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Sorry for being chatty, but I just had to laugh. I'm in the middle of renewing my work visa for the UK (so I can travel there for work from time to time). I'm

Sorry for being chatty, but I just had to laugh. I'm in the middle of renewing my work visa for the UK (so I can travel there for work from time to time). I'm sweating bullets... but then reading your message I realised, "Wait. It's not Japan" :-) But, yeah. It's best to keep it light in your own head. "Going up against Japan" is like going up against a brick wall. If you start getting upset about something you're just going to wreck yourself. Japan will not change. Until it does, of course. And then it will change literally overnight for no discernible reason and you'll be left wondering, "How the heck did everybody know to change???"

hardwaresofton 8y ago
Absolutely no problem! I 1000% agree, submitting paperwork/doing some official function for any other country (except maybe Germany? I've heard they live up to the reputation) is a walk in the park once you've been on the wrong side of some transaction in Japan's bureaucracy. > But, yeah. It's best to keep it light in your own head. "Going up against Japan" is like going up against a brick wall. If you start getting upset about something you're just going to wreck yourself. Japan will not change. Until it does, of course. And then it will change literally overnight for no discernible reason and you'll be left wondering, "How the heck did everybody know to change???" This is so true. Japan will pull a 180 with near zero warning -- one of the biggest things here is the constant contradiction/juxtaposition of opposing forces -- I have to admit I just can't reason about some things. The example is a bit out there, but I could see gay marriage laws being reversed in that kind of manner -- there doesn't seem to be the judeo-christian stigma here, and most people seem to be neutral (younger people's attitudes aren't actually shifting that far from older generations) so it's the kind of thing that I expect might just happen at some point and everyone will be like "oh, yeah, of course". Another fun anecdote (which may or may not be true) for others reading this (I assume mikekchar already knows) -- The reason you basically can never find trash cans around Tokyo is likely due to the subway sarin gas attack of 1995, Japan was basically like "can't bomb us if we don't have trashcans to put the bombs in", and that was that. I am thoroughly convinced the reason Tokyo isn't filled with litter is due to cleanliness being ingrained in the Japanese national identity -- you basically learn to just hold on to your trash (internalize your inconvenience) until you get home or to somewhere with a trash can.
- chrischen 8y ago
  But there is a lack of trash cans on the streets mostly. The stations usually have a few at least.
  - mikekchar 8y ago
    There are tricks. Most districts have local laws that say that drink vending machines must have recycling bins for the cans/bottles (and they have to be emptied regularly). Similarly convenience stores must have trash cans and recycling bins. There are always trash cans and recycling bins on the platforms for the Shinkansen, but I've never seen them in normal stations in the countryside.
- glandium 8y ago
  > cleanliness being ingrained in the Japanese national identity That's a myth. Except if you consider the Japanese national identity was set in the 60s. What made the Japanese clean is the Japanese government, during the preparation for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. Before that, Japan had trash everywhere.

hardwaresofton 8y ago

Absolutely no problem! I 1000% agree, submitting paperwork/doing some official function for any other country (except maybe Germany? I've heard they live up to the reputation) is a walk in the park once you've been on the wrong side of some transaction in Japan's bureaucracy. > But, yeah. It's best to keep it light in your own head. "Going up against Japan" is like going up against a brick wall. If you start getting upset about something you're just going to wreck yourself. Japan will not change. Until it does, of course. And then it will change literally overnight for no discernible reason and you'll be left wondering, "How the heck did everybody know to change???" This is so true. Japan will pull a 180 with near zero warning -- one of the biggest things here is the constant contradiction/juxtaposition of opposing forces -- I have to admit I just can't reason about some things. The example is a bit out there, but I could see gay marriage laws being reversed in that kind of manner -- there doesn't seem to be the judeo-christian stigma here, and most people seem to be neutral (younger people's attitudes aren't actually shifting that far from older generations) so it's the kind of thing that I expect might just happen at some point and everyone will be like "oh, yeah, of course". Another fun anecdote (which may or may not be true) for others reading this (I assume mikekchar already knows) -- The reason you basically can never find trash cans around Tokyo is likely due to the subway sarin gas attack of 1995, Japan was basically like "can't bomb us if we don't have trashcans to put the bombs in", and that was that. I am thoroughly convinced the reason Tokyo isn't filled with litter is due to cleanliness being ingrained in the Japanese national identity -- you basically learn to just hold on to your trash (internalize your inconvenience) until you get home or to somewhere with a trash can.

chrischen 8y ago
But there is a lack of trash cans on the streets mostly. The stations usually have a few at least.
- mikekchar 8y ago
  There are tricks. Most districts have local laws that say that drink vending machines must have recycling bins for the cans/bottles (and they have to be emptied regularly). Similarly convenience stores must have trash cans and recycling bins. There are always trash cans and recycling bins on the platforms for the Shinkansen, but I've never seen them in normal stations in the countryside.
glandium 8y ago
> cleanliness being ingrained in the Japanese national identity That's a myth. Except if you consider the Japanese national identity was set in the 60s. What made the Japanese clean is the Japanese government, during the preparation for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. Before that, Japan had trash everywhere.