# Is Japan the worst highly developed country to live in? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2021, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329 "2021-11-14T13:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/61 "2021-11-17T23:19:47Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Lack of sleep though can be a factor on why there are fewer kids being born in Japan as before. > > [Matt Walker: Sleep is your superpower | TED Talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_sleep_is_your_superpower?language=en#t-36457) > > > Men who sleep five hours a night have significantly smaller testicles than those who sleep seven hours or more. > > > > (Laughter) > > > > In addition, men who routinely sleep just four to five hours a night will have a level of testosterone which is that of someone 10 years their senior. So a lack of sleep will age a man by a decade in terms of that critical aspect of wellness. And we see equivalent impairments in female reproductive health caused by a lack of sleep. > > > > This is the best news that I have for you today. > > > > (Laughter) > > > > From this point, it may only get worse. Not only will I tell you about the wonderfully good things that happen when you get sleep, but the alarmingly bad things that happen when you don’t get enough, both for your brain and for your body. I _highly_ recommend Matt Walker’s book “Why We Sleep.” Fascinating, informative, and a bit scary. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/62 "2021-11-17T23:24:16Z")
Semi Hijack- I know this an odd and very subjective question. I ask it sincerely- is Japanese pop culture weirder than average or do they just export a higher percentage of weirdness? OTTOMH a dating video game featuring Colonel Sanders comes to mind. Come to think of it, I have many more questions about Japan and it would probably help if somebody started an ‘Ask Me About Japan’ thread. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/63 "2021-11-17T23:26:41Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > So what exactly does that contribute to the discussion? Gosh, someone made a tangental comment in a dope thread. That’s gotta be the first time that has ever happened. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > If you are proposing that bicycle theft contributes to making Japan an undesirable place to live (the latter part of which is, after all, the topic of this thread), I think such a thesis is pretty silly. I don’t presume myself important enough that I expect anyone to be intimate with my posting history, or bothered that someone isn’t, but so many of my posts here have been pro some aspects of Japanese culture (lots of otaku culture but also a long-term interest in pre-modern Japanese folklore, especially as compiled by [Yanagita Kuino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunio_Yanagita) and in some Japanese art/craftworks such as netsuke and ukiyo-e, for example) that I have had concerns about coming across as a [weeabu](https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/weeaboo/). I am the last person here who would be making that argument. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/64 "2021-11-17T23:29:45Z")
Yes, they are weirder indeed. I’ve lately been watching _Girls in Panzers_ (a Japanese anime about girls driving WWII tanks) for laughs. You sure wouldn’t find something like that in the West. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/65 "2021-11-17T23:31:09Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > If you walk outside a Japanese office building and see 500 nearly identical bicycles parked in a row (or more likely in a heap), then you will understand the exact nature of the problem they are addressing. Avoid the one with the bird poo! > **[How about some fake bird poo to protect your bike from thieves in Japan?](https://soranews24.com/2020/08/20/how-about-some-fake-bird-poo-to-protect-your-bike-from-thieves-in-japan/)** > > A psychological countermeasure that trades style for security. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/66 "2021-11-17T23:31:36Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You sure wouldn’t find something like that in the West. You might, but it would be for humorous effect. The awesome thing about Japanese weirdness is that it is so sincere. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/67 "2021-11-17T23:43:27Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > is Japanese pop culture weirder than average or do they just export a higher percentage of weirdness? I would think that every country harbors people with weird interests. Japan is one of the few countries to have a large and wealthy enough population to have enough people willing to pay for weird media to make the production of that media profitable. For much of anime, broadcasting it is basically just advertising for Blu-ray and merchandising sales. ([Anime releases are expensive in Japan](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-m&channel=ts&q=anime+blu+ray+expensive&oq=anime+blu-ray+ex&aqs=heirloom-srp.0.0l3).) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/68 "2021-11-17T23:52:04Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > OTTOMH a dating video game featuring Colonel Sanders comes to mind. I haven’t heard of this before, but that’s a parody game commissioned by KFC. So it is advertising. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I\_Love\_You,\_Colonel\_Sanders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_You,_Colonel_Sanders)! ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/69 "2021-11-18T01:15:14Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Yes, they are weirder indeed. > > I’ve lately been watching _Girls in Panzers_ (a Japanese anime about girls driving WWII tanks) for laughs. You sure wouldn’t find something like that in the West. I don’t think they’re weirder, just different. For example, from my German perspective, I find American pro-wrestling to be totally bizarre, and I could name other American cultural phenomena that I also find very weird. I’m sure Americans as well find some German cultural traditions weird (Schlager, maybe? Though I find that weird too). Each country has its own cultural idiosyncrasies. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/70 "2021-11-18T07:56:40Z")
funny you should mention pro wrestling which japan takes waayy more seriously than America and other places… > **[Puroresu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puroresu)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Puroresu (プロレス) is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of "professional wrestling" (プロフェッショナル・レスリング), which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's activities in the online Usenet community. Growing out of origins in the traditional > US style of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. Japanese... ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/71 "2021-11-18T08:06:05Z")
