Outside a train station near Tokyo, hundreds of people cheer as Sohei Kamiya, head of the surging nationalist party Sanseito, criticizes Japan’s rapidly growing foreign population.
As opponents, separated by uniformed police and bodyguards, accuse him of racism, Kamiya shouts back, saying he is only talking common sense.
Sanseito, while still a minor party, made big gains in July’s parliamentary election, and Kamiya’s “Japanese First” platform of anti-globalism, anti-immigration and anti-liberalism is gaining broader traction ahead of a ruling party vote Saturday that will choose the likely next prime minister.
My wife and I loves Japan and we visit quite often prior to having kids. Once we had kids, the people’s attitude changes towards you. Suddenly my crying kid is annoying everyone and throwing shade. Elevators and seats clearly designated for strollers is often filled to the brim and nobody getting off/out.
It’s a culture of hating kids.
Fun fact. Women who have kids must give up their careers. Grandparents is culturally not allowed to help with the grand kids. Like, you pop them out, you take care of them yourself, often without even help from the father.
Everything in your “fun fact” is not fact. I actually said “what the fuck” when I read it. I’ve been in Japan for a decade, both Tokyo and rural.
Where also are these magical stroller-only elevators? Certain people are supposed to have priority (and, yes, some assholes ignore this which is not a problem unique to Japan), and there are also people who don 'look disabled" but need help (I can be one of them sometimes as my left leg and ankle are as much metal as anything else, though you wouldn’t know by looking at me).
Japan has problems and had places.to.improve but your post is just wild wild to me as a long-term resident.
Where, though? I live in Okinawa and visiting Tokyo with my family sucks because people there are so uptight like you said. Also, old people there are so fucking entitled.
Edit: I forgot to write how Okinawa is like the opposite. Kids are more free to be kids here.
In Taiwan we call Okinawa, 琉球. This was the original name and I think the people there agrees with me. 琉球 has their own history and language prior to the takeover. The culture is vastly different than the mainland.
I was watching about singledom and loneliness in Japan, it seems like Okinawa is a world apart from the mainland because family ties and community is still strong in Okinawa. Well, fair enough that Okinawa is still culturally distinct in many ways than the mainland because of history, although it’s nice to hear some parts of Japan still have strong community and family values in a good way.