Ask our reporter in Japan!

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Yeah, I remember that whole text-book debacle from earlier this year, and how the Japanese embassy was mobbed (the mobbing of which was unofficially endorsed by the Chinese government).

It's interesting to hear though, that the Japanese sense of nationalism so prevalent in the war years has been all but forgotten by the current generation. Although personally, I would view that as a good thing. Nationalism breeds an unhealthy support of the state, even in wrong actions. I'm sure I don't need to point out examples because there are plenty around the world to look at today.

I remember seeing a news piece on BBC some time ago about Japanese public opinion to do with the reclassification of the millitary to allow it to be used outside the country. A lot of Japanese commedians were making fun of how the soldiers wouldn't know what to do in a combat situation. Made me laugh anyway.
 
Most people are against the sending of troops overseas. I don't really see the need for it myself, surely the US can do just as much messing up pretty much alone, can't they?

As for Nationalism. The best thing Japan could do is to get rid of the Governor of Tokyo, Ishihara Shintaro. If there's anyone doing damage to political views of Japan in Asia, it has to be him.
Some of his infomous moments.
1. Japanese wartime agression (especially the rape of Nanjing) never hapened.
2. Takeshima is a Japanese island, inhabbited illeagaly by Koreans.
3. French is a stupid language, because they don't know how to count propperly (e.g. 99 in French is said as, 20x4+19, etc...).
4. Japan should have nuclear weapons
5. Called the Chinese "genetic pollution" and have "criminal DNA"
6. Wanted to deport Chinese immigrants, because they're all criminals, apparently
7. Likes to be friendly with Taiwan just to piss-off the Chinese government

Thats all I can think of at the moment.
 
Chris said:
Most people are against the sending of troops overseas. I don't really see the need for it myself, surely the US can do just as much messing up pretty much alone, can't they?

As for Nationalism. The best thing Japan could do is to get rid of the Governor of Tokyo, Ishihara Shintaro. If there's anyone doing damage to political views of Japan in Asia, it has to be him.
Some of his infomous moments.
1. Japanese wartime agression (especially the rape of Nanjing) never hapened.
2. Takeshima is a Japanese island, inhabbited illeagaly by Koreans.
3. French is a stupid language, because they don't know how to count propperly (e.g. 99 in French is said as, 20x4+19, etc...).
4. Japan should have nuclear weapons
5. Called the Chinese "genetic pollution" and have "criminal DNA"
6. Wanted to deport Chinese immigrants, because they're all criminals, apparently
7. Likes to be friendly with Taiwan just to piss-off the Chinese government

Thats all I can think of at the moment.
Click to expand...

Good Grief! That's more embarrasing than our own royal family. Has the press laid into him about these kinds of comments or do they just ignore him?

As for the sending troops abroad thing, well the US never needed in any real sense, the support of Japans soldiers. But the Bush government wanted to give the impression that this was a united coalition against terror, as opposed to a unilateral action of war taken by his administration. Same thing with UK really.
 
Chris, when I look at import sites for japenese DVDs there astonisnlly expensive. Why is this? Is it just because of the exchange rates? Or do the Japanese just value DVDs more than we do? Or a Japanese jsut genrally better of?

Also, do people ever import DVDs? I'd imagine it should be quite popular given that there 3 times cheaper...
 
Chris said:
Most people are against the sending of troops overseas. I don't really see the need for it myself, surely the US can do just as much messing up pretty much alone, can't they?

As for Nationalism. The best thing Japan could do is to get rid of the Governor of Tokyo, Ishihara Shintaro. If there's anyone doing damage to political views of Japan in Asia, it has to be him.
Some of his infomous moments.
1. Japanese wartime agression (especially the rape of Nanjing) never hapened.
2. Takeshima is a Japanese island, inhabbited illeagaly by Koreans.
3. French is a stupid language, because they don't know how to count propperly (e.g. 99 in French is said as, 20x4+19, etc...).
4. Japan should have nuclear weapons
5. Called the Chinese "genetic pollution" and have "criminal DNA"
6. Wanted to deport Chinese immigrants, because they're all criminals, apparently
7. Likes to be friendly with Taiwan just to piss-off the Chinese government

Thats all I can think of at the moment.
Click to expand...
looks like the Japanese have their own equivalent of the Duke of Edinburgh, then. :shock:
 
I have a question that's been bugging me for some time now, about marriage/divorce!
The first part is; I've watched a couple of anime (and it was also in a couple of manga), where the man registered a divorce, it didn't go through a solicitor - how come? plus the woman had no say in whether her husband divorced her or not!
Second part; in one manga, a man refused his wife a divorce, does this mean she's stuck with him? or is there something like over here, where after 2 years you can file for divorce anyway?
Third part; when someone decides to get married, once the marriage is registered, do they have a ceremony like with a registrar (if it's not in a church/temple?).

Hoping you can answer these questions, as I'm a bit confused about marriage and divorce in Japan, and as I said, it's cropping up an awful lot in anime and manga I'm interested in at the moment.

