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> well regarded for its safety and peacefulness Here, dig deeper: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201904170050.html http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ20

by pmlnr 7y ago

> well regarded for its safety and peacefulness Here, dig deeper: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201904170050.html http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201904170050.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/world/asia/japan-rape.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/world/asia/japan-rape.htm... https://web.archive.org/web/20190421032136/http://japaneseruleof7.com/poverty-in-japan/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190421032136/http://japaneseru...

whywhywhywhy 7y ago
It's not a competition...
- pmlnr 7y ago
  There are boatloads of people out there who idolize Japan for peacefulness and never actually read about reality there. I'm just simply tired of the "ah, but Japan" attitude. BTW, in my opinion, Japan is ~20years "ahead" of socilogical problems of the West - such as extreme isolation of elderly, young glued to the screens not even leaving a flats because everything can be done online, etc - mostly because their 80s housing boom bubble burst in the 90s and not in 2008. But this is unrelated.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - Razengan 7y ago
    > BTW, in my opinion, Japan is ~20years "ahead" of socilogical problems of the West - such as extreme isolation of elderly, young glued to the screens not even leaving a flats because everything can be done online, etc Both of those examples highlight issues with human social constructs being incompatible with human technology and progress, globally, not just in Japan.
    - pmlnr 7y ago
      Who said just Japan? I only mentioned they are experiencing them ahead of the rest of us.
      - Razengan 7y ago
        Who said Japan had no problems, that it was a perfect paradise, when you felt the need to dig up 3 random links to bring it down a notch? Why do people who like to make irrelevant contrary arguments seem to suddenly forget the simple concept of comparison?
        pmlnr 7y ago
        3 random links, which I have a feeling, you completely ignored to follow and read. > well regarded for its safety and peacefulness You said these. I wanted to show that while many thinks Japan is so much better, both the basis of your comparison (US and is bare minimum public safety) and the target (Japan and it's phenomenal capability of keeping things hidden and silent) are flawed. If you do want to pick a country to regard for safety and peacefulness, pick Switzerland.
        Razengan 7y ago
        > You said these. Why do you keep leaving out a key word, "generally", when quoting that comment? > If you do want to pick a country to regard for safety and peacefulness, pick Switzerland. My ex was from Switzerland, and we can assure you, without even having to google "bad shit in Switzerland", that it's not a paradise either. This is what I see as the top result when I do google bad shit in Switzerland: "Rape and sexual violence levels staggeringly high in Switzerland with women failed by dangerous laws" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-rape-sexual-violence-consent-amnesty-women-a8923496.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-...
        pmlnr 7y ago
        You don't even want to understand the perspective I'm trying to make. The links weren't random by "I just googled them". The third I found by accident more, than a year ago and certainly is an eye-opener. The first two are source materials for a longer piece on how sexual assault is overlooked or dismissed by law in Japan. No country is ideal. Switzerland is ridiculously rigid, for example. I'm just tired of the idolized Japan image, the one I see from so many sources, from people who never actually read about the well hidden reality there. Of course, I know nothing of your background, all I did was asking to look behind the "generally peaceful" thing. At least read the third link, please.
Razengan 7y ago
• Saying something is generally better != claiming that it's perfect, with zero flaws. • Something can have problems and still generally be better than others. • Pointing a flaw in something does not make it "as bad" as everything else. A single tree in a desert does not make it a rainforest, nor a few dead trees in a forest make it a desert. See cities in the US with varying rates of crime or corruption and people's desires to move to them.
- pmlnr 7y ago
  > generally better Compared to: - Switzerland? - Detroit, US? - Spain? You feel attacked and I don't understand, why.
  - Razengan 7y ago
    > Compared to: - Switzerland? https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-rape-sexual-violence-consent-amnesty-women-a8923496.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-...
GhostVII 7y ago
I mean I agree with you to some degree, but this is probably not the best place for that kind of discussion, kind of derailing the original comment.
deogeo 7y ago
Here, look at difficult-to-fudge statistics instead of anecdotes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention... Edit: To answer the question from your other comment - it has less than half of Switzerland's homicide rate. So yes, it's safe even compared to that.

