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>Japan overall is a very lonely society Have you been to the local festivals where everyone knows everyone's names? Have you been to riverside bbq parties wher
by mc3301 2mo ago
>Japan overall is a very lonely society
Have you been to the local festivals where everyone knows everyone's names? Have you been to riverside bbq parties where multiple families hangout all day together? Have you been a part of company or community clubs? Have you observed how an overwhelming number of people have multiple-times-per-year gatherings with the university friends, middle-school friends and even kindergarten friends? For decades.
I have. And I feel not-the-least lonely, and I owe it to the above in Japan. Not the "decades-long-friendships" because I moved here as an adult. I can't compare it to anywhere else, because I haven't lived anywhere else for this long... but that's a sweeping generalization that about Japan.
- ktallett 2mo agoThose are all distractions being done together. I'm very pleased you don't feel lonely but many millions in Japan do. Hence such a high rate of suicide, such a high rate of isolation, such a high rate of people who do have virtual connections over real world connections. It's partially as the need to be who they are can not be met by such a restrictive society. They can't find people who will be open with them. People who will be there at your lowest, back you no matter how you want to live, back you when you move outside of the norms. You are likely aided by not being born in Japan to two Japanese parents of Japanese heritage etc. The same expectations are not set on anyone from outside of Japan. But those expectations induce a desire to find a distraction and just push down feelings that you should express and feel supported by.