Thankyou :D
 
Concrete badger said:
looks like the Japanese have their own equivalent of the Duke of Edinburgh, then. :shock:
Click to expand...

I was thinking the exact same thing. :mrgreen:

"Do you still throw spears at each other?" The Duke of Edinburgh to an Aborigine in Australia in 2002. :roll:
 
DVD's
Most DVD's are sold here at around Y6000= GBP30. Altough, after a while they sometimes go down to Y3000= GBP15. Boxed-sets are a lot better value, so many people wait and buy them as a set. I don't hear much about people importing any from overseas. But, if it's like what it is with CD's I guess more people would. CD's from the UK/US are a lot cheaped to buy than the Japanese version. A Japanese version CD will cost around Y3000, the same one but the overseas version (minus the Japanese bonus tracks etc...) around Y1500 to Y1800.
The cost of living in Japan is very high, so your wages are a lot better than what you would earn in the UK, so it balances out- paying high-prices for stuff doesn't seem all that expensive, but people looking at it from overseas see it as very expensive.

Marriage/Divorce
Whenever someone gets married or divorced it is very different to how it is in the UK. They are both done at the city hall. To get married all you have to do is get the spouses name put onto your Koseki Tohon (Family register). It's a very simple procedure. You need to sign it and get someone to be a witness (usually a family member) then stamp it, then you're married. NO ceremony is needed at all :shock: It's a lot like a business contract. When I got married I was very suprised at the speed. The moment the city hall has your family registed updated in it's files you're married. Since wedding ceremonies are quite expensive, most people don't bother with them, or save up money after they get "married" to have one later. Sometimes they just take photos of them in wedding clothes. They can also choose whether to have a church or a temple wedding.

It's almost the same with divorce. You have to get an application form from the city hall, and get both people to fill it in. Once it's filled in and stamped with personal seals (hankou). It's comple. You also have to say WHY you want to get divorced and WHO was to blame (e.g.- the husband had an affair etc...) However, sometimes one of the people doesn't want to divorce- they won't sign. Thats when it becomes tricky and they have to call lawyers in.
After a divorce, women have to wait 6 months before they can re-marry- in case they are pregnant. However men can do it almost instantly, which is a bit weird.

City halls are very useful places, thay handle births/deaths/marriages, registration of personal seals, alien registration (all forigners staying over 3-months have to register at their local city hall, you get an ID card with all your info on it- passport no, address, photo, etc... and it also has you're alien registration number on it which you need for a lot of things especially when you go overseas and come back), housing information, almost anything you need.

I hope thats made it all a bit clearer for you all :D If you need to know more, please feel free to ask away :D
 
Public Baths
No, I've only ever been to the ones they have in big hotels. I don't like them. Seeing skinny old men with withered-up "thingies" ins't my kind of thing. I know there are a few in some places that don't accept forigners, but they've been outlawed now, I think. Tattoos are still not allowed though, almost everywhere.
 
Thankyou Chris, that's cleared a lot up, although I'm rather surprised at just how simple both Marriage & Divorce seem to be. You said a woman has to wait 6 months to get married again, just incase she's pregnant, what difference does this make to the divorce?

Another question that is kinda related. Am I right in thinking when a woman gets remarried, her children take on the stepfathers name? I've always wondered about this and how come the man doesn't have to legally adopt them and doesn't the biological father ever complain that his son no longer has his name? or have I got it wrong?
Thankyou :D
 
Usually the children take the name of their new "father". Since the children "belong" to the mother they will take on the name of her spouse (if she changes her name to that- see below).
Another example is, if a couple get married but the woman doesn't change her name to that of her husband, the children take the name of the mother.

The waiting 6 months doesn't affect the divorce, just if she wants to re-marry.
 
Interesting links Chris. It is also useful to understand how one marries in Japan, since it makes sense of a few anime I've seen.
 
Ok ok. Here's a question not sure you'll be able to answer it though (but who knows ;)). Do teenagers really act like they do in anime and manga?? I'm talking with regards to romance and whatnot. Are they really that shy? Is intimacy frowned upon or something? I mean from what I've seen I'd reckon teenage pregnancy is probably unheard of in Japan - is that the case even? This has bugged me for quite a while because I've never really been able to identify with it considering what goes on here.
 
Thanks dylunio :D I'm always happy to be of help!

Panda Z
Yeah, from what it says on the website theres an anime on now.
http://www.panda-z.net/

Shyness etc...
Japanese people aren't really all that shy. The image you get from TVetc is that Japanese people are quite and shy and don't do much at all, the truth is that they are just as loud and can be just as annoying as anyone else.
Intimacy is not frowned upon, although Japanese men especially are not all that into the whole romance thing, except for teenagers maybe. Teenage pregnancy is not as widespread as it is in the UK- in fact the birthrate has fallen so rapidly that they say in 50 years time there's only going to be 50% of the population here now :!: Maybe a little more teenage pregnancy would be a good thing.
Another thing is that a lot Japanese people don't like sex. Many couples go at it like Rabbits until they have a kid, then just seem to stop.
 
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