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Young Japanese are surprisingly content

163 points by known 9y ago

NetOpWibby 9y ago
I remember there being a bunch of articles over the past year about "sexless-Japan" and I mainly clicked to see if this was yet another one of those dumb articles. It's mentioned in passing but I'm not sure why this article was written. "Young people feel good about life" is a welcome change from the usual "rah rah, be upset about [bad thing]".
- Razengan 9y ago
  Expect to see the usual breakdowns, anecdotes and armchair analyses of how they're doing it wrong, and should emulate the "West" in everything which is clearly without any problems, as seems to be the par for course in any news of Japan, positive or negative, on non-Japanese forums.
  - kgc 9y ago
    The article appears to be the opposite of this.
    - Razengan 9y ago
      Yes, but I was referring to the tendency of a few simplistic memes for showing up in most discussions about Japan: "but what about their suicide rates!", "but their economy isn't growing at a billion dollars an hour!", "but their declining birthrate!" and so on.
      - SCHiM 9y ago
        I think the west can learn a great number of things from Japan. For example their streets (in Tokyo) are the cleanest of any major city I've ever visited. It is a huge sign and deserving of respect that a society can make sure their streets are clean. The fact that the bidet/spray toilet is used is imo a big indicator of sophistication and significantly superior in every way to toilet paper. But then again, there's dumb things too: they plant trees underneath powerlines ^^ Maybe that subsides jobs? Awesome country.
        Razengan 9y ago
        I think all countries could learn from each other, and indeed will have to if humanity is to move forward as a whole, but people sadly seem to fixate on the bad points of “others” or are too arrogant to adopt the good points from others.
        icebraining 9y ago
        The West is a big place. Bidets are actually mandated by law here in Portugal (and also Italy, according to Wikipedia).
        NetOpWibby 9y ago
        YES! It is so. Damn. CLEAN. I’ve hated the concept of littering since I was a little kid and it pisses me off to see peope who don’t respect their environment. I was able to spend two weeks in Japan last year and boy, it was glorious. I also like how it’s illegal to smoke while walking. You have to go to a designated smoking area.
        Razengan 9y ago
        Indeed. A place where people in general actually don't WANT to litter to begin with, instead of one where the government has to continually pick up after them and cleanliness has to be enforced by fines etc., must be so refreshing to live in just for that alone. It's even more admirable when you consider that Tokyo has been the world's largest metropolis by several metrics (at least until recently, but even now it's #2 or thereby), and compare it with the state of other densely-populated cities: [0] http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+New+Delhi http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+New+Delhi [1] http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+Karachi http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+Karachi
        NetOpWibby 9y ago
        Those pics look terrible. Oh my god.
        9y ago
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JDiculous 9y ago
> "Around 40% of unmarried Japanese are still virgins at the age of 34." That's a pretty damning statistic for a secular country. Is that a world record?
- astrange 9y ago
  Here’s your correction. > Correction (February 22nd 2018): The original version of this article said that around 40% of Japanese were still virgins at the age of 34. In fact, that only applies to unmarried Japanese. They could also be lying on the surveys.
  - zingmars 9y ago
    It's pretty odd that a man would lie about being a virgin, but I suppose that's the western perspective.
    - brandall10 9y ago
      Presumably ~half the people surveyed were women, and being unmarried that might be a position they'd like to hold onto. That said, it seems like this has been a recurring theme in stories about Japanese youth I've seen in recent years, that asexuality is becoming a thing.
      - Jemmeh 9y ago
        Just to be clear chastity and asexuality are not the same thing. A chaste person experiences sexual attraction but chooses not to act on it. An asexual person doesn't experience (or experiences very little) sexual attraction in the first place.
        brandall10 9y ago
        Clear about the distinction - I definitely meant asexuality. They appear to lack interest, or at least that's the impression I've gotten.
montyf 9y ago
Japanese people seem to be in a pretty good place emotionally. They are pretty closed-off, as I expected, but they're more laid back than people in many Western countries and definitely much less stressed than Americans. I'm speaking in generalities here, of course, and I haven't been to Tokyo yet. > There are several reasons why satisfaction is rising. Partly because of the cost of housing, more young people live with their parents. Masahiro Yamada, a sociologist, calls them “parasite singles”. Yeah, accomodation is ridiculously expensive here and it's reflected in the price of hotels and how small everything is. It was pretty claustrophobic my first few days here. There's an interesting article[0] talking about the housing situation but I don't know if it's accurate or not. > Life is pleasanter in other ways too. On every street corner is a 7-Eleven or similar convenience store where young people can buy everything from stationery to ready meals (and heat and eat them on the spot), flick through manga comics, and buy tickets to baseball matches. My favorite part of Japan is that you can walk down an average block and expect to pass a dozen vending machines with coffee, energy drinks, and beer. Always gives me a good laugh. In this sense life is pretty convenient, but in Korea it is even more so (their skyscrapers literally have miniature malls in them). > Although rapid economic growth is history, they appreciate that living standards remain high, and that life (apart from housing) is affordable. This seems true, stuff like food is not as expensive as I expected (coffee is a dollar, a sushi dinner for two is 60 dollars maximum and usually more like 20.) Korea was even cheaper, though, and the food was much better. > That is good news for a country where the word “youth” tends, with good reason, to conjure up images of gloomy misfits: hikikomori—people who shun society—and otaku—nerds. Most "otakus" I've seen so far were foreigners and not Japanese. I can't comment on the number of hikikomoro here, for obvious reasons, but I do think these are exagerrated stereotypes. Perhaps these stereotypes were more true in the past. Just some observations, I've only been here a week. Oh yeah, and Japanese people drive less, bike more, and tend to be rather fit (or at least not obese) -- that gives them a big leg up on Western countries in the happiness department :) [0]: http://thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Prices.html http://thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Prices.html
