Tatty Canadian flags

[Catsumi]

As I said, none were seen by us. It is nice that if they wish to live that way they don't "take over" but remove themselves in an orderly considerate manner. In a city of Tokyo's population of 8 million and Osaka's 4 millions, 5-6,000 is a very small number by comparison. How many in Okanagan?

No panhandling, no drug deals, no defecating or piddling, no needles, no trash visible.

[d0nb]

Japan "Less innovative"? Really?

That's the theory. Of course, less open societies like Japan have their fair share of brilliant people, but I suspect that the dream of many is to eventually move to a Western country where they can work with colleagues from around the world and share ideas. Immigrants seem to bring a kind of cultural parallax view to their new country that helps to foster innovation and creativity.

5. With all the vehicles on the roads I was shocked to see no license plate with more than FOUR easy to read numbers, easily discernable at a distance, not like our six character mix of letters and numbers. I questioned how they could do this: should you want to know I will relate explanation.

By all means - I'm curious.

Thanks donb, I love talking about Japan.

The Japanese couldn’t ask for a better advocate.

From a libertarian perspective, I find it interesting to compare Japanese exceptionalism to JT’s Canadian post nationalism. One stands for the preservation and imposition of values while the other is reluctant to stand for anything lest it offend the cultural sensitivities of myriad interest groups.

Historically, Canadians have been willing to accept a certain amount of chaos in exchange for a substantial measure of individual freedom. Nations like the Japanese opt for clean streets, public transport that runs on schedule and a set of rules that everyone knows and is expected to conform to. One of the dark sides of such societies can be the kind of pressure placed on those who do not conform to the norm. The lives of those who are physically deformed, diseased, mentally challenged, or are just plain ‘different’ can be unpleasant, and a ‘solution’ to the problem of those who are ‘disruptive’ or place a burden on the collective always seems to be lurking just below the surface.

I note that one of the proposed changes to the constitution would extend protection to those with “handicaps” but other changes, such as the introduction of P.E.T.-style notwithstanding provisions and exceptions regarding freedom of expression, are simply awful. The Japanese have always been uneasy with the fact that certain Western concepts of natural law were written into their constitution by the Allies after WW2, but arguably, it has helped to improve the quality of their society.

/Added: BTW, strange as it may seem I did not spot one Japanese flag anywhere. Totally unnecessary according to one Japanese I talked with.

Things just haven't been the same since the war. It was a painful lesson in the dangers of blind nationalism.

[Catsumi]

Excellent response, thoughtful and interesting takes on ours vs their cultures.

Let's deal with license plates first (I am weird as I always notice them when I travel having worked on traffic desk at RCMP when the earth was still cooling).

Passenger type cars have a designation above the four large numbers indicating where they are from (prefectures) and in the case of Tokyo where there are so many vehicles, a prefrontal designation is written. Really, all you need to identify a vehicle that ran over you as a hit and run incident (not bloody likely to happen there), all you really need is the color of the car, its plate color, and its number, easy-peasy.

Taxis have a separate colored plates designated just for them, same with buses. All with prefecture number above large numbers, but all you need is the fact that it was a bus and the number.

Ditto for garbage trucks, city trucks (all highly polished, btw), have a separate colored plate.

You really have to see this to realize how efficient and well thought out this system is. In comparison, just try to recall the six letter and number combo of vehicles here, if you are lucky enough to see them. There, they are clean of obscuring dirt. There is no such thing as a dirty vehicle.

The Japanese see owning and driving a vehicle as a privilege and not a god given right. They care for their cars, buses and trucks and realize their value in their lives. Some peeps may never own homes, rent for life, but if they own a car they tenderly care for it.

An aside: you do not see drivers zipping in and out of lanes, speeding or such asinine behaviour as road rage. Courtesy to all others, first.

..........

As for "imposed" restrictions on their lives, Japanese don't see it that way as their culture is not to offend, be pushy, or create difficulties for others. We, on the other hand, seem to be going briskly towards the "me first, always, and to hell with anyone else" type of thinking that we see all around us today. We don't revere or make exceptions for our elderly but hear "get out of our way, we are young and you are not". Just look at the threads here. Should we be proud of how our young are behaving? Rape, muggings, thievery, drugging, lying and beating the system is what we see, not in ALL our young, but in enough horrible instances to give us pause. Where did we go wrong? Canada now is not the Canada of the past, nor should it be. But are we moving in the right direction? Or, have we divested ourselves of human dignity?

........

Yes,I agree, we have awful "laws" in our country making one or the other segment more equal than others. What is the purpose of that, I wonder? It is proving divisive between cultures which leads to resentment, hatred and perceived "favoritism". Why don't we take this ugly situation up with our government? Could it be because they know best what is good for us and we should shut up and follow like good sheeple? Special interest groups will thrive, for a while, but not forever unless we ALL become spinelessly accepting of governmental decrees. As an example, special laws for one religion only? (Btw again, Japanese are accepting of almost all religions, some even belong to various religions without a problem).


