It's all about Me

Elizabeth van Kampen · 23 May 2007

I found this URL http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/scene/20070520TDY22001.htm
in the Yomiuri today.

It is really sad how the polite Japanese manners are changing into being the rude Japanese of today.
But I am also sorry to say, that I notice the same type of manners in Holland.

Of course there are still many people with good manners.

I love to hear the opinoin of the people living in Tokyo.

ArmandV · 23 May 2007

Interesting article. Unfortunately, Japan is not immune to the gradual coarsening of society in general. It has been going on for years in the U.S. and elsewhere. It is probably most evident with the occurances of "road rage" and the political discourse around the world.

Goldiegirl · 23 May 2007

I felt that people are into themselves while in Tokyo. Most are hooked up to their ipods or cell phones. I don't think they notice much of anything. I am not saying it's good or bad, it was just different. Then again I come from a small farming community so there isn't the giant crush of people around me all day. I noticed too, that when in the countryside of Japan, the people were just like my little town...

pipokun · 23 May 2007

I don't like to wait for 1 hour to eat ramen noodle, no matter how nice the noodle is, but some love to do it. It seems to me that they enjoy lining up, not ramen. It is my "It's all about ME" to choose a different place to be served quickly.

Unusually silent jam-packed trains may be a tourist attraction in Tokyo. I don't think it should be louder.

bakaKanadajin · 23 May 2007

Alot of the examples are based on behaviours observed in Tokyo. A large city can't really avoid having social complications like these. The disparity between rich and poor, stressed and non-stressed, happy and miserable, are far more prevalent in a large city. Tokyo is also quite dense, alot of different people and lives bouncing off one another. It's easy to become lost, perhaps the economic boom and crash jaded a lot of today's young professionals and the new generation are picking up on this.

Out in Hiroshima where my family (well half of it) is from, people are still very much compassionate I would like to think. Children bid you good morning and good afternoon as you pass them on the hilly winding streets. Bus drivers wait until the seniors are seated before moving forward, I dunno, all the little things still seem to be working. Definitely a contrast from Tokyo.

maushan3 · 24 May 2007

This is true, but it isn't a major problem since it all seems quite normal to me and... Come on! What did they expect, with globalization and capitalization comes many things like people only thinking about themselves, where this generation has grown up thinking that they are entitled to everything. But, I mean, what would they like better: being poor and compassionate like they once were around half a century ago, or have better opportunities, being a prosperous country than they are, of coure, with the possibe degrading of moral values.

And yes, this is Tokyo we are talking about, where everybody is very busy minding their own business, so, yeah, this is an exception and it is very good that the Japanese are looking at this issue here, so that they can work on a solution the fastest way. I think it is very cool by part of the government to establish a sense of service to their school pupils, this is a way they will revive these morals they said are lost.

Mauricio

Goldiegirl · 24 May 2007

Maybe this is a little off topic, but I always wondered how people get a date while I'm in Tokyo. I mean where I live you can go up to someone and start a little "small talk" and then see if the other person responds. In Tokyo you could be sitting right next to you perfect boy/girlfriend and would never know because no one makes any contact. I never lived in a major city so maybe it's like that in every big city? I never saw anyone talk on the train except maybe a parent to a child.

Elizabeth van Kampen · 24 May 2007

It is all about Me

bakaKanadajin said:
Alot of the examples are based on behaviours observed in Tokyo. A large city can't really avoid having social complications like these. The disparity between rich and poor, stressed and non-stressed, happy and miserable, are far more prevalent in a large city. Tokyo is also quite dense, alot of different people and lives bouncing off one another. It's easy to become lost, perhaps the economic boom and crash jaded a lot of today's young professionals and the new generation are picking up on this.
Out in Hiroshima where my family (well half of it) is from, people are still very much compassionate I would like to think. Children bid you good morning and good afternoon as you pass them on the hilly winding streets. Bus drivers wait until the seniors are seated before moving forward, I dunno, all the little things still seem to be working. Definitely a contrast from Tokyo.

Yes bakaKanadajin, you are so right, this sort of rude behaviour usely happens in many of the big cities in our world. Stress yes, but also a "Me, I and Myself" mentality. Amsterdam is no better than Tokyo I guess.
And as you said there is more stress in big cities,that is absolutely true. But it shouldn't be an excuse for becoming an egoist.

lenajiang · 24 May 2007

[/QUOTE]And as you said there is more stress in big cities,that is absolutely true. But it shouldn't be an excuse for becoming an egoist.[/QUOTE]
Yes,I second you .

pipokun · 24 May 2007

I heard an entrepreneural Londoner started his "gokon" business in London after he got the idea in Japan. The gokon is a sort of small meeting party at izakaya restaurants or pubs.

Juno333 · 11 Jun 2007

"Normen en waarden" in the Netherlands

Elizabeth van Kampen said:
It is really sad how the polite Japanese manners are changing into being the rude Japanese of today.
But I am also sorry to say, that I notice the same type of manners in Holland.
Of course there are still many people with good manners.
I love to hear the opinoin of the people living in Tokyo.

Hai hai, despite our difference in age I've also been noticing the changing manners, yes, premier Balkenende sure isn't happy about it either. Very troubling...I sense a strong degree in moral standards...:? Most of my contemporaries changed through the years too, or is that just part of the whole growing-up thing? Now i'm living in a very nice and small village on the countryside and have a fairly high education, but once in a time, when i visit Amsterdam, the attitude of some people towards others is truly horrible. could this be a global thing?

bakaKanadajin · 12 Jun 2007

pipokun said:
I heard an entrepreneural Londoner started his "gokon" business in London after he got the idea in Japan. The gokon is a sort of small meeting party at izakaya restaurants or pubs.

I may be wrong but I think amongst nihonjin the word gokon specifically carries an idea of 'group date' with it, where an equal number of guys and girls head out together perhaps hoping to meet that special someone.

This is not to be confused with 'gogon', which is easy to mispronounce when saying 'gokon'. I believe 'gogon' carries the idea of 'group raping' or an assault by many man on one woman.

Glenski · 12 Jun 2007

where I live you can go up to someone and start a little "small talk" and then see if the other person responds.

Where is that place? Come up to many people in large cities (all over the world), and they will be afraid you are going to mug them or something. I think the idea posed above is a little naive. You find dates usually where people have gathered for a common purpose (other than public transportation). Churches, office, school, festivals, etc.

Goldiegirl · 12 Jun 2007

I live in Wisconsin...we're still friendly here. We actually look at people and talk to them; in my neck of the woods we even give our neighbors a freindly wave when they drive by! I have never seen people as shut down and into themselves as when we are in Tokyo on a train. Here's what happened, a guy got on our train and I could see that he was looking sick. I pushed my husband closer to the door so we could get out fast, he had no clue what was going on. Well, me who looks at people, realized that vomit was imminent and positioned us to be able to make a hasty exit. Sure enough the guy explodes vomit all over the people around him. They were covered in the stuff it was so gross. We were the first off the train and we weren't covered in vomit, all because I was aware of what was going on. I wasn't plugged into my Ipod and tuned out of the world.

It's all about Me

Elizabeth van Kampen

先輩

ArmandV

Eight Times To Japan

Goldiegirl

先輩

pipokun

先輩

bakaKanadajin

先輩

maushan3

Back home

Goldiegirl

先輩

Elizabeth van Kampen

先輩

lenajiang

先輩

pipokun

先輩

Juno333

The President

bakaKanadajin

先輩

Glenski

Just me

Goldiegirl

先輩

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