sdrothrock 9y ago
I could have sworn that I wrote a comment, but it looks like I didn't post it. I think there are at least two kinds of "content" -- one that stems from happiness and another that stems from depression. The former is the good kind, the one we all assume the article is talking about. The latter is a resounding "meh" followed by a "who cares." I've seen a lot of the latter in people in their 20s and early 30s here. The world's going to shit, the society's going to shit, nobody has money, rent is expensive, nobody cares. Spend the money now and enjoy hanging out with friends -- screw retirement and the future because you can deal with it later, preferably with the pension system. Who's going to get ahead at work? The old folks are all impressing their own power structure on the younger folks and making life miserable. Why bust your ass at work when you can just do your own thing with a bunch of jobs cobbled together? So, basically, a lot of the "content" people I see around me around happy with their lot, they just don't think their lot's going to improve or worth working on. This is from a point of view of 11 years in Japan, six years in Tokyo.
- extrememacaroni 9y ago
  My look on this is that "meh" and "who cares" stem from inertia and apathy which can lead to depression caused by overwhelm, not the other way around.
  - sametmax 9y ago
    You talk like inertia and apathy are a root cause, but to me they are symptoms.
    - BehindBlueEyes 9y ago
      To me it sounds like learned helplessness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness People (and animals) who perceive to be systematically unable to avoid or confront sources of stress eventually accept that they have no control over the situation and stop trying. Except it happens at a nation's scale. I do think the resulting apathy keeps the problem going. I wonder if apathy looks like the cause because the process starts in early childhood.
oh-kumudo 9y ago
Being content could mean 2 things: optimistic that your situation is great, your effort is paying off and your life is on the right track or pessimistic that you accept things won't get better so just enjoy and be grateful for what you already have. In case of Japan, it is probably leaning towards the latter. By control, or contain your desire to reach a state of peace, or inertia. Not really surprised because Japan, deep inside, is still very much influenced by the thoughts of Buddhism. Is this really self content? I would like to offer my share of benefit of doubt.
peepopeep 9y ago
I asked my Japanese wife for her opinion on this matter and she thinks the reason Japanese in general are more content is because of the lack of drive created by class inequality. Generally speaking, Japanese people are fairly well taken care of by the social systems and there is not a lot of flaunted wealth unlike in the west. Most Japanese probably see no need to strive and work too hard because their life is okay by most standards. Food is great, healthcare won't make one go bankrupt, good service and there's that whole culture of fitting in "the nail that sticks out must be hammered in". With the lack of visual class divide, younger people just don't see the point of working their asses off. They do it at first because that's what they are taught but once introduced to the very rigid and stressful work environment, there is little hope of advancement. I think the depression and suicide is a result of being content - manifesting in frustration and ultimately being unable to deal with the mundane of every day life (combined with other factors like frustration with work and or lack of partners). I tend to agree. I have lived here for a short time but you get a sense of this just by being around people.
- ForRealsies 9y ago
  So we should expect less technological inventions, less creative solutions from this generation of the Japanese? I believe high Conscientiousness combined with high levels of Neuroticism is a common/promoted personality type over there.
- pnw_hazor 9y ago
  They were pretty content back in their medieval eras too. Go along get along, and such.
  - enqk 9y ago
    That's not really consistent with the rebellions that were quite frequent in japanese villages during the medieval period
- samirm 9y ago
  Can you and/or your wife share your opinions on mental health in japanese society? Are people with mental illnesses looked down upon like in most of the world? Are psychologists/therapists a thing? etc.
Proven 9y ago
I would be content too, with deflation and the distinct lack of multiculturalism and other leftist nonsense prevalent in the West
dilatedmind 9y ago
You've reached your article limit
- known 9y ago
  http://archive.is/IKTvN http://archive.is/IKTvN
robotsquidward 9y ago
Young Japanese are surprisingly content They are less so when they think about the future That subtitle completely changes the context of this article.
- anothergoogler 9y ago
  It's just another click-bait title. "Surprisingly"? To whom? Are these the results of a study? An internet survey? Who knows, better click it!
  - FabHK 9y ago
    It's been well known that the country has been plagued by decades of malaise [1], and people have long been less happy than people in other countries (as noted in the article). The surprising news is that there's a significant uptick in reported contentedness now. You can accuse The Economist of headlines that are too witty by half frequently, but not of click-bait. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)
