One behavior to sum up the Japanese?

[edin日本]

You seem like a nice enough guy but in all honesty, can you see no consistency with old guys saying stuff like "it was better before". You are obviously well placed financially which only makes your premise even more questionable in my opinion.

Yeah, SG obviously came here back in the days when an English teacher only needed to work 10hrs a week to make a decent wage. I can't fault him for that as he was very obviously smart and quickly figured out things to his advantage. Obviously too, SG was never a risk taker, he found his niche and exploited it to the best of his ability.

[Super Grover]

Yeah, SG obviously came here back in the days when an English teacher only needed to work 10hrs a week to make a decent wage. I can't fault him for that as he was very obviously smart and quickly figured out things to his advantage. Obviously too, SG was never a risk taker, he found his niche and exploited it to the best of his ability.

10 hours of classes perhaps, but not 10 hours of work -- I wish it had been like that!!!

Was I never a risk taker? Hmm. Maybe I took some and decided not to later? Maybe I still am? Who knows? And who would care?
I have had 2 of my own businesses.
For the safe risk takers, wait for the next (if any) dip in CCO or CCJ (Cameco). My free tip. Possibility to see some great returns exists.

Ozzijp
I am a decent fellow and pull my own weight in this world. I am reasonably intelligent too, I believe. I certainly thought about being lumped in with the "back in the good ol days" group. But I do think/know they were good days (the period I mentioned). And I am not all THAT old.
Cheers

I like my work and I try to be really good at it.

[ozzijp]

Do I detect the slightest whiff of schadenfreude in your post old chum?

I'll put my hand up for condescension but take offense at schadenfreude.

[ozzijp]

But I do think/know they were good days (the period I mentioned).

Well, the good news is that we are in agreeance on the thinking part. However, very sketchy on the knowing aspect of this equation. To each his own, I guess..

And I am not all THAT old.

Trust me, you are old in the GP world. Fear not, my retirement-expectant friend, you are not alone.

[timely response]

I do think/know they were good days (the period I mentioned).

I think there is little doubt that they were relatively good days for many of those living in North America.

However, you stated that they were better than the last decade, and I'm not so certain that the data, if you use material wealth as your barometer of happiness as you seemed to be doing, supports that contention.

[The_Junkie]

The "Japanese" endure, well, others.

[nynapaj]

I would say that they suck at environmental things like recycling and reducing waste.
I wanted to bludgeon the guy at the conbini last week. He bought a pack on mints and asked for a bag. A SINGLE PACK OF MINTS!!!
My office has NOOOOOOOO paper recycling, the excuse that they give me is that the students' personal information must be destroyed so we can't recycle it. BS- 1. shredded paper can be recycled. 2. We still go through a lot of paper in the office that does NOT have the students' personal information on it. We can recycle THAT at least!!!

[biking]

I would say that they suck at environmental things like recycling and reducing waste.
I wanted to bludgeon the guy at the conbini last week. He bought a pack on mints and asked for a bag. A SINGLE PACK OF MINTS!!!
My office has NOOOOOOOO paper recycling, the excuse that they give me is that the students' personal information must be destroyed so we can't recycle it. BS- 1. shredded paper can be recycled. 2. We still go through a lot of paper in the office that does NOT have the students' personal information on it. We can recycle THAT at least!!!

Don't get me started on how poor the recycling is here. We have two choices for our normal rubbish - burnable and land fill. No recycling. So much of the items that we send for burning can be recycled readily and is in many countries. Also it is difficult here, and/or expensive, to recycle used electrical goods, old furniture and so on. I have observed many such items just dumped in local fields or hedges as there is a cost associated with recycling. Again without a nation wide drive the current system will continue and recycling materials will be so far behind much of the rest of the G20 countries.

The one over-riding way I would describe the Japanese is "conservative". They need to huge kick in the ar$se to get them to move forward on anything. Any ideas I have put forward at local group meetings have usually been met with a polite "so desu ne" and that's the last we'll hear of that. Unless the ides comes from the top down it is not usually acted upon and not only in the business world but in all aspects of life here from schooling, through community groups, social and sporting groups. Unless I feel passionate about an issue now I stay quiet at meetings as I am wasting my breath most of the time.

[Andun]

Don't get me started on how poor the recycling is here. We have two choices for our normal rubbish - burnable and land fill. No recycling. So much of the items that we send for burning can be recycled readily and is in many countries. Also it is difficult here, and/or expensive, to recycle used electrical goods, old furniture and so on. I have observed many such items just dumped in local fields or hedges as there is a cost associated with recycling. Again without a nation wide drive the current system will continue and recycling materials will be so far behind much of the rest of the G20 countries.

Recycling is pretty intense where I live in Tokyo. I can never figure out how to separate what, so I leave it up to the wife.
But you're right about the disposal of large objects ― you have to pay for their disposal. Thus many people just dump old bicycles.

[しむぱるじん]

Since the door swings on hinges then fix your door latch – so that it closes automatically – a little bit of graphite powder should do the trick. Take responsibility for yourself and your safety… after it closes, lock it.