Something that hasn’t been covered is concerning career women. Things have been slowly changing, but in most fields, it’s impossible for most women to really get ahead. One of the problems is the long hours that many corporate jobs require and it’s very difficult for working mothers to put in those kinds of hours. > [@Isamu](#): > > Nope. People don’t usually have the chance to decide when and where or even if they are transferred overseas. Also it would be cruel to raise kids overseas then take them back to Japan to live. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but it usually doesn’t work out well for the kids. Japanese people who spend high school and college essentially lose their “Japaneseness,” and don’t regain it when they return back to Japan. I have had such friends and they no longer fit into the culture. It seems harder for them to live in Japan than it for foreigners because we can be excused for our strange thinking. I was just talking about that this recently with a friend. She went to America in 10th grade, then went to college there and worked for several years. She’s in her 50s now and has very few “real Japanese” friends. She mostly talks to other returnees or foreigners. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Even better than that, I’ve routinely seen people in restaurants and coffee shops in Japan leave things like purses, wallets, cell phones unattended while they visit the bathroom, condiment bar, or service counter, fully expecting that their property will still be sitting there when they return to their table. I have left my bag on the train a few times. Once when I first working there, I left it on the rack above the seat, and it included one month’s pay, all in cash. OTOH, on our last trip, I left my backpack on the train (try making transfers with two kids and multiple assortments of bags in tow) and immediately realized it. We rushed to the office and they found the train within five or ten minutes but the bag was gone. A few days later it showed up on another train on a completely different line, minus the cash (but at least with my ID and such). > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > And if you do find a wallet in Japan, it WILL have cash in it. One of the great mysteries to me about Japan is how such a technologically advanced society still conducts so many of its transactions in cash. That is changing. When I was first there EVERYTHING was cash. No checks and few places took credit cards. Companies paid salaries in cash, which lead to this [infamous incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_million_yen_robbery). Something that does happen in Japan is that things often lag other countries, but the change is often over a shorter period of time. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Stolen [bicycles] have little use. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > . . . . seems more than a little hyperbolic to me. Define “useless” and “hyperbolic,” preferably without an overlap. Creative definitions could be entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/72 "2021-11-18T08:45:20Z")
I saw this in another topic very recently but isn’t the lack of crime in Japan due to how their court system works? Iirc someone said that Japan’s courts have a 99% conviction rate and you can be held for six months to a year without a warrant. Basically they sweat you out to get a conviction. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/73 "2021-11-18T12:55:22Z")
There isn’t a a lack of crime in Japan. To the contrary there is plenty of crime in Japan. What there is are very low levels of serious criminal violence, very low levels of vandalism, very low levels of causing a commotion. Plus most people would return a lost wallet, with the cash still in it. Most. On the flip slide, Japan has massive institutional criminal white collar fraud issues. You will never read about them because it is in no one’s interest to divulge them. Japan has massive sexual crime issues that you will never read about because they don’t get reported because the police make it difficult for victims to file complaints. (See the Shiori Ito case, you will smack your head against a wall). Human trafficking, another big problem. Mostly unreported. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/74 "2021-11-18T12:55:54Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > OTTOMH a dating video game featuring Colonel Sanders comes to mind. As opposed to the totally normal Wendy’s tabletop role-playing game, Feast of Legends? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/75 "2021-11-18T13:01:52Z")
The justice system is another issue. Lawyers in Japan have exactly zero power over police to protect their clients. They are not like western lawyers - don’t ever make that mistaken presumption. Also, judges are trained by the public prosecutors!!! and are picked straight from school, not appointed after years of service in the law. For the public prosecutors, taking a suspect to trial and not winning is a career harming event. So you have to be sure of a win. What can be surer than a confession? Nothing right? So they sweat you out for a confession, holding you indefinitely. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/76 "2021-11-18T13:10:02Z")
Speaking of different cultures: There was that one Japanese television show where, just for yuks, the host would walk up behind someone and then give a piercing yell. It was considered especially humorous if the victim were poised on the edge of a dock - etc - and then jumped off. > [@nightshadea](#): > > funny you should mention pro wrestling which japan takes waayy more seriously than America and other places… Also consider sumo wrestling. Some years ago a mathematician did a statistical study on the top sumo matches and concluded that there was a high degree of certainty the matches were fixed. It near caused a national crisis! (Source: Freakonomics) ---
**Author:** ![JakeRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/77 "2021-11-18T14:16:00Z")
USA isn’t the greatest example to compare to, why not compare to France where most people work for 7 hours or 35 workweeks? That should be the example to follow, for people to have time for their mental health, for their family, for their non-work tasks, friends and so on, not to consider 6 hours of sleep and a morning to evening job normal…in the 21st century. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/78 "2021-11-18T14:21:21Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > why not compare to France Because the question was whether or not Japan is a “dystopian hellhole” based on some example metrics. Based on personal experience, one of them seemed a bit… less than hellholeish… so I looked it up. The question isn’t really “Do people in Country X get more sleep than the people in Japan”, it’s “Is Japan a dystopian hellhole as indicated at least partially by these hours of sleep?” ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/79 "2021-11-18T14:44:52Z")
My son recently took an extended trip to Japan with several friends, visiting another friend who lived and worked there. In short, my son LOVED every aspect of Japan - EXCEPT Tokyo. I wonder how many countries have significant differences between their major metropolis and the rest of the country. Very recently someone was opining to me about the social and achievement pressures in S Korea, suggesting it was an unpleasant place - but I have zero personal experience/knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329/80 "2021-11-18T15:41:03Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > My son recently took an extended trip to Japan with several friends, visiting another friend who lived and worked there. In short, my son LOVED every aspect of Japan - EXCEPT Tokyo. I wonder how many countries have significant differences between their major metropolis and the rest of the country. Years ago, I met a young man from Marseilles, who was visiting a college buddy of mine; the Frenchman had lived with my buddy’s family as an exchange student in high school. We were talking about national stereotypes, and the “obnoxious Frenchman” trope came up. He said, “Oh, no, that’s just _Parisians_. We hate them, too.” I’ve never been to Japan, but I think I would find the _kawaii_ culture oppressive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-japan-the-worst-highly-developed-country-to-live-in/954329.md?page=5)