allthesethings 9y ago
I definitely got a sense of something like that while visiting earlier this year. It's a place where things are working as they should, at least on the surface, so there isn't much to complain about, but it's also built on momentum and institutions left over from when Japan was the industrial power of Asia, stuff that just hasn't broken yet, so nobody has reassessed it. And there's a conflict likely to emerge in that setup, but it's not going to be a full-blown crisis until later, so "contentment" rules the day. Contrast with the USA; the crisis - social, economic, political - is here, and it has been for a while. Everyone has something to scream at each other about.
- mistermann 9y ago
  > it's also built on momentum and institutions left over from when Japan was the industrial power of Asia, stuff that just hasn't broken yet Do you have the feeling that it is likely to break, or just noting it as a risk? My gut feel is that despite the significant demographic problems, Japan has one of the better societies for weathering the increasingly rapid changes modern societies are subject to. But keeping it that way I have no clue how they do it (or got it the way it is now for that matter).
  - antoniuschan99 9y ago
    I watched this movie called Tokyo Sonata which was made a decade ago. It's part of the J-Horror genre - which isn't scary at all. It just has a very dark and sombre undertone through the entire film. Definitely an interesting film that relates to this topic since it was set after the 2008 recession.
wufufufu 9y ago
Quote from Dave Chappelle: "I say this with no disrespect. We’re all Americans, and we can all agree that America has a huge body count all over the world, but nowhere more than Asia. Literally, if you look at history recently, we have bombed the masculinity out of an entire continent. We have dropped two atomic bombs on fuckin’ Japan and they’ve been drawing Hello Kitty and shit ever since."
- Pamar 9y ago
  Maybe Chappelle could google for “Kyokushin” one of these days...
  - viridian 9y ago
    It's better than most karate, but Japan's martial culture has actually been fairly average since the fall of imperial Japan. Granted, they aren't china, but he's right in that the culture softened an incredible amount following a total defeat in WW2.
restalis 9y ago
"Young people are all too conscious of the social and economic burdens they will have to shoulder. Over-65s already account for 28% of the population, almost double the proportion of 15- to 29-year-olds. By 2065 they are projected to rise to nearly 40%. The welfare system is struggling to keep up." I don't get this. What is supposed to be this so called burden nowadays? What will elderly people require? Food and medicine? First can be considered cheap, relative to the amount of employed people. Actually, I'm not sure there will be needed much more workers than now, if things will continue to improve, we may expect to need less. Healthcare maybe will require a small increase to cope with the growing numbers of patients. (But maybe not necessarily so, considering that the system already serves the current numbers of people and the population is declining?) The Japanese government already pays for 70% of healthcare services for working people, how much of a difference will it make to cover it a little bit more for the old? So what remains there to struggle with? Some food-stamps and a small increase (relative to already existing levels) in healthcare subvention? On the other hand, after giving them food and healthcare, you're pretty much free to cut in pensions as much as you must. It isn't like there are leases or mortgages to be paid. Not from pensions, mind you.
- Tyrek 9y ago
  The government pays for 70% of healthcare for working people. I.e. these are productive citizens (presumably) putting more into the system than they are getting out of it, at ~72% (mathematically, that's 2.5 productive citizens per elderly). If the proportion rises to 40/60, that's a 1.5 citizen/elderly ratio. That itself is a huge concern.
- aaavl2821 9y ago
  Elderly people need the same things as all other people, plus more healthcare. A LOT more. Some studies have shown that over half of a persons total lifetime healthcare expenditures occur in their senior years Imagine you kept spending the same you do today, but stopped earning income to pay for it. Then on top of that your healthcare spend goes up an order of magnitude. Then imagine this happens to a significant portion of your fellow countrymen in a short time period
  - 9y ago
chrischen 9y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Japan Is the suicide rate really significantly higher than other developed countries considering it's 5 more suicides per 100,000 people? The article seems to imply that it's a big problem with it being the leading cause of death in Japan, but there are few things that can kill you over there since most people don't drive, and violent crimes are almost non-existent.
- moneybadger 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_r... The rate has actually fallen to 15 per 100,000 people, which is only 3 more than the 12 per 100,000 people in the United States. So not great but also probably not a big enough of a difference to be brought up in every single conversation about japan like it currently is. South Korea on the other hand... yikes.
latexr 9y ago
From the comments on this thread, it seems like the documentary “Japan: A Story of Love and Hate”[1] might not only be relevant, but also of interest to many of the commenters. Coincidentally, I watched it from a recent recommendation on HN[2]. That comment has a link to stream the movie. [1]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401179/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401179/ [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16779954 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16779954
millermp12 9y ago
Clearly, their unfortunate condition could be addressed by that reliable cure-all: Diversity.
virtuexru 9y ago
> Japanese youth, like young people the world over, drink less and have less sex than previous cohorts of their age. They are far less likely to be sexually active than their American counterparts. Around 40% of unmarried Japanese are still virgins at the age of 34. Wow. I had no idea about that, the statistics seem shocking.

