That's just silly. I live in Japan and have for the last 13 years. I'm actually freer here than I was in the U.S.
I'm free to leave my bike unlocked at the beach when I go surfing, because I know it will be there when I return. I'm free to lose my wallet, because I know it will be returned to me with everything in it.
Women are free to walk home late at night, because they know they are safe. Very young children are free to walk to school and play in the local parks, for the same reason. Elderly people are free to weave down the streets on their bicycles, because they know that drivers will go out of their way to yield to them.
By many measures, Japanese are much freer than Americans are.
Safe is different than free, and often at odds with freedom.
Safety is necessary for freedom.
As I said, even the youngest Japanese kids walk to school by themselves, i.e., without adult supervision. I've seen Japanese first-graders riding the Tokyo trains by themselves.
In the U.S., parents drive their kids to and from school because they fear for their kids' safety. You can see the SUVs lined up in school driveways every weekday morning and afternoon in suburbs all across the country.
Japanese kids are truly free. American kids are captives of fear.
I'm not a huge fan of Japan. It's an interesting place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Tokyo is densely populated, and smells like fish and cigarette smoke.
Societal expectations in Japan are so significant that no one feels “free” the way we define it in the west. Expats who live there see what they want to see and are merely scratching the surface. I lived there for years, travel there frequently, and don’t pretend to understand it. Complex, nuanced cultures are always like that. Recovering your wallet on the train is wonderful, but has nothing to do with being free.
Safe is different than free, and often at odds with freedom.
Safety is necessary for freedom.
As I said, even the youngest Japanese kids walk to school by themselves, i.e., without adult supervision. I've seen Japanese first-graders riding the Tokyo trains by themselves.
In the U.S., parents drive their kids to and from school because they fear for their kids' safety. You can see the SUVs lined up in school driveways every weekday morning and afternoon in suburbs all across the country.
Japanese kids are truly free. American kids are captives of fear.
Safety is not freedom, you clearly don’t know the difference.
As I said, even the youngest Japanese kids walk to school by themselves, i.e., without adult supervision. I've seen Japanese first-graders riding the Tokyo trains by themselves.
In the U.S., parents drive their kids to and from school because they fear for their kids' safety. You can see the SUVs lined up in school driveways every weekday morning and afternoon in suburbs all across the country.
Japanese kids are truly free. American kids are captives of fear.
Safety is not freedom, you clearly don’t know the difference.
I'm not sure why this is so hard to understand. Japanese kids are free to walk, run, and play anywhere they please, because they are safe. American kids aren't. Japanese women can walk home late at night, because they are safe. American woman can't.
Why doesn't that make Japanese kids and Japanese women freer than American kids and American women?
Claiming that you live in the land of the free rings hollow when your most vulnerable people don't even have freedom of movement.
Safety is not freedom, you clearly don’t know the difference.
I'm not sure why this is so hard to understand. Japanese kids are free to walk, run, and play anywhere they please, because they are safe. American kids aren't. Japanese women can walk home late at night, because they are safe. American woman can't.
Why doesn't that make Japanese kids and Japanese women freer than American kids and American women?
Claiming that you live in the land of the free rings hollow when your most vulnerable people don't even have freedom of movement.
You’re right, and historically I’d imagine Americans felt free-er, yet are now the most surveilled state on earth with the most police, intensely high gun crime and all manner of social issues. Yet Americans still cling onto the ideals over the reality
Ask the average Japanese salaryman if he feels free. Ask any twenty something woman in Japan if they feel free to escape from societal norms and be what they may want to be. Societal expectations are crushing in Japan, but this also gives rise to the most organized, safe and clean country on earth. Group harmony is prioritized over an individual’s free will. But, many Japanese feel depressed, overwhelmed and crushed by the group ethos as well.
Safety is not freedom, you clearly don’t know the difference.
I'm not sure why this is so hard to understand. North Korean kids are free to walk, run, and play anywhere they please, because they are safe. American kids aren't. North Korean women can walk home late at night, because they are safe. American woman can't.
