I moved the discussion about the meaning of "single word" to the offtopic about words for love, colours and snow.
Yes, they care much more about nature, animals and the environment than the rest of the world
They care a lot by international standards, but less than the Western average
Why would they care more than others ?
They care a lot about seasons and cherry blossoms but kill whales and destroy their environment
No, the Japanese care less about the environment and animals protection than average
I think it is impossible to compare because there is no national trend anywhere
I moved the discussion about the meaning of "single word" to the offtopic about words for love, colours and snow.
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"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?", Winston Churchill.
Don't forget what happened just two years ago.A terrible earthquake had it happened on land, but in the sea it only produced a small tsunami.
Shirakami-Sanchi, a beautiful mountain area in the northern honshu, has been registered as a world-heritage site. Some areas, however, turn to be off-limits to anybody incl. Matagi, traditional hunters.
You may think it hypocratic that many institutes conducting animal tests here do memorial services for the animals, but it is a bit more peaceful than violent activists, isn't it? I totally agree the fewer tests, the better, though.
Because what interests me here is whether our members think (through Japanese propaganda, for instance) that the Japanese indeed love nature more than all people in the world (not just Europeans).
??
BTW
who is thinking like that?
Maciamo, have you ever thought how much you are hurting our feeling by bashing Japan like this?
Maybe you will say that you are not bashing Japan at all.
However, what you are doing here is hurting JREF.
I certainly do not appreciate your effort.
Your aurgument here is quite irrelevant and incorrect.
PEACE ON EARTH
I could say the same. Do you have any idea how much you (the Japanese) have been hurting my feelings by bashing the rest of the world like this ?
Maybe you will say that you are not bashing the rest of the world at all.
Your argument here is quite irrelevant and incorrect.
kinsao,
Great post. Even as Maciamo pointed out, you're only focusing on two of his points that were discussed a bit in this thread, your points raised about the attitude to nature and the cost (time and money) of access are good ones. This is something I miss myself, being able to easily access more natural areas from my home. Previously, in Hong Kong of all places, a reservoir area was just a ten minute bus ride from my home in the New territories, or later from my village on Lantau Island (now near the new airport). In the US it was similar, I sometimes lived just minutes from canoeing and hiking areas. Here, it's more like an all-day affair to get to nicer areas that are often overcrowded. I only dream about day hikes now .
I would claim that the natural conditions of some of the national parks here are not well maintained. As a prime example, the aforementioned Oze garbage dumping cleanup which was highlighted in the news recently, where tons of garbage were located and removed from this part of Nikko National Park. Many of the owners of the inns and pensions located in and on the edges of the park couldn't be bother to pay to remove garbage generated by their paying guests.
Another area, though not a national park, is the shoreline areas in Japan. Some Japanese rave about natural and historic Kamakura, yet when I visited there the beach was literally a garbage dump! It certainly seems that Japanese perspectivess of nature are slightly different than Western perspectives.
As to the interest in nature programs, I too am less interested in accurate cataloguing of species of trees, etc. It is similar with art, I know what I like, I don't always need to memorize the history of the painter's background and style to appreciate the paintings I look at. So I don't fault the Japanese for a lack of interest in botany or zoology.
I really do think that this current generation in Japan is 'tech-crazy', and that may be causing some people to be less interested. Also, I think some people see rural living as less fashiobale. Finally, because of government influence on education people are also less interested in the great outdoors. Certainly in more rural areas in Japan it is not necessarily the case, but the majority of Japanese live in urban areas.
But then again, in many other countries so do large populations that work in the city, either living there or nearby as they also do in Japan. Is it that most Japanese cities are not built with keeping natural areas nearby, in other words, do the suburbs expand so much they become urbanized suburbs as well? Like the infamous Tokyo to Hiroshima Honshu Island industrial/commercial/residential sprawl, sometimes you can go forever and never escape a very unnatural landscape (kinda reminds me of some parts of New Jersey! Garden State indeed).
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