163 points by known 9y ago

I remember there being a bunch of articles over the past year about "sexless-Japan" and I mainly clicked to see if this was yet another one of those dumb articles. It's mentioned in passing but I'm not sure why this article was written. "Young people feel good about life" is a welcome change from the usual "rah rah, be upset about [bad thing]".

Razengan 9y ago
Expect to see the usual breakdowns, anecdotes and armchair analyses of how they're doing it wrong, and should emulate the "West" in everything which is clearly without any problems, as seems to be the par for course in any news of Japan, positive or negative, on non-Japanese forums.
- kgc 9y ago
  The article appears to be the opposite of this.
  - Razengan 9y ago
    Yes, but I was referring to the tendency of a few simplistic memes for showing up in most discussions about Japan: "but what about their suicide rates!", "but their economy isn't growing at a billion dollars an hour!", "but their declining birthrate!" and so on.
    - SCHiM 9y ago
      I think the west can learn a great number of things from Japan. For example their streets (in Tokyo) are the cleanest of any major city I've ever visited. It is a huge sign and deserving of respect that a society can make sure their streets are clean. The fact that the bidet/spray toilet is used is imo a big indicator of sophistication and significantly superior in every way to toilet paper. But then again, there's dumb things too: they plant trees underneath powerlines ^^ Maybe that subsides jobs? Awesome country.
      - Razengan 9y ago
        I think all countries could learn from each other, and indeed will have to if humanity is to move forward as a whole, but people sadly seem to fixate on the bad points of “others” or are too arrogant to adopt the good points from others.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        The West is a big place. Bidets are actually mandated by law here in Portugal (and also Italy, according to Wikipedia).
      - NetOpWibby 9y ago
        YES! It is so. Damn. CLEAN. I’ve hated the concept of littering since I was a little kid and it pisses me off to see peope who don’t respect their environment. I was able to spend two weeks in Japan last year and boy, it was glorious. I also like how it’s illegal to smoke while walking. You have to go to a designated smoking area.
        Razengan 9y ago
        Indeed. A place where people in general actually don't WANT to litter to begin with, instead of one where the government has to continually pick up after them and cleanliness has to be enforced by fines etc., must be so refreshing to live in just for that alone. It's even more admirable when you consider that Tokyo has been the world's largest metropolis by several metrics (at least until recently, but even now it's #2 or thereby), and compare it with the state of other densely-populated cities: [0] http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+New+Delhi http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+New+Delhi [1] http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+Karachi http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=garbage+in+Karachi
        NetOpWibby 9y ago
        Those pics look terrible. Oh my god.
        9y ago
deleted 9y ago
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deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

