Japan social aspects

The Japanese culture is unlike any other in the world. It has long been known for it’s excellence in education and it’s strong background of family and religion. The Japanese way of life is an assortment of art, literature, music and more; it is nothing short of spectacular. I will explain about some of the different aspects of the Japanese life style as well as take a cultural look into the life of the Japanese.

Finding a place to live in Japan isn't easy. Limited supply and high demand result in tiny, hutch size homes with high rent rates. On average, dwellings in Japan have 91.92 square meters (about 989 square feet) of floor space, which is not very much compared to the average house sold in the United States. By Western standards, the Japanese home is very small. In the major cities, most families live in tiny apartments. One third of the housing in Tokyo averages only 121 square feet while the average Japanese home is 989. Land is hard to find and thus extremely expensive. For this reason there are many cultural differences between west and east.

The Japanese do not entertain in their homes as they feel that their houses are not worthy enough to bring in visitors. In fact, typical entertaining for men is in a convenient city location, generally, close to where they work. In the cities, it is not at all unusual for people to travel at least one and a half hours to work in each direction.

Good table manners and good manners in general is a key to the Japanese lifestyle. Eating is considered a very formal activity and is treated with the greatest amount of prestige. Just after you sit down at a table, you are given a hot (or sometimes in the summer cold) damp, white towel called an o-shibori. In a restaurant it is generally wrapped in plastic or is often served on a small oblong tray specifically made to place the o-shibori on. The towel is used to wipe your hands. In less formal situations, Japanese men often wash their faces with the towels, but it is best not to do this. After use, the towel is placed back on the tray. The o-shibori does not stay on the table throughout the meal and often napkins are not supplied. It is customary to keep a tissue or a handkerchief with you at all times.

In Japan, homes are very private and it i...

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...; Japan's national police agency recorded 2.85m crimes last year, a 60% increase from a decade earlier and the highest number reported since the end of the second world war. Although less than 1% of those were classified as “heinous crimes”—such as murder, rape, arson, kidnapping and armed robbery—the incidence of such violent offences has also risen sharply, increasing 75% between 1998 and last year. Even more alarming than the numbers, to some Japanese, is the sense that the most visible perpetrators—foreigners and young people with different values—represent a threat to the safe society they have grown to expect.

Of course, in Japan, as elsewhere, apparent trends in crime can be misleading. Although ghastly killings such as those in Nagasaki and Fukuoka are bound to gain national attention, murders remain rare in Japan, both by international and historical standards. The homicide rate has hardly changed since the mid-1990s, and remains much lower than it was in the 1960s. Nevertheless, prominent murders tap into broader Japanese fears about a wave of violent crimes and other offences, which have indeed been rising sharply.