Why Japan?

I’m an American and I like America. I’d visit there more often if it wasn’t so expensive (especially for five people) to take such a long trip…but I have been living in Japan since 1990. Most of my life now.
So the few occasions that I have been able to visit America, it has felt more like a foreign country to me. It’s fun to visit and experience the culture…but it feels nice to return home—to Tokyo.

Every once in a while someone will ask me why I decided to live in Japan permanently.

Well…it’s not easy to explain why you love your city. Especially to someone whose never seen it.

I live in Tokyo rather than anywhere else in the world because—

☆ it’s very convenient;
– With few exceptions, anything you want to buy, to eat, to drink or to do can be found in Tokyo.
– The public transportation system has bus stops, train stations and subway stations everywhere and the buses, subways and trains run often and on time. Precisely on time.

☆ the service is top-notch;
– No matter where you go–a high-end department store, a “mom and pop” store, a five-star restaurant, a fast-food joint–the place will surely be clean, the staff will be courteous, and whatever you buy will be of the highest quality.

☆ everything’s on time;
– T.V. shows in Japan are scheduled to start at precise times such 5:57PM rather than at general times such as 6PM. And they start exactly on time.
– The bus, subway and trains have time tables…and they’re also exactly on time. Everyday, I catch the 7:11AM train to work…it’s scheduled at 7:11 and that’s when it arrives at my station. Not 7:10 or 7:12…but at 7:11 everyday.

☆ people are polite and think of others;
– Not only with words such as ‘excuse me’, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, but people here are considerate others with actions:
no one talks on their cell-phone while they’re indoors; everyone cleans up after themselves at movie theaters, ball games, parks, etc.
– If you misplace your property, it’s quite likely to be returned to you.

☆ there’s so much to do;
– museums, zoo, amusement parks, festivals, and other events – even after over twenty-two years here, I still enjoy going out.

☆ the city is beautiful;

But the recent shootings in America at a movie theater, a shopping mall, a hospital and most shocking – an elementary school have reminded me of the main reason that I decided to raise my children in Japan rather than in America:

☆ safety;
All of those shootings in America were tragic and make me wonder why so many Americans think it’s important or necessary for anyone to own a gun.
I recently read online that Florida (the U.S. state that I grew up in) recently issued the state’s one-millionth gun license. It’s unbelievable!
Also unbelievable was when I read that many states in America have decided to legalize marijuana.

In Japan, drugs are very illegal and gun licenses are extremely rare and difficult to get.
Basically, only the police, the military* (* “self-defense force”) and hunters can legally own a gun. For a hunter to get a gun license, he must attend shooting and safety classes, pass an exam, pass a mental-health evaluation, and pass a criminal history background check. The police also must inspect the gun locker that the applicant intends to keep the weapon.
Also, the gun license is only valid for three years…the whole process must be repeated every three years.
Needless to say, almost no one even bothers to apply for a gun license in Japan.

The crime rate in Japan in very low…especially violent crime. But when a murder or robbery does occur, a knife is the usual weapon of choice for violent criminals here—therefore the casualty rate is low.

Also, Japanese police aren’t so quick to draw their weapons as they are in America.  It’s a news story if a police unholsters his gun!

I can’t understand why guns are so popular in America.
They’re not very useful for home security. Most burglars break into a home when either the home-owner is out or asleep. An alarm and/or a guard dog would be much more useful in those situations.
A dog is loyal to it’s owner too…unlike a firearm. If an unarmed burglar finds a hidden gun in the house he’s broken into, suddenly he’s an armed burglar.
And how many accidental deaths result from mishandling of guns by children or drunk or careless owners? Many, it seems.

Americans say that it’s their “right to bear arms”. But, if no one else had one, would you really need a tool that’s sole purpose is to end life?

October 17

I came to Japan on 1990 October 17.
Nineteen years ago today.

Last year on this date I wrote a post about some of changes I’ve seen in Japan since I first arrived (Click here to read it).

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Also, seventeen years ago today, 服部剛丈 (Yoshihiro Hattori) died.

Do you know about his story? It’s quite tragic.
And it was big news when he was shot and killed in America in 1992…at least here in Japan.

He was a sixteen year old Japanese exchange student in Louisiana, America and on the evening of (1992) October 17 he and a friend went to a Halloween party that they were invited to.

They mistakenly went to the wrong address and when they rang the doorbell he was fatally shot by the homeowner who claimed in court that he thought Yoshihiro was a criminal trespasser.

The home-owner, Rodney Peairs, pointed his gun at Yoshihiro and said “Freeze!”.
Obviously, not familiar with that command in English, Yoshihiro walked towards Mr. Peairs and said “We’re here for the party”, at which point Mr. Peairs panicked and shot the teen.

This case became big news in Japan at the time. I remember it was on the news constantly.
What made it even more shocking to the Japanese people was that the U.S. courts ruled that Rodney Peairs was within his rights to shoot Yoshihiro Hattori under Louisiana’s law and they acquitted him of all charges.

Also shocking to Japanese was shortly after this case there were two more cases of Japanese exchange students being shot in America.
A TV reporter at that time said that if Japanese must travel to America they should be sure to understand the phrase “Freeze!” lest they become the next victim of America’s “sick gun-obsessed society”.

World News

Some recent news items that have occurred around the world:

• As I mentioned in this post, the 相撲 (Sumo) wrestler 若ノ鵬 (Wakanohou) was banned for life from wrestling 相撲 (Sumo) because he was caught with marijuana.Well, he has just recently claimed that the 相撲 (Sumo) Association in Japan bribes wrestlers to lose matches.

  He said that if he is reinstated, he will help to clean up 相撲 (Sumo). I can’t help but wonder, if he knew about rigged matches, why didn’t he clean up 相撲 (Sumo) before he was caught with drugs!

• A forty-year old woman in 神奈川県横須賀市 (Yokosuka, Japan) was arrested for strangling her 11-year old son to death.
• A railroad signal in Japan malfunctioned on Sunday, 28 September 2008 forcing the Japan Railway Company (JR) to halt 新幹線 (Bullet train) services for about four hours, affecting thousands of passengers.
• The country of Austria has changed their age of suffrage (voting) to 16 years old. So now, any Austrian who is at least sixteen can vote in national elections.
• The legendary actor Paul Newman died on Friday, 26 September 2008 of cancer. He was 83 years old. He had acted in Hollywood for over sixty years (my personal favorite of his numerous movies is “Cool Hand Luke“).
• A woman in America found a bat in her coffee filter after she had drunk a cup of coffee. The health department couldn’t test the animal because it had been cooked by the hot water in the coffe machine…so the woman had to undergo rabies treatment.
• Four boys in Texas, America whose ages ranged from 11 to 15 often broke into the home of one their 63-year old neighbors to steal his junkfood.
  The homeowner finally caught them in the act recently and confronted them with a shotgun.
  The children were unarmed and never threatened or hurt the man, nor did they take anything except candies and cookies.
  But still, the man pointed his gun at them and ordered them to their knees. They began to beg for their lives. He hit them with the gun and kicked them…then he shot one of the boys, who was 13, in the back and killed him!

  The most shocking part of this story, to me, is that the man was acquitted in court of any wrong-doing!