JDiculous 9y ago

> "Around 40% of unmarried Japanese are still virgins at the age of 34." That's a pretty damning statistic for a secular country. Is that a world record?

astrange 9y ago
Here’s your correction. > Correction (February 22nd 2018): The original version of this article said that around 40% of Japanese were still virgins at the age of 34. In fact, that only applies to unmarried Japanese. They could also be lying on the surveys.
- zingmars 9y ago
  It's pretty odd that a man would lie about being a virgin, but I suppose that's the western perspective.
  - brandall10 9y ago
    Presumably ~half the people surveyed were women, and being unmarried that might be a position they'd like to hold onto. That said, it seems like this has been a recurring theme in stories about Japanese youth I've seen in recent years, that asexuality is becoming a thing.
    - Jemmeh 9y ago
      Just to be clear chastity and asexuality are not the same thing. A chaste person experiences sexual attraction but chooses not to act on it. An asexual person doesn't experience (or experiences very little) sexual attraction in the first place.
      - brandall10 9y ago
        Clear about the distinction - I definitely meant asexuality. They appear to lack interest, or at least that's the impression I've gotten.

montyf 9y ago

Japanese people seem to be in a pretty good place emotionally. They are pretty closed-off, as I expected, but they're more laid back than people in many Western countries and definitely much less stressed than Americans. I'm speaking in generalities here, of course, and I haven't been to Tokyo yet. > There are several reasons why satisfaction is rising. Partly because of the cost of housing, more young people live with their parents. Masahiro Yamada, a sociologist, calls them “parasite singles”. Yeah, accomodation is ridiculously expensive here and it's reflected in the price of hotels and how small everything is. It was pretty claustrophobic my first few days here. There's an interesting article[0] talking about the housing situation but I don't know if it's accurate or not. > Life is pleasanter in other ways too. On every street corner is a 7-Eleven or similar convenience store where young people can buy everything from stationery to ready meals (and heat and eat them on the spot), flick through manga comics, and buy tickets to baseball matches. My favorite part of Japan is that you can walk down an average block and expect to pass a dozen vending machines with coffee, energy drinks, and beer. Always gives me a good laugh. In this sense life is pretty convenient, but in Korea it is even more so (their skyscrapers literally have miniature malls in them). > Although rapid economic growth is history, they appreciate that living standards remain high, and that life (apart from housing) is affordable. This seems true, stuff like food is not as expensive as I expected (coffee is a dollar, a sushi dinner for two is 60 dollars maximum and usually more like 20.) Korea was even cheaper, though, and the food was much better. > That is good news for a country where the word “youth” tends, with good reason, to conjure up images of gloomy misfits: hikikomori—people who shun society—and otaku—nerds. Most "otakus" I've seen so far were foreigners and not Japanese. I can't comment on the number of hikikomoro here, for obvious reasons, but I do think these are exagerrated stereotypes. Perhaps these stereotypes were more true in the past. Just some observations, I've only been here a week. Oh yeah, and Japanese people drive less, bike more, and tend to be rather fit (or at least not obese) -- that gives them a big leg up on Western countries in the happiness department :) [0]: http://thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Prices.html http://thejapanfaq.com/FAQ-Prices.html

sdrothrock 9y ago

I could have sworn that I wrote a comment, but it looks like I didn't post it. I think there are at least two kinds of "content" -- one that stems from happiness and another that stems from depression. The former is the good kind, the one we all assume the article is talking about. The latter is a resounding "meh" followed by a "who cares." I've seen a lot of the latter in people in their 20s and early 30s here. The world's going to shit, the society's going to shit, nobody has money, rent is expensive, nobody cares. Spend the money now and enjoy hanging out with friends -- screw retirement and the future because you can deal with it later, preferably with the pension system. Who's going to get ahead at work? The old folks are all impressing their own power structure on the younger folks and making life miserable. Why bust your ass at work when you can just do your own thing with a bunch of jobs cobbled together? So, basically, a lot of the "content" people I see around me around happy with their lot, they just don't think their lot's going to improve or worth working on. This is from a point of view of 11 years in Japan, six years in Tokyo.

