Japan Man

I wasn’t going to touch this tragic event because I think that I am already doing a good job at explaining to you guys that Japan’s no picnic, but I feel that I should throw in my cheap two cents anyhoo.

First of all these cell phone suicide and murder sites have been around for a while. Japan’s suicide rate is probably the highest in the world. I wonder what Japan’s sick murder rate is. I need to consult What Japan Thinks, but if he doesn’t have the data, he should start collecting some now. 

Japan is not a safe country. When you come out here, you have to look both ways and watch your back just like anywhere else. I don’t know where this image of a safe, crime free Japan comes from, but it’s not true. You probably won’t get blasted on like in Brooklyn and Harlem, but when something goes down, and it will, just be prepared.

Whoa this is gully…..

This one is my personal favorite…..

Tatoos イレズミ are usually only reserved for Japanese male yakuza.  However the women of the yakuza culture also undergo extensive tattooing.

My first serious Japanese girlfriend (who I refer to as my on again off again girlfriend) traveled to Kyoto when she was a young yakuza girl and got tattooed like this. I think the old guy who tattooed her is probably in jail right now.

She told me that it took her a year and $10K to get it done. Other Japanese yakuza types who visited the old man were always impressed that she was getting one because having a tattoo like this is a sign of endurance and fortitude.

I assume that most regular Japanese dudes and foreigners are scared of yakuza girls, but I really don’t mind because I’m from Brooklyn. I’m used to dealing with intelligent yet dangerous women.  Even when our arguments get pretty bad and we are at each other’s throats, I still love her in a weird way. And the more I love her, the more I act like a foolish jerk.

The moral of the story is that Japan is somewhat gully (meaning dangerous) If you stay current on my Japan posts, the reality of the situation out here should become apparent. I am not saying don’t come out here and have a good time, but remember that you have to be aware of your surroundings anywhere you go.

Many people believe that Japan is populated by one homogenous race; however,  Indigenous groups exist within Japan. The Ainu and Okinawans are both native Japanese people. Ainu means human in the Ainu language (アイヌ語) The Ainu call their homeland Ainu Mosir which is composed Hokkaido, the four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido that are claimed by Japan, and the southern part of Russia’s Sakhalin. I heard about the Ainu before during my Japanese history class, so it was interesting to hear about them again years later.

If you are talking to a Japanese person and they try to say the “we japanese are all the same” motto in order to either confuse or brainwash you (they do this in a totally non malicious way) just think about the Ainu. But unless you want to lose some Japanese friends by sounding like a know-it-all jerk, make sure you decline on talking about it even if they bring it up…..

Japan has some of the best cuisine in the world. Unfortunately because of the current world wide food crisis, Japanese people may have some difficulty enjoying their staple and newly discovered dishes. According to the 2007 fiscal white paper, the food situation for Japan’s households is looking grim due to population growth in developing countries, rising demand for biofuels and farm crop decline due to irregular weather as well as record-breaking wheat, corn and other commodities prices.

Japan’s food self-suffiency rate has fallen below 40% on a calorie basis which means that if Japan had to feed its citizens without any imports, Japanese people would get a whole lot skinnier. Rice imports are obviously taking the biggest hit because world grain stockpiles have declined to levels not seen since the super recession early 1970s.

If you live in Japan or plan on coming here, I hope you take this into consideration when you shop for food. You might want to stock up on meat and canned vegetables now before they get too expensive. Make sure you hit the 100 yen store and check out some of their cheap meats. 50 yen soba, tofu, and potatoes are also a good alternative. Eating out all the time is turning into an expensive luxury in Japan especially since most of the best restaurants use imported food. Save your money by cooking food at home.

When I think about it, it just doesn’t make much sense to me that Japan has to be mentioned as part of this food crisis along with third world countries. Why is Japan still so dependent on imported food? Is it because the Japanese diet has changed from healthy Japanese dishes to greasy western hamburgers and steak? Japan used to be self-sufficient and people ate less. Now Japanese women are getting big breasts and asses from all this meat and dairy….Wait that is probably a good thing, but now that there is a food crisis, buxom sexy Japanese girls might be a thing of the past, sigh…..Check the original article to see just how serious this food crisis really is.

Japan is scared of foreign terrorist attacks so foreigner fingerprints and photographs are taken at Japan’s international airports. At first I was skeptical of Japan’s overreacting politics especially since the most serious terrorist attack in Japan’s history  was home grown. In 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult detonated deadly sarin gas in Tokyo’s subway system.  I thought Japan didn’t have anything to worry about in terms of foreign terrorist attacks until al-Qaida recently hinted at Japan being a possible target.