Why doesn't that make North Korean kids and Japanese women freer than American kids and American women?
Claiming that you live in the land of the free rings hollow when your most vulnerable people don't even have freedom of movement.
Can you tell the difference now? A friend of mine (European) is married to a Japanese man and has lived there for 15 years or so. She loves the culture, the language, the country. But she always talks about the rules, the restrictions (legal and cultural) and how she doesn't feel free to be herself and express herself like she would in Europe.
How about you people stop derailing the thread? If you want to talk about Japan vs USA laws go make another thread.
You're right.
Ghost1, like others have said, use the search thingy and read about what Matt Fox has allegedly (or maybe not so allegedly only) done to countless people. The possible penalty for what he has done now, I guess most people here agree is exaggerated, but it's like karma catching up after so many years of (alleged) impunity.
The collectivist nature of Japanese society supports harsh penalties for any drug related infractions. There is zero tolerance for any breakdown of society and drug use is the quickest way to effectuate that. No one thinks the gaijin is cool for having his little cache of gummies.
Ask the average Japanese salaryman if he feels free. Ask any twenty something woman in Japan if they feel free to escape from societal norms and be what they may want to be. Societal expectations are crushing in Japan, but this also gives rise to the most organized, safe and clean country on earth. Group harmony is prioritized over an individual’s free will. But, many Japanese feel depressed, overwhelmed and crushed by the group ethos as well.
I don’t know why people are arguing so much. As this post suggests, there are big tradeoffs for both approaches. I personally prefer not to give up a lot of individual autonomy in exchange for a bit of added safety, but I can’t say I came to that conclusion by any means other than because I’m American and that’s what I’m used to. I’m sure like all systems, the Japanese system feels great IF you can navigate it. Not everyone is capable of keeping up with group expectations all the time, just like not everyone is capable of defending themselves and/or navigating a more individually risky world.
You seriously don't think limiting the availability of drugs helps? Availability, whether it be of alcohol, food, porn, or anything else addicting, certainly contributes to the problem.
This. The infamous rat park experiments show availability and accessibility are main keys to addiction (along with lack of social interactions, of course). Make access more difficult and the behaviors mostly stop. Same with vets returning from Vietnam who had picked up heroin addictions and never touched it again upon touching down in the US.
There's really no reasoning with stupid, is there? Making drugs illegal doesn't reduce the availability, it just creates a black market. Therein lies another problem, drug quality is no longer controlled or regulated, money goes into criminals hands rather than being taxed and invested back into communities. I could go on
This. The infamous rat park experiments show availability and accessibility are main keys to addiction (along with lack of social interactions, of course). Make access more difficult and the behaviors mostly stop. Same with vets returning from Vietnam who had picked up heroin addictions and never touched it again upon touching down in the US.
There's really no reasoning with stupid, is there? Making drugs illegal doesn't reduce the availability, it just creates a black market. Therein lies another problem, drug quality is no longer controlled or regulated, money goes into criminals hands rather than being taxed and invested back into communities. I could go on
The US should have drug laws like this. Would end the fentanyl crisis in a year. Our tolerance for drugs is a weakness and results in high overdose rates and crime.
So disturbed at how many people support Totalitarian drug laws. A crime occurs when one damages another's person or property. Personally ingesting a chemical on your own private property is not a crime. Doing it in public may be, especially if bothering others.
Let's be serious here, Japan is not a free country and never has been. Those who ran the country pre and during WWII continued to run the country, witht the exception of some military generals (who fjust followed orders) and the presence of US military personel to ensure a smooth transition to a strategic US ally against Russia. Totally swept Japan's rape and pilaging of most of Asia under the table and left he Zaibatsu intact (Japan's version of Oligarchy).
So you’re fine with 100,000 plus overdose deaths per year and all of the associated theft, murder, broken families, etc. that comes from drugs? Anyone who has ever known a drug addict knows it effects far more than one individual.