extrememacaroni 9y ago
My look on this is that "meh" and "who cares" stem from inertia and apathy which can lead to depression caused by overwhelm, not the other way around.
- sametmax 9y ago
  You talk like inertia and apathy are a root cause, but to me they are symptoms.
  - BehindBlueEyes 9y ago
    To me it sounds like learned helplessness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness People (and animals) who perceive to be systematically unable to avoid or confront sources of stress eventually accept that they have no control over the situation and stop trying. Except it happens at a nation's scale. I do think the resulting apathy keeps the problem going. I wonder if apathy looks like the cause because the process starts in early childhood.

oh-kumudo 9y ago

Being content could mean 2 things: optimistic that your situation is great, your effort is paying off and your life is on the right track or pessimistic that you accept things won't get better so just enjoy and be grateful for what you already have. In case of Japan, it is probably leaning towards the latter. By control, or contain your desire to reach a state of peace, or inertia. Not really surprised because Japan, deep inside, is still very much influenced by the thoughts of Buddhism. Is this really self content? I would like to offer my share of benefit of doubt.

peepopeep 9y ago

I asked my Japanese wife for her opinion on this matter and she thinks the reason Japanese in general are more content is because of the lack of drive created by class inequality. Generally speaking, Japanese people are fairly well taken care of by the social systems and there is not a lot of flaunted wealth unlike in the west. Most Japanese probably see no need to strive and work too hard because their life is okay by most standards. Food is great, healthcare won't make one go bankrupt, good service and there's that whole culture of fitting in "the nail that sticks out must be hammered in". With the lack of visual class divide, younger people just don't see the point of working their asses off. They do it at first because that's what they are taught but once introduced to the very rigid and stressful work environment, there is little hope of advancement. I think the depression and suicide is a result of being content - manifesting in frustration and ultimately being unable to deal with the mundane of every day life (combined with other factors like frustration with work and or lack of partners). I tend to agree. I have lived here for a short time but you get a sense of this just by being around people.

ForRealsies 9y ago
So we should expect less technological inventions, less creative solutions from this generation of the Japanese? I believe high Conscientiousness combined with high levels of Neuroticism is a common/promoted personality type over there.
pnw_hazor 9y ago
They were pretty content back in their medieval eras too. Go along get along, and such.
- enqk 9y ago
  That's not really consistent with the rebellions that were quite frequent in japanese villages during the medieval period
samirm 9y ago
Can you and/or your wife share your opinions on mental health in japanese society? Are people with mental illnesses looked down upon like in most of the world? Are psychologists/therapists a thing? etc.

Proven 9y ago

I would be content too, with deflation and the distinct lack of multiculturalism and other leftist nonsense prevalent in the West

dilatedmind 9y ago

You've reached your article limit

known 9y ago
http://archive.is/IKTvN http://archive.is/IKTvN

robotsquidward 9y ago

Young Japanese are surprisingly content They are less so when they think about the future That subtitle completely changes the context of this article.

anothergoogler 9y ago
It's just another click-bait title. "Surprisingly"? To whom? Are these the results of a study? An internet survey? Who knows, better click it!
- FabHK 9y ago
  It's been well known that the country has been plagued by decades of malaise [1], and people have long been less happy than people in other countries (as noted in the article). The surprising news is that there's a significant uptick in reported contentedness now. You can accuse The Economist of headlines that are too witty by half frequently, but not of click-bait. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)

allthesethings 9y ago

I definitely got a sense of something like that while visiting earlier this year. It's a place where things are working as they should, at least on the surface, so there isn't much to complain about, but it's also built on momentum and institutions left over from when Japan was the industrial power of Asia, stuff that just hasn't broken yet, so nobody has reassessed it. And there's a conflict likely to emerge in that setup, but it's not going to be a full-blown crisis until later, so "contentment" rules the day. Contrast with the USA; the crisis - social, economic, political - is here, and it has been for a while. Everyone has something to scream at each other about.

