There’s that classic thing, right? You’re immediately considered a weeaboo for liking anything related to Japan. It’s been going on for years, and the word has been repeated so many times that it has lost its meaning. But that’s not exactly what I want to talk about. For quite some time now, on YouTube, almost everything that shows up for me about Japan is something like “bizarre things in Japan” or “Japan isn’t as good as you think” or “I moved to Japan and regretted it” or “the terrible culture of Japan towards women” or “why I don’t watch Japanese television,” among other things. Well, we know that Japan, like any other country in the world, has its ups and downs. And any mature person recognizes that Japan isn’t like what we see in Japanese animations, after all, it’s a medium intended for children, and it’s common to find a lot of fantasy. What I have noticed is that maybe, and correct me if you think I’m wrong, but maybe there is a propaganda campaign to undermine the taste for Japanese culture among young Americans? A dose of reality is indeed important, to know that Japan is a country like any other and has its problems, many of which I don’t agree with, such as xenophobia. But am I alone in this perception? I imagine that the intention is ultimately to bring the focus back to America. To make people think, “If it’s bad there too, then I have nothing to complain about here.” It’s kind of a way to destroy an idea or a dream so that you accept that you have no escape and become patriotic. Has anyone else noticed these videos popping up?
1 comment
The internet makes many things, including opinions, much more popular. Without it, people would know a lot less, and go by their own views rather than get them impacted and influenced by others’.
However I have to say that I think it’s true that Japan does have an incredibly stressful work culture, and there’s a reason there is a lot of smart Japanese people. It is stressful there and I believe parents expect a lot from their children, bosses expect a lot from their employees.
Why else is there such a thing as the suicide forest in Japan? It seems to be a common thing in the country…
There is a word for ‘death from overwork’ in Japan — 過労死.
Japan has a TON of good things about its country, but again, every country has its pros and cons.
I’d say Japan has a lot more pros than cons about living in the country. A lot of weebs/otakus do treat the country as if it’s some sort of fantasy-land and over-glorify it, and to be honest, Japan deserves its love, even if these people are sometimes detached from reality.