Why is Japan so damn good?

Taro wrote:

30 year Japan veteran wrote:

Very true. Most white foreigners think they are loved but in reality they are considered sub-human.

False. If anything, many Japanese have an inferiority complex vis-a-vis Westerners, although that's slowly changing.

They actually have a weird combined feeling of inferiority and superiority.

Taro wrote:

zatopek wrote:

That's true. All most of them know about WWII is that they were bombed. There is no collective guilt about their actions. They have no idea why the Chinese and Koreans hate them.

If you really believe that, you haven't been watching NHK. They've run several documentaries in this topic.

True but I doubt the young people of today spend much time watching NHK. In my years of teaching I have heard countless speeches from students on the horrors of Hiroshima but have not once heard a student talk about Japan's actions during the war.

The Japanese are a hard working and disciplined people products of their particular brand of Confucius inspired culture. This, combined with the fact, the Japanese are naturally smarter than most other peoples (average IQ in Japan is 105, average in USA is 98), is bound to be a successful combination.

High school 3000 and 5000m records will be quite good this year. 7:50 and 13:23. I wonder if any American high schooler can run those times in the next 2 years.

red room wrote:

douglas burke wrote:

Maybe but they don't have schools and Universities teaching about the evils of Japanese Privilege and large protests in the street about Japanese Privilege.

I don’t know, seems like teaching that Japanese today treat non-Japanese as second class citizens and that they shouldn’t do that would be a step in the right direction. It is weird you would oppose that, being non-Japanese yourself and all.

Most of the high school and junior high social studies / history teachers in Japan are card carrying union members, and part of the political left. They are more than eager to teach the dark side of Japanese history / society, and constantly get attacked by the rightwing media and politicians for "lack of patriotism." (Some of them also refuse to stand up for the national anthem during ceremonies, because the anthem and the flag "symbolize the militarism of Imperial Japan.")

douglas burke wrote:

Just Another Hobby Jogger wrote:

You may want to ask Chinese and Korean people in Japan about this.

The Koreans and Chinese in Japan who are teachers, should teach about the evils of Japanese privilege in Japan.

There are many who are doing that. They also have their own schools. The largest ones are affiliated with North Korea (朝鮮学校), but there are also schools affiliated with South Korea (韓国学校) and China (中華学校) -- both mainland and Taiwan.

Taro wrote:

zatopek wrote:

That's true. All most of them know about WWII is that they were bombed. There is no collective guilt about their actions. They have no idea why the Chinese and Koreans hate them.

If you really believe that, you haven't been watching NHK. They've run several documentaries in this topic.

A couple of years ago, I accidentally discovered that my DirecTV carried NHK World Japan. But I wonder how many Americans even know this is available on their satellite TV , let alone having watched any of the programs.

If newspaper is your thing, instead of TV, this is the leading "liberal" paper that often gets bashed by conservative politicians. There have been plenty of stories about Nanking Massacre, Comfort Women and Unit 731 among others.

energeticlotuseater wrote:

The Japanese are a hard working and disciplined people products of their particular brand of Confucius inspired culture. This, combined with the fact, the Japanese are naturally smarter than most other peoples (average IQ in Japan is 105, average in USA is 98), is bound to be a successful combination.

You have read too much propaganda about Japan. I agree that they are long working but I wouldn't say hard working. The reason their IQ is an "amazing" 7 points higher is because they have little poverty. Poverty and the effects lead to low IQ's.

Germany could have been the top modern country if there wasn't that idiot leader of SS.

30 year Japan veteran wrote:

colorunner123 wrote:

Every country's soldiers raped women during and after World War II. The USSR's rampage against German women in the spring and summer of 1945 was particularly barbaric.

The difference between the USSR's and Japan's raping during WWII was that their raping was systematic. It was supported by their military.

Probably millions of German women were raped and, yes, it was supported by the USSR military. Here are a few articles and videos if you want to learn more:

30 year Japan veteran wrote:

Every white person I tell this to, doesn't believe it.

I'm a white person who lives in Japan now, and I don't believe it. Your experience is nothing like mine.

Are you fluent in Japanese (i.e., can you fully understand a conversation between native Japanese speakers and read Japanese)?

30 year Japan veteran wrote:

Taro wrote:

False. If anything, many Japanese have an inferiority complex vis-a-vis Westerners, although that's slowly changing.

They actually have a weird combined feeling of inferiority and superiority.

The only feeling of "superiority" they have concerns culture. They do think they are culturally superior.

Given how much healthier and safer -- and therefore freer -- they are than people of so many other countries, I think they have a good case.

Just Another Hobby Jogger wrote:

A couple of years ago, I accidentally discovered that my DirecTV carried NHK World Japan. But I wonder how many Americans even know this is available on their satellite TV , let alone having watched any of the programs.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

If newspaper is your thing, instead of TV, this is the leading "liberal" paper that often gets bashed by conservative politicians. There have been plenty of stories about Nanking Massacre, Comfort Women and Unit 731 among others.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/

Interesting. I didn't know what was being published/broadcast in English. The Japanese-language media cover these topics in even greater depth.

Just Another Hobby Jogger wrote:

Most of the high school and junior high social studies / history teachers in Japan are card carrying union members, and part of the political left. They are more than eager to teach the dark side of Japanese history / society, and constantly get attacked by the rightwing media and politicians for "lack of patriotism." (Some of them also refuse to stand up for the national anthem during ceremonies, because the anthem and the flag "symbolize the militarism of Imperial Japan.")

All very true.

It seems that many people who know little about Japan assume it is politically monolithic, possibly because the LDP has remained in power for so long. But Japan is actually as politically divided as many other countries.

Japan is a subdued peasant society that's simply reaped the benefits of Western materialism. MacArthur basically built modern Japan for them. But they're still peasants. Take a rural American farm community and magnify it to a whole country and it'd be even more crime-free, harmonious, and innovative than Japan.

That being said, I do think it's appropriate to continue to cite to Japan as an paradigm of what happens when a government actually supports its own people through sound centrist policies without all the left-wing garbage- one murder a year, leave your bike unlocked on the street, throw the homeless in jail, etc.

It is remarkable that the entire East Asia, Oceania, and Pacific were heavily invested by Japan and developed by Japan from the late 1800s. Today they have adpoted economic systems and international trading standards that are near exact copies of Japanese institutions Never before in world history has prosperity and affluence been enabled at such a rapid pace and at a truly breathtaking speed.

Blowin' me a kiss wrote:

. . ., throw the homeless in jail, etc.

Nonsense. The trails through the woods next the beach in my neighborhood are blocked by several people living under the ubiquitous blue tarps you see in so many homeless encampments here in Japan.

Pisses me off sometimes, because it means I can't run on those trails.

30 year Japan veteran wrote:

energeticlotuseater wrote:

The Japanese are a hard working and disciplined people products of their particular brand of Confucius inspired culture. This, combined with the fact, the Japanese are naturally smarter than most other peoples (average IQ in Japan is 105, average in USA is 98), is bound to be a successful combination.

You have read too much propaganda about Japan. I agree that they are long working but I wouldn't say hard working. The reason their IQ is an "amazing" 7 points higher is because they have little poverty. Poverty and the effects lead to low IQ's.

An interesting dialogue between Eddie Jones (rugby coach) and Tom Horvasse (basketball coach), which makes the same point about sports practice in Japan. They are basically saying that practicing for long hours has become the objective in and of itself for many young athletes and their concentration dips as a result. I think this mentality carries over to many white-collar workers in Japan.

Having said that, I think most blue-collar workers and entry-level service workers in Japan are more disciplined, and better quality than their American counterparts.