Japan Life

I watched this recent video by Dogen about how immigrants should adapt to Japanese life etc.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_tXp5sFlHQ

One of the things I found odd was that he mentioned "eating while walking" as one of the offensive behaviors foreigners should stop doing. Many of the other examples made sense to me, but for this one - I never thought this was "rude", rather "odd". Thinking about it, I had a few conversations about this over time, but never got negative vibes for it (at least directly). Might be that people don't want to tell me it's rude, but I also got no negative opinions about it from people who lived abroad for a while (and thus are maybe better at communicating with foreigners) and/or are usually more upfront with me.

So my current understanding: It's odd but not rude. Thankful for any further insights.

Complementary coverage by the BBC and South China Morning Post

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17412546

Hospitals are stretched to their limits during unseasonably early heatwave, as medical authorities liken public health risk to a ‘natural disaster’

Medical experts in Japan are to add a “most severe” category to the current heatstroke index, amid warnings that the extreme heat is straining medical services and causing damage to public health comparable to that in a “natural disaster”.

The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine said it would add a fourth category to the three-level classification later this year in an attempt to reduce deaths from heatstroke.

The announcement came in the same week as authorities in Tokyo said six people had died from the effects of a heatwave that has sent temperatures as high as 40C in some parts of the country – well above the 35C threshold classified by weather officials as “extremely hot”.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13104054

A Japanese high court ruled Thursday that denying same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and called for urgent government action to address the lack of any law allowing for such unions.

The court does not have the power to overturn the current marriage law, which has been interpreted to restrict marriage as between a man and a woman. Government offices may continue to deny marriage status to same-sex couples unless the existing law is revised to include LGBTQ+ couples, or a new law is enacted that allows for other types of unions.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/worldnews@lemmy.ml/t/797034

A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, is suing the country’s police, accusing authorities of racial profiling and discrimination.

Cross post from reddit that just got locked:

/r/japanlife/comments/18ycbqu/returning_back_to_europe_after_45_months_in_japan/

I have been on on exchange living in Japan and I must say I have been impressed and felt very very very welcome here. Have never felt this way in any country (maybe not even my own). I am heading back now unfortunatly.

Apart from all the good food, nature etc. The things that I have noticed and really appreciated was:

• Never had a conflict with anyone here. Not a single one (yes, it is obvious I am not Japanese, so I guess locals will be more accepting, but still).
• Everyone seems to be very mindful of others and things are so clean and orderly. No one is loud, take up space etc. And no one minds you (people dont stare at you or comment on what your doing).
• Japanese people would ask if I needed help on train stations etc. * Very kind people ! It has been very easy to meet locals and I have made good friends (maybe not on tatemae level?).
• Overall, sitting in the airport, I already feel the European/western loudness, taking up space, clumsiness etc. ... Very uncharming to observe actually comming straight from Japanese living.

I know I probably have some of the traits myself (as I grew up in it) but I am almost a bit affraid to return to all the random people creating conflicts, loud and obnoxious people etc.

Anyone who can comment on things that might help ? I have already tried to find Tonkotsu ramen places (hahah!) in my city and other Japanese things that might make me feel more at ease. Non the less, thank you Japan for an absolutely amazing experince here !

Canadian here. Most of our banking is electronic in Canada and I just don’t physical currency much. I mostly stuck with using paper currency in Japan this past summer.

I couldn’t find a quick and easy way to easily convert my coins back to paper yen before the flight home so used up some of my baggage weight allowance with a big sack of Japanese coins. Any tips?

I don’t mind paying a percentage to do it but don’t want to count myself. If there’s a shortage of coins in Japan right now it’s because all your yen are in my luggage.

Banks here used to have machines to do it with Canadian coins but with few people using coins now they all got removed.

Plan B was to pour my 2kg sack-o-yen into a temple donation box and reap the good Karma for years to come.

A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the country's central region on Monday.

Anyone else feel that? Strongest earthquake I've been in.

Changes in Japanese lifestyles are being reflected by the emergence of new types of kotatsu — traditionally, internally heated tables usually draped with a futon quilt to retain the warmth.

The dynamic pricing scheme allows the prices of vending machine items to be raised when demand is high and lowered when sales are low.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's ruling parties on Thursday approved tax reform plans for fiscal 2024 to support inflation-hit households and child-rearing fa

A Japanese court on Tuesday found three former soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female colleague, in a victory for the victim whose battle for justice challenged taboos in a traditional, male-dominated society.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan will start issuing new 10,000 yen ($69), 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen banknotes on July 3, marking the first redesign in about two d

The choice came as tax hikes and cuts were heavily covered in the news and discussed among policymakers.

Some people on social media expressed anger at the character's skirt being flipped and said it 'set a bad example for children.'

Internet references conflating the two films drew anger in Japan, which was twice attacked by nuclear weapons during the second world war

As such names have increased, so has attention to cases of people unhappy with them. But critics say new rules may infringe on the right to be creative.

The annual ranking by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, released Monday, showed that unisex names have risen in popularity.

NIIGATA -- A symposium on making gender-neutral school uniforms inclusive of students in the LGBTQ+ community was held Nov. 18 in this central Japan prefectural capital.

I've been trying to find some good restaurants to go to when I visit Tokyo around New Year's. I live near Nagoya, which has a few good western dining options, but isn't quite so good for Malaysian, Burmese, or Middle Eastern. I generally find Gurunavi and Tabelog overwhelming unless you're searching for one specific area and/or with specific conditions to narrow the results down to a reasonable level, so I've been more interested in blogs and other sites with curated content. Here are a few I found, so please comment with any others you know.

Niche Dekae Blog site featuring posts about restaurants that mainly serve more difficult to find cuisines such as Kurdish, Persian, Ethiopioan, and regional Chinese and Indian. Search Ethnic Features information about "Ethnic Cuisine" (which in Japan seems to refer exclusively to South and South East Asian food). Includes information about restauants abroad and in Japan.

Over 30% of those 65 or older fall below poverty line after death of spouses

Mt. Fuji may lose its World Heritage status if it can't control overtourism. But one proposed solution - a railway - has critics up in arms.