Ayman al-Zawahri, second in command of al-Qaida, recently threatened to punish Japan and all other countries who participated in the Iraq War. He advised Japan to end its’ alliance with the U.S. “who had occupied, looted, humiliated and bombed them with nukes.”

Oops, it looks like Japan done gone and pissed off al-Qaida because they are providing assistance to America’s war campaign. It looks like Japan really needs to take fingerprints and photos of suspicious gaijin after all……

Crime in Japan is always the low compared to most first world industrial nations like the United States, but certain types of crimes in Japan have risen dramatically. Shoplifting is a major cause for concern because nearly 4 billion yen in books are stolen every year which has doubled since 2003.

I know, I know books? What’s the big deal? Well up until a few years ago in Japan lost wallets used to be returned and people worked extra hard for their money so the trust in public interactions was still there. If people of all ages in Japan are stealing billions of yen in books just to resell them for a profit, I think there is a serious negative shift in Japan’s social values. What do you guys think? Do you think that billions of dollars in stolen books is trivial?  Is Japan still a safe country with decent social values?  Check out this article and let me know what you think.

I wrote about homeless guys in Japan sleeping in Japan’s internet cafes a while back. Today I found an article in the Japan Times about these net cafe homeless. Since this is a growing social illness exclusive to Japan, particularly in Tokyo where 10% of the Japan’s population resides, a support network called Tokyo Challenge Net was created to provide financial and other assitance to these “Net Cafe Refugees” in the form of housing and employment services.

The problem with this program is that net cafes still offer a far better living alternative than a 40,000-60,000 yen a month dirty, one room hovel. A 200,000 to 400,000 loan is only going to allow some poor refugee several months of rent tops before he gets evicted or starts racking up debt because the only jobs he can find are part time gigs at Mcdonalds or Mr. Donuts.

Why does Japan suck for young Japanese males?  Of course Japanese girls aren’t refugees because they can always shack up with a dude or work the mizu shobai rounds as a hostess or a fuzoku (prostitute) The only answer that I can offer is that both the Japanese education system and the Japanese economy has failed them. 

Yet, I wonder if this issue has less to do with being Japanese and more to do with class. Unless the Japanese guy’s family has a house with an extra room, young poor Japanese guys are forced to make ends meet on the streets.  What do you guys think? If all young Japanese dudes had more opportunities to succeed, would more of them make good money and actually hold down decent jobs?  Is the issue that these dudes are Japanese or that they either don’t know any better or can’t afford to live in a real apartment and find a real job? Read this and let me know what you think.

Before I came to Japan, I knew little about the Japanese diaspora. Besides 3rd generation and immigrant Chinese and Koreans, there are many Brazilians, Japanese Brazilians, and Mexicans living in Japan. There are also many nikkeijin (Japanese emigrants and their descendents) living mostly in Brazil and the United States. Even though I am a minority in America, I am a super minority in  Japan because I am black and American. In this video, one out of these two Japanese Brazilian chicks is ultra hot (the one on the right) I can’t wait to visit Brazil!

I am surprised by the amount of homeless people I see in Japan. Both Osaka and Tokyo have many “homeless” While all societies have social ills, Japan is the only place I have lived where the homeless people have their own pimped out homes in choice areas of the city. In Osaka, Tennoji has a huge homeless settlement near Stennoji, the park, and the zoo. Umeda has many homeless living right next to Osaka station and the Hankyu department store. And when I visit Tokyo, there are a lot of homeless in Ueno Park.

The homeless in Japan need pimp-my-house. But all jokes aside, Japanese homeless have a pretty sweet deal. I frequently hear tales of homeless people receiving free electricity and watching T.V. in their homes. Some homeless live in the manga cafes where you can take a shower, wash up, and drink for free. Other homeless even have mail delivered to their homes (this got shut down in Osaka, but it probably still goes on) Is homelessness a big problem in Japan? And if it is, how would you solve it?

Japanese girls like anything “kawaii” which means cute. They also like “kira kira” or glittering objects. Almost every girl I dated in Japan had a blinged out or semi-blinged out cell phone and other accessories. They used to try to tell me to ice out my cell phone. One girl even offered to bling it for me, but I declined. I am already a novelty enough as it is being a tall black Japan Man and all. Check out the DS and cell phone shines. Would you bling out your PSP, DS, iPhone, or cell phone?