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I don’t buy a lot of arguments about a culture that’s somehow magically much more orderly. Obviously there are cultural differences but I’m not sure they’re the
by dan-robertson 7y ago
I don’t buy a lot of arguments about a culture that’s somehow magically much more orderly. Obviously there are cultural differences but I’m not sure they’re the main reason for the differences between places one sees. I think bigger reasons tend to be structural (and those structural differences often seem to come from essentially random differences in history)
The reason the streets are clean is that there is an army of street cleaners picking up litter. If one ventures away from regularly cleaned areas, one will see litter along the sides of main roads, much like America.
I don’t know about the homeless situation. Perhaps there are fewer homeless people. Perhaps they are forced out of public spaces by the police. Perhaps they sleep in 24h McDonald’s instead of outside (perhaps it is much too cold in winter).
Similarly I hope people don’t look at the difference in healthcare between the uS and Canada and say that it’s because Canadians somehow have some magically nicer culture.
I feel that there tend to be larger structural issues between countries that are more significant than a vague argument about “eastern collectivism and western individualism.” For one thing, such an argument lumps china, North Korea, South Korea, and japan into the same bucket when the countries are clearly quite different. It also lumps together the USA, Canada and European countries together when they are also quite different between themselves.
One big difference one sees between the US and Japan is the apparent prevalence of petty crime. Statistics may be different because the likelihood of crimes being reported are quite different but it is common in Japan to leave a phone/handbag unattended at a cafe table whereas this would be very unlikely to happen in America. On the other hand it is socially accepted in Sweden to leave babies unattended in proms outside shops whereas this would be unthinkable and likely classed as negligence in America
- mrexroad 7y ago> The reason the streets are clean is that there is an army of street cleaners picking up litter. If one ventures away from regularly cleaned areas, one will see litter along the sides of main roads, much like America. Curious if you have you been to Japan and spent time in residential areas. My experience differs significantly—specifically this not simply being due to “an army of street cleaners.” Even in America, when hanging out with Japanese ex-pats—whether grilling at parks, going camping, or simply hosting a kids for a play-date at home—there’s a focus on “cleaning” that goes beyond whatever I was taught as a kid to pick up after myself, or even the Boy Scout “leave no trace”—its something deeper. Also worth noting is how difficult it is to find a trash can in Tokyo.
- jtolmar 7y ago>I don’t know about the homeless situation. Perhaps there are fewer homeless people. Perhaps they are forced out of public spaces by the police. Perhaps they sleep in 24h McDonald’s instead of outside (perhaps it is much too cold in winter). There are far fewer homeless people per capita. It's hard to get hard numbers, but the range of numbers I saw for Tokyo is pretty similar to the range I saw for Seattle, despite Tokyo being 20x as big. Many homeless people sleep in capsule hotels or internet cafes. Those who do sleep outside set tents or improvised dwellings at the fringes of public parks. The police are not allowed to tear down these dwellings without following a full eviction process.
- agumonkey 7y agoJust saw a video where Japan guys said the countryside was dirty. Now it still doesn't tell the whole story about why cities are so taken care of in the first place.