I went and lived in Fukuoka for two years. I was advised before I went that if I want deodorant, to bring my own from Australia. Apparently the companies sell it in Japan, but only for show. Because Japanese people do not sweat.
It seems this means no apocrine sweat (underarm and foot sweat). But some say they sweat normal sweat (eccrine) when hot or exercising.
Well, considering that humans sweat and that Japanese people are in fact, human, I’d say their not sweating at all would be highly unlikely. Besides, as everyone knows, sweating plays an important role in regulating our body temperature.
Nonetheless, the fatty material that make people smell bad comes only from apocrine glands, of which East Asian people have fewer. Thus, they wouldn’t need underarm deodorant as much.
And, if I’d bothered to take my research one step further, I would have found that Cecil already dealt with pretty much this question.
He does not answer the question why they have less apocrine sweat glands. I quote “Why are Asians different? Nobody knows…”
Hm, but the OP’s question wasn’t “why?” but “what?”
Should be a comma there or an !. What, do not Japanese people sweat ? or What! Do not Japanese people sweat ? or even maybe it should be a “Why?”
How about “Why do not Japanese people sweat?”
Ohh, a bit of a misunderstanding. I apologise. I’ll see if I can dig anything up.
When you ask “Why,” do you mean you’re looking for some sort of evolutionary or cosmic “reason” why they sweat differently than you?
One might ask “why” you sweat differently than they do.
The only answer is that people of both sweat-configurations live long enough to reproduce.
I lived in Japan for a while and I made these observations -
- You ride the Yamanote line at 6PM in August and see if you still think Japanese people can’t get their stink on.
- Fat people get hotter and sweat more than non-fat people. Most Japanese people falling in the non-fat category, this could explain why they can get by with less air conditioning and underarm deodorant.
- I think much of the rest of the world is not so paranoid about exterminating the body’s natural smells as we English-speaking westerners tend to be.
A friend’s comments- Come to think of it, I have never seen a Japanese person sweat. I have, however, seen many animes in which they do. So they must!
Isn’t this about stink, rather than about sweat?
Sweat only stinks because of the fumes put out by bacteria. For example, if you scrub your armpits with some strong antibacterial soap, then wear only sterile shirts, then your sweat will remain nearly odorless. You won’t need deodorant for many days.
Perhaps the bacterial ecology is different in Japan… and if Japanese armpits became infected with American stench-producing bacteria, then the situation would quickly change!
The problem is that bacteria can only stink given the proper materials, such as the stuff excreted from apocrine glands. Because the Japanese, and most East Asian people, for that matter, have fewer, there’s less for the bacteria to work with, and thus less stink.
Japanese sweat (either that or the ones I saw didn’t know that their drinks are supposed to go in their mouths and not on their backs.) You just have to get them hotter.
I can’t comment on whether they smell or not. Certainly I’ve never noticed it.
Let’s hear it for everyone’s favorite Japanese soft drink, Pocari Sweat!
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That’s for damn sure.
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I don’t know, Japanese seem pretty paranoid about all their other smells. Still, at the end of a workout, I (caucasian) am noticeably riper than the folks (japanese) around me.
Japanese people indeed sweat. Which is one reason they always carry handkerchiefs. Japanese summers tend to be very humid, so there is plenty of sweat to go around. Many women I know wear a special type of cosmetic that reduces(?) sweating, or at least the appearance of it. And FYI, Japanese tend to use roll-on or spray deodorant, instead of the stick type.
Oh, they sweat, all right. There’s not that much in the way of deodorants though, for reasons that others have already discussed. Lately, the marketing machine has started to promote anti-stink products to stamp out even the relatively less-pungent Japanese armpit odor. I have, right here on my desk, a brand new product by Men’s Biore; an antiperspirant deodorant spray (scentless). Up until a few months ago, the only products I saw like this were marketed for women.
Now if they could only do something about the stench of old, drunk, smoking salary-men packed onto a train, punctuated with whiffs of alcohol vomit on the platforms at station stops. . .