......


And yes, once again I agree. Japan underwent enormous upheavals after WW2, but they quickly adapted, borrowing the BEST ideas from governments around the globe which vaulted them onto the world stage as a Player. Now they are the third (or 4th) largest economic factor in the world, even after the terrible fallout of their bubble.

Are they perfect? No. Are they striving for perfection? Yes.

It was a sight to behold visiting their Mazda car manufacturing plant. Talk about innovations and efficiency.

I became interested in Japan 45 years ago and studied on my own their culture and heritage. What a shock to see the best of the Old offset against the New Japan, I was unprepared to be awed.

Take my hand D0nb, let's visit Japan !

Sorry if this was a bit longish, but I really do admire the Land of the Rising Sun. (Cymbals...clash, clash).

[d0nb]

Excellent response, thoughtful and interesting takes on ours vs their cultures.

Let's deal with license plates first (I am weird as I always notice them when I travel having worked on traffic desk at RCMP when the earth was still cooling).

Passenger type cars have a designation above the four large numbers indicating where they are from (prefectures) and in the case of Tokyo where there are so many vehicles, a prefrontal designation is written. Really, all you need to identify a vehicle that ran over you as a hit and run incident (not bloody likely to happen there), all you really need is the color of the car, its plate color, and its number, easy-peasy.

Taxis have a separate colored plates designated just for them, same with buses. All with prefecture number above large numbers, but all you need is the fact that it was a bus and the number.

Ditto for garbage trucks, city trucks (all highly polished, btw), have a separate colored plate.

You really have to see this to realize how efficient and well thought out this system is. In comparison, just try to recall the six letter and number combo of vehicles here, if you are lucky enough to see them. There, they are clean of obscuring dirt. There is no such thing as a dirty vehicle.

Thanks for the Info. I see that some of the plates also have reflective lettering. Not a bad idea.

Perhaps soon our vehicles will all be electronically coded, their every movement tracked and all speeding, improper lane changes and ‘unnecessary’ trips will be reported to the RCMP traffic desk. I can hardly wait. (Sorry, my libertarian angst just leapt out and took over the keyboard.)

The Japanese see owning and driving a vehicle as a privilege and not a god given right. They care for their cars, buses and trucks and realize their value in their lives. Some peeps may never own homes, rent for life, but if they own a car they tenderly care for it.

An aside: you do not see drivers zipping in and out of lanes, speeding or such asinine behaviour as road rage. Courtesy to all others, first.

You mean, they use more than one finger to communicate with other drivers? They must find a visit to NA a real education in cultural differences.

As for "imposed" restrictions on their lives, Japanese don't see it that way as their culture is not to offend, be pushy, or create difficulties for others. We, on the other hand, seem to be going briskly towards the "me first, always, and to hell with anyone else" type of thinking that we see all around us today. We don't revere or make exceptions for our elderly but hear "get out of our way, we are young and you are not". Just look at the threads here. Should we be proud of how our young are behaving? Rape, muggings, thievery, drugging, lying and beating the system is what we see, not in ALL our young, but in enough horrible instances to give us pause. Where did we go wrong? Canada now is not the Canada of the past, nor should it be. But are we moving in the right direction? Or, have we divested ourselves of human dignity?

I wonder how immune to the fragmentation of families and society at large Japan will be as more of their children become a product of global social media culture. Do they have an appreciation of the threat that we did not? Are they not at risk of raising a generation so lost in electronic fantasy worlds that they fail to develop the interpersonal skills required in order to live productive lives, or to recognize and accept the need to put the interests of others above their own on occasion?

Yes,I agree, we have awful "laws" in our country making one or the other segment more equal than others. What is the purpose of that, I wonder? It is proving divisive between cultures which leads to resentment, hatred and perceived "favoritism". Why don't we take this ugly situation up with our government? Could it be because they know best what is good for us and we should shut up and follow like good sheeple? Special interest groups will thrive, for a while, but not forever unless we ALL become spinelessly accepting of governmental decrees. As an example, special laws for one religion only? (Btw again, Japanese are accepting of almost all religions, some even belong to various religions without a problem).

As Canadian politicians glory in the conceit that Canada doesn’t need to try to be a melting pot, we are unlikely to ever even come close to achieving the kind of national cohesiveness that is so integral to the Japanese experience.

Diversity can be beneficial, but Canadians have been encouraged to elevate the importance of celebrating their individual histories at the expense of their duty to honor the essential fact that in the end, the whole must exceed the sum of its parts. Leaders should lead, and the highest responsibility of government in this country should be to advance the common good. The first question asked of anyone making a ‘demand’ on government should be “How does this serve the interests of all Canadians?” If it doesn’t, they should be invited to go and think about what it means to be a citizen.

