4
Feb
It’s OK to Take Candy From Strangers
Topic: Japan 2007
Maria told me she saw a public service ad on TV the other day that really highlights one of the major cultural differences between Japan and just about anywhere else in the world. It featured two parents and their daughter having dinner - she looked to be in her early teens. The daughter was telling them how mortified she was that a total stranger said a friendly “good morning” to her earlier that day. The parents then did the opposite of what American parents would do - instead of advising her to keep away from strangers who seem a little too friendly, they admonished her for not cheerfully saying “good morning” in return.
A big part of what makes Japan tick culturally is its very broad sense of community. The older generation is worried that the younger generation is becoming more individualistic and self-absorbed, and ads like this are efforts to counter that trend.
My experience so far is that kids feel safe here and aren’t shy around strangers. I know this because some of the kids at Kai’s school don’t hesitate to climb all over me. Also, adults are not shy about playing with kids they don’t know. Several times now random people on the street or on the train have come right up to Eidan in his stroller and started talking to him and playing with his hands and feet. Kai had a little bag of snacks tossed to him on the train by an old man. It’s the kind of thing that would make you want to call the cops in the US, but here it’s completely ordinary. Probably the main reason why it’s so ordinary is that crime rates are much lower in Japan than in the US:
This is all extremely significant considering just how tightly packed the Japanese population is. It would seem that the population density would lead to a very high crime rate, but that is not what happens in Japan. This helps to show that crime, especially violent crime, is dependent on external factors (the lack of availability of guns) and cultural factors (emphasis on honor and group harmony.) In the U.S., with the incredible ease of obtaining weapons and the emphasis on people “doing their own thing,” a much higher level of violent crime should not be a surprise…
Another factor that may play a large part in the lower crime level in Japan is the use of their police forces. There are kobans, (fairly small police stations) in profusion in Japanese cities. The police there seem to work much more closely with the community than in the U.S. where there is a “us vs. them” mentality on the part of many communities and even some police forces…
There are a couple other factors I would add. One is that Japan has a 99% conviction rate for those charged with crimes (as people here do not have the same rights they have in the US), which likely serves as a strong deterrent. The other, which is more to do with perceptions of crime, is that local news here is quite different - it does not suffer from the “if it bleeds it leads” mentality that pervades US newsrooms. I believe this is related to many Americans thinking crime rates were going up when they were actually going quite significantly down. When the news you see on TV every night is about murder and mayhem, it’s likely to add to your fear about strangers who approach you, and make you less likely to approach anyone you don’t already know. There is a certain degree of anxiety about crime that’s definitely warranted in the US (especially in certain areas), but - IMHO - local news coverage distorts it out of all proportion. If all you knew about your community was what you saw on US local news, you’d probably be afraid to leave your house, no matter where you lived.
Indicators of the infrequency of crime are visible just about everywhere here. I provided some pictures about this in my 2004 post Things You Don’t See in the US during our last trip here. There’s the unlocked bicycles everywhere, the pay phones that get electricity from regular wall outlets (suggesting no worries about vandalism), the availability of completely realistic toy guns, etc.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I have always been amazed at the freedom and convenience of the intricate network of vending machines in Japan as well, having purchased beer and hard liquor from vending machines near my apartment in Yokohama after having run out during a weekend party. Another never-in-America occurrence.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
The crime safety is of course counter pointed by unusually high number of Giant Monster invasions which seems to be a problem localized to Japan. Luckily they have developed special mechanized sentries which coupled with the steady influx of Giant Alien do gooders from Nebula M78 maintain stability.