And – get a life while you are at it. I mean – who labels a whole culture and people by the inaction of a pizza delivery person? Live large – order some ramen sometime.

agree.................

[YokohamaTommy]

Childish..........

[paradoxbox]

i'd describe japanese people in general as metaphorical "sheep"

there are individuals who are not, but on the whole japanese follow and never actually lead. leadership is done through careful group maneuvering and testing the waters.

this wasn't always the case, but the last 2 or 3 generations have been sheep.

[what's it to you ?]

I noticed recently that, after getting a pizza delivered, the door is never shut properly by the delivery person. The door opens outward so the delivery person is the one in a position to shut it. The first couple of times it happened, and the door blew open again an hour or two later, I didn't think anything of it, but have now noticed it happens every time. No big deal in itself, but for me it nicely sums up the lack of decisiveness or complete passivity of the Japanese that I see in many activities all day every day (I'll think of some more in a bit). They don't even have the oomph to push the door shut, as they haven't specifically been given responsibility to do that and it might be a mistake or they might get told off. Grrrrrrrrrr

Anyone else think of anything similar, or that sums up the Japanese for them?

The Japanese do extremely well in most walks of life and I don't think it's because of their passivity and indecisiveness! The fact that you see these people as passive and indecisive has more to do with your own cultural lens with which you view them. Things probably look different from the inside.

As for the door issue, your home security is your responsibilty - don't leave it to the pizza boy to shut your door! Alternatively just ask him to make sure the door is shut properly when he departs!

[nogimmickneeded4]

I think childish or immature works. My mom prefer's eccentric.

I'd like to add japanese people thinking it's more eco friendly and less wasteful to do laundry nearly everyday instead of in one big load at a time.

[cucashopboy]

Masochistic.

[nynapaj]

Unless the ides comes from the top down it is not usually acted upon and not only in the business world but in all aspects of life here from schooling, through community groups, social and sporting groups. Unless I feel passionate about an issue now I stay quiet at meetings as I am wasting my breath most of the time.

I find this to be untrue.
I think that Japanese generally will say "yes" to their bosses faces, but then do what every they want to do when the boss leaves.
I have been to group meetings for my schools (HS) and one of the very high ups will tell the teachers "Don't give your personal email or phone number to the students. It's illegal. If they contact you, they can use the school phone number or your school email address."
The boss said it, clear as day. Yet, only a week later, you can see teachers and students exchanging contact information.
Even though, it "came from the top down" as you say, they did not follow the bosses rules at all.

I feel that Japanese have a very strong aversion to following authority. I have coached the music clubs in the schools I have taught at. At every single school so far, there have been arguments. I suggest to do A and they say, "No, we do B." I am the "sensei", but they treat me as lower than the "senpai". And it is not a gaijin thing- I have seen it happen to Japanese teachers, too.

With the education, I have seen a distinct and exceptionally democratic process. For events, the teacher asks what the students want to do, and they decide among themselves and do it. The teacher almost never gives their opinion: they just schedule meetings and deadlines for the students to produce certain parts of the final project.
I have even seen some situations where the students are supposed to decide and there is no conclusion. Does the teacher push things or decide for them? Nope. They just sit there waiting for the students to work it out among themselves.

I see it as a very bottom-up system where the mass has much more power than the "leader".

[nynapaj]

It is best not to confuse disobedience with laziness. That is the beauty of being on top when everyone else is bottom up. However, what is described here is a painfully democratic, leadership-less, cum bureaucratic society. That sounds like an accurate description.



Reperio

As an American, I think it is pretty brazen. If the boss tells you something like "Don't do X" in an American company, you have a hard time finding anyone in the company doing it the next week.
Everything is "katachi dake", but people, in the end, do what they want with little regard for what their bosses expect.

[madmax_returns]

I walk through them. It is one of my big pet peeves here.

Agreed. Stick to a course and maintain it. It's tiring weaving around the game/keitai/manga wielding drones that pay no attention to where they're going. Most J's do move out of the way at the last second with their intuitive collision detection. Accidentally shouldered one LV wielding, texting chick once and she literally bounced off me... I show no mercy now for the walking texting brigade, particularly when they magnetically veer into my path.

Others include never being offered to cut line at checkout when you have one item and they have a basketful, commuters who cram the entrances of trains and don't move down the carriage to allow the people on coming from behind.

[Old Style]

Agreed. Stick to a course and maintain it. It's tiring weaving around the game/keitai/manga wielding drones that pay no attention to where they're going. Most J's do move out of the way at the last second with their intuitive collision detection. Accidentally shouldered one LV wielding, texting chick once and she literally bounced off me... I show no mercy now for the walking texting brigade, particularly when they magnetically veer into my path.

The massive pinball game every day is VERY tiring, but at least here in Japan, people aren't "packing heat" like in the US.

[Mustachioed-Ken]

The Japanese are a slow moving, cautious bunch of stoic loners in buttoned down clothes. They are nice. They are simple. The one action to encapsulate them is the time I saw a man playing with little figurines at a Johnathons diner. He was lining them up and doing their voices. He was weird.