What do you dislike about Japan ?

[DoctorP]

Honestly the only two things that I dislike about Japan are:

1. The way the news is presented on TV. If I wanted to read the newspaper, then I would just buy the damn newspaper!

2. People who continually complain about how Japan is not like their home country. If you wanted to be in your home country, why did you leave and come to Japan?

[Maciamo]

2. People who continually complain about how Japan is not like their home country. If you wanted to be in your home country, why did you leave and come to Japan?

Two things for you to reflect upon :

1) not all foreigners in Japan chose to live in Japan. Personally I went to live there because of my wife. Many people are there for their job (expats, US servicemen, embassy staff, etc.).

2) Many of the complaints in this thread so far concern things which nobody would accept in their home country. Personally, there are things in this poll which I have also criticised in Belgium on Eupedia (e.g. political corruption, urban planning and public transports, colonial abuses, etc.). Many of the cited complaints are things which are universally disliked : natural disasters, destruction of historical and natural heritage, discrimination...

Most of the rest regards the condition of foreigners in Japan, something that one cannot compare with his/her home country. In my case, though, I can compare it to my other experiences of living in several foreign countries, and I only complained when I found that Japan was worse than other (developed) countries for that matter.

I intentionally refrained to add my complaints about language and cultural differences I do not like (e.g. slurping tea and noodles) in the poll itself, because it is too personal.

[DoctorP]

Two things for you to reflect upon :
1) not all foreigners in Japan chose to live in Japan. Personally I went to live there because of my wife. Many people are there for their job (expats, US servicemen, embassy staff, etc.).

Understand that I do not wish to make this personal...but I will say that you did have a choice! Just as you chose to leave, you also chose to come here.
Military personell also have choices...you wouldn't know, you never served.

2) Many of the complaints in this thread so far concern things which nobody would accept in their home country. Personally, there are things in this poll which I have also criticised in Belgium on Eupedia (e.g. political corruption, urban planning and public transports, colonial abuses, etc.). Many of the cited complaints are things which are universally disliked : natural disasters, destruction of historical and natural heritage, discrimination...

Please leave Eupedia out of this, they are seperate forums, and I would not be able to verify anything you have posted there anyway.

[fuma_kamui]

2. People who continually complain about how Japan is not like their home country. If you wanted to be in your home country, why did you leave and come to Japan?

wouaouw... i saw it just now... i glad to see someone who think like me lol.
i agree with you!! their is not any comparision possible between japan and europe, japan and america, etc...
this cultures are too differents to be compare (bad english...scuse my poor level)!!

[KirinMan]

You are grabbing at straws here.
Off topic, I dont take buses back home if I can avoid them, and as a male I would generally let an elderly person or a woman take a seat instead of myself, so you question isn't applicable.
I do know that if someone decided to not sit beside me it would be for personal reasons, rather than general cultural ignorance.

I dont think so, I think you may have missed the point of that statement. How can you be so positive that the person didn't sit down next to the "gaijin" because they were "gaijin"? Someone is making an assumption, I grant you that it may be a pretty fair assumption but it still is an assumption on your part. The point also was about changing what you can change and not force what you see as an issue upon a people that don't see it quite the same way as you do.

I think one of the very reasons why Japanese people dont try to change things is that they feel they are powerless to do so. I do understand your pick the battles you can win, its very Japanese, but, most people get in a habit of dealing with it, rather than fighting.
I agree it doesnt do one any good to dwell on negatives. But to sit and watch your country rot into oblivion and pretend everything is peachy does not help either

Ok, yet I still am hearing, correct me if I am wrong, you are expanding your values and morals upon a country or people that have a very different view of things as they are.

Also from what I have seen so far from living here is that this country will not change for you, but you have to change or adapt to this country. You meaning the foreigners that live here. Also as an extension of that, changing the things that you can and starting with the community or area that you live in you can make a positive change in the way people view or treat "gaijin".

Generally speaking it works easiest with children first because most of them don't have any preconcieved ideas or opinions about "gaijin" and are truly curious about learning about them and their cultures. Most of their ignorance is passed on from their environment.

The original post was, " what do you dislike about Japan ". I have met alot of foreigners in Japan. Many of them say they like it here. Some of the reasons I find are stupid, but that is my opinion. Interestingly, when these people leave Japan, I often hear back that they are happy they left and would never want to come back. On the flip side, many who dislike Japan often come back because, although they dislike, when they move away, they find there are many things they miss

I'll agree with you here, as I have heard very much of the same thing as well. To each his or her own I guess.

I know I will miss the food. And the convenience. I also find in the business enviroment, service is generally good and people are very polite, although often quite ignorant. But I will never come back. I used to hope Japan could fix itself. Now I know it is the nature of Japanese people (the culture or something Japanese) that defines Japan and it is precisely why Japan can't fix itself. But, that is another topic.

Maybe we don't see eye to eye on this one, because I think it really is also a matter of perception as well. Many Japanese realize that there are problems with their system, but when the issue turns towards the one of foreigners they are blissfully unaware that there are issues that the foreigners living here face on a daily basis, for what ever reason. I also feel that they take offense at hearing their "problems" pointed out to them by foreigners, which is natural as well.

Heck it isn't just Japan that hates having it's mistakes or problems pointed out to them by people that are not from there or live there as guests or otherwise. I can not blame many Japanese people for thinking that if the foreigners have a problem with it, then why do they stay here, leave if that is how you feel. I am not suggesting that at all, and as sad as that statement may be, I can in a way understand the motivation behind it. However I am not saying that I agree with the mentality.

If anything is going to change here it is going to have to be a Japanese solution and not one force fed or dictated by foreigners. There are many issues on the table for the Japanese government and people right now and I think the problems are going to get worse in some ways before they get better, because from what I have seen so far in my time here is that the pendulum swings radically from one side to another before finally settling to the middle and a reasonable solution.