around you would reply to you with "Really, Are you really going to study from now?? why do you study haha!?"
This is the culture you can feel when you are in universities in Japan. for many japanese university students, they mostly focus on how well they waste thier times wih friends and how much they earn small amount of money to get some video games and go drinking. I cannot agree with their mind ; University life is valued by doing a part time job and wasting times. I think doing a part time job is not something negative, but many japanese universitystudents just waste it with closes, games, and drinking, not investing for them such as getting new textbooks or traveling abroad ( I believe traveling abroad has great impact on them, not traveling inside Japan ). Japan has to make a change from Universities, if it wants to change the fact of suffering the lack of innovation in this island. Nowadays, more and more restaurants and shopping stores are accepting a credit card in Japan. But, form my exeprience, japan is stilll behind the e-money socirty in hte world. It is still difficult to find restaurants which have not their branches acceptable to credit card. When I was in Germany, even in very smalll kiosks and small restaurants, it was available even though it is said that many german don't like the consumers to use credit cards. You can also recognize the situation in Japan by looking at the ones in other asian countries such as China and South Koren. I read somewhere that e-money can be used in the extremely rural area in China. So, if you travel to Japan especially to the country sides in the near future, you have to keep in mind that you have good amount of cash in your pocket !!
The thing I noticed when I was in a supermarket in Germany is that Japan uses tons of plastic wraps and bags in supermarkets. we have a plastic wrap for every fresh vegetable and fruit as well as other groceries that are no need to be covered by it. In contrast, in Germany, almost all of the groceries are not protected by plastic wraps and the cases for them are basically made from degradable paper. On top of that, If we want to have a bag for collecting groceries that you buy, you have to pay for it and it is also made from recycled paper which is not the case in Japan. There are even some japanese claiming for getting everything wrapped by plastic bags for keeping groceries safe. It was really funny that one of my friends from Europe said " why is this apple covered by this wrap ? I thnik we don't need to protect fruit by plastic because every fruit has own skin !! It is not like we eat skin of a fruit!! "
I think Japan still doesn't take the plastic waste problm in the world seriously, and have to follow the policy and regulation followed by European Union as a model. DW-Deutsche welle https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-still-a-long-way-till-peak-plastic/a-44079743 If you would like to purchase smartphone or iphone in japan, you cannot use it with other sims than the one attached to them when you buy smartphone or iphone. It means that every smartphone and iphone itself purchased in Japan has the particular sim available only in Japan compatible with the paticular smartphone.From my experience, iphones in other countries can be available with any types of sim card. That's why many people who have come to Japan to study or work more than few years often complain about it with the reason that they also cannot use iphones itself in their own countries when they go back. On top of that, it is a little difficult to have a contract with a phone company when a foeigner is going to stay in Japan less than 6 monthes. the reason why is a lot complicated ,and I will not mention it unfortunatelly. Have you already recognized that, compared to other countries, there are not so many peole in Japan wearing sunglasses, and do you know why ??Of course, If you go to the city centers such as Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, you can see some surely. As a japanese, there are couple of reasons for it.
1. People around the a sunglasses's man think he/she is weired !! As you already know, Japan has fewer foreigner than other countries. This makes people in lack of diversity which is the cause of the emotion "We have to be similar or behave the same way as majority". Japanese especially tend to think weired when they see other people doing something different than other people. That's why if you wear sunglasses on the street, all of the people see you, and they make you feel you want to wear it off !! 2. The older generation think people wearing sunglasses are not good guys This is the influence of japanese TV which was on air 40 years ago. Sunglasses's guys are regarded as "Yakuza" in japanese meanig "under-world outcasts" from older generation. this prejudice made from TV still stick to japanese society leading not to wear sunglasses in Japan !! Have you already noticed some unique part in japanese trains?? They have a women-only passenger car !! it is in most cases located in the front car on a train. I have been using the train to commute when I was in the high school. Many women in japanese complain all the time about the manners on men on train such as sleeping and their head incling to a next lady. But, I think they (women) just don't wanna sit next to a men or do make-up on a train !! when I saw the packed carriage with only women for the first time, I was just schocked !! Can you imagine that !!
Is there any other countries that have the same system as it ?? Let's say that 80% of the students in university in Japan are doing a part time job. I am actually one of them. We are not taking a break form the university education to do it, but just we are managing both. In average, three or four times of 4 or 5 hour's work a week. Some people maybe say "is it possible to do it with university edu??" But it is possible!! The reason is very simple ; It is much more easier to get a credit in a japanese university than other developed countries.Some of my frieds are working in a restaurant, karaoke, supermarket, cram school, and so forth. this culture create this strange feeling in japanese students ; The students who are doing a part-time job are superior to the ones who are not. the former often say "heyy you are unemployed!!" to the latter. Aithough I am also doing the part-time job, I think it is totally nonsense because the priority for unversity students is studying !!
It is somehow widely thought that Japanese are studying very hard, but it is not the case!! If you go to a university library, there are very few people except for a final period!! you can see how and where you can do a part-time job in Japan from this link !! https://soranews24.com/2017/05/19/japanese-university-students-reveal-the-part-time-jobs-theyd-most-like-to-have/ If you are not dating during christmas season, you are a loser in the japanese society !! In Japan, the christmas is not the time to spend with your family, but with someone who is dating with you. This strange socirty also created the new japanese word "kuribotti" meaning "being alone on Christmas". I also think TV in Japan also made this concept which gives people a lot of commercial and series about love story in Christamas (The number of the channels in Japan is only 7 or 8 in total !!!! that makes lots of people watch rhe same channels and crate this concept). On top of that, we typically cerebrate the christmas with KFC !!!!! It is also due to the influence of the commercial on TV in Japan. Merry Christmas!! Japan is now trying to get more workforces from other countries especially from Aisa because the population in Japan is decreasing dramatically in the past 20 years. Some people say that Japan and immigrants can get advantages from it, others say it results in a negative outcome. However, there has been outrageous situations made from japanese employees to immigrants which are almost racial discrimination and slavery. In more detail, employee just force immigrants to work overtime and pay unbelievably low salary which is illegal. But, because it is not the government to control the work system, but a company itself !! That is the big problem !! Contrary to this, the government control it when it comes to South Korea. That's why nowadays more and more people are changing the place from Japan to South Korea to find the better life. On top of that, Japanese still cannot get along with foreigners and international environment for sure !! For this reason, the japanese government definitely has to do something to improve the environment for immigrants and should not accept great number of immigrants before eveything is ready for it. Japan really needs foreigen workforces but unfortunatelly, we cannot solve this problem with this brittle situation !! I just enjoy observing from outside what the japanese government tackle this issue hehe !! |
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