And yes, once again I agree. Japan underwent enormous upheavals after WW2, but they quickly adapted, borrowing the BEST ideas from governments around the globe which vaulted them onto the world stage as a Player. Now they are the third (or 4th) largest economic factor in the world, even after the terrible fallout of their bubble.

Are they perfect? No. Are they striving for perfection? Yes.

I wish them luck, but unfortunately, my outlook on countries that have to depend on international trade to sustain their economies is not optimistic.

So far, Japan has been good at finding ways to keep the economy running, most of which call for deficit spending. Like so many other countries, they have a date with fiscal destiny. Keeping up with the interest payments on that massive debt (over two and a half times GDP) is consuming an ever increasing share of tax revenues and not long from now, their ability to meet spending obligations will be compromised. If anything happens to disrupt exports, things will get interesting sooner rather than later.

It was a sight to behold visiting their Mazda car manufacturing plant. Talk about innovations and efficiency.

Mazda’s new compression ignition gasoline engines look interesting. I wonder what it would take to get a plant like that built in Canada. (Dream on)

I became interested in Japan 45 years ago and studied on my own their culture and heritage. What a shock to see the best of the Old offset against the New Japan, I was unprepared to be awed.

Take my hand D0nb, let's visit Japan !

Sorry if this was a bit longish, but I really do admire the Land of the Rising Sun. (Cymbals...clash, clash).

Your views are borne of a love and respect for Japan’s history and culture which makes them uniquely informative and interesting.

[d0nb]

Sorry for taking so long to follow up. I'm just busy, not disinterested.

[Catsumi]

We could if we wanted to, learn so much from Japan:

Their easy to read license plates, clean and safe streets, food presentation, great service staff in stores, passage through Customs, to controlling (how do they do it?) beggars, panhandlers and drug illegal drug use.

[hobbyguy]

http://www.prosperity.com/rankings

Most notably Canada is ranked 2nd in the world for personal freedom. Japan is ranked 46th. There are only two areas where Japan scores better than Canada, health care, and security.

My observation is that security tends to be inverse to personal freedom in country rankings, and I really don't think Canadians would enjoy the conformity requirements of too much more security at the expense of personal freedom.

I sincerely doubt that we, given our much larger cultural diversity and regional diversity can be compared to an island nation to any benefit. Islands tend to develop weird little cultural quirks that can not be duplicated in more open situations.

[Catsumi]

Hobbyguy, your link shows what could (and should) be an engaging and informative comparison between countries, but it sure is a user-unfriendly site. Slow, slow and stubborn (maybe me? )

I would really like to know what pinpoints they are using to determine "rights" for example. As mentioned in above posts, Japanese can purchase a vehicle only after showing proof that they have a dedicated space to park the damn thing. Is this considered a loss of personal freedoms and rights? Or a concession to society making life easier for all?

Is a person's right to camp out in our parks, defecate, shoot up, whatever they want to do an infringement on MY right to enjoy that space as it was originally intended? Or, do their rights and freedoms supercede mine? We have so many rights now and yet people aren't happy with the way our society is going. Just look at the threads, from the Injustice system to dog crap and discarded needles. Are we on the right track here? Where do freedoms and rights begin and end, and infringement on others' rights begin/end?


Murky.

If you can provide me with an easy way to navigate this site, I will be delighted. Not pretending to be an "authority" in Japan, just a student willing to learn more.

Another poster recently said something to the effect that since the 1970's when PET held the reins of terror and proclaimed "a free and just society" that we commenced our trip to the bottom. I remember this period reasonably well as that was when prisoners were granted voting rights even though they'd broken the laws of the land. Is this what Canadians wanted or just a select few seeing a possible vote increase in their favor? Could this thinking also be behind the welcome mat rolled out for illegal entrants? Lawbreakers favored over those who observe the rules?

So many questions.

Don't you wish PET could be revived (temporarily, I add in haste) to look around and then answer the question: Is the mess you see today what you truly intended to come about?

Other things I have noted: Cops in Japan do not carry guns (but know Kendo). Gun deaths are virtually zero there. Terrorism, nada.

Yes, Islands can be a bit quirky, especially when discussing isolated wildlife populations, but Japan can hardly be considered hermetical as they host millions of tourists annually. They are free to travel abroad. Another island, not surrounded by water and definitely closed off to the world is North Korea, where a border seals them in and us out. Now, that is quirky.

No country is perfect. Are we? Most certainly not. Can we learn something that would improve our conditions? Yes, Europe, Australia and Japan all have ideas we might want to look at. So why do resist doing so?

[Catsumi]

Added: terrorism a non issue in Japan.