by pmlnr 7y ago

whywhywhywhy 7y ago

It's not a competition...

pmlnr 7y ago
There are boatloads of people out there who idolize Japan for peacefulness and never actually read about reality there. I'm just simply tired of the "ah, but Japan" attitude. BTW, in my opinion, Japan is ~20years "ahead" of socilogical problems of the West - such as extreme isolation of elderly, young glued to the screens not even leaving a flats because everything can be done online, etc - mostly because their 80s housing boom bubble burst in the 90s and not in 2008. But this is unrelated.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Razengan 7y ago
  > BTW, in my opinion, Japan is ~20years "ahead" of socilogical problems of the West - such as extreme isolation of elderly, young glued to the screens not even leaving a flats because everything can be done online, etc Both of those examples highlight issues with human social constructs being incompatible with human technology and progress, globally, not just in Japan.
  - pmlnr 7y ago
    Who said just Japan? I only mentioned they are experiencing them ahead of the rest of us.
    - Razengan 7y ago
      Who said Japan had no problems, that it was a perfect paradise, when you felt the need to dig up 3 random links to bring it down a notch? Why do people who like to make irrelevant contrary arguments seem to suddenly forget the simple concept of comparison?
      - pmlnr 7y ago
        3 random links, which I have a feeling, you completely ignored to follow and read. > well regarded for its safety and peacefulness You said these. I wanted to show that while many thinks Japan is so much better, both the basis of your comparison (US and is bare minimum public safety) and the target (Japan and it's phenomenal capability of keeping things hidden and silent) are flawed. If you do want to pick a country to regard for safety and peacefulness, pick Switzerland.
        Razengan 7y ago
        > You said these. Why do you keep leaving out a key word, "generally", when quoting that comment? > If you do want to pick a country to regard for safety and peacefulness, pick Switzerland. My ex was from Switzerland, and we can assure you, without even having to google "bad shit in Switzerland", that it's not a paradise either. This is what I see as the top result when I do google bad shit in Switzerland: "Rape and sexual violence levels staggeringly high in Switzerland with women failed by dangerous laws" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-rape-sexual-violence-consent-amnesty-women-a8923496.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-...
        pmlnr 7y ago
        You don't even want to understand the perspective I'm trying to make. The links weren't random by "I just googled them". The third I found by accident more, than a year ago and certainly is an eye-opener. The first two are source materials for a longer piece on how sexual assault is overlooked or dismissed by law in Japan. No country is ideal. Switzerland is ridiculously rigid, for example. I'm just tired of the idolized Japan image, the one I see from so many sources, from people who never actually read about the well hidden reality there. Of course, I know nothing of your background, all I did was asking to look behind the "generally peaceful" thing. At least read the third link, please.

Razengan 7y ago

• Saying something is generally better != claiming that it's perfect, with zero flaws. • Something can have problems and still generally be better than others. • Pointing a flaw in something does not make it "as bad" as everything else. A single tree in a desert does not make it a rainforest, nor a few dead trees in a forest make it a desert. See cities in the US with varying rates of crime or corruption and people's desires to move to them.

pmlnr 7y ago
> generally better Compared to: - Switzerland? - Detroit, US? - Spain? You feel attacked and I don't understand, why.
- Razengan 7y ago
  > Compared to: - Switzerland? https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-rape-sexual-violence-consent-amnesty-women-a8923496.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerland-...

GhostVII 7y ago

I mean I agree with you to some degree, but this is probably not the best place for that kind of discussion, kind of derailing the original comment.

deogeo 7y ago

Here, look at difficult-to-fudge statistics instead of anecdotes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention... Edit: To answer the question from your other comment - it has less than half of Switzerland's homicide rate. So yes, it's safe even compared to that.