mistermann 9y ago
> it's also built on momentum and institutions left over from when Japan was the industrial power of Asia, stuff that just hasn't broken yet Do you have the feeling that it is likely to break, or just noting it as a risk? My gut feel is that despite the significant demographic problems, Japan has one of the better societies for weathering the increasingly rapid changes modern societies are subject to. But keeping it that way I have no clue how they do it (or got it the way it is now for that matter).
- antoniuschan99 9y ago
  I watched this movie called Tokyo Sonata which was made a decade ago. It's part of the J-Horror genre - which isn't scary at all. It just has a very dark and sombre undertone through the entire film. Definitely an interesting film that relates to this topic since it was set after the 2008 recession.

wufufufu 9y ago

Quote from Dave Chappelle: "I say this with no disrespect. We’re all Americans, and we can all agree that America has a huge body count all over the world, but nowhere more than Asia. Literally, if you look at history recently, we have bombed the masculinity out of an entire continent. We have dropped two atomic bombs on fuckin’ Japan and they’ve been drawing Hello Kitty and shit ever since."

Pamar 9y ago
Maybe Chappelle could google for “Kyokushin” one of these days...
- viridian 9y ago
  It's better than most karate, but Japan's martial culture has actually been fairly average since the fall of imperial Japan. Granted, they aren't china, but he's right in that the culture softened an incredible amount following a total defeat in WW2.

restalis 9y ago

"Young people are all too conscious of the social and economic burdens they will have to shoulder. Over-65s already account for 28% of the population, almost double the proportion of 15- to 29-year-olds. By 2065 they are projected to rise to nearly 40%. The welfare system is struggling to keep up." I don't get this. What is supposed to be this so called burden nowadays? What will elderly people require? Food and medicine? First can be considered cheap, relative to the amount of employed people. Actually, I'm not sure there will be needed much more workers than now, if things will continue to improve, we may expect to need less. Healthcare maybe will require a small increase to cope with the growing numbers of patients. (But maybe not necessarily so, considering that the system already serves the current numbers of people and the population is declining?) The Japanese government already pays for 70% of healthcare services for working people, how much of a difference will it make to cover it a little bit more for the old? So what remains there to struggle with? Some food-stamps and a small increase (relative to already existing levels) in healthcare subvention? On the other hand, after giving them food and healthcare, you're pretty much free to cut in pensions as much as you must. It isn't like there are leases or mortgages to be paid. Not from pensions, mind you.

Tyrek 9y ago
The government pays for 70% of healthcare for working people. I.e. these are productive citizens (presumably) putting more into the system than they are getting out of it, at ~72% (mathematically, that's 2.5 productive citizens per elderly). If the proportion rises to 40/60, that's a 1.5 citizen/elderly ratio. That itself is a huge concern.
aaavl2821 9y ago
Elderly people need the same things as all other people, plus more healthcare. A LOT more. Some studies have shown that over half of a persons total lifetime healthcare expenditures occur in their senior years Imagine you kept spending the same you do today, but stopped earning income to pay for it. Then on top of that your healthcare spend goes up an order of magnitude. Then imagine this happens to a significant portion of your fellow countrymen in a short time period
- 9y ago

chrischen 9y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_Japan Is the suicide rate really significantly higher than other developed countries considering it's 5 more suicides per 100,000 people? The article seems to imply that it's a big problem with it being the leading cause of death in Japan, but there are few things that can kill you over there since most people don't drive, and violent crimes are almost non-existent.

moneybadger 9y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_r... The rate has actually fallen to 15 per 100,000 people, which is only 3 more than the 12 per 100,000 people in the United States. So not great but also probably not a big enough of a difference to be brought up in every single conversation about japan like it currently is. South Korea on the other hand... yikes.

latexr 9y ago

From the comments on this thread, it seems like the documentary “Japan: A Story of Love and Hate”[1] might not only be relevant, but also of interest to many of the commenters. Coincidentally, I watched it from a recent recommendation on HN[2]. That comment has a link to stream the movie. [1]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401179/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401179/ [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16779954 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16779954

millermp12 9y ago

Clearly, their unfortunate condition could be addressed by that reliable cure-all: Diversity.

virtuexru 9y ago

> Japanese youth, like young people the world over, drink less and have less sex than previous cohorts of their age. They are far less likely to be sexually active than their American counterparts. Around 40% of unmarried Japanese are still virgins at the age of 34. Wow. I had no idea about that, the statistics seem shocking.