I’ve had the good fortune to live in Japan for 33 years, and have really enjoyed my time here. The best part about Japan is the Japanese people. Let’s look at some ways they are the best people in the world!
J-List sells H products from Japan to customers worldwide, allowing them to manage their stress and feel more relaxed. For customers who want maximum privacy and security, we offer the Ero Toy Removal and Repacking Service for just $1. See how it works here!
Why Are Japanese People the Best People? I’ll Tell You!
While I can’t recommend ESL teaching to anyone except on a very limited basis, my time as an English teacher was good for me in some ways. I probably taught more than a thousand students before founding J-List in 1996. I taught company employees studying English after work, elderly Japanese studying to keep their brains sharp, high school students wanting to actually use the dry English grammar they were learning in school, and children taking their first steps into the study of English.
So while I was glad to find my true purpose in life (writing blog posts about anime and Japan to all of you), it was good that I had the experience of teaching ESL. What did I learn about Japan along the way!
Japanese People Return Money When They Find It
Everyone knows that Japan is a safe country with little crime. You can generally walk anywhere in the country and feel safe. And if you lose your wallet, it will probably be turned in to the nearest police station so it can be returned to you.
This is 100% true. An American friend of mine managed to lose his wallet three times in three different parts of Japan. He got it returned to him all three times, with the money still inside each time. Another friend lost his wallet in the middle of the wild Shibuya Halloween mini-riot in 2018, and also got it returned safely. I found a wallet once in bustling Tokyo, and didn’t hesitate to turn it in to the nearest police box.
It gets better. In 2023, Tokyo residents handed in a mind-blowing 4.4 billion yen (US$29 million) in cash that had been lost around the city, a new record. This amounted to $1.2 million, or US$7,500, turned in per day. The big increase was attributed to the return of people commuting to work after the end of COVID-19.
Of course, no country is perfect. I did get my pocket picked riding the Saikyo Line between Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture once. The rural liquor shop my wife’s parents operate was robbed three times for trivial sums of money. I left a fancy Zero Halliburton case on a train once and was sure it would be returned to the train station, but someone helped themselves to it. And there’s that time when Mio lost Yuuko’s wallet and got in trouble for it.
They Calmly Accept Changes to the Pension System
The Japanese Diet is discussing whether to raise the age workers must pay into the pension system to 65, from the current 60. Are Japanese citizens taking to the streets, rioting and setting fire to cars, as happened in France last year? Of course not. They take changes like this in stride.
One important concept when trying to understand Japan is the phrase shikata ga nai / sho ga nai, which means “It can’t be helped.” Since all countries are struggling with falling populations and challenges to their retirement systems, then loudly complaining about it won’t solve anything. At least they give citizens a healthy tax-free investment system so they can take charge of their own futures.
Japan’s Work Ethic is Outstanding
One reason running J-List has been so much fun is the co-workers I get to work with. They’re always working hard, finding interesting new products to add to the J-List online store, and make me want to work harder, too.
The “meme” that Japan is a hellish place to live and work definitely needs to be updated. Over the past 30 years, the average number of hours worked in Japan has fallen from 2200 to 1600, which is lower than Spain, Canada and Italy. Japan’s birth rate is currently stable at 1.3 babies per female, which is the 13th lowest in the world but far from the lowest. And many countries have higher suicide rates than Japan.
“Black companies” that take advantage of their workers do exist, and we see these through anime like Helpful Fox Senko-san and ZOM100. But these companies are the exception and not the rule, and with an unemployment rate of just 2.6%, workers can find something better if they want to.
The Service in Japan Is Amazing
The custom of tipping doesn’t exist in Japan, though sometimes I wish it did. The service in this country is so good that I often wish I could do something extra for the staff as I pay by check and leave. I usually do the next best thing, stressing how good the food was with a taihen oishikatta desu. Receiving praise from a foreigner will generally bring a smile to the face of the staff that will last all day.
Why is the service so good in Japan? They like to talk up the concept of omotenashi, which describes the spirit of offering hospitality to customers in an establishment, and that’s part of it. But I think it stems from the fact that humility is the basic state of Japanese people. Customers have come into the restaurant where you work, so of course you will greet them with actual warmth, and do everything possible to make sure their experience is outstanding. They generally couldn’t imagine any other way.
Thanks for reading this blog post about the factors that make the Japanese people so amazing. If you’ve visited Japan, what kind of experience did you have here? Tell us in the comments below!
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- Finally, check out J-List’s short video blogs on YouTube or TikTok!
J-List sells H products from Japan to customers worldwide, allowing them to manage their stress and feel more relaxed. While every package is shipped with privacy and security in a generic brown box with no J-List branding on its outside surfaces, some customers want even more security. For them, we offer the Ero Toy Removal and Repacking Service for just $1. See how it works here!
