Japan: It's Not Funny Anymore

I'm going to start posting in color to annoy you.

^Maybe this...

He's just too pesimistic about living in Japan.

But holy shit, he made it too damn long without any strong ideas...

I'm bored to hell reading it.

Ideas can be strong?
"My Aristotle will kick your Benjamin Franklin's ass.

I'm surprised I didn't think of it before, and that no one else said anything about it, but what's up with the title of the bitchfest? "Japan: It's Not Funny Anymore"? Like Japan was supposed to be funny? That's certainly what comes to mind when I think of Japanese culture, people who laugh all the time and use their own culture as the butt of a lot of jokes. Japan is largely a serious society, isn't it?

Interviewed for a visa. Who handled the interview?

I don't really agree that Japan resists westernization more than other countries in the Orient.

The Japanese applied a very pro-western attitude during the Meiji restoration that resulted in some very radical economic and social modernization, and in this case modernization was westernization. Of course, they retained a lot of their traditional culture, but this period was the origin of the dichotomy between modern and traditional Japan. After WWII, there a more liberal westernization, resulting in modern Japan that overall intensified this dichotomy.

In contrast, Taiwan, and S. Korea are taking much slower versions of the social westernization; you could say that Japanese modern culture is their direct influence, with western traits present only indirectly.

Yes, I see what you're saying in the last statement. I think this is primarily because, especially for a lot of countries in Asia and Africa, economic progress, and stability are directly linked to the western powers. From that point of view moving up and westernization are one and the same. But in 1945, Japan was already as modernized as the west, so that blurring of lines did not come into being.

However, I think saying that other oriental countries are pressured to westernize is still a bit of a stretch, but an understandable one. Said pressure falls almost solely on the government and international business sectors, but really doesn't affect your average farmer, workshop laborer, etc. who make up a significant majority of the population in the PR of China and SE Asia, and are still sizable groups in S. Korea and Taiwan.

Exceptions to the above generalizations are:
Singapore, Hong Kong and maybe Macao (very modern, with interesting variety of western and traditional culture)
N. Korea (I think you know why)
Phillipines, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar (I don't know much about them, so I can't say)

aww shit that thing is long. This should be put in serious discussion instead.

I stopped reading when i heard he was a vegetarian. Of course theres gonna be stuff ur pissed off about when you go to a place with different food cultures.

after that i just skimmed through and read the headlines :P

I stopped reading after he badmouthed One Piece.

"THIS FRIDAY AT SIX PM, EVERY EMPLOYEE IS REQUIRED TO REPORT TO THE CONFERENCE ROOM TO EAT PIZZA"
I loled

I love meat!!! especially meat!!and my favorite is MEAT!!!

LULZ :D