4 ms·

There are people who live in "apartments" in Tokyo smaller than the average American bathroom. It's not normal, there are no two ways about it.

wizofaus 4y ago
Is that a comment about the excessive size of American bathrooms? From what I can find, 6000/sq.km2 equates to something like 45 sq.m of living space per apartment.
- Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
  It's not a comment on American bathrooms. There are people in Japan literally living in drawers.[0] Not even a joke. You're plan to "start ramping up immigration and allowing in those from cultures where having larger families is more of a priority" is quite frankly insane. I can't even call it naive as it's clearly drawn from a political belief that "immigrant = good" with no exceptions, all repercussions be damned, even in severely overpopulated countries. [0]https://earthlymission.com/capsule-homes-in-japan/ https://earthlymission.com/capsule-homes-in-japan/ These aren't even the smallest ones. There are ones even half the size of these.
  - wizofaus 4y ago
    My "plan"? How on earth did you read that into my comment... And yes some of those dwellings are pretty cramped, but is it somehow worse than the situation in many Western cities where there are those reduced to living in tents on streets or under bridges etc.? The "official" Tokyo homeless figures may be questionable (supposedly less than 800 out of a city of 15 million) but having visited a few times I can't say I recollect noticing any significant number of homeless people.
    - Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
      By "plan" I meant simply "a method for achieving an end,"[0] not that you actually intend to act on that plan. Feel free to replace "plan" with "idea" if that is better. I'm really confused by your comparison to the US again here: is the homeless problem in the US because of overpopulation as opposed to drugs and mental illness, for example? If so, then if US cities are overpopulated to the extent that the homeless level has gone up so much, Japan is most certainly even more overpopulated, and it's a forgone conclusion that the population should decrease. If the homeless problem in the US is not due to overpopulation, then how is the homeless problem in the US relevant to the overpopulation problem in Japan? In any case, the US fertility rate is also low, at 1.64. So I think it's fair to say the cost of living, the largest of which is housing, plays a crucial role in the fertility rate. A family can't live in a cupboard, no matter how "accustomed to the idea" one may be. At the very least, most people wouldn't choose to start a family in a cupboard, and that is certainly reflected in the Japanese fertility rate. [0]https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plan https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plan

wizofaus 4y ago

Is that a comment about the excessive size of American bathrooms? From what I can find, 6000/sq.km2 equates to something like 45 sq.m of living space per apartment.

Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
It's not a comment on American bathrooms. There are people in Japan literally living in drawers.[0] Not even a joke. You're plan to "start ramping up immigration and allowing in those from cultures where having larger families is more of a priority" is quite frankly insane. I can't even call it naive as it's clearly drawn from a political belief that "immigrant = good" with no exceptions, all repercussions be damned, even in severely overpopulated countries. [0]https://earthlymission.com/capsule-homes-in-japan/ https://earthlymission.com/capsule-homes-in-japan/ These aren't even the smallest ones. There are ones even half the size of these.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  My "plan"? How on earth did you read that into my comment... And yes some of those dwellings are pretty cramped, but is it somehow worse than the situation in many Western cities where there are those reduced to living in tents on streets or under bridges etc.? The "official" Tokyo homeless figures may be questionable (supposedly less than 800 out of a city of 15 million) but having visited a few times I can't say I recollect noticing any significant number of homeless people.
  - Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago
    By "plan" I meant simply "a method for achieving an end,"[0] not that you actually intend to act on that plan. Feel free to replace "plan" with "idea" if that is better. I'm really confused by your comparison to the US again here: is the homeless problem in the US because of overpopulation as opposed to drugs and mental illness, for example? If so, then if US cities are overpopulated to the extent that the homeless level has gone up so much, Japan is most certainly even more overpopulated, and it's a forgone conclusion that the population should decrease. If the homeless problem in the US is not due to overpopulation, then how is the homeless problem in the US relevant to the overpopulation problem in Japan? In any case, the US fertility rate is also low, at 1.64. So I think it's fair to say the cost of living, the largest of which is housing, plays a crucial role in the fertility rate. A family can't live in a cupboard, no matter how "accustomed to the idea" one may be. At the very least, most people wouldn't choose to start a family in a cupboard, and that is certainly reflected in the Japanese fertility rate. [0]https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plan https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plan